Jasper councillors had many and varied questions for CAO Mark Fercho and the rest of the town’s Cannabis Working Group after seeing a draft survey for the public on May 1.

The working group is comprised of members of the town’s administration, the RCMP and Parks Canada. There are no members representing the public or the business community. Fercho said there is intent to expand the group in the future to include for example a rep from the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce.

They’re expected to attend a committee of the whole meeting on May 8. Mayor Richard Ireland and other members of council are ready to quiz them on the draft survey, which was included in the May 1 council agenda and is available on the town’s website.

Following a site visit to the company’s British Columbia facilities, Canaccord Genuity analyst Neil Maruoka has raised his target price on Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED), though the analyst is not yet recommending investors buy the stock.

Maruoka toured Canopy’s B.C. Tweed facilities in Aldergrove and came away affected by what he saw.

A new cannabis program is launching at Olds College, a community college specializing in agriculture, horticulture, land and environmental stewardship.

In a statement on its website (“New Cannabis Production Program Launched” on May 1, 2018), the college says the new program is called Cannabis Production Program – Level 1.

MedReleaf Corp., the Markham, Ont.-based grower of medical cannabis, is in play and has contacted multiple larger players in the marijuana industry about a sale, sources say.

The most serious discussions are happening with Aurora Cannabis Inc., said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

A transaction would marry two heavyweights in the legal cannabis industry to create the largest player by market capitalization. Buying MedReleaf would give Aurora access to more supply of weed ahead of Canada’s move to legalize and regulate the recreational use of the drug.

Aurora and MedReleaf declined to comment.

Recent investments, partnerships and acquisitions in the Canadian cannabis industry highlight the importance of recreational branding as the country transitions focus from medical marijuana to adult-use, recreational cannabis. The marketing of recreational products to a mass audience differs significantly from the marketing of medical products to a narrower audience, and an examination of investments in the space can serve to put a perceived value on brands that are focused on the mass market.

Recreational cannabis will be sold in retail stores across the country. In some of Canada's provinces, retail will be run by the government, and in others, by private companies. The provinces who have announced private retail, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, have also announced unique application processes to ultimately lockdown a coveted retail license.

Canada’s unloved energy stocks have switched places with its much-hyped pot stocks.

The energy index was the worst-performing sector in the S&P/TSX Composite Index in 2017, falling 10 per cent and winning the dubious distinction of being the only sector to end the year lower than it started.

Meanwhile, cannabis stocks led the health-care index to a gain of 33 per cent, making it by far the best-performing sector of 2017.That performance was upended in April, when the energy sector gained 9 per cent and health-care stocks slipped 0.1 per cent.

Marijuana is becoming big business, but how that business works won’t be truly tested until pot becomes legal in the months to come.

As the clock ticks down to legalization of recreational marijuana, the Financial Post’s Mark Rendell spoke to the CEOs of Canada’s four largest publicly traded licensed producers about how they’re preparing their businesses for the new regime. The following interviews happened in March and have been edited for space.

Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria.

1. VIC NEUFELD – APHRIA INC. — APPROX. MARKET CAP.: $2.1 BILLION

The opportunities aren’t only in alcohol-like products. You only have to look to states where cannabis is legal in the U.S. to see a range of products, from CBD-infused energy drinks to THC tea.

Picture yourself enjoying a bottle of cannabis beer after a long day, as you rub THC cream into your sore muscles and your spouse dozes off thanks to a marijuana-derived sleep aid.

It’s a vision of the future of legal cannabis consumption that may be closer to reality than many expect.

Data released by Statistics Canada provides new information about the amount of cannabis Canadians consumed in 2017.

The so-called cannabis provincial and territorial economic accounts are based on estimates detailing the production, consumption, and distribution of cannabis in Canada's different economies.

According to the accounts, approximately 4.9 million Canadians aged 15 to 64 spent a combined total of roughly $5.6 million on cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes, with consumption varying greatly from one region to the next.