Large cannabis companies Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Tilray Inc. are set to report earnings this week, providing more detail on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting pot sales and the companies making the product.

Most Canadian pediatricians are shying away from medical cannabis for patients, knowing that it can hurt the developing brain and that there isn’t much research to guide them.

But physicians say they are getting increasing requests for cannabis from parents, for a growing list of conditions.

Dr. Adam Rapoport, medical director of the pediatric palliative care team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, says, “This is mostly driven by parents, and doctors have fallen behind.”

Lauren Kelly agrees. “It’s happening and we’re playing catch-up.”

For growth investors, the Canadian pot market has been one of the most appealing investment opportunities in the world, but it's also one of the most frustrating. It presents a whole lot of opportunity because it's the only country other than Uruguay that's legalized recreational marijuana.

However, the rollout since legalization has been less than ideal as supply issues have plagued the industry from the start and high pot prices have made black market products more attractive to price-conscious consumers. Analysts have been downgrading their expectations for the market due to these challenges, and a top Canadian is just the latest to cut its projections.

Cannabis producer Cronos Group Inc. reported first-quarter results that missed expectations Friday, and a steep inventory writedown the company attributes to an oversupplied Canadian market. 

The Toronto-based company reported net revenue of US$8.4 million, up from US$3.0 million in the same period a year earlier. Cronos also booked an adjusted loss of US$40.7 million in the quarter ending March 31, compared to a US$10.1 million loss a year earlier. 

Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected Cronos to report US$8.75 million in revenue during the quarter, while posting an adjusted loss of US$19.7 million.

Before rushing to the hospital following a heart attack scare, Andrea Meharg had tried it all.

She gave prescription medications a shot, went into therapy, practised yoga and meditation. Nothing seemed to shake off the depression she had been struggling with as an elementary school teacher. “I was in a really dark place, unable to get out of bed, not being a mom to my kids,” says Meharg.

The stress and anxiety finally caught up to her. In 2016, Meharg was briefly admitted to the hospital in London, Ont. with what she presumed to be a heart attack, but turned out to be an anxiety attack. By then she was nearly 100 pounds overweight.

s outdoor cannabis licences nearly double in 2020, growers say they don’t expect pandemic-related delays for the coming planting season — and some analysts are predicting the increase of low-cost production will create an oversupply scenario in Canada’s weed market this summer.

Last year, Health Canada awarded outdoor licences to a small crop of cannabis companies, with just enough lead time before the spring planting season.

But the federal agency told Mugglehead that as of April 30 it had issued 363 cannabis licences in total. Forty-six of them authorize companies to grow weed outdoors. Twenty of the outdoor licences were granted in 2020.

Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX-V: RIV) is making a sizable bet that Canada’s appetite for cannabis-infused edibles isn’t being satisfied.

Cannabis reviewer Brad Martin is a self-described “numbers guy.”  

Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, restructuring at Canopy Growth Corporation is continuing, with the move to slash 200 jobs in the U.S., the U.K. and, hardest hit, Canada.

The cuts will involve several departments, the Smith’s Falls, Ont.-based cannabis giant confirmed in an email to Bloomberg News: “The latest cuts represent about five per cent of its total workforce of 4,118. The majority of affected employees are in Canada.”

Canadian investment bank CIBC Capital Markets slashed its 2020 forecast for marijuana sales in the country by nearly $1 billion as the market continues to be mired in uncertainty.

According to the bank’s updated estimate, recreational cannabis sales are expected at CAD$2.5 billion this year, down from the previously projected CAD$3.4 billion as the slow rollout of new retailers coupled with the coronavirus pandemic are causing serious trouble for the industry.

In a note to clients, CIBC Capital Markets analyst John Zamporo claims that growth in the 2020 legal cannabis market rested on the assumption new stores would open across several Canadian provinces, resulting in a strong boost for pot companies.