Recent developments toward international business for The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX:TGOD) (OTCQX:TGODF), which became the world’s largest cannabis initial public offering (IPO) in recent weeks. In addition to its funded 130,000 kilograms of capacity and 1,095,000 sq. ft. of cultivation facilities under construction, the company has developed a leading brand in the cannabis industry with an eye for international markets.

Billions of dollars in potential tax revenue lost in a decades-long fight against a stubborn enemy.

Cross-border smuggling, home-grown factories that operate in defiance of the law and — some would argue — a weak-kneed approach to enforcement.

Ontario’s war on illegal cigarettes has done nothing to butt out the black market business, which by some estimates accounts for almost 40 per cent of all the smokes sold in the province.

With Ontario moving to monopolize marijuana selling as the only legal retailer of recreational pot once the federal government legalizes the drug later this year, the experience with tobacco raises a critical question: How can a province that can’t break the back of illegal smokes be expected to keep a grip on legal weed?

High yields drive a surge in transactions

Every week leading up to legalization seems to bring an announcement of another transformational deal in the cannabis industry. With each new press release, the purchase price multiple creeps ever higher with companies paying increasing premiums for targets that have yet to prove their value in the forthcoming adult-use industry. However, often lost among this deal mania is the underpinning rationale for the transaction and a concrete plan to increase the deal’s value for shareholders over the long term.

In 1950s geopolitics, Cold War politicians predicted that if North and South Vietnam were reunited under a communist government, other nearby nations would likewise become communist, probably by hostile takeover aided or orchestrated by the Soviet Union or China. This was referred to as the Domino Theory.

Historians disagree about the validity of this theory, however, since few of Vietnam’s southeast Asian neighbours “fell”, the theory was modified to include faraway influencers as well, as was the case in Latin American countries. The Domino Theory was used to justify United States involvement in and interference with governments and revolutionaries in Chile, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

If the over-allotment of stock is purchased, it'll represent a nearly $200 million cash raise.

Ready or not, the Canadian cannabis industry is about to flower before our eyes. Over the next couple of weeks, it's highly expected that Canada will officially legalize recreational marijuana, becoming the first developed country in the world to do so. By September or October, adults should be able to purchase marijuana legally in Canada.

What does the legal weed industry mean for Canada? How about $5 billion in added annual revenue, if not more. It's these massive dollar signs that have Canadian growers expanding their growing capacity as quickly as their balance sheets will allow.

springbig, an innovator in loyalty marketing technology, announced today that it has exceeded the 1,000,000 consumer milestone, establishing the company as one of the fastest growing CannaTech companies in the cannabis industry. Offering loyalty, analytics/customer behavior insights and digital communications to encourage repeat business for cannabis retailers, springbig has quickly risen since its June 2017 launch as the most effective, precise, and efficient technology available in the market.

After obtaining an update one of the latest mergers of two cannabis companies in the public space, a research report shows optimism for the new venture between WeedMD (TSXV:WMD) and Hiku Brands (CSE:HIKU).

The companies first announced the merger in April, stating the operations will combine and Hiku will become the majority stakeholder of the new enterprise.

No, your Insurance Corporation of British Columbia isn’t capitalizing on legalized cannabis, although it could help them put out their financial “dumpster fire” that still seems to be burning.

The International Cannabis Business Conference (the other ICBC, as it were) is rolling into town towards the end of this month.

The two-day event takes place June 24 and 25 at the Sheraton Wall Centre.

Stacked with cannabis industry professionals such as Hilary Black from Canopy Growth and Clint Younge from MMJ Canada, the speaker list for the event is long.

A couple of weeks ago I posed a question: would you be willing to invest in legal cannabis?

I was trying to take the temperature.

I know, as a rule, you’re interested in money-making opportunities. And pot definitely ticks that box.

But I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, and share tonnes of research, only to find out you’re disgusted by the idea of investing in legal cannabis, and you’re planning on unsubscribing, and reporting me to the police.

I needn’t have worried. I got about seventy emails on the subject, and only one of them was against investing in pot. They’re still coming in.

So today I’m going to share a bit more with you. I’ll talk about how we got to this point, where a multi-billion pound business is about to take off overnight.

More short-sellers are placing bets that marijuana stocks are headed downward as five cannabis stocks hit the latest short-sellers lists published by The Globe and Mail.

The five were: Aphria Inc., Canopy Growth Corp., Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp., Medmen Enterprises Inc. and Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. Short-sellers’ bearish views on the fledgling industry thus appear to have acquired more conviction in recent weeks.

Of course, the legalization of cannabis in Canada and several states within the United States creates a substantial commercial opportunity. But short-sellers seem to be saying that the run-up in marijuana stocks over the past 18 months may be overestimating the growth potential.