The Financial Post reports in its Monday, Jan. 30, edition that the weed business in 2016 reached an inflection point with medical marijuana firms raising more than $466-million on Canadian capital markets last year. The Post's Sunny Freeman writes that several players raised millions of dollars in multiple rounds of financing. Canada's biggest marijuana company, Canopy Growth, even hit a billion-dollar valuation. Canaccord capital markets head Graham Saunders says, "I expect in 2017 you will see a bigger year." Canaccord led seven of the 22 capital raises in the sector last year. The massive year for marijuana financing comes in anticipation of a legal Canadian recreational market, expected to be in place by 2019 and worth about $6-billion a year by 2021. It also came without the participation of the big banks, which refuse to finance marijuana companies for fear of reputational risk. Many of the big banks have ties to the U.S., where medical weed remains illegal at the federal level. The disconnect sent more U.S. investors seeking exposure to the market north of the border. Bank of Montreal investment head Daniel Barclay says, "No matter how much money we could make it's not worth the risk or the issues."