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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. The U.S. federal government’s move to decriminalize hemp production has spurred the industry’s leading ETF to introduce a new holding—one focused on U.S. production and sales.

Managers of the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF have now added Charlotte’s Web Holdings Inc. to the ETF’s portfolio. The stock currently represents 1.45% of total assets. The move follows the U.S. government’s December decision to remove hemp-derived CBD from the list of drugs covered under the Controlled Substances Act.

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive compound extracted from both marijuana and other cannabis varieties, including hemp. But unlike, marijuana, hemp is without the THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, responsible for the high associated with cannabis use.

HMMJ is listed on the TSX. That exchange blocks industry firms based in the U.S. and focused on sales in that country. However, the legalization of hemp CBD by the U.S. federal government means Charlotte’s Web is now eligible for inclusion by the ETF.

2. Aurora Cannabis is among a handful of Canadian cannabis firms now pumping millions of dollars into the world’s first country to legalize cannabis.

Uruguay, which legalized pot use in December 2013, is increasingly seen a potential hub for export to other South American countries as they repeal their own marijuana bans.

With its $217 million purchase of Uruguay’s ICC Labs, Aurora is actively expanding its greenhouses and extraction labs, all with the goal of supplying medical cannabis to Latin America, Europe and Canada. 2019 is, in fact, expected to mark the start of commercial-scale Uruguay exports as the country’s producers seek trade permits and product certifications.

While Cannabis investors have poured money into the U.S. and Canada, seeking to take advantage as easing marijuana regulations, Uruguay’s cannabis economy has been much slower to develop. That’s despite the South American country’s five-year headstart on Canada.

3. A high-profile candidate for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination is calling for decriminalization of cannabis on the federal level, arguing it would help to reduce the number of minor drug offences leading to incarceration.

Speaking the first day of his 2020 presidential run, former congressman Beto O’Rourke urged full legalization of marijuana in the U.S. At the same time, he suggested the drug should be treated to the same kind of societal stigmatization as tobacco in order to discourage children from using it.

A key reason to legalize pot would be to reduce the number of Americans jailed for drug possession, he told supporters.

“We can free ourselves from the distinction of being the country that imprisons more of its fellow citizens than any other country on the face of the planet,” O’Rourke, 46, said. “And guess what? By and large they do not look like this room. They are browner and blacker than most of America.”

4. Canada’s most-populous First Nations reserve has effectively imposed a tax on cannabis sales in its communities—a way of bolstering revenue for infrastructure and social programs.

“All members of Six Nations of the Grand River are expected to give back to the community in whatever capacity they are able,” says the new cannabis control law.

Six Nations’ elected council passed the law on Feb. 25, which allows it to collect 8% of gross cannabis sales from each vendor at the end of each month.

The money is earmarked for roads, parks, post-secondary education, recreational centres and other projects that help youth or the elderly.

The new law governs all production, distribution, sale, possession or use of cannabis on Six Nations land—the second largest First Nations reserve by territory.

The council will now establish a Six Nations Cannabis Control Commission within six months.

That governing body will oversee permits and enforce cannabis law. The commission, which is arm’s length from the elected council, will have five members appointed by council and a non-voting ex-officio from the council and confederacy.

5. A study published in a leading medical journal suggests there’s a link between the daily use of high-potency cannabis and the risk of developing psychosis.

In a report in Lancet Psychiatry, London-based researchers looked at 901 patients with a first-time episode of psychosis and compared them to 1,237 matched non-patients. Members of both groups were from Europe and Brazil.

About 30% of the patients reported using cannabis daily compared to just 7% of the non-patient controls. Use of high potency cannabis was also more common among patients than control subjects: 37% compared to 19%.

“People who used cannabis on a daily basis were three times more likely to have a diagnosis of first episode psychosis, compared with people who had never used cannabis,” write researchers. “This increased to five times more likely for daily use of high potency cannabis.”

The study defined high-potency cannabis as having THC concentrations above 10%. In the Netherlands that concentration was as high as 67%.