66 out of 371 companies currently listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange have cannabis-related businesses.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), an alternative stock exchange in Canada, has partnered with New York-headquartered the OTC (over-the-counter) Markets Group to offer early-stage companies a new initial public offering program in North America, and they are setting their cap at Israeli startups.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index recovered from an earlier drop Tuesday to close the day slightly ahead.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 11.05 points to 15,618.93.

In New York, markets were mixed, but also recovered from bigger drops earlier.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64.10 points to 24,099.05. At one point Tuesday, it had shed more than 350 points.

The S&P 500 index gained 6.75 points to 2,654.80 and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 64.43 points to 7,130.70.

The June gold contract shed US$12.40 to US$1,306.80 an ounce and the July copper contract declined about three cents to roughly US$3.04 a pound.

With cannabis legalization across multiple states in the U.S. and other countries around the world, there’s been an explosion of research firms looking into the industry.

The state Department of Health is boosting New York's medical marijuana program to meet growing demand.

Effective immediately, nurse practitioners can register online and certify patients the same day. Officials say that will help streamline and simplify the registration process and make it easier for nurse practitioners to speed up the process.

The Health Department also has approved the addition of a second course on the medical use of marijuana for nurse practitioners who want to participate in the state program.

The state's medical marijuana program has more than 22,000 patients, and that number is on the rise. In late March, the department added chronic pain as a qualifying condition and since then an additional 7,504 patients have become certified.

Collaboration will begin immediately in New York State with additional states to follow.

iAnthus Capital has agreed to buy Valley Agriceuticals for $17.3 million. ValleyAg has just received one of ten medical marijuana licenses issued by the state of New York. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

Eager to get in on what’s expected to be a booming industry, cannabis companies and investors are beginning to flock to New York state. It’s a trend that could pick up even more steam after lawmakers in Albany gathered Monday to announce a renewed push to legalize adult-use cannabis.

State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-New York) and Rep. Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo), along with advocates organized by the Drug Policy Alliance, held a press conference about the reintroduction of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). The legislation, S.3040/A.3506, would tax and regulate cannabis in a fashion similar to alcohol.

With little more than a week left in the legislative session, some state lawmakers and community advocates are renewing the push for legalized recreational marijuana in New York State.

Buffalo Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Manhattan State Senator Liz Krueger are joining with advocates organized by the Drug Policy Alliance Monday afternoon to announce reintroduction of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

Past efforts have stalled in legislative committees. The bill would establish a legal market for marijuana in New York and tax and regulate it like alcohol.

It was welcome news to Scott Treatman when the New York State Department of Health announced in December that it was expanding access to medical marijuana for those with chronic pain. Treatman’s practice in the village of Cazenovia, southeast of Syracuse, already treated a bevy of patients with conditions that ranged from lymphoma to multiple sclerosis. Most of them were referrals from other doctors who couldn’t (or often wouldn’t) prescribe the Schedule 1 drug. There were many more people, though, who weren’t covered.

The Buffalo Institute for Genomics and Data Analytics (BIG) — a University of Buffalo program —has announced a strategic partnership with MMJ International Holdings. (MMJIH.com)

The University of Buffalo Bio Informatics and Genomics Center (BIG), part of the Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion investment to grow jobs through the innovation economy, will invest $800,000 in support of MMJ International Holding’s medical cannabis research project in Buffalo.