The Business of Marijuana: Canada Stocks Soar Ahead Of Full Legalization

Marijuana stocks shot to a high Monday after Canada said they would begin legislation in April to legalize recreational marijuana by July 1, 2018. It was a campaign promise from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that's coming to fruition.

Read: Where Is Marijuana Legal? Canada's Liberal Government To Announce Cannabis Legalization By Next Month

These are the Canadian cannabis shares that increased: Canopy Growth Corporation increased 11 percent; Aphria was up 7.9 percent; Aurora Cannabis Inc. went up 11 percent; OrganiGram escalated to 10 percent; Emblem Corp rose slightly at 6 percent and Supreme Pharmaceuticals hiked to 6 percent.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. shares, which was the highest to increase, skyrocketed to $2.48 per share. "It's cementing Canada's world leadership with respect to the cannabis sector," Executive vice-president of Aurora Cam Battley said in a report Monday. "What this means is we can all plan, we can all invest, we can all start hiring and start building the world's leading consumer cannabis system."

Under the new legislation, Canada's federal government would control the amount of marijuana that flows through the country, but each province would be able to decide the price. Additionally, they would decide how it is dispensed and sold, the Canadian news network CBC reported Sunday.

The minimum age requirement to purchase marijuana would be 18, but individual provinces would have the power to raise the age requirement. If the legislation is passed, Canada would become the second country to fully legalize marijuana for recreational adult use. It would be the largest, too.

The legislation provided "investors with a greater degree of clarity and certainty of what the recreational marker could look like," Canaccord Genuity analyst neil Maruoka said in a special report, according to a Tuesday report from Financial Post. "It's introduction into the House of Commons should be viewed as a significant positive industry catalyst."

Trudeau reiterated current laws still need to be followed. Police made arrests earlier this month during store raids in Toronto and Vancouver.