Russia has issued an official statement accusing Canada of breaking international legal obligations by legalizing recreational cannabis. The country is calling on the other G-7 nations to respond.

The international agreements that Russian officials are referring to include the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and, most recently, the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.

It's a clear sign Hamilton is losing its battle against illegal marijuana dispensaries. Every time police or the city try to shut one down, new numbers show, they just open back up again.

Lloyd Ferguson, Ancaster councillor and chair of the police services board, says police have shut down 42 dispensaries, and all but two reopened again.

City efforts aren't much better. Bylaw staff have identified 80 dispensaries in total, and 47 are operating now, said Ken Leendertse, director of licensing.

But of the 33 authorities have managed to close, he said, most of them just moved to a different location and reopened again.

Cannabis legalization may be just three months away in Canada but First Nations in Chilliwack aren’t waiting.

A second marijuana dispensary on a local reserve opened its doors this week with a grand opening set for July 11, with a third storefront on the way.

Indigenous Bloom opened its doors to customers on the Kwaw-Kwaw-Apilt reserve on Ashwell Road on July 5 while workers were still on site putting the finishing touches on the medical marijuana dispensary.

And Indigenous Bloom Corp, which is based in Kelowna, is just getting started with some big corporate experience and First Nations leadership on its board.

Canadians have known for a while that legal recreational cannabis would soon become a national fact. But no one knew the precise specifics of the Cannabis Act’s regulations, which contain much of the minutiae and rule-setting that fill in many of the blanks in the federal legislation.

The Canadian government recently released 400 pages (!) of Cannabis Act regulations, covering everything from cultivation, processing, and sales of cannabis flower to the shape and colour of barcodes on cannabis packages. (There can only be one per package, and it must be square and in black and white.) Here are six of the most interesting regulation takeaways.

Canada is poised to be the second country in the world to legalize cannabis after Uruguay legalized marijuana's production, sale, and consumption in December 2013. There, the state controls all aspects of the marijuana market, which will be much like Canada’s upcoming plan.

The marijuana laws of these two countries will be even more liberal than the Netherlands, where recreational drugs are illegal, but a policy of tolerance is intact.

A couple of years ago, a slick group of strangers showed up in the office of Edward Garcia, mayor of this sleepy town in a lush agricultural valley in central Colombia. They wanted to talk about marijuana.

New provincial rules have outlawed cannabis lounges designed for medical users as of July 1, but one owner in Windsor, Ont. refuses to shut down.

Higher Limits Cannabis Lounge, which calls itself the largest in Canada, has been open in the downtown area for two-and-a-half years and said they've seen more than 85,000 people come through the doors.

'I'm not shutting down'

I think we're going down a very slippery slope here where we start to discriminate against medical users.- Jon Liedtke, owner of Higher Limits

The new Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which came into effect on Canada Day, clearly states medical cannabis users cannot smoke or vape in enclosed public spaces. And that includes lounges designed specifically for that purpose.

Marijuana retailers in Squamish are thrilled that their product will soon be legal, though some details around how it will roll out depend on feedback from a public hearing on the subject.

The District will hold a hearing on proposed changes to bylaws around marijuana production and sales on July 17 – three months to the day before pot becomes legal across Canada.

This is part of a nationwide process sparked by the federal government's announcement that marijuana will become legal in Canada as of Oct. 17. The provincial government has outlined the processes for distribution, which fall along lines similar to alcohol sales. But it is for local governments to determine appropriate locations for pot shops, as well as licensing and business operations regulations.

Have you seen it?   

That’s what people at Stars and Thunder are asking in connection with that unusual house that looks like a leftover from a Kansas windstorm.

The upside down house is actually a clever marketing ploy and Timmins is the first place in Canada where it is being showcased by UP Cannabis Inc., a Canadian company that produces cannabis. UP Cannabis is one of the corporate sponsors for Stars and Thunder.

P.M. Rendon, the company’s Director, Communications and Public Relations said the house represents the changing perspective for legalized marijuana with the recent passage of Bill C45 in the Senate