News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, FRI. April 3, 2020: Here are the marijuana headlines making news globally and in the Caribbean and Latin America for April 3, 2020:

Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg and more are among those participating in Philadelphia Rapper Gillie da King ‘s ‘Kush Up Challenge.’ the objective of the challenge is to take 10 pulls of weed and not let out any smoke until the pulls are completed.

Several US states are allowing marijuana businesses to remain open as “essential” during the pandemic. They include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Michigan, New York, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Ohio, Oklahoma, Washington state and Washington, D.C.

The cannabis industry like grocery stores are still making money at this time. cannabis beverage company Mad Tasty, for example, says it has seen a 40% sales uptick this month, according to the brand.

Despite the crisis in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said legalizing recreational marijuana is not going to be part of the state budget this year.

US medical marijuana company, Ultra Health, from New Mexico has begun exporting cannabis-based medicine to Israel through a partnership with Israeli pharmaceutical group Panaxia.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced it will evaluate 37 applications to grow marijuana for medical research and proposed new rules for the prospective growers that outline how the cannabis-growing program would work.

Several 4/20 event organizers now saying they are planning to Celebrate by hosting virtual parties and concerts; giveaways of cannabis accessories and swag and discounts on products.

And three marijuana stocks to consider this week are: MedMen Enterprises (OTC:MMNFF), Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) and HEXO (NYSE:HEXO)