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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. Food and Drug Administration is set hold its first public hearing Friday into how it plans to regulate a cannabis product increasingly billed as medicinal.

Cannabidiol, the formal name for CBD, is a non-psychoactive compound of cannabis and the closely related hemp plant. The industry is promoting it as a wellness trend following the legalization of hemp in the U.S. late last year. Mainstream retailers like CVS Health Corp. already sell CBD creams, sprays and lotions but the substance has yet to be approved for use in food and drinks by the FDA.

Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t give users a high. Instead, it’s pitched as a natural way to treat insomnia, inflammation and anxiety, among a growing list of ailments.

Still research on the compound remains limited, say scientists. They argue most of the touted benefits remain anecdotal.

That hasn’t stopped restaurants like burger chain Carl’s Jr. from selling CBD-infused food, as there has been little enforcement.

2. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has updated the list of items passengers can carry on board a plane travelling to, from or within the country.

Changes to the “What Can I Bring?” list now make provisions for allowing authorized users to bring medical cannabis on both checked and carry-on luggage.

Still, that list of sanctioned items is still very limited.

“Possession of marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products, including some Cannabidiol (CBD) oil, remain illegal under federal law,” writes the TSA. “TSA officers are required to report any suspected violations of law, including possession of marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products. Products/medications that contain hemp-derived CBD or are approved by the FDA are legal as long as it is produced within the regulations defined by the law under the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018.”

Cannabis is classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug, and thus federally illegal–and the TSA is a federal agency.

The agency does say that it isn’t now searching travellers for cannabis, or other drugs, specifically; but that doesn’t mean the passengers are legally safe if the authorities find the products.

3. Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have published survey data in the journal Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine that suggests seniors using cannabis believe it improves quality of life.

A total of 274 seniors between the ages of 60 and 94 were surveyed about their cannabis consumption habits, if any, with 54% revealing “both medically and recreationally” focused use. Most pointed to reasons such as “arthritis, chronic back pain, anxiety and depression” for using the drug, with 72% saying they’d consumed cannabis within the past year.

Those seniors reported “improved overall health, quality of life, day-to-day functioning and improvement in pain.” The odds of having consumed cannabis in the past year decreased as age increased.

“Older persons aged more than 60 who have legal access to recreational and medical marijuana described multiple patterns of use of marijuana in the past year, and the majority felt that marijuana use had an overall positive impact on their quality of life,” wrete the study’s authors.

4. Even a single dose of cannabis can potentially harm the cognitive development of teenagers, warns a study out of the Université de Montréal.

Dr. Patricia Conrod and her colleagues examined the consumption of alcohol and cannabis of 4,000 teens in the Montreal area between 2012 and 2013. They then measured their drug and alcohol use along with their cognitive functioning each year over a four-year span.

Their conclusion was that the more a young person used cannabis, the more their cognitive abilities diminished.

“The correlation is specific to cannabis,” said Conrod. “No side effect linked to alcohol was detected on cognitive function. At the moment there is nothing to lead one to believe there is a safe consumption level (of cannabis) for teenagers.”

Conrod said that recollection, work memory, inhibitory control, logic and problem solving were all affected by the drug.

The study’s conclusions were presented during a convention of the Canadian Association of Neuroscience.

5. Another cannabis grower has now received approval for outdoor cultivation on a scale that will likely make it the biggest such producer for years to come.

Located on 100 acres of land in Brant County, just west of Hamilton, Ont., 48North’s farm is now set to grow 250,000 marijuana plants.

The company already operates two indoor cannabis facilities in Ontario, in Kirkland Lake and Brantford. However, its outdoor cultivation plans should reduce its overall production costs.

Canadian regulators approved outdoor cannabis production in June 2018 after previously limiting it to indoors. The earlier restriction was meant to prevent theft and ensure quality control.

Since then, several major cannabis companies have announced plans to grow tens of thousands of kilograms of marijuana outdoors in order to cut production costs to as little as $0.03 per gram. Most of them continue to wait for government approval.