Work is currently underway at an as-yet undisclosed location in Winnipeg that is designed to become one of the largest cannabis edibles manufacturing facilities in North America.

Vancouver-based AgraFlora International Inc. has partnered with a Winnipeg confectionery company in an 80-20 joint venture called Edibles & Infusion that is retrofitting a 51,000-square-foot building that will create significant production capacity for the upcoming edibles market.

Brandon Boddy, chairman and CEO of AgraFlora, said capacity at the plant will be large enough that Edibles & Infusions will supply to other cannabis licensed producers. He said arrangements with other licensed producers are currently being negotiated.

A team at the University of Saskatchewan is setting the stage for future research into the potential health benefits of cannabis for pets.

While the project is still in its early stages, researchers at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) are looking into whether cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis, could be used as a long-term therapy to treat chronic vomiting in animals. 

In August, a team led by Dr. Al Chicoine and Dr. Kevin Cosford started preliminary work that must occur before any clinical trials can take place. Low doses of a CDB-rich extract were administered to 12 dogs from the WCVM’s teaching population. 

Humans have utilized many materials for their homes throughout the ages, from wood to metal to concrete. But what about hemp?

Just BioFiber Structural Solutions, an Airdrie, Alberta-based company, has been utilizing hempcrete blocks made primarily from hemp hurd, lime and water. Hemp hurd comes primarily from the woody inner parts of the stalk of industrial hemp. While there are a few other forms of hempcrete, BioFiber is currently the only company in the world using insulated blocks.

The company has built a handful of hempcrete houses in British Coumbia, and currently is in the process of finalizing engineering tests to be listed in the National Building Code of Canada.

The director of the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre believes its new body scanner will help block drugs from entering the jail, but admitted not a lot of potential smugglers know about it — yet.

“Having this tool buried deep in our facility does little to deter people on the street knowing that they shouldn’t be packing stuff when they come to our facility,” Julien Hulet said shortly before a show-and-tell for the media at the jail.

By offering media a chance to photograph the scanner up close at Monday’s news conference, Hulet hopes to get the word out to anyone thinking about smuggling drugs into the jail.

With edibles coming to brick-and-mortar shops in mid-December, users are looking to get high without the smoke.

But when choosing edibles, users will want to pay attention to whether the product has CBD or THC, two compounds with very different effects.

CBD

CBD, the non-psychoactive component within cannabis has been widely touted for its medical benefits to help people with, among other conditions, chronic pain. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports CBD is not physically addictive.

A little over a year ago Canada legalized cannabis nationwide. Canada became the first G-7 nation to legalize cannabis for adult-use.

Uruguay is the only country to have legalized cannabis for adult use prior to Canada doing so, however, Uruguay’s model differs from Canada’s model.

Each province in Canada adopted its own regulatory framework in some aspects, with some provinces allowing robust competition between cannabis companies.

New Brunswick took a different approach.

The Monopoly New Brunswick Model

For the past year, a Crown corporation has served as the sole legal cannabis industry entity in New Brunswick.

You can have your pot-infused cake and eat it too, but Canada’s regulations on edibles and the new wave of cannabis products coming mid-December won’t let producers mix buds and suds.

Health Canada’s regulations for edible drinks include the stipulation that alcohol-related terms like “beer” and “wine” can’t be used to market pot drinks as officials warn alcohol and cannabis should never be consumed together.

“You’re going to have to call it a cannabis-infused yeast extract,” Darrell Dexter, executive director of the Cannabis Beverage Producers Alliance and former premier of Nova Scotia, joked in a panel discussion.

While cannabis beer won’t be allowed, the industry’s largest companies are still striking deals with breweries.

A majority of Canadians support a temporary ban on e-cigarettes following a rise in serious lung damage, a new poll suggests.

The Research Co. survey found 74 per cent of those polled would agree with their province implementing a temporary ban on vaping products like a controversial one that has been implemented in Massachusetts.

Health agencies in North America are investigating the potential harms caused by vaping following a mysterious lung illness related to e-cigarettes.

Edmonton-area Freedom Cannabis will be growing cannabis using energy partly generated from what it claims is the biggest rooftop solar panel installation in the country.

“It’s an exciting time for all of us to see all our work come to fruition and to be sharing this milestone together,” said Troy Dezwart, executive director and co-founder of Freedom Cannabis, who will flip the ceremonial switch on Tuesday.

A total of 4,574 solar modules energized in the next few weeks will produce a maximum capacity of 1,830 kW for the company’s 126,000 square foot facility in Acheson, 20 kilometres west of Edmonton. It cost $2.6 million, and took about 2-1/2 months to install.