On last night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, I reported on troubling economic growth rates that show Canada's economy heading towards a recession.

Aurora Cannabis stock was rising sharply on Tuesday, up more than 9% following a bullish call from Cowen & Co.

Marijuana is going corporate.

Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is the latest big company to explore the cannabis market, joining beverage makers like Molson Coors and Heineken. Other big companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch and Guinness brewer Diageo haven‘t acted yet, but have said they‘re watching closely as the market for marijuana and its extracts evolves.

Late Monday, Cronos Group confirmed talks with Altria about a possible investment. Altria, based in Richmond, Virginia, owns Philip Morris USA, the largest cigarette maker in the United States.

Shares of Cronos Group Inc., based in Toronto, rose 6 percent Tuesday.

As Canadian provinces begin to see their first private licensed cannabis stores, retail chains and dispensaries in the United States have entered a new phase of maturity. These two trends may be prompting major producers to look into getting into the retail market in order to sell product directly to consumers, which could potentially trigger some fresh deal action this year.

For larger growers, the benefits to this vertical integration are obvious. Besides cost savings and convenience, a producer would be able to exercise more quality control and a better understanding of market conditions. This is not possible in all jurisdictions, of course, as provincial governments in Nova Scotia and Quebec run their own retail stores, making this type of integration impossible.

President Trump routinely waves his fist at alleged unfair trade practices, including at the hands of our good neighbor Canada. But what about playing fields that are uneven because the U.S. government makes them so? Witness the cannabis industry. It’s enjoying explosive growth worldwide, but Canadians are running away with the profits because Washington has shackled their American competitors.

It’s not that Americans are unacquainted with cannabis in all its forms. Cannabis is a family of flowering plants that includes both marijuana, which produces a high, and hemp, which does not. Most states have relaxed their marijuana laws to various extents. Ten states and the District of Columbia have made pot fully legal.

Wall Street is seeing green.

Analysts at Cowen note the U.S. cannabis market could rocket to $16 billion by 2025.  

Analysts at Piper Jaffray believe we could be looking at a global market value of between $250 billion to $500 billion a year.  “We believe the long-term growth can be significant — both from transitioning illicit trade to legal sales, medical sales, and from transitioning sales in health (and) wellness categories to CBD-infused products,” said the analysts, as quoted by MarketWatch. 

As the boom just begins, three of the best cannabis stocks to own include the following:

When Erica Gilmour and her husband, Drew, started Hummingbird Chocolate in 2011 they had no idea their multi-award-winning chocolates would become one of Canada’s most anticipated edibles. What began as a hobby in the basement of the couple’s home near Ottawa has turned into a massive partnership that will see their bean-to-bar chocolate turned into high-end edibles for the next stage of Canada’s rollout of legal cannabis.

It's been a very good year so far for Canopy Rivers(NASDAQOTH:CNPOF), the cannabis investment spinoff of Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC). It was the hottest marijuana stock on the market in January. Even after giving up some of those gains, Canopy Rivers is still up close to 45% year to date.

But 2019 has been a great year for Aphria (NYSE:APHA).

A new cultivation facility in Stellarton has received the green light to begin producing up to 18,500 kilograms of dried cannabis per year.

Vancouver-based company Zenabis Global Inc. received its cultivation licence from the federal government on Friday, and CEO Andrew Grieve said the work had already started on production of the first crop, which will be ready in a few months. Zenabis is the sixth company to be licensed to produce recreational cannabis in Nova Scotia.

Grieve said that the indoor, 255,000-square-foot Stellarton facility is expected to support 200 full-time jobs at full capacity.

The marijuana producer Cronos Group on Monday announced that it has sold all its entire 19% stake in Whistler Medical Marijuana to rival Aurora Cannabis.