Harvest One Cannabis Inc (CVE:HVT) (OTCMKTS:HRVOF) struck an agreement Monday to be a medical cannabis supplier to Shoppers Drug Mart through its wholly-owned subsidiary and cultivation arm United Greeneries Ltd.

If Yellowknife's Jason Harker is successful in his quest to get a licence to produce cannabis, he'll become one of the first people to enter the industry in the Northwest Territories, if not the entire North. CBC News looked into what exactly a person needs to do in order to receive approval to run a grow-op in Canada.

What do I need to do to get licensed?

Shirley Toms, a regulatory consultant who works for Cannabis Compliance Inc., compares the process to a "4D matrix." Here's what's in that matrix:

Canadian sales of legal dried cannabis in January declined from the prior month, the first such decrease since recreational use of marijuana was legalized last year, while inventory levels continued to rise, according to the country’s pot regulator.

Health Canada said 7,115 kilograms of dried flower cannabis was sold in Canada in January, down 3.7 per cent from December, according to the government agency’s monthly Cannabis Tracking System, which was updated late Wednesday. Overall sales of legal dried cannabis were up 10.9 per cent since recreational pot was made legal in October.

Cannabis legalization is making things more complex for auto insurers and increasing risk for some commercial property clients, A.M. Best Company Inc. suggests in a recent report.

About 25 insurers, most of whom are non-admitted, provide coverage for cannabis risks in Canada and the United States, A.M. Best reported in Cannabis: New Opportunities for Insurers, But with Burgeoning Risks, released March 12.

In 2018, the Criminal Code of Canada was changed to allow possession of marijuana for recreational use. At the same time, Bill C-46 created new criminal offences for driving while impaired by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana.

A recent poll by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health has revealed that older generations were increasingly found to be using cannabis. The survey, which was conducted in 2015 and 2016, revealed that 9% of U.S. adults between ages 50 and 64 used a cannabis-based product. And about 3% of people over the age of 65 used cannabis in the same period. The statistics show that cannabis consumption has increased among the older generations since the previous survey in 2013 as almost a quarter of those over 65 were prescribed cannabis as a treatment from their doctors in 2016. Some tried cannabis for recreational use, however, most turn to cannabis for medical reasons. While recreational cannabis laws are still regulated in most U.S.

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Since Canada legalized recreational-use cannabis on October 17, several provinces have complained of supply shortages and have taken mitigatory measures. Ontario, for example, recently blamed “severe supply shortages” for its curtailing of cannabis retail expansion, and Alberta decided in November to temporarily suspend accepting new applications for retailers, citing a “national shortage.”

The claims made by the provinces have been hotly contested by Canada’s federal government. Bill Blair, Canada’s minister in charge of marijuana, posted on Twitter: “The data is clear: There remains sufficient supply to meet and exceed existing demand,” adding that the provinces still have work to do ironing out their wholesale and retail systems.

It seems there are reasons to be both bullish and bearish about the near-term prospects of hemp-based CBD products. In January, cannabis producer Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) made waves after announcing plans to acquire Manitoba Harvest from Compass Group Diversified Holdings for $419 million in cash and shares. According to the Nanaimo-based grower, Manitoba Harvest is “the world’s largest hemp food manufacturer.” This acquisition is just the latest in the rush to get into the hemp space from the major growers, and Tilray in particular plans to accelerate its expansion into the US and Canadian CBD markets.

Since Canada legalized cannabis in October, medicinal marijuana users say their costs have jumped noticeably — pushing more of them to find cheaper sources on the black market.

For the more than 300,000 licensed medical users in this country, federal excise taxes ushered in with legalization have been a bone of contention.

A national lobby group is calling on Ottawa to remove the roughly 10 per cent excise tax on medicinal marijuana, a new levy they say will add hundreds of dollars a year to the cost of their medicine.

Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering hemp and cannabis stocks releases a snapshot looking at the growing number of cannabis companies expanding their CBD capabilities, following the major market trends for 2019.

Every company and investor in the cannabis industry is well aware of the hype surrounding the potential for CBD and hemp. You can find a plethora of articles flooding the news about this sector, and the hype seems well justified according to research from New Frontier Data.