Expect Ontario’s pot stores to mimic early days of legalization: Canopy co-CEO 

With just over a week to go until the ribbon gets cut for Ontario’s pot stores, Canopy Growth co-CEO Bruce Linton expects the first day of the province’s bricks-and-mortar sales will mimic the national legalization rollout on Oct. 17. Long lineups, parties and strong sales should be par for the course on April 1, the day that the province will allow licensed pot shops to officially open, Linton told BNN Bloomberg. The launch of the stores will likely lead to a big spike in per capita spending in Ontario as sales in the province have been flat over the initial several months of legalization. Linton added that it will also put a dent into the illicit market.

Canadians spend $53.3M on pot in January, down slightly from the prior month: StatsCan

Canadians spent $53.3 million on cannabis in January, down slightly from the $55.9 million spent in the prior month, according to figures published by Statistics Canada on Friday. It marks the first such monthly decline since legalization occurred in mid-October. While it’s unclear whether the decline could be attributed to a bit of relief after the holiday period, the sales figures will do nothing to quell fears of a troubling retail environment in the early days of legalization. Alberta led the country with $14 million spent on cannabis within the province, while Quebec was second with $11.2 million. Ontario, the country’s most populous province, only spent $8.9 million on cannabis in the month, edging higher from the $8.7 million spent in December.

MedMen receives US$250M investment from Gotham Green for expansion, acquisitions

U.S. cannabis retailer and producer MedMen Enterprises announced it received a US$250 million investment from New York-based private equity firm Gotham Green Partners. The investment comes as a three-tranche convertible credit facility and is believed to be the largest investment to date by a single investor in a publicly traded cannabis company with U.S. operations. The funding will go toward growing MedMen’s dispensaries - notably in Florida - as well as further expansion. Jefferies Financial notes that Gotham Green founder and managing partner Jason Adler owns 3.75 per cent of The Cronos Group, which has a joint venture with MedMen for Canadian retail stores. Jefferies adds that “this relationship could support Cronos with regards to getting distribution in the U.S. should they be allowed to have cannabis operations there.”

New Jersey clears key hurdles in pot legalization efforts 

New Jersey’s cannabis legalization efforts are coming down to the wire after the mayors of the state’s two largest cities withdrew their opposition to a bill that looks to permit recreational use of marijuana. Bloomberg reports that Ras Baraka of Newark and Steve Fulop of Jersey City had said the bill needed to give people convicted of low-level marijuana offences more opportunity to clear their criminal records once the drug is legalized. The vote is said to happen on March 25 because the legislature is about to begin time-consuming budget negotiations.

DAILY BUZZ

$7.12
-  The price of a gram of cannabis in Canada, up 1.6 per cent from the week before, according to the Cannabis Benchmark’s Cannabis Spot Index. This equates to US$2,421 per pound at current exchange rates. The CCSI has been quite stable over the past three weeks, hovering within a $0.11 range.

Cannabis Canada is BNN Bloomberg’s in-depth series exploring the stunning formaton of the entirely new – and controversial – Canadian recreational marijuana industry. Read more from the special series here and subscribe to our Cannabis Canada newsletter to have the latest marijuana news delivered directly to your inbox every day