Canopy Growth made waves with the announcement in January that it's building a large-scale hemp production facility in New York State. The company expects to have hemp cannabidiol (CBD) products on the market by the end of this year. Tilray jumped head first into the hemp market soon after Canopy's announcement with its acquisition of Manitoba Harvest, the leading hemp foods company in North America.

But what about Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB)? You might not have heard very much about the company's hemp CBD efforts lately. However, there's a pretty good argument to be made that Aurora just might emerge as the king of hemp CBD.

Women who use cannabis during pregnancy are twice as likely to experience a premature birth and have higher rates of potentially serious complications, according to a new study.

Twelve per cent of those who took the drug gave birth before 37 weeks, found researchers in Canada, where marijuana is legal. 

This compared to 6.1 per cent among women who did not report using the drug.

The study used responses form more than 661,000 pregnancies in Ontario, Canada, including nearly 10,000 where the mother said they used cannabis.

What happened

Shares of Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR)  rocketed nearly 50% higher last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the real estate investment trust ( REIT ) boosted its dividend.

So what

On June 14, Innovative Industrial Properties raised its quarterly cash dividend by 33% to $0.60 per share. At its current share price of $130, that places IIP's annualized dividend yield at 1.8%.

The cannabis market is expected to grow multi-fold in the next decade, given the legalisation of Cannabis around the world for its medicinal properties and recreational purposes.

Three important pot stocks are Zelda Therapeutics Limited, Creso Pharma Limited and Althea Group Holdings limited. Let’s dive deeper into the company’s recent developments influencing their stock prices.

Entrepreneur Conrad Floyd wants visitors to Niagara Falls to take their vacation to a higher level.

The Hamilton resident is in the process of converting a former derelict hotel on Lundy's Lane into the city's first cannabis-friendly inn.

"I feel Niagara is on a come back. For me, it's the promised land for investing, and cannabis tourism is a whole new industry."

When it opens later this year, the Pink Elephant Inn will feature 37 rooms, a four-season pool and a pizzeria.

Guests, who must be 19 or over, will also receive marijuana as part of the room rental.

"It's going to be all-inclusive," Floyd said.

And the hotel won't be limited to bud and breakfast. There will also be a growing operation on site.

Few sectors have captured the imagination of investors better than the marijuana industry.

It’s easy to see why. We all know numerous people who consume marijuana on a regular basis. These folks are more likely than ever to be open about it, since the stigma surrounding the drug has really diminished. Legalization definitely helped this as well.

Medical marijuana is also a promising sector. Millions of patients are successfully using cannabis as part of a pain-management program, which is a much better choice than harsh opioids. Epileptics are also reporting widespread success using pot as part of their treatment programs, too. We’ve likely just scratched the surface of the health benefits of marijuana, although there are risks associated with long-term use.

Hexo (TSX:HEXO) has a great job of uniquely positioning itself as a prime candidate for an eventual takeover by a larger publicly traded competitor.

For one, it’s currently trading at a market capitalization of a little more than $1.75 billion. This company sits firmly above the “riff-raff” of cannabis stocks but is still cheap enough to be easily affordable to a much larger suitor.

While $1.75 billion may sound like a lot to ordinary people like you and me, when you consider the sheer magnitude of mega-cap businesses like Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz, and even Canada’s own Loblaw, the company’s price tag wouldn’t amount to much more than a light snack at the local cafeteria for these giant whales.

Nova Scotians aren’t feeling too healthy compared to other Canadian provinces.

A 2018 survey of the province from Statistics Canada showed that 20,300 fewer Nova Scotians described their health as “very good” or “excellent” when compared to the previous year — the number fell from 494,300 to 474,000 respondents.

An increase of 12,000 Nova Scotians described their general health as “fair” or “poor” – up to 128,000 from 116,000 in 2017.

The government has released a planned legal cannabis production facility, promising to be the largest in the province, from further environmental assessment.

Back Home Medical Cannabis Corp., a local subsidiary of Ontario-based company Biome Grow, got the go-ahead to move forward with its Barachois Brook cannabis production facility on Thursday. 

"People in Bay St. George now have hope that there's something there, that not only can employ them, but might be there to employ their kids," said Dave Callahan, president of Back Home, which has a mission statement in its name. 

"Back Home cannabis is all about bringing people back home from away and creating work for people back home so we can stay here," Callahan said. 

What happened

Shares of Canadian extraction specialist Neptune Wellness Solutions (NASDAQ: NEPT)gained 71.3% in the first half of 2019 (January through June), according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

This performance takes a cue from the Roman god for which the company is named as it rises from the sea of top names in the marijuana space. Shares of the three largest cannabis grower stocks by market cap -- Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC), Aurora Cannabis, and Cronos Group -- rose 50%, 57.7%, and 53.8%, respectively, in the first six months of the year. For additional context, the S&P 500 returned 18.5% over this period.