The District of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island denied three cannabis store applications at a council meeting last week.

Mayor Mayco Noel said even though cannabis has been legal for a year, he didn't think the stores would be a good fit for the community.

The decision has been somewhat controversial among residents — especially since neighbouring Tofino approved two stores this summer. 

Marilyn McEwen, a councillor with the district of Ucluelet, voted in favour of two of the cannabis stores. 

"I liked the locations ... and I liked both of the applicants," she said on CBC's All Points West. 

McEwen was the only councillor to vote in favour of any of the applications. 

Canadian Cannabis 2.0 is here! It’s been over a year since recreational cannabis was legalized for adult use in Canada, and with the edibles, extracts and topicals category recently legalized, the market is shifting into what many envision as a new wave of consumption. How will the introduction of these new products impact the market?

Let’s start with Cannabis 1.0.

The marijuana stock market has definitely seen better days than that of the past few months. At that time, we have seen the industry shift to allow companies to reach closer toward their full potential. With so much going for pot stocks, it seems as though the industry is on the up and up. Right now, we are fighting the high levels of volatility that have swamped the industry for quite some time.

A Manitoba town has voted by a narrow margin in favour of allowing a retail cannabis shop in their community.

Residents of Niverville, south of Winnipeg, cast ballots Tuesday in a plebiscite on the question of whether a pot store should be allowed to open there.

A total of 863 people opted to let Canna Cabana — a retailer selected through a provincial process — set up shop.

Another 719 voted against the move.

Town council decided to hold the plebiscite in August, when it initially denied the conditional use permits the business needed to open.

Residents on both sides of the issue put up signs around the community, with some urging people to say no to drugs.

Marijuana is expected to be the greatest investment opportunity in recent memory, and Wall Street's growth projections show it. Although estimates vary wildly on Wall Street, which we'd expect with an industry that has no legal precedent, most analysts are calling for $50 billion to as much as $200 billion in worldwide annual sales in a decade. Such robust growth would certainly give investors plenty of opportunity to profit.

This growth was expected to be on full display in Canada in 2019. Having become the first country to legalize recreational cannabis in the modern era, our neighbor to the north is providing a blueprint that other countries might be able to follow.

With the holidays on their way, it seems as though some marijuana stocks have been able to give their gifts a little earlier than planned. A high level of volatility has contributed to the overall current state that we are in with pot stocks. With so many to choose from, finding the right one can often be a difficult task. This, however, becomes much easier with a larger amount of research.

Manitoba is being touted as one of the country’s premier pot stops, offering relaxed retail cannabis laws and AgraFlora Organics International Inc. planning to pump out 1,000 cannabis edibles an hour in its Winnipeg plant.

The cannabis company also recently completed the construction of its pharmaceutical-grade research and development laboratory inside the 51,500 sq. ft. edibles factory.

The lab will allow scientists to test the microbiology in edibles and contents of liquids. It also features gadgets to carry out custom confectionery testing and a “proprietary triple shot depositor capable of producing infused chocolate or liquid filled centre in shell pieces, as well as a full vacuum pressure confectionery-cooking system.”

Cannabis activist Jack Herer once opined that hemp is the only thing that could save the world. So when the new Farm Bill was written into law last year, many believed it to be the birth of an industry with world-changing potential.   

While they might yet be correct in their beliefs, the national liberalization of hemp has not been without some hurdles. Tightening regulations, lack of infrastructure, and ‘hot’ crops have all contributed to a difficult year for those who have turned their hand to hemp farming. 

Here are some of the main problems plaguing the hemp industry today:

Ten months before cannabis was legalized last October, I asked a question: Where are Black Canadians in the cannabis debate? I sought to stimulate active involvement of Canada’s Black communities in our country’s cannabis conversation while explaining the socio-systemic barriers that might account for why African Canadians were not playing a more prominent role in the public and private developments of legalization.

Despite the country’s shrinking industrial hemp crops — Health Canada figures show production fell from 123,000 acres in 2017 to over 77,