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A new era of “big marijuana” could create a multi-billion dollar Canadian market, but with details of legalization legislation still hazy, pot producers are stepping up lobbying efforts to push for advertising they say will not only deliver pot profits to shareholders but take them out of criminal hands.

The federal government introduced legislation Thursday that will see Ottawa continue to regulate and licence producers of legal marijuana the way it does for medical cannabis companies. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the government will not tolerate a “free-for-all” approach as Canada becomes the second country in the world to legalize pot at the federal level.

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That means Canada’s some 40 licensed medical marijuana producers stand to gain from first-mover advantage, said Vahan Ajamian, a research analyst at Beacon Securities. He believes the legislation could spark a wave of mergers and acquisitions among marijuana companies, as has happened in the mature tobacco and alcohol industries.