The Kootenays has been growing pot for decades; now locals are worried about losing their grey market.

Patrick Bonin thinks of growing cannabis as a "moral obligation."

He developed a strain that is high in CBD, or cannabidiol, a major component of the plant that has mellowing and pain relieving effects, but low in THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the ingredient that gets you high.

He considers his "melatonic" strain a form of medicine, and has used it to treat his own chronic pain from work in the construction industry.

Bonin has a licence to grow — but not sell — marijuana. But that hasn't stopped him from offering up his unique strain as a tincture to local dispensaries — and the stores can't keep it on the shelves.

Flourish CAO Michael Smith appearing before Belleville’s Planning Committee, June 4, 2018 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)

A proposal to develop a medical marijuana production facility in Belleville’s Northeast Industrial Park has passed the first hurdle.

Global Citrus Group plans to develop a 200,000 square foot facility on University Avenue, in the former Exxon Mobil building.

CAO of Flourish, Michael Smith, told Belleville’s Planning Committee Monday night this company will focus on medicine for women in terms of relieving menapausal pains and sleep-related PMS.

Smith said there would be 45 to 50 jobs before the end of 2018 and 200 jobs by 2019 in the grow and extraction facility, and an estimated $250 million business by 2020.

Bob Kay feels a twinge of fear every day as he runs his business in Kelowna, B.C., but he charges forward knowing he’s helping people ease their pain.

For the past 10 years Kay has been operating a medical marijuana dispensary “in a legal limbo,” running the risk of a police raid as the country prepares for the legalization of recreational pot this summer.

Be Kind is a “compassion club,” he says, helping those with chronic pain and providing cannabis in various forms to those who are prescribed it through a health practitioner.

Viewers can go inside the operation as it’s featured in the new docu-series “Bud Empire,” premiering Tuesday on History.

The Question

What do employers think about a candidate who has worked for one of the large cannabis companies in Canada in a strictly business/management function? I have an offer from one, and am getting mixed responses from friends and family. With the taboo regarding this industry still strong, I wonder if I’m committing career suicide or red-flagging myself for future opportunities outside of this firm. I am personally liberal on this issue, but others aren’t.

The First Answer

Greg Conner

Vice-president human resources and corporate secretary, BC Transit

Canopy Growth, which will produce most of Newfoundland and Labrador's legal cannabis, is holding a job fair this weekend in St. John's to start staffing both its retail stores and production facility.

The company held the job fair for its Tweed brand, with plans to fill 75-100 jobs at its four retail stores in St. John's, Conception Bay South, Mount Pearl and Corner Brook. Another fair will be held a later time to fill the more than 150 jobs for the Canopy production plant.

The job fair is taking place Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Rocket in downtown St. John's, and officials from the company said turn out was already great by mid-day Saturday.

It would apply only in limited circumstances, says MP Bill Blair.

The Trudeau government has been looking into making drug testing mandatory in selected workplaces in connection with its cannabis legislation.

MP Bill Blair, the government's point person on the file, told CBC Radio's The House on Thursday that people in safety-sensitive jobs — like pilots — could be subjected to mandatory testing in the future.

"We examined very closely what we could do as far as testing when there was a bona fide safety requirement," he told host Chris Hall.

"In those very limited circumstances, it's possible."

Tweed online store to serve customers across the Province in addition to retail locations

Plans to construct a marijuana research and development facility at the former Nortel site at 250 Sidney St. may not be up in smoke.

However, until the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) hears Toronto Capital’s appeal of Belleville city council’s decision to turn down a request for a zoning bylaw amendment that would have cleared the way to build the facility, it could take awhile to sort things out. No date has been scheduled for a hearing.

DelShen Therapeutics moves toward sales licensing of Kirkland Lake-produced cannabis.

The owners of a fledgling marijuana cultivation facility, near Kirkland Lake, report an important milestone has been passed toward approval for a sale license to offer cannabis flower and oils.

48North Cannabis Corporation, the parent company of DelShen Therapeutics, provided an update on a recent Health Canada inspection of its indoor cultivation operation in northeastern Ontario.

The inspection took place May 24 following Health Canada's initial inspection that took place via an online web conference on March 16.

The race is on for growers to achieve the next level of licensing from Health Canada — the licence to sell.

It might sound like a setup line to a joke.

What do an old slaughterhouse, an empty Bowater building and a former military facility all have in common?

The punchline: All three are now being used to grow cannabis in Nova Scotia — the start of what the farmers say will be a bumper crop in three communities.

In the Wentworth Valley, there are hundreds of plants in various stages of growth at Breathing Green Solutions.