The day cannabis became legal in Canada, media coverage included jokes about grocery stores selling out of Doritos and tales about a plucky Girl Guideselling out of cookies outside of a dispensary. Amusing though they may be, wisecracks about the munchies obscured a much bigger and surprising public health note: Weed might actually help people lose weight.

Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Aphria (OTCMKTS:APHQF) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 17th. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock. Separately, Cann initiated coverage on shares of Aphria in a report on Friday, October 12th. They set a sell rating and a $19.00 price target for the company.

Shares of OTCMKTS:APHQF traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,299,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,405. Aphria has a fifty-two week low of $5.86 and a fifty-two week high of $19.87.

For the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake, cannabis legalization is an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past regarding tobacco.

Smoke shacks selling tax-free cigarettes are pervasive in the community across the St. Lawrence River from Montreal, and their owners have no obligation to give money back to citizens, says Joe Delaronde, spokesman for the Mohawk Council.

The federal government was part of the problem, he explained, “giving tobacco licences willy-nilly.”

“People became very frustrated with that over time,” Delaronde added. “And even though some people gave back — some just pocketed (all the revenue).”

But while lucrative tobacco shops abound in Kahnawake, selling, distributing or manufacturing cannabis on the territory remains illegal.

A Regina man has turned the cultivation of personal cannabis into a business, offering classes to people who wish to learn how to grow it at home.

Jeremy Drummond, the co-owner of The Grow Room, opened his shop on Oct. 17, the same day that the recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Canada.

“This has always been sort of underground, and now that it is out in the open, we feel that it needs to be supported in a safe way,” Drummond told CTV Saskatchewan. “Doing that with educational classes is a really great place to start.”

Following a sharp increase in cannabis poisoning among young people, Canadian health professionals are calling for tighter controls to keep edible marijuana products away from minors.

Aphria Inc. ("Aphria" or the "Company") (TSX: APHA and NYSE:APHA) today announced its proposed acquisition of CC Pharma GmbH ("CC Pharma"), a leading distributor of pharmaceutical products to more than 13,000 pharmacies in Germany. The transaction, when closed, will strengthen the Company's end-to-end medical cannabis operations and infrastructure in Germany, a key market in Aphria's international expansion. It is anticipated that the transaction will close in January 2019.

NanoSphere Health Sciences, Inc. (CSE: NSHS) (OTC: NSHSF) (“NanoSphere” or “the Company”), is taking its cannabis business global with the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary, NanoSphere Cannabis International (“NCI”).

We’re going global: Nanosphere launches subsidiary to handle its worldwide cannabis business!

The cannabis sector as a whole is currently in the midst of a boom with the recent positive news of full legalization in Canada, but the medicinal sector of the market is also doing exceptionally well as companies develop new products leveraging CBD. The healthcare market has seen an uptick in consumers searching for alternative medicines, and cannabis has positioned itself very well to take advantage of this new demand. Leaders in the industry are expanding their market reach with new products and effective marketing campaigns in various states where medicinal cannabis is legal. Additionally, the loophole of CBD's ambiguity when it comes to legality has allowed companies to tap into markets where Cannabis is otherwise unavailable.

As Canada's first licensed producer to receive a license for cannabis oil production without first receiving a cultivation license, MediPharm has turned the typical Canadian model - vertically integrated cultivator active in all aspects from seed to sale - on its head with its laser focus on oils and extracts, the highest value sector of the cannabis products market.

CBD has long been a consistent performer of the overall cannabis market as industry leaders have enjoyed the flexibility of loopholes surrounding legalities, as well as a rising consumer sentiment toward alternative health options. CBD-infused products have allowed companies to expand into a variety of industries and continue to generate higher and higher revenues. The hemp-derived CBD market is projected to top $590 million in revenue, according to the Brightfield Group. The industry will continue growing as it matures, and is also expected to receive a boost if legislation removes CBD as a controlled substance in the near future. Active Companies from around the market with current developments this week include: Marijuana Company of America, Inc. (OTC:MCOA), MariMed Inc.