The Canadian Securities Exchange is looking to educate investors believing the upcoming legalization of marijuana in Canada has tremendous opportunities for users, growers and businesses that cater to both.
“This is one of the fastest growing businesses we’ve seen in a generation,” James Black, VP of Listings Developments with the Canadian Securities Exchange said.
“It seems to me that we need a lot of growers because there’s going to be a lot of users.”
Black was in Kelowna Monday for an information and networking session about the business of legalized marijuana in Canada.
“What we’re seeing are triple-digit growth numbers across the board with from our exchange stats but also in some of these growth numbers in the companies that we see listed,” Black said. “Some of these investments have done tremendously well and some of them have done so-so, and some have lost. It is a speculative market still at this stage.”
Those in the business of marijuana sector research agree investors should be cautious.
“There’s still a lot of risks in the industry and it’s still very volatile,” Daria Gravé, VP Head of Capital Markets with Fundamental Research Corp., said.
“The market has become sophisticated quite fast and there’s a lot of opportunities but sometimes investors don’t know where to start to really seek some of the essential elements of where should they invest their capital,” Gravé said.
Gravé joined numerous other speakers offering investment direction at the Kelowna information session, including Okanagan business owners who are already involved in marijuana business.
“We just hope to get people’s attention and hope they get intrigued by the story and make their own decisions,” Trent Kitsch, CEO of Doja Canabis Co., said.
The Trudeau government plans to legalize marijuana use in Canada by the fall of 2018.