Never underestimate the appeal of swag – even the cheap stuff.

People might have heard the story from the early days of the Beatles, when manager Brian Epstein, as the group was rapidly gaining fame, sold the rights to merchandising to a clever American entrepreneur for a very small percentage of sales.

It proved a colossal financial misstep for Epstein and the Fab Four when, over the next several years of Beatlemania, gross sales of such merchandise far outstripped revenue from concert tickets and records. People of a certain vintage will remember back to the days of items that ran from Beatle boots and wigs down to buttons, hair spray, tin lunchboxes and four-packs of cards wrapped up with a stale stick of bubblegum.

Legalizing cannabis could have been the greatest thing for our economy and environment, writes Mike Kidd.

For more 20 years I have been selling growing products. Peterborough Hydroponic Centre has catered to cannabis growing, inside or out. The large, the small, we have sold products to them all.

We also produce grow trays and reservoirs right here in Peterborough. I am a hometown boy, growing cannabis since I could drive. Growing great cannabis for the last 25 years (I am now 50), I consider myself an expert in the business.

The indication from one of the successful applicants for a cannabis retail permit in North Battleford is they want to be ready to go as soon as possible.

That is the word from James Davey, president and CEO of Envirosafe Chemicals Canada Ltd., which was selected June 1 for one of North Battleford’s two cannabis retail permits by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

The company has its headquarters in North Battleford. They will be retailing under the name Curativa Cannabis.

“Curativa Cannabis will be our marketing and trade name,” said Davey. A webpage, curativacannabis.com, is already up, which will provide some background of their plans for the product.

Where can you buy it? Can you grow your own? Can you smoke and drive? And will Canada legalize other drugs now, too?

When can I buy it?

We’re not sure. Probably late summer or early autumn.

The government had intended for recreational marijuana use to be legalized by 1 July 2018. Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, passed its third reading in the House of Commons last fall, and Trudeau has emphasised that it will be implemented without delay.

I truly believe that at this point, you should not be buying any marijuana-related stocks. The risks currently far outweigh the benefits, it seems to me, for anyone looking to invest in a cannabis company.

These companies are fundamentally overpriced. Considering that the companies I have seen, for the most part, do not have earnings or free cash flow, there appears to be little reason to buy them on fundamental grounds. I suppose you could argue that, for many companies, their revenues have been increasing, but I do not believe this makes a compelling investment.

After completing a new $115 million financing round, Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (TSXV:CBW) is now sitting on a huge pile of cash, says analyst Greg McLeish of Mackie Research, who on Tuesday maintained his “Buy” recommendation and price target of $3.00.

May was a busy month for Cannabis Wheaton, which closed on the acquisition of late-stage “Licensed Dealer” Dosecann Inc., announced an exclusive license for Denver-based Dixie Brands’ product branding and IP in Canada and closed on a $115 bought deal led by BMO Markets.

Alberta is one of the first Canadian provinces to launch a mandatory “safe selling” course for employees of its soon-to-be-legal retail cannabis industry.

The program, called SellSafe Cannabis Staff Training, is required for Albertans hoping to work in cannabis retail sales.

To attain such a retail job, a citizen must be included on the province’s list of “qualified cannabis workers.” To get on the list, a citizen must take and pass the SellSafe course.

To get a closeup view of the knowledge that Alberta’s looking to instill in its retail cannabis workers, I signed up for Alberta’s SellSafe program. Here’s what I learned.

Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries is the latest cannabis company to abandon hope of a U.S. IPO in favor of a reverse takeover in Canada and access to growth capital.

At some point in June, Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries will become a publicly traded company in Canada and raise millions in a private placement, but CEO Pete Kadens won't talk about it.

He is seated in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel and he's apologizing. "We can't talk about that. We can talk about lots of other things, but not that."

From crime to health to business, Canada’s decision to legalize marijuana is a grand progressive experiment that promises to answer a host of questions.

When Canopy Growth opened its first cannabis factory in an old chocolate plant near Ottawa four years ago, it did so predicting a bright future. Canada had already legalized medical marijuana, and Canopy predicted full legalization for recreational use to be next.

Marijuana industry titans will gather in New Brunswick next week to discuss how to market cannabis in a competitive legal marketplace, and other issues raised by the dawn of government-run weed.

The World Cannabis Congress will host 450 industry leaders starting Sunday evening in Saint John.

Topping their agenda is the branding challenge: Health Canada is requiring marijuana packages to be a single, uniform colour without images or graphics other than the logo and a health warning.

"We have to find creative ways to market our product and differentiate ourselves while remaining within the regulations," said Ray Gracewood, chief operating officer for Organigram, a Moncton, N.B., based medicinal cannabis producer that is ready to enter the recreational market.