Canadians are projected to spend $1 billion on legal marijuana in the final three months of this year after the market opens next month.

Statistics Canada used census data to estimate that 5.4 million people will buy cannabis in the legal market that opens Oct. 17, and another 1.7 million will keep making illicit purchases.

Spending in the legal market will range between $816 million and $1.02 billion in the fourth quarter, the Ottawa-based agency said on Friday. Illegal sales will make up 24 per cent of the market with a range of $254 million to $317 million.

If this were a boxing match, Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) and Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (NASDAQOTH: CBWTF) probably wouldn't be allowed to fight in the same ring. Canopy Growth would definitely be a heavyweight, with a market cap of more than $11.5 billion. Auxly Cannabis' market cap of around $540 million would almost certainly put the company in a lower weight category.

But this isn't a boxing match. And smaller stocks can often be better picks for investors than larger ones are. Which is the better marijuana stock right now? Here's how Canopy Growth and Auxly Cannabis compare.

The big day is almost here. In 24 days, on Oct. 17, Canada will lift the curtain on recreational marijuana prohibition and allow adult-use cannabis to be purchased in licensed dispensaries. When the industry is fully up to scale, it should result in billions of dollars in added annual revenue. This is why investors have driven marijuana stock valuations into nosebleed territory in recent years.

Shoppers Drug Mart has received Health Canada’s approval to be a licensed medical marijuana producer, opening the door for the pharmacy giant to dispense medical cannabis to patients.

This comes after Shoppers in October 2016 applied to Health Canada to become a licensed medical marijuana producer.

As Canada prepares to legalize recreational marijuana next month, the impact this will have on online drug marketplaces has remained unclear.

Inside a nondescript building in a southeast Calgary industrial park, David Isaak and his small team at Boaz Pharmaceuticals spend their days cultivating a unique product — hand-crafted cannabis. 

Currently in the first phase of operation, Boaz received a licence to produce cannabis from Health Canada on June 28 — a process completed in just 10 months.

The 20,000 square foot facility now has one nursery room — where clones are created from mother plants — and two production pods — where the cloned plants are grown to produce marijuana flowers, or buds.

Plans are to ramp that up to four nurseries and 20 production pods when the company moves to the second phase of operations.

Namaste Technologies (CVE:N) is a global technology leader in the cannabis space, selling vaporizers and other accessories for consumption of medical cannabis through its 30 e-commerce websites across 20 countries. Despite the buzz around the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, the company continued to focus on the medical side of cannabis until very recently. However, now that there is clarity regarding the rules and regulations that will govern the recreational cannabis market, the online retailer has taken a proactive approach to capitalize on this vast opportunity. In this note, we discuss how Namaste plans to tap into the upcoming recreational cannabis market in Canada.

Deepak Anand is a man on a mission. Vice president of business development and government relations with Cannabis Compliance Inc., Deepak wants to make sure companies and individuals have access to cannabis the right way—because the truth is, not everyone will post October 17.

For many, there’s limited affordability, for others, there are geographical hurdles, and heavy import and export restrictions. Consumers aren’t the only ones feeling (or rather, not feeling) the burn; with Health Canada’s tight requirements for licensure, the doors don’t open easily for many would-be cultivators either.

With the introduction of the Tax-Free Savings Account and the emergence of the exciting yet volatile marijuana sector, it’s hard to remember a time when more everyday people were dipping their toes into the stock market. But the marijuana sector can be a difficult one to navigate, especially for relative newcomers who are putting their money on the line without the steely nerves and savvy of veteran investors. CityNews spoke with Purpose Investments portfolio manager Greg Taylor, who helped make sense of the wild swings and opportunities that mark the sector. He also gave us his top 3 marijuana stock picks (below).

Somehow I had this vision of Alberta’s new legal pot stores (as of October 17, 2018) being like a Bulk Barn, where you would scoop your favourite cannabis buds out of a bin, fill your baggie, weigh, pay at the cashier then home you’d go to roll joints.

Nope, nope, nope.

While we are soon to embark on the Wild West of legalized marijuana, this Wild West comes with rules as decreed by Health Canada, the province, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) and municipalities.

I toured Alberta pot-retailer-in-waiting Fire & Flower’s concept store on Jasper Avenue West. This is no Bulk Barn.  It’s more like an Apple or a Nike store. Spotless, modern, art on the walls, display merchandising, no loose pot to be seen. Definitely no bins of pot buds.