Ontario And Quebec's Cannabis Retail ‘Nightmare’ Threatens Industry

BUSINESS
10/07/2019 10:44 EDT | Updated 10/07/2019 12:24 EDT
Ontario And Quebec's Cannabis Retail ‘Nightmare’ Threatens Industry, Experts Fear
As stock prices swoon, some marijuana companies are facing a cash crunch.
By Daniel Tencer
CARLOS OSORIO / REUTERS 

A production team member works in an aquaponics grow operation by licensed marijuana producer Green Relief in Flamborough, Ont., Jan. 25, 2019.
TORONTO — A year after legalization, the honeymoon is over for Canada’s cannabis industry. Many producers are reporting disappointing earnings; some have seen crop failures; turnover is high in the executive suite; and so far, prices in the legal industry are far higher than in the black market.

And the illicit market is hanging in there: Despite promises by advocates that legalizing marijuana would take the industry out of the hands of organized crime, Statistics Canada data shows the black market shrank by just 21 per cent over the past year.

Investors’ faith has been shaken. The North American Marijuana Stock Index — which for now is dominated by Canadian producers — has lost half its value in the past six months.

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