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One Year In, Legal Canadian Pot Fails to Match the Hype

  • Slow retail rollout, unprofitable companies, weak stocks
  • New form factors provide a reason for cautious optimism
Cannabis plants hang in a curing shed at a craft grow operation outside of Nelson, British Columbia.

Cannabis plants hang in a curing shed at a craft grow operation outside of Nelson, British Columbia.

Photographer: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg

Pot legalization was supposed to eliminate the black market, boost Canada’s economy and enrich investors. It hasn’t quite turned out that way.

A year after the country became the first major economy to legalize recreational cannabis, pot stocks have lost more than half their value, retail prices are nearly double those in the illicit market, sales are well below expectations and most companies are losing money.