It took some time, but Canadian cannabis producers appear​ to have finally embraced selling cheaper pot. 

The so-called value segment of the Canadian cannabis market - defined by one analyst as having a retail price below $6 per gram - has exploded in recent months: it accounted for slightly more than 40 per cent of all dried flower sales in July, up from 10 per cent of the market last September, according to industry data provider Headset. 

The popularity of these “value" products has helped companies like Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. report better-than-expected quarterly sales figures, while also providing consumers with a competitively priced product that could lure people away from the illicit market. 

The Canadian-born comedian has some advice for young people partying it up in B.C., which is experiencing a COVID-19 uptick.

As the global COVID-19 pandemic extends another month with no true end in sight, the temptation to return to a semblance of normalcy may come calling. But yet, social distancing protocols prevent many activities we associate with the summer, such as  large family gatherings, late nights out, and group hangouts.

Children are being harmed after consuming illegal cannabis edibles that are not subject to safety and quality controls, do not have childproof packaging and have been stored by parents in places too easily accessible to kids.

That was the warning from Health Canada, which Thursday issued an advisory of several cases of children having been hospitalized after ingesting illegal weed edibles that looked like regular candies or treats.

Vapor pens accounted for most of the sales of Cannabis 2.0 products in Canada, as demonstrated by new data collected by data analytics company Headset. 

Dubbed Cannabis 2.0, the second wave of legalization in Canada saw vapes, edibles and beverages become legal exactly one year after the country allowed recreational marijuana sales. 

It took some time, but Canadian cannabis producers appear​ to have finally embraced selling cheaper pot. 

The so-called value segment of the Canadian cannabis market - defined by one analyst as having a retail price below $6 per gram - has exploded in recent months: it accounted for slightly more than 40 per cent of all dried flower sales in July, up from 10 per cent of the market last September, according to industry data provider Headset. 

The popularity of these “value" products has helped companies like Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. report better-than-expected quarterly sales figures, while also providing consumers with a competitively priced product that could lure people away from the illicit market. 

Early results from a two-year Canadian study are shedding a light on how dangerous cannabis edibles can be if they end up in the hands of young children.

The study, which looked at incidents when a child under the age of 18 had experienced a serious or life-threatening event related to exposure to non-medical cannabis, found that 33 per cent of the cases in 2019 involved children being hospitalized after accidentally consuming cannabis edibles.

The results also showed that the number of children hospitalized due to severe reactions to cannabis exposure has doubled since 2018.

Canopy Growth Corp.'s venture with Drake to sell recreational cannabis and accessories in Canada and abroad has "not been progressing as originally intended," the company's chief executive said. 

By the end of 2020, the legal cannabis industry is expected to surpass US$15 billion. But the money that weed generates on the illicit market far exceeds that amount.

Tracking exact figures is tricky because anonymous dealers and criminal networks aren’t exactly sharing sales data with the media. But estimates approximate the illicit market is more than four times the size of its legal market.

More specifically, New Frontier Data values the U.S. illicit. Per Statistics Canada, less than 30 per cent of Canadian cannabis users acquire their goods exclusively from licensed retailers.

After nearly a year of next-to-no deal-making, cannabis companies are gearing up for mergers and acquisitions as realistic stock valuations and the prospect of U.S. legalization attract buyers to a sector that has been decimated by oversupply and other issues, executives and investors say.

Profitable cannabis companies want to buy their way into niche segments and expand their brands, betting that the November U.S. presidential election will lead to weed becoming legal across the United States. Distribution deals could also help companies reach consumers who have shown an increased appetite for pot products since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.