A recent article in the Staten Island Advance newspaper started with a seemingly random Billy Joel reference: “A bottle of red. A baggie of weed.” As New York state moves ever closer to legalizing adult-use marijuana, this scene from a cannabis-infused Italian restaurant represents a more modern New York state of mind, indeed. But what follows this tongue-in-cheek lede is a disturbing trend we’re starting to see more and more as the commercial cannabis industry continues to expand.

The current cannabis shortage could be stabilized by the spring of 2019, but it could eventually be replaced by a flood of product on the market that will then lead to lower prices and consolidation, say lawyers representing clients in the sector.

In a flurry of international news, after years of false starts and political wrangling, it was finally written into law: Justin Trudeau’s administration legalized recreational marijuana use in Canada.

Admittedly, the course of true legalization never did run smooth. A myriad of complex province-specific regulations and policies have emerged that have served to reflect the fractured political nature of Canada’s federation, but also to mildly puzzle its citizens.

Take a 35-minute ferry ride across the impossibly clear glacial waters of British Columbia’s Kootenay Lake, and you’ll find yourself on the East Shore. For generations, lush tracts of marijuana flourished here along the abandoned logging roads that snake through its craggy mountains.

A Southwestern Ontario club plans a tournament next month combining one of the country’s oldest winter pasttimes, curling, with what’s rapidly becoming a new lifestyle choice, legal weed.

Forget the jokes about stoners and curling stones; the all-day event sold out within 24 hours, with calls coming in from across Ontario and 16 four-person teams signing up at $200 a team.

Wellington County OPP have already laid a number of cannabis-related charges at their holiday RIDE check-stops, including charges related to storage, purchase and possession.

The first weekend of the program netted a charge against a Stoney Creek teen for "unlawfully purchased cannabis," one for "driving with cannabis readily available" against a Tiverton male and a "possession of cannabis resin" charge against a 26-year-old Guelph man.

That's in addition to marijuana-related impaired driving charges laid in November.

If one entrepreneur has his way, Manitoba will have as many places to buy cannabis as there are stores to purchase booze.

John Arbuthnot, co-founder of the cannabis producer and retailer Delta 9, said he thinks the province can accommodate more than 100 retail cannabis stores — a projection that may be possible if the retail market for cannabis opens up as promised. 

"You'll see the full scope," Arbuthnot said. "You'll see the bigger companies like Delta 9 trying to open dozens of stores as we originally announced was our intention, and you'll see now the opportunity for smaller one-off locations. Call it the mom and pop model."

Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB,TSX:ACB) started shipping its cannabis softgel capsules for the Canadian medical and adult-use marijuana markets.

As quoted in the press release:

Aurora expects to commence exports to international markets in early 2019.

Smoking recreational cannabis is now legal in Canada for adults over 19 years old. According to Statistics Canada, 27 percent of people aged 15 to 24 and 13 per cent of people over 25 years old, use cannabis. That amounts to 4.6 million Canadians who currently consume products of the cannabis plant, which include marijuana and hashish.

Vancouver's reputation as the weed capital of the country is taking a hit after Statistics Canada released a new flush of data gleaned from studying sewage.

The report found that among five major Canadian cities, Vancouverites consume the least amount of pot per capita, based on the level of cannabis metabolites in samples of wastewater.

Halifax was found to have the highest rate of cannabis consumption per capita, at 1,310 micrograms per person per week, followed by Montreal at 976 micrograms, Toronto at 451 micrograms and Edmonton at 416 micrograms.

Vancouver registered just 288 microgram per person per week.