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News on cannabis stocks and on developments in the industry haven’t let up in today’s volatile markets. Here are this week’s stories that we believe will mean most to you as a Canadian investor.

1. A leading U.S. cannabis company is under regulatory scrutiny for how it markets one of its products.

The Food and Drug Administration sent Curaleaf Holdings Inc. President Joseph Lusardi a letter Monday warning the company its CBD-infused lotion, pain-relief patch, tincture and disposable vape pen are considered drugs because they claim to treat conditions like pain, anxiety and ADHD. That claim is meant to promote medicinal benefits long attributed to the non-psychoactive cannabis compound. It also appears on both the company’s website and social media pages.

Based in Massachusetts, Curaleaf saw its share price plunge more than 14% Tuesday on news of the FDA letter.

While the agency has yet to determine how it will regulate CBD, it has said it will go after companies that claim to treat diseases with the product without agency approval.

“Selling unapproved products with unsubstantiated therapeutic claims—such as claims that CBD products can treat serious diseases and conditions—can put patients and consumers at risk by leading them to put off important medical care,” acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in a statement Tuesday when the letter was made public.

2. Canadian banks are now facing growing competition from U.S. investment banks willing to lend to members of the industry.

The U.S. marijuana industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation as large companies race to build a national presence. And while the federal ban on marijuana has kept big banks largely on the sidelines, U.S. investment bankers are increasingly answering the call of cannabis companies.

MGO-Ello Alliance, a California-based group that has offered accounting and consulting services to the weed industry for the last few years, has just launched a cannabis investment bank run by a Wall Street veteran called Ello Capital.

The rise of cannabis banking comes as investors turn their attention to the U.S. less than a year after Canada legalized marijuana for adults. That has helped give Canada a head start, but the tide is starting to turn as Canadian companies struggle to make a profit and more U.S. states loosen marijuana regulations.

In the first quarter of 2019, there were more cannabis deals targeting U.S. assets for the first time, according to Viridian Capital Advisors.

3. New Jersey has now become the 14th state to strengthen workplace protections for medical marijuana users.

“The courts are seeing this as something that is very legitimate,” says Jamison Mark, an employment lawyer in the state. “These employees have severe chronic disabilities, and the legislature is smart enough to say, ‘Let’s protect them.’”

With its legislation passed just in July, New Jersey now blocks employers from refusing to hire people with a medical weed license. If employees test positive for marijuana, they’ll be given an opportunity to provide a legitimate medical reason for the results.

In other states, workers who’ve lost jobs because of medical marijuana use have won cases alleging their employers violated medical marijuana statutes. At the crux of the issue is often the drug tests themselves, which aren’t sophisticated enough to determine whether someone got high that morning or last weekend.

4. The Alberta government is now pointing to $30 million in taxes from cannabis in the first six months following marijuana legalization.

According to the province’s fiscal year-end statement, the tax revenue from cannabis collected by the government was $4 million higher than originally expected.

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) generated nearly $77 million in cannabis sales between October 17, 2018, and March 31, 2019; that was mostly from online sales and through sales to private retailers.

Still, AGLC’s profit was just $4.7 million due to the cost of sales. Calgary’s share of the first year of legalization was $3.8 million.

There are currently 156 pot retail shops licensed with the province. While the AGLC implemented a six-month ban on new cannabis shops due to supply shortages, it lifted the moratorium on May 30.

At that time, it had 700 applications waiting approval.

5. The City of Toronto continues to grapple with illegal cannabis dispensaries despite the concerted efforts of the police as they try to shut down those storefront businesses.

Despite police raids, cement barriers blocking the entrance and arrests, one illegal dispensary chain continued to sell products on Tuesday by moving its business outside. Patrons lined up to fill out marijuana orders, which were in most cases then delivered to their homes.

Toronto police Const. Jeniffer Sidhu said 18 people were arrested over the weekend at different locations across the city. The first nine were charged under provincial law, while the rest were charged federally under the Cannabis Act.

“We have upped it in the sense that the penalty is more severe,” Sidhu said on Tuesday. “It’s not so much enforcing (against) the people purchasing at this moment, it’s much more the people selling it on the street.”