Billions of dollars in potential tax revenue lost in a decades-long fight against a stubborn enemy.

Cross-border smuggling, home-grown factories that operate in defiance of the law and — some would argue — a weak-kneed approach to enforcement.

Ontario’s war on illegal cigarettes has done nothing to butt out the black market business, which by some estimates accounts for almost 40 per cent of all the smokes sold in the province.

With Ontario moving to monopolize marijuana selling as the only legal retailer of recreational pot once the federal government legalizes the drug later this year, the experience with tobacco raises a critical question: How can a province that can’t break the back of illegal smokes be expected to keep a grip on legal weed?

Bill C-45's sentence of up to 14 years in jail is on par with threatening to commit a nuclear or terrorist act.

Under the Trudeau government’s pot bill, anyone who shares a joint with a kid brother could end up sharing a prison cell with a terrorist.

Bill C-45 would make the giving or selling of cannabis to any person under the age of 18 a new criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail, a sentence in line with facilitating a terrorist activity, threatening to commit a nuclear offence, bribing a judge, child luring, recklessly discharging a firearm, aggravated assault, torture and human trafficking.

High yields drive a surge in transactions

Every week leading up to legalization seems to bring an announcement of another transformational deal in the cannabis industry. With each new press release, the purchase price multiple creeps ever higher with companies paying increasing premiums for targets that have yet to prove their value in the forthcoming adult-use industry. However, often lost among this deal mania is the underpinning rationale for the transaction and a concrete plan to increase the deal’s value for shareholders over the long term.

But they may have to wait a bit longer to do so (legally).

There are a lot of controversial issues surrounding the federal government's plan to legalize marijuana later this year, but one topic that might spring up at the dinner table could be: should we smoke weed with the kids?

Now, a new survey is shedding some light on how Canadians feel about lighting up with their parents, and their answers may surprise Mom and Dad (and make smoking a joint around their adult children a bit easier).

Province doesn't see sale of marijuana as a revenue generator, but is that a missed opportunity?

When Quebec passed its cannabis legislation into law this week, Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois stressed, not for the first time, that legalizing the drug was Ottawa's idea.

"It's important that Quebecers know that the federal government took the decision, and we are making measures that we think are going to protect the health and safety of the population," she said.

In other words, the province got it done, but not by choice.

Indeed, Quebec will be among the most conservative jurisdictions in the country when it comes to the sale, distribution and consumption of cannabis.

In 1950s geopolitics, Cold War politicians predicted that if North and South Vietnam were reunited under a communist government, other nearby nations would likewise become communist, probably by hostile takeover aided or orchestrated by the Soviet Union or China. This was referred to as the Domino Theory.

Historians disagree about the validity of this theory, however, since few of Vietnam’s southeast Asian neighbours “fell”, the theory was modified to include faraway influencers as well, as was the case in Latin American countries. The Domino Theory was used to justify United States involvement in and interference with governments and revolutionaries in Chile, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

If the over-allotment of stock is purchased, it'll represent a nearly $200 million cash raise.

Ready or not, the Canadian cannabis industry is about to flower before our eyes. Over the next couple of weeks, it's highly expected that Canada will officially legalize recreational marijuana, becoming the first developed country in the world to do so. By September or October, adults should be able to purchase marijuana legally in Canada.

What does the legal weed industry mean for Canada? How about $5 billion in added annual revenue, if not more. It's these massive dollar signs that have Canadian growers expanding their growing capacity as quickly as their balance sheets will allow.

springbig, an innovator in loyalty marketing technology, announced today that it has exceeded the 1,000,000 consumer milestone, establishing the company as one of the fastest growing CannaTech companies in the cannabis industry. Offering loyalty, analytics/customer behavior insights and digital communications to encourage repeat business for cannabis retailers, springbig has quickly risen since its June 2017 launch as the most effective, precise, and efficient technology available in the market.

After obtaining an update one of the latest mergers of two cannabis companies in the public space, a research report shows optimism for the new venture between WeedMD (TSXV:WMD) and Hiku Brands (CSE:HIKU).

The companies first announced the merger in April, stating the operations will combine and Hiku will become the majority stakeholder of the new enterprise.

No, your Insurance Corporation of British Columbia isn’t capitalizing on legalized cannabis, although it could help them put out their financial “dumpster fire” that still seems to be burning.

The International Cannabis Business Conference (the other ICBC, as it were) is rolling into town towards the end of this month.

The two-day event takes place June 24 and 25 at the Sheraton Wall Centre.

Stacked with cannabis industry professionals such as Hilary Black from Canopy Growth and Clint Younge from MMJ Canada, the speaker list for the event is long.