Desautels Faculty Lecturer Ken Lester joins Breakfast Television to explore how the legalization of marijuana has taken hold over the past six months and what the next chapter holds, including the rise of edibles and the further streamlining of distribution.
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Published on: 16 Apr 2019
As the legalization of cannabis approaches, La Presse reports that Quebec is trailing other Canadian provinces where the industry has flourished comparatively faster.
Professor Ken Lester comments on some of the obstacles that might be at play, mentioning Quebec’s religious heritage as contributing factor.
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Published on: 15 Oct 2018
Much has been debated over the course of Quebec’s electoral campaign, including the minimum age for legalized marijuana consumption.
Professor Ken Lester argues that the CAQ’s stance is far from responsible, alleging that a 21-year-old minimum age will not prevent usage among those below the cut-off.
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Published on: 25 Sep 2018
A vote on the federal government’s cannabis bill, C-45, is scheduled in the Senate for June 7 — bringing the country closer to legalization.
In the midst of this, experts such as Professor Ken Lester are weighing in about whether legalized marijuana can thrive in Quebec where the black market is known to be pervasive.
“Quebec has some of the biggest smokers in the world and yet, unlike in Ontario or B.C., you barely see any dispensaries or shops,” says Professor Lester.
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Published on: 30 May 2018
Graphite Energy Corp (GRXXF), a Vancouver company with a mining operation in the Laurentians, was believed to be the next big thing among investors.
With news that their stock has crashed, Professor Ken Lester shares his commentary on the turn of events.
The so-called pump and dump phenomenon is not unusual, according to Prof. Lester, especially in emerging industries like marijuana and cryptocurrencies.
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Published on: 29 May 2018
Following the revelation that many Canadian marijuana producers benefit from offshore financing, Desautels Professor and President of Lester Asset Management, Ken Lester, shares his perspective on marijuana legalization and organized crime, stating that the union of the two is entirely possible.
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Published on: 6 Feb 2018
Many banks in Canada are refusing to offer any banking services to companies engaged in the production and distribution of marijuana. Desautels Finance Professor and Investment Management Specialist, Ken Lester comments on the hypocrisy of this situation.
“If you call your broker at one of the major Canadian banks to buy the shares of an authorized [marijuana] producer, he will not refuse.”
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Published on: 23 Jan 2018
Shopify recently came out in defense of its business model following an attack on the company by short seller Andrew Left of Citron. According to Desautels professor Kenneth Lester, short sellers actually do an investigative service by exposing information about companies that might have otherwise been strategically concealed; though he remains wary of the insider trading sometimes tied to shorts.
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Published on: 11 Oct 2017
Ottawa is going to have to find a way to keep legalized cannabis on the affordable side, thanks to the already low prices in Quebec. A new Public Safety Canada report states that, for comparable quality marijuana, Quebec pot consumers pay about $5.33 per gram, while non-Quebecers average $7.04. Émilie Dansereau, of the Association pour la santé publique du Québec, suggests that Ottawa should pay attention to how the government of Uruguay killed off its black market with a low tax rate.
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Published on: 28 Jun 2017
This summer, the Quebec government will be running consultations into how legalized cannabis will be sold in Quebec. For Ottawa, the aim is that the provinces will regulate sales, hopefully with public health as the ultimate goal.
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Published on: 20 Jun 2017
After of a sell-off of shares in two Canadian companies was apparently triggered by a short seller’s morning tweet, Desautels professor Ken Lester derided the tweet, saying that “There’s no recourse. People can just put out whatever they want on the Internet.”
He goes on to say that there is a general uncertainty about Canadian financial firms, thanks in large part to the legal problems faced by Home Capital Group.
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Published on: 2 Jun 2017
Ottawa has released its plan to legalize marijuana, and the hit on big cannabis shares has been heavy. Concerns about how fast the government is moving to squeeze out illegal producers, a law-enforcement-heavy public announcement and a feeling that the government is stepping back from its plans for an industrial-scale market are leaving investors with questions.
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Published on: 19 Apr 2017
Desautels Professor Ken Lester was interviewed on BNN about the commodification of marijuana post-legalization. He discussed product choice, the question of how branding might be constrained by the impending legislation, and the tricky taxation line that the governments will have to trace in order to not send consumers back to the black market.
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Published on: 7 Apr 2017
In Smiths Falls, Ontario, a former chocolate factory houses one of Canada’s biggest marijuana producers. Canopy Growth and its competitors are in a headlong rush to increase production and market share, and they will likely soon exceed the market for medical marijuana in Canada. But that’s no problem; the industry is looking ahead, toward the legalized recreational marijuana market promised by the Liberal Government.
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Published on: 1 Mar 2017
A call for Quebec to get into pot distribution by academics and business people
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Published on: 30 Jan 2017
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