According to a prominent cannabis advisory firm, the cannabis industry raised over a $1 Billion in investment dollars in 2016. These investments included public companies on the TSXV (cultivation and extract company), NYSE (REIT) and NASDAQ (pharmaceutical company).
What does this mean?
Majority of large investments are going into real estate and pharmaceutical company – as these investments are not subject to the strict regulatory environment restricting ownership of companies that cultivate and sell cannabis. Big money will continue to flow to “non-plant touching” business in 2017; however, I expect a fair amount of consolidation in the cultivation and retail sectors.