The cannabis industry is currently flying high. Last year, Canada legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and the U.S. legalized hemp, a cousin of marijuana but with negligible amounts of the main psychoactive chemical contained in marijuana. It is now rumored that Mexico will be the next country to legalize marijuana, and no doubt more will follow.

Few companies have benefited from these milestones more than Canopy Growth Corp (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC). Production capacity and sales have skyrocketed over the past few years for the Ontario-based cannabis firm. Canopy’s stock price hit its 52 weeks high — and, for that matter, its all-time high — in October of last year.

A recent poll by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health has revealed that older generations were increasingly found to be using cannabis. The survey, which was conducted in 2015 and 2016, revealed that 9% of U.S. adults between ages 50 and 64 used a cannabis-based product. And about 3% of people over the age of 65 used cannabis in the same period. The statistics show that cannabis consumption has increased among the older generations since the previous survey in 2013 as almost a quarter of those over 65 were prescribed cannabis as a treatment from their doctors in 2016. Some tried cannabis for recreational use, however, most turn to cannabis for medical reasons. While recreational cannabis laws are still regulated in most U.S.

With 25 retail locations opening throughout Ontario on April 1, 2019, several cannabis retailers are set to see tremendous growth in the near future.

While the competition in Ontario remains tough, Alberta has no laws setting a limit to the number of retail stores.

Moreover, the cannabis retail industry is evolving as consumers prefer purchasing products instore rather than online.

The four Canadian cannabis stocks we’ve chosen today are some companies that have an early retail advantage.

Global Legal Cannabis Market Insights, Forecast To 2025

The report discusses many vital industry facets that influence global Legal Cannabis industry acutely which includes extensive study of competitive edge, latest advancements, region-wise industry environment, contemporary market and manufacturing trends, leading market contenders, and current consumption tendency of the end user. The report also oversees market size, market share, growth rate, revenue, and CAGR reported previously along with its forecast estimation.

Avail a sample 129 pages copy before purchase:

You could rightly say that the marijuana industry is growing like a weed. With the industry having generated less than $10 billion in global sales in 2017, the team of Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics now expects global sales to more than triple to $31.3 billion by 2022. Certain investment banks on Wall Street are looking for even more aggressive long-term growth, with global sales expected to hit $75 billion by 2030, according to Cowen Group.

This month the federal government sent the first cannabis excise tax payments to the provinces. But almost none of the amounts was disclosed. That’s likely because the cheques were smaller than officials had expected. But perhaps it’s also because medical cannabis clients think the taxes are unfair.

British Columbia is the only province so far to disclose its excise tax revenues: $1.3 million for October to December 2018. It had expected $50 million total this fiscal year, but now will be lucky to get $3 million. Other provinces haven’t disclosed their receipts. Manitoba didn’t even mention cannabis revenues in last week’s budget.

We can, however, estimate pot tax revenues using other data. First consider the federal government’s share.

Quebec cannabis giant HEXO Corp. is acquiring Newstrike Brands Ltd. — the Oakville-based mid-sized cannabis company backed by The Tragically Hip — in an all-stock deal worth $260 million, both companies announced early Wednesday morning.

The deal is the biggest yet to take place between two sizeable Canadian cannabis companies post-legalization in a crowded industry where the top two players — Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. — control just under 50 per cent of domestic recreational cannabis sales.

Newstrike shareholders will receive 0.06332 of a HEXO common share in exchange for each Newstrike common share held, according to a press release put out by both companies.

Since Canada legalized recreational-use cannabis on October 17, several provinces have complained of supply shortages and have taken mitigatory measures. Ontario, for example, recently blamed “severe supply shortages” for its curtailing of cannabis retail expansion, and Alberta decided in November to temporarily suspend accepting new applications for retailers, citing a “national shortage.”

The claims made by the provinces have been hotly contested by Canada’s federal government. Bill Blair, Canada’s minister in charge of marijuana, posted on Twitter: “The data is clear: There remains sufficient supply to meet and exceed existing demand,” adding that the provinces still have work to do ironing out their wholesale and retail systems.

Shopify Inc. is just one of several infrastructure and support companies to go all-in on the boom in the legal cannabis market. Shopify doubled its bet on cannabis, with the province of British Columbia announcement that the e-commerce company will run the province’s legal online marijuana sales channel and sales from a provincially run warehouse to private retailers.

Expanding companies on the supply side management of cannabis with significant interest in this development include FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and Shopify Inc., (NYSE: SHOP). These significant well providers are positioned to participate in the booming business of infrastructure support for cannabis.

The marijuana industry has blossomed before our eyes in a very short period of time. Having long been considered a taboo topic, cannabis is now a validated business model following the legalization of recreational weed in Canada this past October. It also doesn't hurt that two-thirds of all U.S. states have given the green light to medical marijuana in some capacity, and that more than two dozen countries worldwide now allow medical cannabis to be prescribed by a physician.