By Michael Berger

Activity within the cannabis industry is accelerating…quickly.

From the first initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange to the largest acquisition of a Canadian medical cannabis producer, yesterday was a wild day for the cannabis industry. 

Marijuana’s disruption of short-term memory apparently applies to the argument about its effects on the beer industry.

Folks are still saying weed is bad for beer, but nobody seems to remember any of the evidence to the contrary.

Jason Elsasser surveys his two-acre patch of windswept sand outside the California town of Desert Hot Springs, and sees a fortune. “This whole area back here,” he says, pointing to a blank desert plot dotted with rocks and shrubs, “is going to be a 22,000-sq ft, state-of-the-art greenhouse that will produce 6,000lbs of high-quality cannabis per year, minimum.”

Mr Elsasser, a 47-year-old property developer-turned-pot magnate, plans to have his cannabis cultivation business up and running by 2018. “This little building is going to be the first stand-alone cannabis extraction facility in Southern California,” he says, referring to the only structure currently standing on the property, an empty metal barn that once housed a welding shop.

Conservative MPs pressed the government hard Wednesday on a spike in trading in marijuana company stocks two weeks ago, alleging the Liberals may have leaked an upcoming report into legal weed.

On Nov. 16, the TSX halted trading on six different medical marijuana companies over the course of the day -- some of them several times. The halts were automatically triggered by wild swings in prices.

Conservative MP Alex Nuttall says those trading surges make him suspect somebody leaked a report by a federal task force studying how to legalize recreational pot use.

Canada’s task force on legalizing pot concluded its highly-anticipated report for the federal government Wednesday, but some marijuana producers believe pot-watchers need to chill expectations for legal recreational sales any time soon.

“It’s a long path to legalization,” said Brendan Kennedy, CEO of private equity firm Privateer Holdings, which has a global portfolio of marijuana-focused investments. He will outline his thoughts on the road ahead for legalized marijuana Thursday in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada.

Shares in biotech Zelda Therapeutics soared after announced promising results using medical cannabis oil to fight breast cancer.

A short time ago, the shares were up 40% to $0.032.

The initial proof of concept study into the anti-cancer effects of the company’s medical cannabis formulation was conducted by researchers at Complutense University of Madrid. 

“Future studies will examine the potential to significantly increase the anti-cancer effect of traditional chemotherapy drugs and is an exciting opportunity that can not only improve a patient’s quality of life but also potentially extend life expectancy,” says company chairman Harry Karelis. 

Legalization of recreational use of marijuana could mean a tax bonanza for California with tax collectors already taking the first steps toward getting a handle on the emerging industry.

The California Board of Equalization approved a proposal Tuesday to ask for funds to hire staff in anticipation of 2018 when legalization of recreational use kicks in after California voters decided Nov. 8 to approve Proposition 64. As many as 25,000 cultivators are expected to register and begin paying taxes. The board expects to need $20 million by 2021 to support a staff of 114.

Aurora Cannabis says it has started construction on a production facility in Leduc County that will be the size of 16 football fields when completed.

The 800,000-square-foot greenhouse, known as Aurora Sky, will be the largest of its kind, capable of producing 100,000 kilograms of cannabis annually, the Vancouver-based company said in a statement Wednesday. 

Construction is expected to be completed by October 2017, it said. The licensed medical marijuana producer already operates a 55,000-square-foot cannabis production plant near Cremona that could also be expanding.

ICC International Cannabis Corp (CVE:ICC) is letting the good times roll, as the new pot producer sees a 356% surge in its marijuana stock value.

ICC is a relative newcomer to the Canadian TSX Venture market, but since its debut on November 29, the stock has gone absolutely bonkers, rising as much as fivefold.

With the up-and-down nature of these marijuana stocks in Canada, the hype surrounding them, and the capital that has followed, we’ve seen some wild fluctuations in marijuana stock prices before.

Canopy Growth Corp. of Smiths Falls, Ont., has an agreement to buy rival Canadian medical cannabis producer Mettrum Health Corp.

The $430 million purchase -- which is subject to approval -- will be made with Canopy Growth shares, which closed at $11.80 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Mettrum shareholders will receive 0.7132 common shares of Canopy Growth per common share of Mettrum.

The deal will add “significant acreage” to Canopy Growth’s production capacity and bolster its product offering with two new national brands.

Canopy Growth’s bid for Mettrum represents the company’s most expensive acquisition to date, coming at a time when valuations across Canada’s marijuana industry are seeing massive gains.