Legal marijuana stocks are racking up a lot of milestones lately. Now there’s another to add to the list: the industry’s first billion-dollar merger. That’s the deal for Cresco Labs (CRLBF) to buy CannaRoyalty, which does business as Origin House (ORHOF), for a cool 1.1 billion Canadian dollars, or approximately $850 million. While Origin House is Ontario-based, it does a lot of business in California — America’s oldest and largest legal marijuana market — where it serves more than 500 dispensaries. After this mega-merger, the new and improved Cresco Labs will be in prime position to cash in on a true national marijuana market (once Congress gets it together to pass federal legalization).

Making predictions is one of the most fun parts of my job. It’s also one of the most important. I’m not talking about those internet quizzes that predict the first letter of the person you’re going to marry. And I’m certainly not talking about a stranger on the phone who claims to have all the answers to life’s questions. I’m talking about analysis-driven predictions based on the past and the present that help us see where the world is headed. This is critical for investing success. Hockey great Wayne Gretsky said, “Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” To get to the puck before everyone else, I take into account everything I have studied and learned over the years and apply it the future.