Every summer, tens of thousands of migrant workers swarm a remote area of Northern California — the marijuana-growing capital of the US — to find work as "trimmers" after the weed has been harvested.

Their job is to prune the fluffy, green buds with small pairs of scissors to clear them of leaves before they wind up on dispensary shelves or in dealers' pockets.

The work is arduous and pays between $100 and $300 a day for 10 to 15 hours of labor on the black market, which generated 87% of pot sales in North America in 2016.

What’s the number one long-term threat to Canada’s Marijuana Stocks?

Competition. There, I said it.

Canadian marijuana companies such as Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED), Aphria Inc. (TSX:APH), and Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSXV:ACB) are each making a concerted effort to come out as the top dog in global cannabis production. Will they? Or will large multinational players, consolidation, and global competition make the current situation a dire one for Canadian marijuana producers in only a short few years?

Foresight is godly, and hindsight is 20/20, but in the current environment for cannabis companies, it seems that perspective is hard to come by. Let’s put the facts into perspective.

Fact #1:…

Medical marijuana producer Aphria Inc. is expanding into the lucrative U.S. market with an initial $25 million investment to set up shop in Florida, which recently legalized pot for medical use.

The foray is its first major step in a U.S. expansion strategy through a series of transactions. The result will be a new company called Liberty Health Sciences Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian Securities Exchange-listed SecureCom Mobile Inc. that will acquire Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, which is one of the seven companies licensed in Florida to dispense marijuana to patients.

At least three provinces are making it clear they expect Ottawa to foot the bill for costs associated with its plan to legalize marijuana — an issue that will have significant impacts in their jurisdictions.

In Edmonton on Wednesday, Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said there likely be additional financial pressures related to regulation, testing and sharing public information about a legalized regime.

“We certainly are expecting some help with that — in what form that comes is difficult to say without having seen the regulations,” she said.

The government is expected to introduce legislation as soon as next week, ahead of annual “Weed Day” celebrations on April 20, to regulate the use of marijuana.

Governments across Canada will unveil an internal-trade agreement Friday designed to not only knock down domestic business barriers, but also lay the groundwork for talks to eventually establish a cross-country marijuana market.

Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains says the long-awaited deal, meant to boost economic growth, will also establish a clear process to help provinces and territories regulate the trade of recreational pot.

Those discussions can only come, of course, once the federal government legalizes marijuana with legislation that government insiders have said would be introduced next week.

Somatik is seeking funding for its cannabis-infused beverage business; the company has already partnered with Ritual, a San Francisco coffee business.

With recreational marijuana legal in eight states and medicinal use approved in 20 more, investors are seeing the potential to produce a different kind of green.

Growth industry: The cannabis economy is seen as the fastest growing big business in America, increasing 30 percent last year to $6.7 billion, according to ArcView. 

Oregon's pot industry sold nearly 5 million grams — or roughly 11,000 pounds — of marijuana during the first three months of 2016, according to a report from the state government.

Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF Begins Trading on the TSX 

Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") is pleased to announce the launch of the Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF ("HMMJ"). Units of the exchange traded fund ("ETF") begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") today under the ticker symbol HMMJ. 

HMMJ is the first ETF in the world that offers direct exposure to North American-listed stocks that are involved with medical marijuana bioengineering and production. 

‘It’s not quite the elixir of life, but it’s close,’ says seller of THC-free product.

The first health food store in Limerick to stock cannabis oil products says sales have “skyrocketed” in recent months following calls for psychoactive cannabis products to be legalised for medicinal purposes.

Cillin Cleere, the proprietor of Eats of Eden on Thomas Street in Limerick city, said their cannabis oil products were now among their 10 best-selling products since they began stocking a variety of products four months ago.

He said cannabis oil could be used for a “range of neurological and physical benefits” 

“The sales have been astronomical,” said Mr Cleere, who is also a biochemist and nutritional therapist.