TORONTO — Canada's Senate gave final passage Tuesday to the federal government's bill to legalize cannabis, though Canadians will have to wait at least a couple of months to legally buy marijuana as their country becomes the second in the world to make pot legal nationwide.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government has said provincial and territorial governments will need eight to 12 weeks following Senate passage and royal assent to prepare for retail sales. Trudeau's government is expected to decide a date that would legalize it in early or mid-September. A spokesman for Trudeau said they are not in a rush to do it.

"It's been too easy for our kids to get marijuana - and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate," Trudeau tweeted.

Canada is following the lead of Uruguay in allowing a nationwide, legal marijuana market, although each Canadian province is working up its own rules for pot sales. The federal government and the provinces also still need to publish regulations that will govern the cannabis trade.

The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 52-29.

"We have seen in the Senate tonight a historic vote that ends 90 years of prohibition of cannabis in this country, 90 years of needless criminalization, 90 years of a just-say-no approach to drugs that hasn't worked," said independent Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the bill in the upper house.

Canada is the largest developed country to end a nationwide prohibition on marijuana use. In the neighboring U.S., nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana. California, home to one in eight Americans, launched the United States' biggest legal marijuana marketplace on Jan. 1.</s>TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s Senate has given final passage to the federal government’s bill to legalize recreational cannabis, though Canadians will have to wait at least a few months to legally buy marijuana.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government has said provincial and territorial governments will need eight to 12 weeks following Senate passage and royal assent to prepare for retail sales. Trudeau’s Cabinet is expected to decide a legalization date in early or mid-September.

The law makes Canada the second country to have a nationwide, legal marijuana market, after Uruguay. Each province in Canada is coming up with rules for the sale of recreational pot.

The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 52-29 on Tuesday.</s>Canada's Senate has given final passage to the federal government's bill to legalise recreational cannabis, though Canadians will have to wait at least a few months to legally buy marijuana.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government has said provincial and territorial governments will need eight to 12 weeks following Senate passage and royal assent to prepare for retail sales.

Trudeau's Cabinet is expected to decide a legalisation date in early or mid-September.

The law makes Canada the second country to have a nationwide, legal marijuana market, after Uruguay.

Each province in Canada is coming up with rules for the sale of recreational pot.

The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 52-29 today.</s>Choom™ has secured the rights to an additional 7 retail locations in Alberta. Choom has 25 leases in highly strategic and secure locations in Alberta with 24 applications submitted. Choom has also secured 3 additional B.C. retail leases, combined with the existing 7, for a total of 10 retail opportunities in B.C. In all cases, the retail opportunities are subject to all necessary governmental and municipal approvals being granted. This number is expected to grow over the coming months as the Company is currently negotiating additional leases with the intention of submitting applications for retail licenses. The following link will bring you to our retail opportunity map: https://investors.choom.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ChoomRetailMap.pdf

"This is a significant step towards establishing Choom's strategy to be a leading private cannabis retailer in Canada," states Choom's President and CEO, Chris Bogart. "Market share and customer acquisition in the upcoming recreational landscape will be very difficult to come by, these applications are key to Choom's retail strategy. Choom's brand was created exclusively for the recreational market, core to our values is cultivating a great experience for the consumer and part of this strategy is retail distribution. We are committed to pursuing retail licensing opportunities across the country and remain focused on cultivating 'Good Time with Good Friends'."

SAY HELLO TO CHOOMTM 

Choom™ was created for and inspired by the Choom Gang; a group of buddies in Honolulu during the 1970's who loved to smoke weed—or as the locals called it, "Choom". Now, after four decades, Choom™ is bringing the spirit of Hawaii to Canada. Choom™ is focused on delivering an elevated customer experience through our curated retail environments, high-grade handcrafted Cannabis supply, and a diversity of brands for the Canadian recreational consumer.

We're planting our flag in the rapidly growing legal cannabis industry in Canada with our own brand of high-grade handcrafted herb. For additional information please visit us at: www.choom.ca

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Forward-looking information 

This news release contains forward-looking information relating to the Company's proposed activities and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information relates to management's future outlook and anticipated events or results, and include statements or information regarding the plans to obtain directly or through acquisition cannabis retail opportunities, expected governmental approvals for cannabis retail stores, and the general prospects or plans for a cannabis retail network. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These factors include risks and uncertainties associated with the results of diligence investigations, developments in the cannabis sector, delays resulting from or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, reliance on key personnel, regulatory risks and delays and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of the Company's interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings, including the Company's Listing Statement, made with the applicable Canadian securities regulators. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information.</s>XYLOKASTRO, Greece (Reuters) - Konstantinos Syros turned to cannabis 26 years ago after a motorcycle accident left him with deformed arm and debilitating pain that conventional treatments could not assuage. For years he had to buy it illegally. Now, he plans to grow it himself.

Greece legalized cannabis for medical use last year, and in March this year it lifted a ban on growing and producing it, in the hope of drawing foreign investment into the sector.

The law permitting Greeks to grow cannabis has come as a relief to patients, who say that lifting the ban on using it was only half the battle, as long as it remained hard to get.

The number seeking medicinal cannabis has grown “by thousands,” said Syros, who heads the Organisation for Patients Supporting Medicinal Use of Cannabis and lives off a disability pension. “They call me desperately asking for the medicine and the medicine does not exist.”

Imports of medicinal cannabis products were given the green light last year, but complicated regulations made it difficult to arrange.

Syros said he has been arrested three times for growing cannabis in his home. Now, he has begun growing hemp in a field near his home in Xylokastro, outside Athens, as part of a collective which makes products including creams and oils. He is planning soon to produce medicinal cannabis himself.

Georgis Economopoulos, a neurologist and head of the Greek Association for Therapeutic Cannabis, said thousands of patients in Greece use cannabis for a range of serious conditions.

“It has thrilled patients and their families, who were tortured with having to go abroad to find cannabis,” he said of the law.

Jaqueline Poitras, a member of the Mothers for Cannabis Foundation whose 18-year-old daughter is epileptic, said she had to try 17 different medications with dangerous side effects before using cannabis oil in 2014 to manage seizures.

“If you open the pamphlets in some of these boxes, some of the side effects are things like coma, death,” she said. “This should have been the first drug of choice and not the last drug of choice.”</s>OTTAWA — The Senate has passed the federal government's bill to legalize recreational cannabis by a vote of 52-29.</s>As the Canadian recreational cannabis market approaches its birth with legalization quickly approaching, leaders in the industry are preparing for the inevitable consumer demand through ramped up measures to add strategic locations as well as well as a growing number of mergers and acquisitions. As a whole, Canadians spent north of $5 billion on cannabis in 2017 according to data released by Statistics Canada. That number is projected to increase when recreational cannabis becomes readily available. One of the big reasons that marijuana is no longer being viewed as taboo was publish in an article published by Deloitte, titled "Recreational Marijuana Insights and Opportunities," as it found that the typical recreational marijuana consumers were not looking for a quick high but instead use marijuana for medical needs such as a sleep aid or stress reducer. Active companies in the industry making moves to ready that include: Choom™ Holdings Inc. (CSE:CHOO) (OTC:CHOOF), Hiku Brands Company Ltd. (OTC:DJACF) (CSE:HIKU), Medmen Enterprises Inc. (OTC:MMNFF) (CSE:MMEN), Newstrike Resources Ltd. (OTC:NWKRF) (TSX-V:HIP), Namaste Technologies Inc.'s (OTC:NXTFF) (TSX-V:N).

Choom™ Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF) BREAKING NEWS: Choom™, an emerging, fully-integrated cannabis company, is pleased to announce that it has advanced the build-out of its cannabis retail store network in Alberta and British Columbia.

Choom™ has secured the rights to an additional 7 retail locations in Alberta. Choom has 25 leases in highly strategic and secure locations in Alberta with 24 applications submitted. Choom has also secured 3 additional B.C retail leases, combined with the existing 7, for a total of 10 retail opportunities in B.C. In all cases, the retail opportunities are subject to all necessary governmental and municipal approvals being granted. This number is expected to grow over the coming months as the Company is currently negotiating additional leases with the intention of submitting applications for retail licenses. The following link will bring you to our retail opportunity map: https://investors.choom.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ChoomRetailMap.pdf

"This is a significant step towards establishing Choom's strategy to be a leading private cannabis retailer in Canada," states Choom's President and CEO, Chris Bogart, he also adds, "Market share and customer acquisition in the upcoming recreational landscape will be very difficult to come by, these applications are key to Choom's retail strategy. Choom's brand was created exclusively for the recreational market, core to our values is cultivating a great experience for the consumer and part of this strategy is retail distribution. We are committed to pursuing retail licensing opportunities across the country and remain focused on cultivating 'Good Time with Good Friends'." Read this and more news for Choom™ at: http://www.marketnewsupdates.com/news/choo.html

Additional industry related developments from around the markets:

Hiku Brands Company Ltd. (OTCPK:DJACF) (CSE:HIKU.CN) and WeedMD Inc. (WDDMF) recently announced that WeedMD has obtained an interim order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice authorizing the holding of an annual and special meeting (the "WeedMD Meeting") of WeedMD shareholders ("WeedMD Shareholders") to consider the previously announced merger (the "Merger Transaction" or the "Arrangement") between Hiku and WeedMD. As described in the joint Hiku and WeedMD press release dated April 19, 2018, WeedMD will be seeking WeedMD Shareholder approval for the Arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the "Arrangement Resolution"). The WeedMD Meeting to consider the Arrangement Resolution will be held on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (Toronto time) at Fogler, Rubinoff LLP, located at TD Centre North Tower, Suite 3000, 77 King Street, Toronto, Ontario.

Medmen Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB:MMNFF) (CSE:MMEN.CN) recently announced that the Company opened its newest store on Venice's Abbot Kinney Boulevard on Saturday. With banks of news media cameras surrounding the storefront, Medmen co-founders Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin cut the ribbon. They were flanked by U.S. congressman Ted Lieu, California state senator Ben Allen, assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer and celebrity Rosario Dawson. Lines of customers waited to enter the store. Mr. Lieu, whose district includes Abbot Kinney, welcomed customers and greeted the press. It marked the first known time an active U.S. congressman was featured in the grand opening of a marijuana dispensary. It underscored how mainstream marijuana has become, and how California is leading the way.

Newstrike Resources Ltd. (OTCPK:NWKRF) (TSX-V:HIP.V) recently announced its wholly owned subsidiary and licensed producer, Up Cannabis Inc., has joined the newly formed Global Cannabis Partnership as a founding member, and will contribute to its mandate of creating a worldwide social responsibility standard for the safe and responsible production, distribution, and consumption of legal adult-use cannabis. The partnership, announced earlier today at the World Cannabis Congress in Saint John, N.B., includes a wide range of stakeholders including government agencies, licensed producers and affiliate organizations that will focus on the legalized cannabis industry.

On June 18, further to Namaste Technologies Inc.'s (OTCQB:NXTFF) (TSX-V:N.V) Jan. 18, 2018, letter of intent that the company has signed a subscription agreement to acquire 10 per cent of the issued share capital of Israeli licensed producer of medical cannabis, Cannbit Ltd., for 2.5 million Israel new shekels or approximately $908,000, which includes a combination of both cash and shares. Subsequently, Cannbit has also signed a binding agreement to complete a merger with a company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, whereby Cannbit will retain 85-per-cent ownership of the combined public entity, the company believes that its investment will be immediately accretive in nature based on the valuation metrics of the transaction which consequently valued Cannbit significantly higher than what Namaste acquired its 10-per-cent equity stake for. In anticipation of closing this transaction, Namaste has established a supply arrangement with Cannbit to export cannabis to the Canadian market (subject to approval by Health Canada and the Israeli government), and will also engage with Cannbit to expand the company's Israeli-based vaporizer sales platform.

DISCLAIMER: MarketNewsUpdates.com (MNU) is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. MNU is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. MNU and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. MNU's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. MNU is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed MNU has been compensated forty five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press release issued above by Choom™ Holdings Inc. by a non affiliated third party. MNU HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MNU undertakes no obligation to update such statements.</s>Canada has legalized recreational marijuana use after the country's two legislative chambers approved the Cannabis Act Tuesday, the CBC reports.

The bill will allow Canadian provinces to control and regulate how marijuana can be grown, distributed and sold, and it's likely that sales will begin by the end of the summer. The Cannabis Act makes Canada the first Group of Seven nation, and the second country in the world (after Uruguay) to legalize marijuana for adults nationally.

The Cannabis Act still needs Royal Assent – the final step the Canadian legislative process – to become law, but that is expected to happen later this week. Built into the bill is an eight-to-12 week buffer period that will allow provinces to prepare for the recreational sale of marijuana. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet will set the official date on which the law will actually go into effect.

Trudeau made legalizing cannabis part of his campaign platform in 2015, and in 2017 he introduced legalization legislation. On Twitter, the Prime Minister marked the passage of the Cannabis Act, writing, "It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize and regulate marijuana just passed the Senate."

The Cannabis Act will make it legal for anyone over 18 to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana, while adults will also be allowed to grow up to four marijuana plants at home. While the bill establishes a national framework for how the cannabis market will operate, each province will be allowed to set their own system of licensing and regulation.

Canada legalized medical marijuana in 2001, though the law required patients to grow their own plants or designate another individual to grow it for them. A 2013 legal challenge broadened the law to create a system of federally licensed producers, but that ruling was itself challenged three years later on the grounds that it unreasonably limited access and increased costs. Though the 2016 ruling didn't explicitly make dispensaries legal, it encouraged the idea that such a business could operate so long as it was for strictly medical reasons. In the years since, a gray market of sorts sprouted up in various Canadian cities, with many dispensary operators growing increasingly comfortable as legalization approached.</s>Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption The Senate passed the bill, with 52 votes in favour and 29 against

Canada's parliament has passed a law legalising the recreational use of marijuana nationwide.

The Cannabis Act passed its final hurdle on Tuesday in a 52-29 vote in the Senate. The bill controls and regulates how the drug can be grown, distributed, and sold.

Canadians will be able to buy and consume cannabis legally as early as this September.

The country is the second worldwide to legalise the drug's recreational use.

Uruguay became the first country to legalise the sale of cannabis for recreational use in December 2013, while a number of US states have also voted to permit it.

Cannabis possession first became a crime in Canada in 1923 but medical use has been legal since 2001.

The bill will likely receive Royal Assent this week, and the government will then choose an official date when the law will come into force.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that until now, "it's been too easy for our kids to get marijuana - and for criminals to reap the profits".

But some groups objected to the new law, with opposition Conservative politicians and indigenous groups among those voicing concerns.

The government is expected to give the provinces and territories, as well as municipalities, eight to 12 weeks to set up the new marijuana marketplace.

This timeframe will also allow industry and police forces to prepare for the new legal framework.

In 2015, Canadians were estimated to have spent about C$6bn ($4.5bn, £3.4bn) on cannabis - almost as much as they did on wine.

How will legal marijuana in Canada work?

It is likely that by mid-September, Canadians will be able to buy cannabis and cannabis oil grown by licensed producers at various retail locations.

Canadians across the country will also be able to order the drug online from federally licensed producers, and grow up to four plants at home.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Take a look inside the world's largest legal cannabis farm

Adults will be able to possess up to 30 grams (one ounce) of dried cannabis in public.

Edibles, or cannabis-infused foods, will not be immediately available for purchase but will be within a year of the bill coming into force. The delay is meant to give the government time to set out regulations specific to those products.

The minimum legal age to buy and consume marijuana has been set federally at 18 but some provinces have chosen to set it at 19.

Provinces are in charge of how it is sold and have the power to set various other limits on its use within their jurisdiction - like where it can be smoked.

But the federal government has set guidelines for plain packaging with little branding and strict health warnings. It will also impose restrictions on promotions targeting young people, promotion through sponsorships, or depictions of celebrities, characters or animals in advertisements.

What will remain illegal?

It will be illegal to possess more than 30 grams of cannabis in public, grow more than four plants per household and to buy from an unlicensed dealer.

Image copyright Press Association Image caption There will still be some restrictions on cannabis use in Canada

Penalties will be severe. Someone caught selling the drug to a minor could be jailed for up to 14 years.

Some critics say the penalties are too harsh and not proportional to similar laws like those around selling alcohol to minors.

What are the rules around the world?

Cannabis is banned in most countries but a number of places have decriminalised its use in recent years. The UK government said recently it would review the use of medicinal cannabis.

It is legal for medicinal purposes in 14 European countries, Israel, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Panama, Mexico, Turkey, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In the US, medicinal use is allowed in 29 states and the District of Columbia, Nine of the states have legalised both medical and personal cannabis use.

Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Jamaica, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Luxembourg are among countries that have relaxed legislation regarding personal use.

Did anyone object?

The new law has not been met with universal praise.

Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer has previously said he was apprehensive it would normalise cannabis use and make it more accessible.

Leo Housakos, a Conservative senator from Quebec, tweeted to say that he thought the law would be "catastrophic for Canadian generations to come".

One specific concern being raised is the legal minimum age being set at 18 instead of 25, as was recommended by multiple experts. However, the government's own task force recommended 18, warning that setting the age limit too high could continue to encourage youth to buy marijuana on the illegal market.

Opponents also question the potential public health impact of legalisation.

Meanwhile, indigenous groups and politicians have voiced fears that their communities were not adequately consulted in the run-up to the vote.

Indigenous services minister Jane Philpott and health minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor had to write a letter to the chair and deputy chair of the Senate's Committee on Aboriginal Peoples earlier in June promising a full report to parliament addressing their concerns, narrowly averting a delay to the law's passage.

Why is Canada doing this now?

This legislation fulfils a 2015 campaign promise by Mr Trudeau, the leader of the Liberal Party.

The prime minister has argued that Canada's nearly century-old laws criminalising use of the drug have been ineffective, given that Canadians are still among the world's heaviest users.

Polls have repeatedly indicated that a solid majority of Canadians are supportive of the move.

The decision to legalise recreational use of marijuana in Canada comes as global trends shift away from criminal prohibition of the widely used drug.</s>The recent legalisation of cannabis in a raft of US states, along with the pending legalisation for medicinal use in Canada, prompted Constellation Brands to spend just over US$190m last year on a stake in Canopy Growth Corp. The Canadian company produces medicinal cannabis, with Constellation saying at the time that the deal formed part of its plan to "identify, meet and stay ahead" of evolving consumer trends.

Speaking exclusively to just-drinks late last week, however, A-B InBev CEO Carlos Brito distanced himself from making any immediate move into the sector. "Cannabis is something that we as a company are trying to learn more about," he told editor Olly Wehring. "It's going to be regulated, it's going to be commercialised. But, it's still a very restricted business and, in most places, it's not legal."

Brito highlighted an ongoing delay in the legislation to legalise marijuana in Canada. "They're finding lots of issues as they go along the path to legalisation," he said. "The other day, our guys in Canada were saying that some neighbours of stores preparing to sell cannabis have been saying: 'Not here.'

"In the US," he conceded, "there's a big tidal wave coming. Most people appear to be in favour of legalisation.

"We'll continue to follow it," he said. "But, for now, we don't feel we need to do anything."

Read part two of just-drinks' exclusive interview with Carlos Brito

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The Senate of Canada passes the Cannabis Act 52–29 which legalizes cannabis for recreational use.