The North American Marijuana Index, comprised of the leading cannabis stocks in the U.S. and Canada, was on the rise.

The index was up nearly 2% this afternoon to 248.49.

Florida-based company mCig Inc (OTCMKTS:MCIG) was a big mover on the index after announcing that it received three licenses to cultivate, distribute, and manufacture recreational cannabis in the state of California. Shares jumped 5.4% to US$0.22.

With legal adult-use marijuana around the corner in Canada, companies are looking to lock down supply chains while licensed growers work at fever pitch to increase the size and frequency of their harvests. Emerald Health Therapeutics (TSX-V: EMH) (OTC: EMHTF) is working on both, on Monday saying that it has signed a supply agreement to buy nearly half of the marijuana production of Pure Sunfarms this year and again in 2019.

Pure Sunfarms is a 50/50 joint venture between Emerald Health and Village Farms International (TSX: VFF) (OTC: VFFIF).

Based upon current projections, the supply agreement will equate to somewhere between 21,000 and 24,000 kilograms of cannabis for Emerald Health. At the low end, that’s about 23 tons of pot.

For all the talk about the incoming legalization of recreational cannabis, the topic of medical cannabis seems to have been lost in the haze, says one Victoria businessman.

While recreational users will be able to walk into a retail store and buy pot as easily as a bottle of beer, James Whitehead said the Health Canada mail-order system to obtain medical marijuana can be bureaucratic and confusing.

As a result, many who use cannabis for pain relief, arthritis or insomnia end up buying it from one of Victoria’s three dozen dispensaries.

The problem with that, Whitehead said, is that not all dispensary staff are qualified to give medical advice.

On today’s TSX Breakouts report, there are 31 stocks on the positive breakouts list (stocks with positive price momentum), and 12 securities are on the negative breakouts list (stocks with negative price momentum).

Discussed today is an industrial stock that has not appeared on the positive breakouts list given that it is below the $200-million screening threshold.

In the face of impending legalization, the District of Fort

St. James has adopted a controversial bylaw amendment prohibiting the sale and production of cannabis, but has added a sunset clause that would see it expire on Sept. 30, 2018.

The amended bylaw was adopted at a council meeting of the district on Wednesday.

At a previous council meeting on April 11, several residents had loudly voiced opposition to the bylaw, forcing the mayor to adjourn the meeting early. One resident, Sandi Taylor, told The Citizen she had gathered over 320 signatures of Fort St. James residents on a petition opposing the bylaw.

Further to the press releases dated February 15 and March 12, 2018, GreenTec Holdings Ltd. ("GreenTec") and Black Birch Capital Acquisition III Corp. (TSXV: BBC.H) ("Black Birch") are pleased to announce that GreenTec has completed its private placement offering of subscription receipts ("Subscription Receipts") led by PI Financial Corp. (the "Agent") for aggregate gross proceeds of $8,888,880 (the "Offering").  The Offering is being completed in connection with the proposed business combination (the "Transaction") between GreenTec and Black Birch previously announced in a press release of Black Birch dated February 6, 2018, which transaction is intended to constitute Black Birch's "Qualifying Transaction" pursuant to Policy 2.4 of the TSX Venture Exchange.

British Columbia may have unveiled its plan for regulating recreational marijuana, but the enforcement and testing for drug-impaired driving remains hazy.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the provinces need to hear "ASAP" from the federal government about what technology might be approved in testing for drug-impairment.

Currently, specially trained drug recognition officers conduct field sobriety tests based largely on visual assessments, rather than testing of bodily fluids.

Retired RCMP officer Steven Maxwell, who has trained officers on the field tests in Ontario and Quebec, says he believes recognition tests are very accurate — when conducted properly.

Municipal costs to legalize recreational marijuana cannot be quantified, but B.C. communities are still calling for half of the provincial cut of taxes.

“Yes, there are costs, there are real costs,” Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian said. “I believe that we should not be asking Kamloops taxpayers to pony up. I think that we should be getting that money through the people who are selling this product.”

Christian and Sicamous Mayor Terry Rysz are among B.C. mayors who want 50 per cent of the provincial share of taxation when marijuana is legalized. The topic was noticeably absent from provincial updates on Thursday regarding what recreational marijuana will look like in B.C.

Christian said exact costs for municipalities is unknown until legalization.

The Government of British Columbia announced a new legislation proposal on Thursday in preparation for Canada to legalize marijuana this year.

The Government of British Columbia is proposing new rules making 19 the legal age to purchase, sell or consume cannabis, allow adults to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis in public spaces and ban smoking or vaping cannabis in the same places tobacco smoking and vaping in prohibited. The legislation will also ban smoking or vaping recreational cannabis at playgrounds and other places where children gather.

District adds voice to municipalities calling for production to stay off ALR land.

North Saanich is adding its voice to a call for the province to ban recreational marijuana production on land within B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

Echoing a Central Saanich resolution presented earlier this month at the annual convention of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall got the support of most of her council to make a similar plea to Victoria.

Finall said she is going after recreational cannabis production, and not medicinal, due to the fact there’s a Supreme Court of Canada decision that makes access to medicinal cannabis a right.