Publicly traded companies levered to the Canadian medical cannabis industry came down from their highs yesterday and many investors are trying to determine why…

Although there was no specific reason for this weakness, we think these stocks moved lower due to concerns as to the expected start date for the country’s legal recreational cannabis program.

Yesterday’s move lower was a response to a sector-wide rally on Monday which was the result of favorable recommendations from a federal task force for the recreational cannabis industry.

A SX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals has executed a new and materially better binding heads of agreement to acquire Czech-based medical cannabis company Panax Pharma in a move likely to be a big boost to MGC’s production and research capabilities.

In an update to the market on Thursday, MGC said that following due diligence it had executed the revised acquisition agreement, which would see the Perth-based company acquire up to 100 per cent of Panax –a highly connected player in the Czech Republic’s medicinal cannabis industry.

Cannabis dispensaries in Colorado have come a long way from dingy decor and green crosses. Some, in fact, have emerged into award-winning centers, in part thanks to trendy design. We’ve seen modern design takeover many industries over the years, so it’s no surprise to see the new demand in chic dispensaries across America. One cannabis company in particular has paved the way for the new generation of designed dispensaries.

What if using cannabis for the first time was as easy as making a cup of coffee?

This is the philosophy behind CannaCloud, the industry’s first pod-based cannabis vaporizing system by CannaKorp that works just like a Keurig coffee machine.

Users simply load the CannaCloud with small aluminum “CannaCloud Pods” filled with pre-ground, lab-tested strains. The machine then heats up the herb to vaporizing temperature with the press of a button, and users wait about 60 seconds until the display screen indicates they can take a hit. After use, the Pods can be tossed into the recycle bin.

Maui Grown Therapies today announced its first medical cannabis dispensary is located in the Maui Lani Village Center at 44 Paʻa Street in Kahului.  The dispensary joins other medical, professional and retail businesses in the Professional Row section of the commercial development.

The company expects to sell cannabis and cannabis-derivative products approximately 112 days after it receives a “Notice to Proceed with Cultivation” from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health. The company will host a series of open houses and educational events in the 2,112-sq. ft. dispensary building beginning in February 2017.

Anyone involved in the cannabis industry knows that the lack of access to banking services is one of the major issues plaguing the burgeoning industry. Actually, it is a real testament to the quality of the industry that businesses have been able to survive at all with such few banking options. Add on the 280e federal IRS tax provision that denies normal deductions for even state-legal-and-regulated businesses and it is amazing that cannabis businesses have been able to stay afloat at all.

enthusiasts: Have you heard of the "green rush"?

That's shorthand for the growing scramble among investors to profit from the an increasingly permissive attitude toward pot in the United States.

In a white-walled room deep inside a southwest Santa Rosa building once used to manufacture heart stents, 11 specialized machines to extract concentrated cannabis rumbled, hummed and popped in production for California’s largest legal marijuana manufacturing operation. 

Five months ago, law enforcement officers hauled away extraction machines and other equipment worth about $3 million from the Circadian Way facility, halting production and forcing the company, CannaCraft, to address a series of code violations. One of its founders, Dennis Hunter, was briefly jailed.

Stores opening despite fact that current federal law does not allow for recreational sale of marijuana.

A Canadian chain of recreational marijuana dispensaries is set to open eight shops across Montreal today.

Cannabis Culture, which is co-owned by activists Jodie and Marc Emery, already has stores in British Columbia and Ontario.

They're now bringing their shops to Montreal, despite the fact that current federal law does not allow for the recreational sale of marijuana in Canada.

It is now legal to possess, use, and home-grow marijuana for Massachusetts residents over the age of 21.

It’s official.

Marijuana is legal for possession, use, and home-growing starting Thursday for adults 21 and over.

The Governor’s Council, a Colonial-era body that vets judges and accepts election results, formally certified the results of Question 4 Wednesday afternoon. The initiative passed last month with 1.8 million people voting for the measure, despite the opposition of top politicians, the Catholic Church, doctors and business groups, and an array of other civic leaders. About 1.5 million people voted against it.

Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito gaveled in the pro-forma session of the council to certify all state election results.