Article by Marc Solby, Montreal Gazette Spring has sprung and along with crocus blooms, Canadians are eagerly awaiting the legislation to create and govern the recreational cannabis market. In April 2016, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced a deadline of spring 2017 to bring in legislation. That time is now. We hope that the government is developing legislation that is bolder ...

Article by David Brown, Lift Health Canada reports that as of January 31, 2017, there were nearly 142,541 clients registered with licensed producers of medical cannabis. This figure is up from 130,000 as of December 31 of last year. At the end of June, 2015, there were almost 24,000 registered patients, increasing exponentially each quarter. As more Canadians become aware ...

Article by Jerri Southcott, CBC News The legalization of marijuana may cut into beer and other alcohol sales across Canada, a study by the firm Deloitte says. “If marijuana is legalized in Canada, we will see a decrease in purchases of beer, wine or spirits. So that’s something that the alcohol industry is going to have to understand and think ...

Article by Kate Bueckert, CBC News New laws around marijuana use are on the way, but it doesn’t mean police can stop enforcing the laws as they stand currently, Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin says. Recent media reports of raids of pot dispensaries across the country have had some asking why police bother with the raids when marijuana will ...

Article by Adam Miller, Global News A 63-year-old man has been charged after police raided a legal marijuana grow-op in Port Colborne, Ont. for the second time in six months and found thousands of additional plants being illegally grown. Niagara Regional Police responded to a robbery in progress at 462 Pinecrest Rd. just before 4 a.m. Sept. 19, 2016. Police, K-9 ...

Article by Sunny Freeman, Financial Post Canadians will be able to invest in a basket of marijuana companies when the first marijuana exchange-traded fund launches next week, helping investors diversify their exposure to the volatile and frothy sector. The Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (TSX: HMMJ) is slated to begin trading Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It will ...

Article by Mia Sosiak, Global News Before the end of 2017, a five-acre site near Claresholm, Alta., will be full of greenhouses growing medical marijuana plants. The industry is booming in Alberta, despite the plans for federal legalization of marijuana being more than a year away — making for a lot of excitement, as well as some concern. Construction is set to ...

Article by Meghan Potkins, Calgary Herald The Calgary Police Service wants more information and more funding for drug impairment recognition training for front-line officers before marijuana becomes legal in Canada. At a meeting of the Calgary police commission this week, CPS outlined the steps the service is taking following the announcement this week that the Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalize pot by July 1, 2018. ...

Article by Nicole Ireland, CBC News The revelation that the federal government will legalize marijuana in Canada by July 1, 2018, has sparked a flurry of speculation about possible implications. But those imagining a disastrous Canada-wide increase in high school students showing up stoned in classrooms need not worry, school boards say. “Even if it may be decriminalized and even if a student may be of ...

Article by John Ivison, National Post Bill Blair, Canada’s pot czar, doesn’t sound impressed with the leak of the news that marijuana use will be legal by Canada Day 2018. “That isn’t my date,” he harrumphed in an interview Wednesday. “I haven’t said anything about a timeline and the speculation is highly aspirational. There’s tons of work to do.” But ...