WeedMD Inc. (CVE:WMD) and Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE: VIDA) announced Wednesday they have signed a joint agreement to develop and operate Cannabis Beverages Inc. at WeedMD’s greenhouse facility in Strathroy, Ontario.

The joint venture will be focused on product development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of cannabis-infused beverages for Canada and export to licensed international markets.

Owners of illegal pot dispensaries in Ottawa are welcoming the shift in the province's approach to retail cannabis sales, but say they're facing a serious dilemma in their quest for legitimacy.

Under the plan announced Monday, the province will handle online sales of marijuana when it's made legal Oct. 17, but private retailers will be allowed to sell the drug directly to customers beginning next April.

"[Overall] it's positive news," said Benoit-Claude Briand-Turpin, a volunteer at Cannabliss, one of more than a dozen illegal pot shops operating in Ottawa.

In February, CBC News counted 17 of the dispensaries operating in the city, but it's believed some have closed or relocated since, while others have opened.

The Second Cup Ltd. says it is actively reviewing locations in Ontario for potential conversion to cannabis retail stores in light of policy changes in the province.

The company's announcement comes after Ontario's Progressive Conservative government said it would allow private retailers to sell recreational marijuana starting next April.

Second Cup had announced a partnership with marijuana clinic operator National Access Cannabis in April to potentially convert coffee shops to retail stores under the brand Meta Cannabis Supply Co.

At the time, the companies said they were focused on Western Canada, as Ontario had planned to sell cannabis through provincial liquor commissions, in line with policies in Quebec and several Atlantic provinces.

Hemp producers across Western Canada will potentially gain access to lucrative new markets thanks to changes for this year’s harvest.

For the first time, hemp growers are allowed to harvest their plants’ buds, leaves and flowers, after receiving an exemption from Health Canada.

The market opportunities will be significant, said Ted Haney, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance.

“It is the beginning of a new and significant and important source of income to the industrial hemp sector. Absolutely no question about that,” he said.

Canadian marijuana stocks rallied on Wednesday morning after Constellation Brands announced that it had struck a deal to invest $5-billion in Canopy Growth Corp., boosting investor confidence that the nascent marijuana sector is attractive to blue-chip consumer brands.

Canopy shares surged 32 per cent in early trading, taking the stock to $42.37 in Toronto, up $10.26.

Constellation Brands Inc., the US$39-billion U.S.-based beer, wine and spirits producer, said that it would buy 104.5 million Canopy shares priced at $48.60 each, marking a significant premium over Tuesday’s closing price of $32.15.

Province Brands of Canada — the Canadian company developing a suite of premium non-alcoholic, cannabis-powered beers and spirits including the world's first beer brewed from the cannabis plant — has announced the closing of its Series A round of funding with $10.95-million raised by 91 accredited investors. Province Brands of Canada initiated this funding round in April of 2018, and its closing brings the total funding raised by the company since its launch to more than $15-million.

The summer has been a rough time for Canadian cannabis stocks and Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ.TO) (HMLSF) has fallen approx. 25% from its late June highs.

This weakness has taken place on light volume and we have been closely monitoring this trend. Although the decline has been painful, it does not come as a surprise. During the last three years, we have seen the cannabis sector pullback during the summer months and this year has been no different.

We expect the selloff to end very soon and investors need to be monitoring the cannabis sector. Today, we have issued an update on three Canadian licensed producers that are worth highlighting.

Ontario is ditching plans for government-run cannabis outlets in favour of letting private businesses run the shops.

The last-minute switch means people in Ontario won’t be able to shop in any stores at all when recreational marijuana becomes legal across the country on Oct. 17.

The government aims to have private stores running by April 1, 2019, which leaves time for wide consultations about the new system, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said Monday.

However, cannabis will be sold online for home delivery on Day 1, Fedeli promised.

The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., the subsidiary of the LCBO set up by the previous Liberal government, will still act as a wholesaler and be responsible for online sales.

 Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora" or the "Company") (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) today announced that its acquisition of Anandia Laboratories Inc. ("Anandia") is now complete. The previously announced arrangement, under the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), means that among other things, Aurora has now acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Anandia in an all-share transaction (the "Transaction").

Anandia is a world-leading cannabis-focused science company, specialized in genomics, metabolite profiling, plant breeding, disease characterization, and cultivar certification, as well as providing testing services to producers and patient-cultivators.