Manitoba’s cannabis homegrow ban a mistake

Consumer’s group compares the restriction to outdated home-brewing regulations that were phased out

A consumer’s group says the Manitoba government is wrong to ban growing recreational marijuana for personal consumption. The Consumers Choice Centre notes medical cannabis patients have the right to grow plants at home and calls restrictions for recreational users “incredibly silly.” “Having different rules for different residents of Manitoba makes the law significantly more difficult



Local governments direct questions, including questions about legal marijuana, to provincial ministers during the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention in Brandon.

Municipalities have questions on cannabis rollout

Municipalities have less than a month to say ‘yea or nay’

Municipalities are scrambling after news that the province expects them to make a decision on cannabis by Dec. 22. Blaine Pedersen, minister of growth, enterprise, and trade, announced Nov. 28 that municipalities must decide if they will allow marijuana sales by the December deadline. “It’s tight timelines and we sort of apologize for that, but

Editorial: Green tape

Hipsters and hippies across the country are set to celebrate cannabis legalization this coming Canada Day. The Trudeau government is on track for legalizing this recreational drug by that date, one of the highest-profile promises made during the last election campaign. That’s likely a good thing. While any recreational drug, alcohol included, is a problem


Jen Unwin of Nature’s Perfect Plant Food grabs a handful of red wiggler worms from a vermicomposting tub.

Expansion possible as cannabis market grows

Small companies could see host of new opportunities in the wake of cannabis legalization

A Manitoba entrepreneur has high hopes that pending changes to cannabis laws will help expand her fertilizer business. Jen Unwin of Nature’s Perfect Plant Food said the ability for Canadians to grow their own marijuana could be a “huge boon” to small input providers, as consumers learn more about indoor plant production. “In eight short

A illegal marijuana grow operation in the RM of Rockwood, east of Balmoral, Man., in June 2017. (Photo courtesy Stonewall RCMP)

StatsCan to add marijuana economic impact to GDP data

Ottawa | Reuters — As Canada gears up to legalize recreational marijuana, the country’s statistics agency said on Tuesday it will begin measuring the economic impact of the current illegal use and production of the drug and add it to growth data. Statistics Canada said it will begin tallying the production and sale of cannabis


(CanopyGrowth.com)

Constellation hedges bets on pot boom with Canopy stake

Reuters — Constellation Brands has bought a nearly 10 per cent stake in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp. for about $245 million, making it the first major wine, beer and spirits producer to invest in legal cannabis. The move by the maker of Corona beer and Svedka vodka comes as Canada and a growing

Canadian hemp markets could be side-swiped by U.S.

Canadian hemp markets could be side-swiped by U.S.

Overly enthusiastic U.S. producers could potentially swamp 
the market if the crop is fully legalized

Future hemp markets are uncertain as Canadian buyers wait to see if hemp production is legalized in the United States, according to one industry professional. “There still is a lot of excitement (in the U.S.) about hemp as being something new… that grassroots excitement is one that we’re watching closely to make sure it doesn’t


Close up of a pile of marijuana bud

Weeding out what is missing

Ontario’s approach to marijuana distribution is full of unknowns and ambiguity

Ontario has become the first province to define how it intends to sell non-medicinal marijuana to the public. Around 150 stores across the province will open and will be operated by a division of the province’s liquor board, the LCBO. Marijuana won’t be sold alongside wine or liquor, but in separate, independent stores, as was

A hemp plant in Alberta. (Jennifer Blair photo)

Post-secondary cannabis credentials on offer

Degree and diploma aggies interested in producing commercial cannabis and/or hemp will be able to get college-certified starting next year. Niagara College announced Tuesday it will launch a graduate certificate program in commercial cannabis production in 2018, a program it bills as Canada’s “first post-secondary credential” in the crop’s production. Niagara picked up approval this