The end of the year was a large turning for the marijuana industry, as the year's events were instrumental in cementing the growth of the cannabis sector around the world. Specifically, in North America, many variables have fallen into place that have allowed for more favorable opinion surrounding cannabis. In turn, the trends towards accepting cannabis, and its countless uses, has allowed for companies in the space to attract investor attention. Following Canada's nation-wide legalization and the recent passing of the US Farm Bill, the nascent cannabis sector has shown exciting promise in terms of opportunities for investors looking to the space. As we continue into the new year and watch for the possibilities it may hold, CLS Holdings USA Inc CLSH, -1.26% , New Age Beverages CorporationNBEV, -0.18% Tilray Inc TLRY, +0.28% and CannTrust Holdings Inc (otc pink:CNTTF) TRST, +2.10% are 4 pot stocks that are gaining speed on Monday.

CLS Holdings USA Inc CLSH, -1.26% is a diversified cannabis company operating as Cannabis Life Sciences and an integrated cannabis producer and retailer in Nevada through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries. The Company's business model is comprised of licensing operations, processing operations, professing facilities, product sales, and brand creation. Earlier in 2018, CLS Holdings USA Inc CLSH, -1.26% closed on its acquisition of Oasis Cannabis, a company which announced that packaged marijuana product represented 67% of its total sales. As a cannabis retailer for the state of Nevada, Oasis served over 127,000 customers in its first year of adult-use sales.

CLS Holdings USA Inc CLSH, -1.26% announced today that it would be providing investors with a corporate update to highlight its achievements and ongoing activities. Per the update, the Company's common shares will commence trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange, or CSE, at the opening of the market on January 7, 2019 under the ticker symbol ''CLSH.''

Jeffrey Binder, Chairman and CEO of CLS Holdings, stated, ''This is an exciting day for CLS as it opens up an entirely new base of knowledgeable cannabis investors. The company has worked hard to achieve this listing and we are appreciative of the opportunity to have our company listed on such a terrific platform.''

New Age Beverages Corporation (NBEV) wowed market analysts and investors towards the end of December, when they announced that they had closed on the merger with Morinda Holdings, Inc., a Utah-based healthy beverages and lifestyles company with operations in more than 60 countries.

Brent Willis, Chief Executive Officer of New Age Beverages commented, "Since the announcement of the merger, we have been extremely busy. New Age continues to secure major national retail distribution on its key brands, and Morinda has been rapidly expanding its new Noni+Collagen brand globally. More cost synergies are emerging from the convergence teams and the countries are extremely enthusiastic about the potential of New Age's current and impending brand portfolio through their system. Integration is already well on track, and we have a high degree of confidence in our plans for 2019."

Tilray Inc (TLRY), a global pioneer in production, research, and distribution of medicinal cannabis, announced in mid-December that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tilray Canada Ltd, had entered into a global framework agreement to collaborate with Sandoz AG, a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars and a part of Novartis group, to increase availability of high quality medical cannabis products across the world.

In response to the agreement, Brendan Kennedy, Tilray's Chief Executive officer, said, "This agreement represents a major milestone in the movement to provide access to safe, GMP-certified medical cannabis to patients in need across the world. Tilray is a global company and we're thrilled to build upon the success and momentum from our existing agreement with Sandoz Canada by taking our partnership global. Sandoz AG will be a valuable partner as we work together to improve access to the highest quality medical cannabis products in countries all over the world.''​

CannTrust Holdings Inc (CNTTF) (TRST), one of Canada's leading cannabis producers, announced, in mid-December, that updates were made available to investors regarding the Company's expansion plans.

Michael Camplin, General Manager of CannTrust's Niagara operations, said, "We initially applied for 10 permits relating to the development of our Phase III expansion. We're still working with the municipality to have all those permits approved. We respect the Town of Pelham's process. We have multiple strategic alternatives available to us and we hope Pelham is one of them."