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News on cannabis stocks and on developments in the industry haven’t let up in today’s volatile markets. Here are this week’s stories that we believe will mean most to you as a Canadian investor.

1. The country’s cannabis retailers are already grappling with supply challenges for a product that’s only expected to grow in demand, despite its lack of intoxicating properties.
   Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a non-intoxicating extract of marijuana used for medicinal purposes. Retailers are now seeing sales rise as more and more consumers search for natural alternatives to medication for pain, anxiety and insomnia. Consumers are now turning to CBD despite the limited medical research on the compound.”I don’t think the licensed producers really realized how popular CBD was, so there’s none available, really,” said Krystian Wetulani, founder of City Cannabis Co. in Vancouver. “It’s like a race. That’s one of the biggest opportunities we’re facing in the legalized market.”The success of CBD runs counter to what many producers anticipated in the build-up to legalization in October 2018. Most licensed producers opted to target the cultivation of cannabis high in THC (the intoxicating ingredient). They’re only now playing catch-up in terms of increasing their CBD production and extraction.

2. New StatsCan numbers suggest as many as 5.3 million Canadians, or 18% of those aged 15 and up, used cannabis in the last three months.
   Those figures represent a significant increase from a year earlier when 14% of respondents to the newly released National Cannabis Survey reported using the drug.  The recent rise reflects increased use among males aged 45 to 64. Their rate of cannabis consumption increased to 22% from 16% a year earlier, according to StatsCan.Levels of consumption among females remained flat at 13%.While past surveys identified Nova Scotians as the highest users in Canada, the latest report points to Alberta as now being at the top.The survey suggests about 21.5% of Alberta’s residents used cannabis in the first quarter of the year. Ontario was close behind at 20%, with Nova Scotia falling to 18.5% from last year’s 20%.

3. A new U.S. study suggests people could be more motivated to exercise and recover faster when using marijuana close to their workout times.
   Eight in 10 marijuana users in states where cannabis is legal told University of Colorado-Boulder researchers that they take the drug shortly before or after exercise.Researchers surveyed about 600 cannabis users aged 21 and up living in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington about their marijuana and exercise habits.Those taking pot an hour before working out and/or within four hours after finishing reported 43 minutes more of exercise per week than cannabis users who took the drug outside that window of time.
   “There is a stereotype that cannabis use leads people to be lazy and couch-locked and not physically active,” writes senior author Angela Bryan, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute for Cognitive Science. “But these data suggest that this is not the case.”What’s more, 52% of those who worked cannabis into their exercise regimens said it made them more motivated. About 70% said it boosted their enjoyment of the activity, while 78% claimed it helped their recovery.

4. The cannabis black market has already taken a sizable hit because of Canada’s move to legalize pot.
   New survey results from StatsCan suggest that a growing number of Canadians have moved over to legal sellers and away from illicit dealers.
   In the first quarter of 2019, about 47% of cannabis users, or 2.5 million Canadians, obtained cannabis from the legal market. That up significantly from the 23%, or 954,000 people, making similar purchases over the same three month period in 2018.
   Still the black market continues to prosper, with an estimated 80% of users still getting some of their marijuana from illegal sources.  That likely reflects a lingering price gap.
   “Data collected on the Statistics Canada crowdsourcing website StatsCannabis indicate that the average all-in market price paid for legal cannabis flowers was $9.70 in the fourth quarter of 2018,” reads the survey. “The corresponding average price of illegal cannabis (uncorroborated by StatsCan) was $6.51.”

5. At least one major Canadian city is now aiming to restrict where cannabis can be cultivated to avoid growing complaints about odor.
   A proposed change to Winnipeg’s zoning bylaw has now cleared its first hurdle. If successful, it would place limits on where medical cannabis can be grown.The proposal answers the concerns of some Winnipeg residents worried licensed grow-ops have left an unpleasant smell in their neighbourhood and could begin attracting crime.
   The Winnipeg complaints are similar to those emerging in U.S. states.
   A Colorado suit now alleges a neighboring marijuana grow-op has lowered property values specifically because of odor. In court filings, they say those smells have also interfered with their ability to enjoy their homes.