Canadian pot will lose to US brand behemoths

Canada may have a head start in the global cannabis industry now that pot is legal, yet companies targeting the US market say the advantage won't last long once the American branding machine gets rolling.

"The Canadians have a first-mover advantage in large-scale production, large-scale farming, large-scale commodity input, but the U.S. has an edge in brands and the consumer experience," Ben Kovler, chief executive officer of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, said in an interview at a pot conference in Toronto.

Bloomberg