The North American Marijuana Index fell on Thursday, as pot stock investors celebrated the Canadian Senate’s passage of Bill C-45, which is set to legalize marijuana following 95 years of prohibition across the country. Following a vote of 56 to 30, with one abstention, in favor of the legislation, the bill heads back to to the House of Commons where MPs will have to vote on nearly four dozen amendments added by the Senate. Although mostly minor, some amendments do place considerable restrictions on Canadians, such as one allowing provinces to ban home cultivation of cannabis.

Cannabis company assesses compliance from labels to licensing.

Cannabis commerce is evolving dynamically and often dramatically. To stay abreast of up-to-the-minute regulations and current competitive landscape, cannabis-related companies need a highly skilled compliance partner.

Denver’s Highmark Data was founded to address all key business and legal intelligence needed to make the smartest and most compliant decisions. Cannabis companies partnering with Highmark Data can continue revving up their growth engine while ensuring full adherence to the latest municipal, state and federal regulations and “murmurings” that may substantially impact business operations.

CEO Perry Davidson:  We're a hardware company, a medical devices company, for administering medical cannabis.

The capital market has been swooning recently over listed cannabis companies, especially over the as yet unfulfilled promise of marketing the product overseas. Meanwhile, while approval for exporting cannabis is being delayed, quite a few less prominent private companies are starting to fulfill their promises in the Israeli market.

Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries is the latest cannabis company to abandon hope of a U.S. IPO in favor of a reverse takeover in Canada and access to growth capital.

At some point in June, Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries will become a publicly traded company in Canada and raise millions in a private placement, but CEO Pete Kadens won't talk about it.

He is seated in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel and he's apologizing. "We can't talk about that. We can talk about lots of other things, but not that."

Smoking pot is not the gasp-inducing, hardcore past time it was once considered to be. Weed for medicinal use has been legalized in Canada since 2001, and they are on their way to legalizing recreational use. In the US, 29 states permit medicinal marijuana, and nine say it’s okay to light up without a prescription. A Gallup poll from last year revealed that 64 percent of Americans support legalization, and the numbers are only going up. Everyone from the republican grandmother next door to the most popular college professor has dabbled in the stuff, and celebrities are no different. Here are 11 celebrities who have proclaimed their support of the hemp plant, some might surprise you:

The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (TSE:HMMJ) is being met with stiff resistance, threatening the near-term upside potential of the cannabis sector. The weakness comes in lead-up to a key third reading vote on Bill C-45 (Cannabis Act) on June 7, which is widely expected to pass. We explore further.

With full adult-use legalization looming, the recreational marijuana industry is gathering its resources to provide several options for tomorrow’s consumers. While smoking the plant matter will be the primary market at first, once restrictions are lifted, the future of the sector points heavily towards non-inhaled products—namely in drinks.

Valens GroWorks Corp. (CSE:VGW) (VGW.CN) (CNSX:VGW), a multi-licensed company, based in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, that recognizes the trend in the Canadian cannabis industry toward oils and derivatives and is uniquely positioned to capitalize on it.

The last week has been quite busy for the cannabis sector as companies have announced earnings, acquisitions, and partnerships. This is an exciting time to be a cannabis investor and today, we have highlighted 7 important company announcements that investors need to be aware of.

7 Developments to be Aware of

The cannabis-derived chemical is non-psychoactive, and – while federally illegal – has been hailed as a cure for disease.

In early May, a federal court ruled that cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical produced by the cannabis plant, is federally illegal, in the same category as LSD and heroin, which the government considers to be dangerous and devoid of medical value.