Host's company says event aims to add legitimacy to community What do you do if you're a budding awards show trying to create a buzz around Canada's $8.7-billion cannabis market? First you weed out the best producers from the very large crop of products out there. Then you book a swanky joint and roll out the red carpet for business types looking to get in on the potential pot of gold surrounding legalization next summer. The CEO of Lift Co., the online marketplace for the medical marijuana industry that is holding the event, says it was high time for a grass gala to highlight the fourth annual Canadian Cannabis Awards - previously held only online - in an effort to add some legitimacy to the often stigmatized cannabis community. [continues 389 words]
Many in HR feel companies not ready for legalization next year Looking forward to pot being legal? Your employer likely isn't, especially if you drive for work or operate heavy machinery. With less than a year until recreational marijuana is slated to become legal in Canada, a new study by the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) reveals that many employers feel unprepared for the impact that increased drug use may have on the workplace. Nearly half (or 45.9 per cent) of Human Resources professionals do not believe that their current workplace policies adequately address the potential new issues that may arise with the legalization and expected increased use of marijuana. [continues 368 words]
Pharmacy retailer aims to cover up to $1,500 a year for cases with 'compelling clinical evidence' Canada's largest pharmacy chain hopes to soon get the green light to sell medical marijuana - and now its store employees who need that prescription weed could be among its first customers. Loblaw Companies Limited and Shoppers Drug Mart just announced in an internal staff memo that effective immediately it will be covering medical pot under the employee benefit plan up to a maximum of $1,500 per year. [continues 481 words]
New federal task force report nixes idea of selling pot at businesses where tobacco or booze are sold Ontario convenience store owners wonder why it appears they're getting the shaft yet again - this time on cannabis sales - after being excluded this year from selling beer and wine while grocery stores got the green light. "It concerns me that we're left behind. At least let us be part of the discussion," said Dave Bryans, president of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association. [continues 498 words]
Canada's largest pharmacy selling medicinal marijuana gets 'enthusiastic' response A majority of Canadians are high on Shoppers Drug Mart selling medicinal marijuana, especially young adults and higher-income earners, a new Forum Research poll says. Sixty-one per cent said they approve of Canada's largest pharmacy applying to become a licensed marijuana producer for the purpose of retailing medicinal weed while 30 per cent disapprove and the remainder have no opinion either way, the new survey says. Besides the 85 per cent of recent cannabis users, those ages 18 to 34 were most in favour, with 76 per cent giving Shoppers the thumbs-up along with 71 per cent of the wealthiest surveyed (earning between $100,000 to $250,000 a year). [continues 336 words]
Industry Folk at Lift Cannabis Expo All Abuzz Over Cop Crackdown on Toronto's Marijuana Dispensaries Toronto resident Vicki Trueman swears by cannabis oil to treat her chronic migraines and insomnia, as do some of her friends who suffer from seizures and depression. Though she and her pals have doctors' prescriptions to access the medicine legally, Trueman said she has no problem with people buying it for recreational use, particularly on the cusp of legalization in Canada. And, echoing the overwhelming sentiment at the Lift Cannabis Expo, she said it's "ridiculous" that Toronto police raided 43 pot dispensaries Thursday, just two days before Canada's biggest cannabis convention welcomed thousands of industry people from around the world. [continues 666 words]
Pros outweigh cons, but policy is unchanged, says Lisa Wright. With mounting evidence of the benefits of a harm reduction, health-centred approach to drugs and the people who use them, we are left wondering when there will be enough evidence to convince the Conservative government to change its approach to drug policy. The peer reviewed article by PhD candidate Ehsan Jozaghi and colleagues released on Monday in the journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy is another addition to the growing list of scientific research outlining the benefits of supervised injection facilities. With more than 90 safer consumption sites in operation worldwide, Insite, North America's only legally sanctioned supervised injection facility, is the most researched. Scientific evidence of the need for two supervised injection facilities in Ottawa was first presented in 2012 with the TOSCA report. [continues 515 words]
Cat-310, From Toronto's Cannasat Therapeutics, Is Medical Marijuana Sans 'Buzz' They've heard all the jokes, and then some. No, Cheech and Chong aren't on the payroll. Neither is the Weed Man. They don't have free samples, or the munchies. And their office Christmas party wasn't any wilder than yours was. But as a small pharmaceutical firm working on a medicinal product derived from the same plant that's, um, high on the radar for recreational purposes, some ribbing is to be expected. [continues 1438 words]
