The world’s largest cannabis company Canopy Growth (CGC) saw shares fall another 5% Monday after cratering 20% following Friday’s fourth-quarter results, which disappointed against even its own revenue guidance.

Some of the biggest cannabis players when legalization took effect 20 months ago have successfully held on to their dominant positions, despite a year of bankruptcies, downsizings, revoked licences, executive firings, mass layoffs and a long market selloff. 

Licensed producers such as Aphria Inc. and Aurora Cannabis Inc., have increased their market share during the past few quarters due partly to strong sales of dried flower and cannabis 2.0 products such as edibles and vape pens, while Canopy Growth Corp.’s share has substantially eroded from its peak 18 months ago.

The benefit of a world so driven towards the next ‘new’ is that it takes you along as it progresses. The cannabis industry is one such usherer of change. But, as CBD-infused everything gains popularity, are there downsides to the substance? 

CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the most famous cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. Its medicinal benefits have been tested and proved time and again. Now it stands as a legitimate component in many of our products.

Canopy Growth Corp., the largest cannabis company by market value, plunged in early trading Friday after reporting a decline in recreational marijuana use in Canada. The cannabis producer also pushed back its target date to reach profitability.

Fourth-quarter revenue from recreational sales fell 28% from a year earlier, according to Canopy’s earnings report for the period ended March 31. Sales to businesses fell 36%, while sales to consumers rose on an annual basis but dipped 14% from the previous quarter. The company said it closed its Canadian retail locations late in the period due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canopy’s U.S. shares plunged as much as 22% to $17.04 in early trading. The stock has gained 3% in 2020 through Thursday’s close.

What happened: B.C. may change its Cannabis Control and Licensing Act  to allow legal private cannabis retailers to conduct e-commerce sales, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth told Business in Vancouver in an exclusive interview.

Why this matters: The change would put legal cannabis retailers on a level playing field with the provincial government’s BC Cannabis Stores website as well as black-market operators that illegally sell cannabis online.

B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth told BIV that he is open to allowing all licensed cannabis retailers to sell online.

There was a week in early April that stands as the perfect representation of the topsy turvy reality of the Canadian cannabis industry. 

Near the end of March, while most businesses were entering lockdown, Ontario cannabis retailers were granted essential status, allowing them to stay open with some slight COVID-19 mitigation measures — hand sanitizing stations, plexiglass shields, enforced social distancing.

The month of May was quite volatile for many marijuana stocks. With so many cannabis stocks showing positive momentum in the wake of the coronavirus, it seems as though we still have a long way to go before we see consistent gains. The year has been very up and down for the majority of the cannabis industry. Recent numbers released from leading cannabis stocks show that demand is increasing steadily. Additionally, research continues to come out showing the benefits of both marijuana and CBD.

A newly-incorporated craft cannabis co-operative is putting forward a plan to make small-scale, independent cannabis businesses part of B.C.’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

When it announced its incorporation in late April, the BC Craft Farmer Co-Op (BCCFC) said one of its first initiatives would be to draft an economic development proposal for the provincial and federal governments to “outline how the co-op can support B.C.’s economic recovery post-COVID 19 by creating thousands of jobs and diverting profits from the illicit market.”

While social programs have expanded immensely in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, government authorities have also relaxed many regulations that were once deemed near-impossible to change — such as when and where alcohol can be sold, or who is allowed to deliver cannabis to you.

From health-care licensing to food labelling, deregulation has become one of the responses to try and expedite otherwise lengthier approval processes during a health crisis. 

But multiple levels of government will, presumably, have to decide which changes should stick in the post COVID-world.