A top official of the U.S. Customs Border Protection confirmed Wednesday that anyone working or investing in Canada’s cannabis industry will be treated as if they are an illegal drug trafficker.

Despite that Canada will have legal cannabis nationwide in a month, and that a majority of states have legalized cannabis to some extent, the plant remains illegal at the federal level. The U.S. government views foreigners working in the marijuana industry the same way they would someone working for an illegal drug cartel or as a dealer, regardless of their home nation’s laws.

The key to a quality product is consistency, according to Karen Parent, who works as the Chief Quality and Compliance Officer at Zenabis - one of Canada’s largest Licensed Cannabis Producers, writes Brandon Hicks.

Parent’s job, as she puts it, is to "provide quality assurance and compliance, guidance and strategy for the facilities to ensure that we protect our license and meet all of the requisite regulatory requirements within Canada, as well as internationally."

Southwestern Ontario is now a trailblazer in pot-growing.

London-area marijuana producer WeedMD is believed to be the first company in Canada to sell cannabis seeds abroad, a deal that puts the region at the forefront of an emerging international market, says the head of a marijuana trade association.

WeedMD, an Aylmer-based grower with a greenhouse operation in Strathroy, said Thursday it has exported seeds to Australia’s Medifarm, the country’s first-ever licensed medical marijuana producer.

Allan Rewak of the Cannabis Council of Canada, an industry group representing WeedMD and some of the country’s largest marijuana producers, called the Australia deal a “smart play.”

Marijuana farm odour and security on B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve are issues of concern for municipal leaders gathered in Whistler for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities conference. “The No. 1 issue is going to be odour,” said Vanderhoof Coun. Brian Frenkel.

“I’m going to suggest the odour doesn’t come and go,” added Chilliwack poultry farmer and city councillor Chris Kloot. “It’s 24/7.” Control of odour can fall under federal, provincial and local controls, government officials said.

The federal Cannabis Act outlines cultivation and processing practices, B.C. Ministry of Agriculture senior policy analyst Jackie Cushing said. Cannabis can be grown in open fields or in buildings constructed specifically for growing crops prior to July 13.

The parent company of marijuana producer Organigram Inc. has closed a $10-million investment deal with Hyasynth Biologicals, boosting its access to biotechnology that can produce cannabis' active chemical ingredients in a lab without needing a costly grow-op.

Organigram says Hyasynth's proprietary technology can produce active ingredients that occur naturally in the cannabis plant, called phytocannabinoids, using genetically engineered strains of yeast in a technique known as biofermentation. The Montreal-based biotech's enzymes and yeast strains have enabled them to produce cannabinoids such as cannabidiol, known as CBD, which can be used for cannabis-based products such as beverages or pharmaceutical products.

Shares of Tilray surged as much as 9% in premarket trading on Thursday after the Canadian medical-cannabis producer said it had received regulatory approval to export more products to Germany.

Tilray’s medical-cannabis oil was already on shelves in German pharmacies. The company will soon be able to sell its whole-flower products in addition, making it the only producer that sells both types in Germany.

With a month to go before marijuana is legalized in Canada, Quebec's new cannabis agency is calling on the federal government to address the worry that Canadians who work in the industry may be barred from entering the United States.

"I think the citizens have to be protected. It's as simple as that," says Jean-François Bergeron, the provincial liquor board (SAQ) executive who's heading up the creation of the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC).

"We are obviously concerned."

While the SQDC and its counterparts in other provinces have been examining that issue closely, there is little they can do to influence the way the U.S. manages its borders.

That's a discussion that must be left up to Ottawa and Washington, Bergeron said.

The company that partnered with the large-scale Village Farms greenhouse in East Ladner to grow recreational marijuana has secured another major contract, this one in Newfoundland.

Emerald Health Therapeutics this month announced it has been named as the cannabis supplier by Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation to provide adult-use cannabis products. The contract starts Oct. 17, when recreational pot is set to be legal in Canada

“We’re proud to work with the NLC as a preferred licensed producer to serve Newfoundland and Labrador in the upcoming legal cannabis market,” said Chris Wagner, CEO at Emerald, in a press release. “This represents the third provincial agreement for our team and we expect to share additional supply updates in the future.”

Canopy Growth's US$11 billion-plus market value is on par with Barrick Gold's, even though the mining firm is expected to post 20 times the sales this year. Canada’s cannabis companies are experiencing a rush of investment that’s making even some participants paranoid.

“You might argue our valuations are a little bit ahead of our skis,” said Paul Rosen, chief executive officer of Tidal Royalty Corp., which finances weed companies.