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The topic on everyone’s minds at Benzinga’s Cannabis Capital Conference Wednesday in Miami Beach was how to maintain an edge and maximize profits as a market still in its infancy faces explosive growth amid political uncertainty.

On hand to offer his expertise was Curaleaf Holdings Inc CEO Joseph Lusardi, arguably one of the largest multistate operators in the space — the company holds licenses in 11 states. During a fireside chat moderated by 420 Investor Alan Brochstein, Lusardi told the crowd: “It pays be to be vertical.”

The fragmented, state-by-state nature of the marijuana industry historically has been dominated by small, local players, but larger, publicly traded companies with multistate operations are becoming an increasingly prevalent force.

Rapid consolidation and expansion among cannabis companies dominated 2018 with more than 300 mergers and acquisitions and a rash of reverse takeovers that allowed U.S. companies to go public in Canada, where marijuana is federally legal.

Pot stocks marked their third consecutive week of gains last week, the longest such winning streak since August, riding high on the broader market’s upbeat mood. This week, we’ll get a better idea of just how big the global cannabis market could get, along with a host of other potential catalysts.

Not even an earnings miss and further drama from Aphria Inc. could derail the optimism last week. The company announced Friday that Chief Executive Officer Vic Neufeld will step down in the coming months but will remain on the board following a short-seller report that alleged Aphria bought assets at inflated prices from insiders. Aphria has now recouped much of its loss from the Dec. 3 report, including a 5.4 percent gain on Friday.

National cannabis firm Curaleaf Holdings Inc. is plotting expansions in Maryland through multiple acquisition deals.

Curaleaf announced agreements with the owners of HMS Health LLC, who operate growing and processing businesses in Frederick County and two dispensaries in Montgomery County, as well as the Elevate Takoma dispensary in Montgomery County.

The cannabis firm is headquartered in Massachusetts and currently operates 38 dispensaries, 12 growing sites and 10 processing sites across 12 states. Curaleaf has one of the largest footprints of any multi-state cannabis company, with a market capitalization of about $2.7 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.

The U.S. government may not be able to resist a steady flow of revenue from cannabis sales for much longer, according to the chief executive officer of one of the nation’s largest pot retailers.

Curaleaf opened a marijuana dispensary in Carle Place on Friday, its first on Long Island and its fourth in New York State.

Curaleaf, a medical marijuana treatment center and dispensary, opened last month in Lutz.

With locations throughout Florida, this marks the fifth in the Tampa Bay area, joining St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor, Lakeland and Tampa.

A handful of vertically integrated companies increased their stronghold on Florida’s fast-growing medical marijuana market in 2018, tripling the number of dispensaries they operate, as new business licensing stalled in the courts.

The greater Orlando area was one of the beneficiaries of what has become a certified “green rush” in Florida. Medical marijuana business has quickly grown across the state of Florida, with the drug being more accessible to patients.

The dispensary landscape is still peppered with small operations that founded the industry, but Curaleaf has staked out a lot of territory the past few months, rivaling only Harvest’s real estate. Both dispensary companies have businesses in several states.