Cannabis stocks are having a blistering start to 2019. The sector appeared to have peaked in the fall of 2018. As many had warned, marijuana stocks turned sharply lower following Canada’s legalization going into effect in a classic “sell the news” event. However, since then, the tide has turned. This year, pot stocks are back with the sector ETF posting a 50% move off the lows.

Not surprisingly, this enthusiasm has carried both recreational and medicinal cannabis stocks higher. For today, let’s focus on the medicinal space. The recreational plays have been getting more attention lately with all the blockbuster partnerships. However, there are some interesting business stories developing in the medical cannabis stock space as well.

It’s been a little over 3 months since Canada legalized recreational marijuana and the results from the National Cannabis Survey finally came in.

More than half (55%) of Canadians aged 15 and older indicated that they have never used cannabis, while 3 in 10 were former users who reported no longer using it.

Results say that about 4.6 million of Canadians aged 15 and older reportedly used cannabis in the last three months of 2018. This accounts for roughly 15% of the total population.

Medical users are more established

Consumption rates also continued to be higher among males (19%) than females (11%)—consistent with data from previous quarters.

The Quebec government faced strong opposition as public consultations began Tuesday on its bill seeking to increase the legal age of cannabis consumption and ban it from all public areas.

Junior Health Minister Lionel Carmant has said he tabled Bill 2 in order to protect young people and send a message that smoking marijuana is not a trivial matter. The proposed legislation restricts marijuana usage to people aged 21 and over and limits its smoking to private property.

While one can’t necessarily overdose on cannabis, there have been instances where potent edibles have resulted in hospital visits, Gizmodo is reporting. A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology detailed the story one 70-year-old man who used a THC-infused lollipop to get to sleep and ended up having a heart attack. It should be noted that this man did have a pre-existing heart condition — coronary artery disease, a condition where the buildup of plaque in arteries narrows blood flow to the heart. Still, the man hadn’t had a flare-up for the past two years and was regularly taking his medication.

It is expected that within the next year, the U.S. government will move closer to legalizing medical marijuana. And as that eventual legalization progresses, all related stocks will climb higher in anticipation.

Statistics indicate that adult Americans are largely behind the push toward the legalization of medical cannabis. A HealthDay/Harris poll taken last year shows 85% of adults in favor of such a move.

Since cannabis was made legal in Canada last October, the new legislation has not led to an increase in the number of people smoking pot.

According to a Stats Canada report, around 4.6 million people over the age of 15 reported using the drug in the last three months, virtually unchanged from the previous three months before it was legalized.

The findings are of little shock to Northern Health Medical Officer Dr. Andrew Gray. “Since cannabis was not that difficult to access here in Canada before it was legalized, here in BC, 50% of the people had tried cannabis at some point in their lives prior to legalization. People that wanted to use cannabis already were and the people that didn’t won’t use it even now that it is legal in Canada.”

With Canada now raking in up to $100 million per year in pot taxes, some of that revenue will soon be heading right back to pot users in the form of cannabis-specific tax receipts.

The only catch? Pot-smokers have to have permission from a physician indicating that they’re toking for medical reasons.

Cannabis is one of the myriad of categories that the Canada Revenue Agency has authorized as a permitted medical expense.

The tax agency, which prefers the somewhat outdated spelling of “medical marihuana,” considers pot as no different than braille printers, glass eyes or oxygen tents.

As Canada's nascent cannabis industry continues to experience growing pains, one expert, George Robinson, who runs the cannabis firm RavenQuest, told CTV News Canada the shortages could last for five years.

Quebec's cannabis shortages have forced retail stores to operate just three days a week, and in New Brunswick, the provincial retailer has laid off 60 employees because of a lack of supply. The problem could get worse when Ontario opens 25 retail stores on April 1.

When he was younger, the only thing that Enrique Morales knew about marijuana was that folks smoked it to get high.

Today, the former driver is a horticulturist on a cannabis plantation about 80 miles west of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, and he says drops of marijuana oil have been key to treating his mother's osteoarthritis.

"My perception has now changed. It is a plant that has a lot of properties," he said.

The company that owns the plantation, Fotmer SA, is now part of a flourishing medical cannabis industry in Uruguay.

The country got a head start on competitors in December 2013 when it became the first in the world to regulate the cannabis market from growing to purchase, a move that has attracted a wave of investment.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, has become a household name. On many social media sites, people suggest “but have you tried CBD oil?” on posts pertaining to any health-related issue.

CBD, a minor constituent of marijuana, is widely touted as nature’s miracle by CBD enthusiasts. It does not get people high, unlike marijuana’s main constituent, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, given the recent surge in its popularity, you’d think the molecule is magic.