The global cannabis industry could be worth as much as US$130 billion a decade from now if a wave of legalization sweeps the U.S., Europe and Latin America, according to a report by New York-based investment bank Jefferies Group LLC, which initiated coverage of several companies in the space on Monday.

Jefferies’ projection for the global pot sector is based on the prospect that in the coming years the U.S. and all countries in Europe and Latin America will legalize cannabis for recreational and medical purposes, as well as the potential penetration of other industry sectors in those markets, such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, health and wellness and pet care.  

The cannabis retail market remains one of marijuana's biggest unknowns. Companies have been working on different approaches when it comes to developing stores or products that will appeal to consumers. It will take time before we see which strategies prove to be successful and which will fall flat. 

Here is an overview of four cannabis companies and their very different approaches for gaining market share in the retail space.

Westleaf Inc. (WL) (otcmkts:WSLFF): Set to Become of Canada's Largest Premium Cannabis Retailers

Excited by the growth prospects, many investors may view marijuana stocks as a group -- stocks to buy, or stocks to sell, en masse. (Don't believe me? In January, 15 separate marijuana stocks marched at least 50% higher -- that can't be a coincidence.) But not so fast, warn the analysts at Jefferies & Co. Not all marijuana stocks are created equally -- nor valued equally, either. Some might be worth buying, some only worth holding, and others should be sold.

Tilray is buying Manitoba Harvest, the world’s largest hemp foods manufacturer, for $317 million from Compass Diversified Holdings, eyeing the growing CBD food and drink market in the U.S.

The acquisition, announced Wednesday, gives Tilray access to the U.S. CBD market — and traditional retail spaces — starting with a line of CBD tinctures, sprays and soft gel caps, expected to launch this summer.

Tilray will issue another $37 million (C$49 million) in shares to Manitoba Harvest based on certain financial milestones in 2019.

It is more than four months since Canada legalized recreational cannabis but entrepreneurs acting within the law in that sector continue to face hurdles and discrimination when looking for a financial institution.

“It’s very frustrating,” said aspiring cannabis-sector entrepreneur and Phytron Technologies Inc. CEO Bob Potter. “How can companies attract outside money if they can’t deposit it in a secure financial institution? Do they keep the cash in a shoebox under the bed?”

Potter plans to become a licensed cannabis grower, and he is developing software aimed at optimizing growing conditions inside cannabis grow rooms.

Canada’s big banks all turned Potter down when he asked them if he could open a business account. So did major credit unions.

Marijuana stocks have been on fire so far in 2019, and investors are flocking to the space in hopes of capturing some huge investment gains. Among the top players in the budding cannabis industry, Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB) has built a reputation for fast growth and rapid expansion in production capacity.

It may have taken a lot longer than industry enthusiasts and investors would have liked, but the marijuana industry is now a legitimate business model. In a relatively short time frame, we saw Canada legalize recreational weed, Mexico green-light medical marijuana, and additional U.S. states legalize cannabis in some capacity. Today, two-thirds of all states have OK'd its use in some form.

You hear about Canadian marijuana stocks all the time. But what about the stocks that do business day in and day out in the biggest marijuana market in the world? If you're wondering, that's the United States. 

While Canada's legal recreational marijuana market has received a lot of attention, and deservedly so, nearly 80% of all worldwide marijuana sales this year will be made in the good old USA. And there are some intriguing marijuana stocks that operate in the U.S. market.

The president of Crosby's Molasses has confirmed he's launching a separate company to get into the cannabis edibles business.

James Crosby says the company, EYG Consumables, has applied for a licence with Health Canada and purchased a property in the McAllister Industrial Park in Saint John.

"We are looking to take our extensive food manufacturing experience into the cannabis-infused food space," Crosby said Wednesday in a statement to CBC. "This will be a separate facility at a separate location."

Crosby is the son of Jim Crosby, the owner and chair of Crosby's Molasses.

The new company is not part of Crosby's Molasses.

Manitoba Harvest, the Canada-based hemp-foods business, has accepted a takeover offer from Tilray, a local peer producing and distributing cannabis.

Tilray has struck a cash-and-shares deal to pay CAD419m (US$314.6m) for FHF Holdings, the parent company of Manitoba Holdings, which it described as "the world's largest hemp food manufacturer and a leader in the natural foods industry".

Set up in 1998, Manitoba Harvest manufactures and markets hemp-based consumer products sold in more than 16,000 stores in Canada and the US. The company's products include Hemp Yeah granola and Hemp Bliss milk.