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“Everything we were doing and are doing is to make sure we are where we want to be for the beginning of 2018,” Linton said.

Canopy has been planning for a 2018 end to prohibition since the beginning of the year, but Linton said he wasn’t able to discuss that in a public forum when he last reported results in February. It’s “more appropriate now,” he said, given the feds’ spring announcement. This should help investors understand Canopy’s business decisions, he added.

While Linton hasn’t had a specific dialogue with the government on timing, he believes there’s “no chance” it will wait to legalize on Canada Day. He predicted legalization could land by April 20, a date on which cannabis is celebrated.

“It would play to the crowd that they wish to reach.… I wouldn’t bet against them looking for a good PR position on this,” he said.

Meantime, he said there’s “a lot going on behind the curtain” to determine branded product offerings to submit for bureaucrats’ approval and to develop intellectual property on genetics and breeding. It’s “prudent” to keep investing heavily for another quarter or two rather than focusing on profitability, he said.

“It may sound odd but we’re intentionally not turning (a profit) now so we can make a more substantial hit in 2018,” he said.