'The legal stuff is garbage': why Canada's cannabis black market keeps thriving

North America’s biggest companies have seen their market values lose billions, prompting comparisons to dotcom bust
The Guardian (UK)
Wednesday, March 18, 2020

cannabis dispensary smellingCannabis may be legal in Vancouver but visitors looking to score are likely to run into a seemingly counterintuitive suggestion: try the black market. Recreational marijuana was legalised across Canada in October 2018. And yet on Reddit, the specialist forum website used by millions every day, many of Vancouver’s cannabis connoisseurs still swear by their underground supply. This is one of the major issues facing North America’s marijuana companies, which experts say are in the midst of a dotcom-style market crash. Little over a year ago companies that cultivate and sell cannabis were seen by investors as one of the hottest tickets in town. Now billions of dollars have been wiped off the market values of the industry’s largest companies.