Jamaica has made its first shipment of medical marijuana extract oil to Canada.

In making the announcement, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw, “Jamaica is uniquely positioned to be a global player and we are committed to providing the leadership and resources required for opening the international markets including Canada and Europe for our licensed and regulated Jamaican companies.”

The shipment was authorised through an import permit issued by the Government of Canada through Health Canada for Jamaica and an export permit issued by the Ministry of Health in Jamaica.

No space has been hotter this past month than the marijuana sector, with pot stocks continuing to race up (and sometimes down) the charts in the lead-up to recreational cannabis becoming a reality across Canada.

And if you’ve been lucky enough to have placed some winning bets on stocks like Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis, now might be a good time to cash in your chips before the bubble bursts, says Lester Asset Management CEO Stephen Takacsy.

“The sector is so overvalued right now, it’s undescribable,” Takacsy told BNN Bloomberg . “You can’t justify these market valuations based on never mind today’s results but even forward results two, three, four, five, ten years down the road. There will be a lot of casualties.”

Even in America’s reddest states, favorable conditions for medical marijuana stocks could emerge soon. A permissive medical marijuana law received voter approval in Oklahoma earlier this year. Also, Republicans in Texas recently approved medical marijuana in their party platform. Cannabis’ days as a Schedule I drug are likely numbered. When this status changes, investing in medically-related marijuana stocks could reach a fever pitch in the fourth quarter and beyond.

Small children will experience a cannabis high far more than you do. If you suspect your kid has eaten weed, call someone immediately. Difficulty breathing or unconsciousness warrants 9-1-1, but otherwise call Poison Control. “You should call as soon as possible rather than waiting to see if the child becomes symptomatic,” says Debra Kent, clinical supervisor at the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre. If they do have any symptoms at all, you’re likely looking at a night of observation in the ER.

The legalized cannabis market in Canada could hasten western adoption of plant-based medicines, opening up new frontiers in health care, advocates say.

“I feel that cannabis is the first step toward a lot of our issues in health care and mental health,” said Salimeh Tabrizi, clinical counsellor and organizer and founder of the 2018 Cannabis Hemp Conference and Expo. “With the public perspective changing, there is a lot more room for other plant and fungi medicine coming through.”

With the legalization date of marijuana in Canadainching closer and closer, talks of exactly how Canadians will be able to get their hands on the newly legalized drug have gotten louder. Especially considering that the province of Ontario recently decided to switch their plan and make the whole distribution of the drug privatized.

That's right, after recent changes by premier Doug Ford, only Ontario Cannabis Store branches explicitly backed by the province will be able to sell the drug over the counter. Meaning plans concerning the LCBO and Shopify have been axed for the time being.

Strainprint, the leader in cannabis data and analytics, is pleased to announce that VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: VIVO) is the latest top tier Canadian licensed producer to subscribe to Strainprint Analytics. VIVO is a leading, vertically-integrated, cannabis business with a collection of premium brands targeting unique consumer segments and needs across both medical and recreational channels, both in Canada and other international markets.

VIVO will leverage this strategic subscription to coincide with the launch of their Beacon Medical brand, a standardized pharma-grade cannabis that's clean, consistent and repeatable — qualities sought by physicians and patients, which stands for setting patients on the clearest path to treatment.

The justice minister says the provincial government says it's ready for marijuana legalization — and now it's time for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to get ready too.

"I'd like to think that the short answer is a resounding yes," Andrew Parsons said Monday when asked if the province was ready for October 17, when cannabis will become legal for recreational use across Canada.

The government has spent the past months and years working across many departments and agencies to prepare for what Parsons told the St. John's Morning Show is "the hugest shift in public policy that we've seen, of a social nature, probably since Confederation."

Canadian veterinarians are pushing for warning labels on marijuana to tell owners it can be toxic to pets, as the Oct. 17 legalization approaches.

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association has been asking the federal government to require the warning labels since it sent a letter to Health Canada last January outlining its concern. Representatives have continued to meet with departmental officials to pursue the subject.

Hemp is a plant in the cannabis family with very low THC content. In 1998, the Canadian government began to allow processing, harvesting and selling hemp—under a restrictive protocol. Soon, hemp-centric companies began utilizing the plant in food, textiles, fabrics, and oils, touting its versatility, eco-friendliness, and health effects.

Winnipeg-based Manitoba Harvest started that year, and is now the largest manufacturer in the world to grow, produce and sell hemp food products that have slowly trickled into Canadian pantries. “The benefits of hemp have been a little-known secret for hundreds of years, but it’s finally gaining traction as a food ingredient on an international level,” said Clarence Shwaluk, the company’s director of farm operations.