In 2019, Canadians bought 88,876 kg of legal dried flower, spending a total $1.01B in the first full year of legalization. (Here’s a helpful graph from the Cannalysts showing sales per province per month.) Sales by weight have nearly tripled since legalization.
Bloomberg, Twitter—David George-Cosh, Cannalysts
- By October, REC retail sales—which have been continually improving since the supply shortage began easing in March—hit $128.9M, more than doubling March’s $60.9M sales. Prices declined slightly, as spending on illicit cannabis declined and legal REC spending increased.
Twitter—David George-Cosh - However much we complain about the price of Canadian legal REC, it’s cheaper than in the US, (as I discovered in Las Vegas last week.)
Global News
After a year of losses that left pot stocks at their lowest levels in more than two years, the New York Times noted, “No one wants to invest in [cannabis] now.”
New York Times
- Sector IPOs have petered out, replaced with restructuring efforts in companies stuck with unsold inventory.
Business in Vancouver - Tilray’s stock price dipped below its IPO price for the first time.
Twitter—Kristine Owram
Cannabis stocks ended the year with among the most expensive borrowing fees for short selling. Short sellers have gained USD$993M to date in 2019.
Bloomberg
Lift & Co laid off 13 workers from its Toronto office.
GrowthOp
To Russia’s delight, Canada remains out of compliance with a number of international drug treaties to which it’s a signatory.
CBC Politics
