Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB) continues to acquire market share with its latest deal making it the largest marijuana stock in the industry, assuming shareholders give it the okay to proceed. The company has been busy this year; just months ago it also was involved in what was, at that time, the largest acquisition in the industry. It’s a different approach than the one rival Canopy Growth Corp.(TSX:WEED) has taken, as it hasn’t been involved in such high-profile deals.

Diane Francis: Concert promoter Michael Cohl is publishing a website, launching a business and staging a high-level conference, which he calls the 'Davos of Cannabis'.

Michael Cohl has made a fortune as a Canadian concert promoter, theatrical producer and touring impresario. He has represented more than 150 artists from Frank Sinatra to the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd and U2 to name just a few of his most famous clients.

Michael not only organized their tours, but also helped them with everything from merchandising their swag to marketing their DVDs, TV specials, books and films. Along the way, he racked up a fortune and landed a Juno, a Billboard, a place in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, a Tony and an Emmy.

'We did a lot of creative testing and audience testing'.

As the P.E.I. government launches its campaign to educate Islanders about marijuana, it might want to look to Colorado, which has been running a campaign to educate its citizens for three and a half years.

The province announced Wednesday it had issued a request for proposals for an education campaign to teach Islanders about marijuana use.

According to Tara Dunn, marijuana communications specialist for the Colorado Department of Public Health, its program has had a lot of success but is also in the midst of a major relaunch.

The legalization of cannabis will create thousands of jobs, bring in billions of dollars and represent an added bonus for the tourism industry, economic and tourism leaders said at a cannabis legalization forum Thursday in Kelowna.

“Take away all the health issues, it’s a product and there’s an opportunity for economic development,” said Dan Rogers, executive director of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce.

Niche Canada, a not-for-profit organization established to assist in the transition to the legalization of cannabis, hosted the forum at the Rotary Centre for the Arts.

Cannabis legalization will create between 50,000 and 150,000 jobs across Canada, said David Purcell, director of emerging business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Encouraging news from Valens Groworks today, which announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Speakeasy Cannabis Club.

"This partnership with Speakeasy dovetails neatly with our expansion objectives. As a specialist in the extraction of cannabis, Valens creates some of the best oils in the world, with our proprietary process creating a product that is clear, transparent 100% cannabis oil,” said Valens chief executive officer, Tyler Robson.

As well, Speakeasy is going to source 2500-5000kg of cannabis per month for Valens.

A collective of Canadian organizations will present an open letter to the provincial and federal justice ministers tomorrow morning (May 18) to sound the alarm on regulations that would stifle the country’s craft cannabis industry.

“The timing is good right now because it’s right in the middle of the B.C. Legislative process. We think there is still time to make these changes and make it possible for the B.C. cannabis sector to survive,” says Michael Davis, spokesperson for the Ethical Cannabis Producers Association.

NPA councillor wants cannabis at pot shops to come from Health Canada-approved producers.

You may have heard that NPA Coun. Melissa De Genova introduced a motion at city council this week in an effort to take a bite out of organized crime’s involvement in marijuana dispensaries.

You probably didn’t hear that her motion went up in smoke…for now.

You probably didn’t hear because you were not in the council chamber at 10 p.m. Wednesday, or watching the livestream from your computer when debate on the motion came to a halt after De Genova’s NPA colleague, Hector Bremner, voted against extending the meeting beyond 10 bells.

As a rule, council has to be unanimous in wanting to go beyond 10 p.m.

Why did Bremner do it?

The process of making pot-production and sales a legitimate industry can best be described as “hurry up and wait,” said the City of Vernon manager of economic development and tourism.

Kevin Poole says the regulatory framework for a legalized cannabis industry being developed by federal and provincial governments has raised many cost issues for their civic counterparts, and has raised questions ranging from how to train and educate the industry workforce to tourism marketing opportunities.

“This industry will be about creating partnerships and right now the provincial government is a bit slow out of the gate on developing a framework for how this is going to unfold,” Poole said.

The cost of roadside testing is part of the overall $1.4-million approved budget to police pot in 2018.

Edmonton police project that roadside saliva testing when pot is legalized will cost $300,000 annually, though the actual testing devices have not yet been approved for use in Canada.

"It's a high cost but it's necessary if you want to test that specific enough to differentiate between different drugs," said Supt. Al Murphy from the police service's legalization of cannabis committee.

"It's an unfortunate necessity of this, but I think it would be expected of us to have tests that are appropriate and acceptable by the courts."

Namaste Technologies Inc., the owner of online stores that sell vaporizers and bongs, is taking unusual steps to stabilize its share price and thwart an attack on its business by short-sellers.

The small Vancouver company is asking its investors to promise that they won’t sell their shares over the next three months. And as a thanks for those who show proof that they held their shares, Namaste says it’s going to throw a big party at the end of the summer.

Namaste investors have had little to celebrate of late. The stock fell 2.35 per cent on Thursday to $1.66, well below its late December peak of $4.40 amid a sector-wide sell-off.