With a slowly increasing number of jurisdictions legalising recreational use of Cannabis, a major concern is the process of granting pardons for Cannabis-related crimes prior to legalisation. Many of these jurisdictions, like Canada, have vowed to permit pardons to some of those individuals. 

Canada’s Liberal government passed the legislation four months ago, in order to grant the expedited pardons. However, the protection does have some limits. Namely, only those with a single charge of simple Cannabis possession are eligible for pardons. Those with multiple charges are disqualified.

The holidays are coming, and with them the chance for upside in Canada’s hottest new industry. Cannabis 2.0 will be put to the test as the full range of vapes, edibles, and cannabis drinks test consumer demand.

Here are two of the top stocks to stash in your stocking in for December.

As the troubles stack-up for the main cannabis companies in Canada, an industry insider believes they’ll never be able to address one key issue – a lack of ‘good quality weed’.

James A. Smith, Chief Revenue Officer in Canada at emerging cannabis 4C Labs, says: “I do not know anyone who buys their cannabis on the legal market, it’s horrible quality.”

Recent figures show the ‘black’ and ‘grey’ markets continue to cater for the needs of the majority of Canada’s cannabis consumer users, with many leading companies blaming this on a lack of retail outlets. While acknowledging this has some merit, Mr Smith believes it is being used as a smokescreen for a litany of inadequacies.

It’s going to be a busy season for the RIDE program.

Police in Ontario are ramping up Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere checks as the holiday season approaches and drivers get a little too joyful behind the wheel of their cars. Officers in search of drivers under the influence of alcohol or cannabis said the infractions came fast and furious after they set up near Peterborough on Tuesday.

“Three drivers were charged with having cannabis readily available within 45 minutes of that RIDE check starting,” Const. Joe Ayotte with the Peterborough County OPP, told Global News.

Four months after the Liberal government passed legislation to provide free, fast pot pardons, just 118 people have had their records cleared — a figure one observer calls "incredibly low."

Statistics provided by Public Safety Canada show there have been 234 applications for record suspensions to date.

The government has estimated that about 10,000 people are eligible for the expedited pardons.

Sen. Kim Pate, a longtime advocate for prisoners and criminal justice, said the small numbers issued to date show that significant barriers persist.

"I think they're incredibly low, given what we understand is probably tens of thousands and probably many more convictions for simple possession," she said.

Playing the role of sativa Santa this year would have been a merry prospect, said Calgary candy-maker Brad Churchill.

But federal regulator Health Canada’s meticulously measured approach in approving production of licensed cannabis snacks and other derivatives has put those edible elves on hold.

“It’s disappointing in the standpoint of not having it in the stores for the holiday season,” said Churchill, owner of Choklat.

“(Federal approvals are) taking longer than it really should but, at the end of the day, the wheels of progress are grinding.”

In one way, the gradual rollout of the next generating of legal cannabis products — which were officially legalized Oct. 17 — comes as a relief, said Churchill.

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Officers and government officials will be on high alert when Cannabis 2.0 products roll out across most of Canada in mid-December — especially on the roads.

Conventional, smoked cannabis is easier to detect due to the smoke and smell. But edibles take longer to kick in and don’t have the odour rolled joints provide.

At this time last year, investor hopes for the cannabis industry were pretty high. Canada had just become the first industrialized country in the modern era to legalize recreational marijuana in October 2018, derivative pot products looked to be less than a year from hitting dispensary shelves in Canada, and multiple U.S. states were in the process of greenlighting medical cannabis or recreational pot.

However, over the past year, marijuana companies and investors alike have seen their hopes and dreams for the pot industry go up in smoke.