Shortly after Prohibition ended, one of Ben Kovler’s ancestors invested $5,000 in a family of distillers led by James Beauregard Beam.

Kovler, 39, sees similarities between the liquor industry of the 1930s, when his great-grandfather Harry Blum helped build Jim Beam into one of the most recognizable bourbon brands, and today’s market for cannabis. With the end of what he calls “Prohibition 2.0,” Kovler is preparing to take Green Thumb Industries public in Canada.

GTI, a cultivator, processor and dispensary owner that operates in six U.S. states, plans to go public next month through a reverse merger with an already-listed Canadian company, Kovler, the firm’s founder and chairman, said in an interview. He’s also the biggest shareholder.

Canada’s biggest marijuana company has applied to become the first pot producer to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Canopy Growth Corp., which already trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WEED, said Monday it expects its shares to begin trading in New York under the symbol CGC before the end of May.

Chief Executive Officer Bruce Linton said earlier this year that he was one day away from filing to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market but pulled back to focus on closing a deal with alcohol giant Constellation Brands Inc. He said Monday that he chose the NYSE over the Nasdaq because of the additional credibility it lends his company.

Even though recreational cannabis will be fully legal in Canada in the coming months, there is still little clarity about what exactly Canadians crossing the U.S. border can expect after legalization is implemented.

It will still be illegal to bring any type of cannabis over the U.S. border because the substance will remain federally illegal there, however there are fears that Canadians who simply admit to consuming it at any point of their lives to U.S. border agents could be permanently barred entry into the U.S. or face other punitive measures.

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.

Breakthroughs in science and shifting viewpoints in the last decade have given cannabis room to grow as a safe, and practical plant that people can use in everyday life.

One thing that science is still showing however, is that like other psychoactive substances such as caffeine or alcohol, marijuana can have long-term impacts on memory, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking in the developing brain of an adolescent.

With Canada legalizing marijuana across the country this summer, there is some concern from parents who are worried about how to discuss cannabis with their children. The worry is that if the government says marijuana is okay, then my kids will think it’s safe for them to use. Recent studies however have shown that parents may not need to worry.

We're not encouraging marijuana tourism here, but....

As Canadians, we constantly pay higher prices than Americans for almost everything from apparel to alcohol to air travel.

But at least it turns out we get a break on one item: marijuana.

So far, the NDP government hasn't faced any serious criticism from opposition MLAs in its efforts to amend the Motor Vehicle Act in response to the federal legalization of cannabis.

But near the end of a debate over Bll 17 on May 8, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth expressed serious concerns about how some B.C. residents will be treated entering the U.S. if they truthfully answer a border guard's question.

In particular, he's worried about the potential of ordinary citizens being denied access to the United States as a result of doing something legal in Canada: consuming cannabis.

Give it a few years, but British Columbia might see a tax windfall of over $110 million per year from the sale of legal cannabis, if its experience is anything like Washington State.

“When you’re three or four years into your market and pretty well established, I believe that’s within possibility,” said James MacRae, an industry consultant with the firm Straight Lines Analytics. 

The figure MacRae calculated is $112 million, based on B.C. being about two-thirds the size of Washington State’s market and using a basic description of Canada’s tax regime.

Canada’s rapidly growing cannabis industry now dominates the global trade in legal marijuana, says a report from a Washington, D. C., data analytics firm.

The companies that are frantically building growing facilities to supply Canadians with marijuana are also in a unique position to sell their products and expertise around the world, says the report from New Frontier Data. The independent research firm’s report provides a snapshot of Canada’s cannabis industry.

Canadian cannabis companies are exporting their products to countries on multiple continents, the report notes.

“Canadian (companies) are allowed to export abroad, making them some of the first companies in the world to sign international cannabis trade deals,” says the report.

In less than a month, Canada's Senate will be making a game-changing decision that'll impact the legal cannabis industry. At stake is bill C-45, which is better known as the Cannabis Act. If approved by Canada's federal government, it would make our neighbor to the north the very first developed country in the world to have legalized adult-use marijuana. In the process, it'll also be opening the door to billions of dollars in added annual sales.