Health Canada is readying itself to start testing the effects of inhaling substances emitted from cannabis vape products that recently hit legal retail shelves in Canada.

The federal regulator told CBC News that while it already has “research underway” on the effects of nicotine vapes, it plans to expand its “laboratory capability” to include the testing of cannabis vaporizers and related products.

Legal cannabis vaping products will not be hitting retail shelves in Alberta until the province has completed its Tobacco, Smoking, Vaping Review.

Vape influencers, take note in the new year. On Wednesday it was announced that Facebook and Instagram will start removing posts that promote vaping, tobacco, or weapons “in the coming weeks,” according to an IG spokesperson. 

The platforms a history of banning such content. Facebook has long held the policy that advertisements for vaping, tobacco, and weapons were unacceptable on the platform. There was a workaround, however; individual users (users without business pages) could hype such products, and businesses could promote the posts, vastly expanding their audience. 

Read entire article here.

Cannabis 2.0 has become a major buzz word for the cannabis industry and this is an opportunity that we are excited about. The term refers to how the Canadian cannabis market is changing with the legalization of cannabis derivative products.

This represents a massive opportunity for cannabis producers and brands in Canada and we have been highly focused on this vertical. During the last year, we have seen a substantial increase in the number of companies that are levered to this market and this is something that investors need to be aware of.

Even though cannabis edibles, extracts and topicals have been legal in Canada since Oct. 17, Thursday will be the first day British Columbians will be able to buy them.

The newly available products include edibles, such as baked goods and drinks; extracts, such as oils and vape liquid; and topicals, such as cannabis-infused creams or lotions, according to the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB).

Despite the sale of the new products being legalized two months ago, the items weren't available for sale due to Health Canada requiring a 60-day notice from licensed producers looking to sell them. 

If you're hoping to buy a next-generation cannabis product — like infused beer or gummy bears — as a gift for the holiday season, you may be out of luck.

It will be legal to buy derivative cannabis products — often referred to in the industry as "cannabis 2.0" — on Tuesday, but three of Canada's largest provinces won't have a single one available until January.

That's because the long-awaited expansion of sales for cannabis derivatives have gone through a gauntlet of regulatory checkpoints and cumbersome logistics, dashing hopes of last-minute gift purchases with its late arrival.

People with chronic pain who use cannabis daily are far less likely to use illicit opioids, including fentanyl, a University of B.C. study shows.

The findings, based on self-reports over three years by 1,152 people about their drug use and pain, suggest cannabis might serve as a proxy for illicit opioids. The researchers did the study among marginalized residents of the Downtown Eastside, some of them injection drug users, to see if cannabis might be a potential alternative for opioids in a neighbourhood that’s been hit hard by the overdose epidemic.

The findings were reported in the publication PLOS Medicine.

The federal government will allow the sale of cannabis vaping products starting next week despite not having tested the health effects of inhaling substances emitted from such devices. At least one cannabis company has preemptively pulled its product over health and safety concerns, CBC News has learned.

Cannabis vapes are among a series of new products — including edibles, extracts and topicals such as lotions — that can be legally sold in Canada as of Tuesday. 

The study of CBD and marijuana saw big strides in 2019. Here are some of the most important facts we learned this year.

Every year, CBD becomes a more prominent topic and a more promising business venture for health and wellness companies.