Sixteen of Canada's licensed marijuana producers have enlisted the help of Advertising Standards Canada to develop guidelines on how the drug should be branded and promoted before its recreational use becomes legal next year. The marijuana sector has been lobbying Ottawa for the right to brand their products, arguing that not being able to promote in stores or on packaging will prevent them from being able to effectively compete with the black market. Last year, a federal task force issued a report recommending cannabis products require plain packaging that would allow only certain kinds of information to be listed, such as company name, strain and price. It said advertising restrictions should be similar to those placed on the tobacco industry. [continues 395 words]
Producers lobby feds ahead of medical pot rules Several licensed marijuana producers have penned a letter to Ottawa, urging the federal government to allow them to brand their products and provide medical cannabis on a tax-free basis. The seven producers - Tilray, Tweed, Mettrum, CannTrust, Green Organic Dutchman Holdings, RedeCan Pharm and Delta 9 BioTech - are lobbying the government ahead of the week of April 10, when legislation legalizing recreational use of the drug is expected to be introduced. A federal task force has recommended requiring plain packaging for cannabis and advertising restrictions similar to those placed on the tobacco industry. [continues 228 words]
Legalizing recreational use could unleash $22.6B industry TORONTO* It' s Sunday afternoon and Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is packed full of marijuana enthusiasts perusing tables of goods. Everything from marijuana-infused barbecue sauce to medicated body rubs is available at Green Market, where artisans peddle their various craft cannabis products. Such events, which sell to patients and casual users alike, operate within a foggy regulatory environment. Selling marijuana is illegal unless you are a large-scale producer licensed under Health Canada's medical marijuana regime. [continues 526 words]
Artisanal producers already selling teas, medical rubs under foggy legislation It's Sunday afternoon and Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is packed full of marijuana enthusiasts perusing tables of goods. Everything from marijuana-infused barbecue sauce to medicated body rubs is available at Green Market, where artisans peddle their various craft cannabis products. Such events, which sell to patients and casual users alike, operate within a foggy regulatory environment. Selling marijuana is illegal unless you are a large-scale producer licensed under Health Canada's medical marijuana regime. [continues 333 words]
A pharmacists' group that initially nixed the idea of dispensing medical cannabis has changed its stance, saying that pharmacists should play a "front-line role" in providing access to the drug. The Canadian Pharmacists Association says it has updated its position because of its growing concern about what it calls a "lack of clinical oversight" in the use of medical marijuana. The group said in a release Thursday that pharmacists are "medication experts" and therefore could help identify potential problems such as drug interactions, contraindications and potentially addictive behaviour. [continues 328 words]
TORONTO - An association that represents individual pharmacists has changed its stance on medical cannabis, saying pharmacists should play a "front-line" role in dispensing the drug. The Canadian Pharmacists Association said it has updated its position because it's growing concerned about what it calls a "lack of clinical oversight" in the use of medical marijuana. The group said in a statement Thursday that pharmacists are "medication experts" and therefore could help identify potential problems such as drug interactions, contraindications and potentially addictive behaviour. [continues 285 words]
Businesses hope to clear haze of dated perceptions surrounding cannabis TORONTO - You won't find brightly coloured bongs or bubble gum-flavoured rolling papers displayed against the backdrop of exposed brick and modern, industrial-style furnishings at Tokyo Smoke. Instead, the shop - located in a former shipping dock nestled between two warehouses in Toronto's west end - carries high-end pot paraphernalia befitting the pages of a design magazine while also serving up cups of artisanal coffee. Pipes handcrafted by California-based ceramicist Ben Medansky sit alongside a pricey portable vaporizer; a reimagined version of the French press coffee maker launched via a Kickstarter campaign and a selection of what shop owner Alan Gertner calls "museum quality collectibles" - items such as vintage Barbies and a vintage Hermes bag. [continues 495 words]
TORONTO - Medical marijuana producers are bracing for the possibility that Canadians could elect a new government this fall - a change that could accelerate the already breakneck pace of growth in the burgeoning industry and usher in new players such as tobacco companies and pharmacy chains. "This whole election's very interesting," said Bruce Linton, the chief executive and chair of Tweed Marijuana. "When you have a business that has the potential to see quite a lot of acceleration because of outcomes, you watch it more carefully." [continues 356 words]
TORONTO - Medical marijuana producers are bracing for the possibility that Canadians could elect a new government this fall - a change that could accelerate the already breakneck pace of growth in the burgeoning industry and usher in new players such as tobacco companies and pharmacy chains. "This whole election's very interesting," said Bruce Linton, the CEO and chairman of Tweed Marijuana Inc. "When you have a business that has the potential to see quite a lot of acceleration because of outcomes, you watch it more carefully." Marijuana became a hot-button issue in the election campaign on Thursday, when Joy Davies, a Liberal candidate in British Columbia, pulled out of the race because of posts she had made on Facebook about marijuana. [continues 184 words]
TORONTO * Medical marijuana producers are bracing for the possibility that Canadians could elect a new government this fall - a change that could accelerate the already breakneck pace of growth in the burgeoning industry and usher in new players such as tobacco companies and pharmacy chains. "This whole election's very interesting," said Bruce Linton, the CEO and chairman of Tweed Marijuana Inc. "When you have a business that has the potential to see quite a lot of acceleration because of outcomes, you watch it more carefully." [continues 560 words]
Medical marijuana producers are bracing for the possibility that Canadians could elect a new government this fall - a change that could accelerate the already breakneck pace of growth in the burgeoning industry and usher in new players such as tobacco companies and pharmacy chains. "This whole election's very interesting," said Bruce Linton, the CEO and chairman of Tweed Marijuana Inc. "When you have a business that has the potential to see quite a lot of acceleration because of outcomes, you watch it more carefully." [continues 330 words]
TORONTO - Canadians who have been prescribed medical marijuana could one day see their insurance company footing the bill, experts predict, following the introduction of new Health Canada rules that allow for the sale of cannabis oils. Health Canada announced revamped medical marijuana regulations earlier this month after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that users of the drug should be permitted to consume it in other forms, such as oils and edibles, rather than having to smoke dried buds. "You're going to see insurance companies slowly start to creep into the sector," says Khurram Malik, an analyst at Jacob Securities Inc., noting that the new regulations will allow medical marijuana producers to sell gel caps similar to those made from cod liver oil. [continues 280 words]
Tough to Get Mortgage, Insurance for Former Grow Op Homes, Brokers Say At first glance, the mid-century, three-level Winnipeg home was everything Sarah Fehr and her fiancee had been looking for. It was located in the right neighbourhood, had a double garage and the backyard was spacious enough for the couple's two pugs to frolic in. Perhaps most importantly, it was reasonably priced. However, a quick Google search revealed the home's shadowy past: it had been busted several years earlier for housing a marijuana grow operation. [continues 520 words]
After a rash of deaths across the country at music festivals, health advocates are promoting a harm-reduction approach to help attendees avoid the dire effects of dehydration, tainted drugs and overdoses It's Friday evening at the Shambhala Music Festival, and a young woman in denim cut-offs is using an X-acto knife to separate a small quantity of a white powdered substance into three piles on a large white dinner plate. She watches anxiously as a volunteer in gloves dispenses a drop of fluid onto one of the piles, turning it dark purple and confirming that the substance contains MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy. [continues 1741 words]
Lineups at Marijuana Retailers in Washington on First Day of Legal Sale See Influx of Visitors From B.C. Canadian pot tourists are hoping the legalization of marijuana sales in Washington state will ignite similar changes north of the border - but they aren't sweating the details. One man from Victoria was in Washington state on vacation Tuesday and decided to line up outside the Top Shelf Cannabis store in Bellingham to "be a part of history" and take in the first day of legal pot sales in the state. [continues 566 words]
