Welcome to the Cannabis Countdown. In this week’s rendition, we’ll recap and countdown the top 10 marijuana industry news stories for the week of January 13th – 19th, 2020.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

State Marijuana Laws and the Federal Government’s Out-of-Date Policy Are Still Very Far Apart

Washington DC lawmakers are pushing President Trump‘s administration for greater cannabis research freedoms. “Researchers are in a catch-22. They can’t conduct cannabis research until they show cannabis has a medical use, but they can’t show cannabis has a medical use until they can conduct research.”

READ FULL CANNABIS REFORM ARTICLE

International Holdings Becoming Burden to Companies Needing to Divest Non-Core Assets

With fears of a cash crunch looming over the industry, some of the same producers who spent tens of millions to build an international presence have started dialling back, putting projects on hold or divesting of their foreign operations altogether. In October, Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) (FRA: 11L1) dumped its 15% stake in Australian company AusCann Group. More recently, Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) (NYSE: ACB) (FRA: 21P) announced it would be suspending construction of Aurora Nordic.

READ FULL INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS ARTICLE

Newly Regulated Products Such as Chocolates and Vapes Went on Sale Online Thursday in Ontario

Ontario’s only legal online outlet for adult-use cannabis sold out of new Cannabis 2.0 edibles within hours of their initial availability Thursday, demonstrating exceptionally strong demand in Canada’s largest market.

READ FULL ONTARIO EDIBLES ARTICLE

Nevada Collected a Monthly Record of Nearly $9.8 Million in Marijuana Taxes in October

Nevada State Department of Taxation figures reported Monday by the Las Vegas Sun represented an increase of more than $1 million in recreational and medical cannabis tax revenues from September, and a jump of close to $1.6 million from October 2018.

READ FULL NEVADA ARTICLE

Estimated Timeline of New Cannabis 2.0 Products in Ontario

Here’s what we know so far about what’s still on its way, and when it’s scheduled to arrive in stores and online.

READ FULL CANNABIS 2.0 ARTICLE

U.S. Markets Accounted for 81% of the $15 Billion in 2019 Cannabis Sales

According to Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, global sales of the plant increased by 48% to US$15 billion in 2019 and are on pace to cross the US$43 billion threshold by 2023.

READ FULL GLOBAL CANNABIS SALES ARTICLE

Legislation Would Have Outlawed Home-Growing

Florida will not vote on legalizing recreational cannabis this election. For all its perceived momentum, Make It Legal Florida announced this week it won’t be able to collect the 766,200 signatures necessary to place the legalization amendment on the 2020 ballot.

READ FULL FLORIDA ARTICLE

Latest CDC Findings Point to Black Market Vapes as the Culprit

A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the final nail in the coffin of the idea that the spate of lung injuries that occurred beginning last summer were caused by Vaping.

READ FULL VAPE CRISIS ARTICLE

New Brunswick Received 8 Proposals to run the Province’s Adult-Use Cannabis Retail System

An opportunity to exclusively operate New Brunswick’s recreational cannabis retail, wholesale and e-commerce platforms has drawn interest from a wide range of companies, including Canada’s largest food retailer and the biggest marijuana producer in the country. The eight proposals included Ontario retail giants Canopy Growth (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) (FRA: 11L1) and Fire & Flower Holdings (TSX: FAF) (OTCPK: FFLWF).

READ FULL NEW BRUNSWICK ARTICLE

Some Think Pot Stocks are Finally Priced Right

This week’s bounce in Pot Stocks — the first in at least two months — could be the start of a renewed bullish run, some portfolio managers believe, as investors react favourably to more regulatory clarity on retail stores in Ontario and better-than-expected earnings from some of the major licensed producers such as Organigram Holdings (TSX: OGI) (NASDAQ: OGI) (FRA: 0OG).

READ FULL CANNABIS INDUSTRY RALLY ARTICLE

Image by Brent Barnett from Pixabay