When cannabis stores open across Canada later this year, it will look very different than in Colorado.

On a blustery New Year’s Day four years ago, throngs of people in toques and jackets lined up in parking lots and on sidewalks across Colorado waiting for the end of prohibition. At 8 a.m., more than two dozen marijuana dispensaries opened their doors for recreational sales. By the end of the first week of sales, locals and tourists alike had reportedly spent US$5 million on weed.

As Canada’s provinces get ready for the advent of legal recreational pot, many questions remain about Ontario’s plans to sell cannabis through a subsidiary of the LCBO. But there are no quick answers from the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., which is responsible for both online sales and stores.

While Alberta’s premier says that province’s privately run stores will be ready and waiting for legalization, and New Brunswick’s provincial cannabis authority recently gave a tour of a store, Ontario is plodding along carefully and keeping a tight lid on information.

The government of Quebec has finalized their new cannabis legislation. With the new bill in place, Quebec residents can expect legal cannabis to be available by September, writes Calvin Hughes.

As cannabis legalization spreads across the North American continent, industry insiders and pot stock investors alike look to diversify their portfolios in the global marijuana trade.

With Canada on track to become the first G7 nation to legalize both recreational and medical cannabis nationally, overcrowding in the market is becoming an issue for stakeholders on all sides. It’s the reason why cannabis companies are starting to look for more opportunities internationally. These are the top four marijuana stocks with international expansion plans:

Beer brewed with marijuana, baking mixes concocted to bring out the unique flavours of cannabis oil and good, old-fashioned pot cookies: Canadian companies are creating them all, but it’s unclear when stores will legally be able to stock the edibles for recreational users. Instead, business owners have been getting creative to manufacture, refine and sell their products.

Ottawa has pledged that recreational marijuana will become legal sometime this year and the Senate recently approved the pot legalization bill. But the federal government has said the sale of edible cannabis products will not be legal immediately. That hasn’t stopped Canadian companies for entering the market.

The licensed cannabis producer Tilray has become one of the few cannabis business with a female majority on their board of directors. Today, they welcomed Rebekah Dopp, Maryscott "Scotty" Greenwood and Christine St.Clare to their Board, writes Calvin Hughes.

As the movement to legalize recreational cannabis use gains momentum, investors are looking to get in on the action in any way they can. And that's a huge win for Canada because it's basically the only game in town, writes Brandon Hicks.

Cannabis production is ramping up across Canada in preparation for recreational sales becoming legal. The House of Commons on June 18 voted 205-82 to accept an amended version of Canada’s Cannabis Act, which would legalize recreational cannabis use countrywide.

The bill now passes back to the Senate, where senators will vote on the new version of the bill – one that includes many of the amendments that the Senate voted on June 7 to approve, but not all of those amendments.

Namaste Technologies Inc. ("Namaste" or the "Company") (TSXV: N)(FRA: M5BQ)(OTCMKTS: NXTTF) is pleased to announce that further to its January 18 th, 2018 letter of intent ("LOI"), that the Company has signed a subscription agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire 10% of the issued share capital of Israeli licensed producer of medical cannabis, Cannbit Ltd ("Cannbit") for NIS 2,500,000 or approximately CAD $908,000, which includes a combination of both cash and shares.

Markers Insurance has announced it will offer what it claims is the country’s first guaranteed issue insurance product for individuals providing coverage for medical cannabis prescriptions. It expects to initially launch an individual product by August 15, followed by a group product for companies wishing to provide such benefits to their employees.

Markers Insurance is known as the agent of record for The Alternative Health Association of Canada, a national non-profit formed to advocate for improved patient outcomes through health and wellness alternatives. The brokerage is a division of Toronto-based Evergreen Pacific Insurance Corporation (EPIC), which was founded in late 2017.