'We will sit 'til it's done,' government Senate representative says.

The Trudeau government's representative in the Senate says the chamber will extend its session into the summer if that's what it takes to pass two new laws to regulate recreational cannabis use.

Sen. Peter Harder told CBC Radio's The House he's made it clear to his colleagues that bills C-45 and C-46 must be passed before the chamber breaks for the summer.

"We will sit 'til it's done," he said.

"We have an obligation as a Senate to deal with the legislation that's before us before we take a summer break." 

Currently, both the primary legislation and the accompanying drug-impaired driving bill are before Senate committees.

Even though recreational cannabis will be fully legal in Canada in the coming months, there is still little clarity about what exactly Canadians crossing the U.S. border can expect after legalization is implemented.

It will still be illegal to bring any type of cannabis over the U.S. border because the substance will remain federally illegal there, however there are fears that Canadians who simply admit to consuming it at any point of their lives to U.S. border agents could be permanently barred entry into the U.S. or face other punitive measures.

Home-Growing marijuana – The inevitable legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada has been bringing up more questions than answers since the Federal Government first introduced Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, in the House of Commons in April of 2017. The third and final reading of the Bill by the Senate is expected no later than June 7th 2018, with Canada-wide legalization on July 1st 2018 – but there could be a delay of up to 2-3 months before legal weed is actually available for consumers.

"The majority, if not all, retail stores licensed by the City of Vancouver MMRU [Medical Marijuana Related Use], as well as those open without a license, do not obtain their supply from licensed producers regulated by Health Canada," reads the motion on notice posted on the agenda for the next city council meeting (May 15).

"Currently police information checks are required for the applicant and all staff (including directors and health professionals); however there is no requirement for the applicant to conduct police information checks for suppliers and/or growers," it continues.

It goes on to mention recent robberies at Vancouver dispensaries, and warns councillors of the participation of "organized crime and/or gangs" in the city's pot shops. 

The marijuana market

Who’d have thought, in around 1972 when some of your school acquaintances may have been getting busted, that in 2018 we’d be talking about the outlook for EBITDA among producers and sellers of legal marijuana.

Even those who later ventured into financial services and accounting probably didn’t think they’d see the day when they were analyzing pot stocks and projecting earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization.

(Just the word amortization might have made them giggle.)

But here we are, decades later, with Canada’s Liberal government aiming for legalization this summer, with a strong outlook for a new marijuana industry.

Tory staffer urges senators to delay pot vote.

Senators are being encouraged to postpone a vote on a bill to legalize recreational cannabis by a now-former employee of the Conservative's chief critic of the legislation.

Sen. Claude Carignan said Friday he did not authorize Malcolm Armstrong, whom he'd hired on contract to advise him on the marijuana issue, to propose delaying the vote. The Conservative senator called the idea "crazy" and unrealistic.

Some time this summer, marijuana will be legal in Canada.

It's already legal in Washington state and has been for four years.

But Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth warned this week that there's a significant problem looming at the border crossing, because it's still going to be illegal there.

It makes no sense whatsoever, but the U.S. federal government controls the border crossing, and marijuana is still nominally illegal in the U.S. federally.

"People (meaning, cannabis users) are going to naturally assume, on either side of the border, that they cross back and forth because it's legal in each jurisdiction," he told the house. "But the reality is it will not be legal at that federal border crossing."

Canada's cannabis industry has exploded since the Liberals came into power in Ottawa. There are now some two dozen publicly-traded marijuana companies with a combined market value of $23 billion.

But that nascent industry will have to fight for a small share of the profits to be made from cannabis, because provinces will be taking the lion's share, says a new report from CIBC.

Canada's marijuana industry will be larger than the hard liquor market by 2020, but "the provinces will hold all the cards when it comes to distribution," CIBC analysts John Zamparo, Prakash Gowd and Mark Petrie wrote in a report released this week.

CBD oil is a controlled substance — and the 'jury is still out' on its health benefits.

Cannabidiol oil, or CBD, is generating a lot of buzz in the world of alternative medicine and many Canadians are buying in.

The oil, which is extracted from marijuana plants, doesn't have the same mind-altering effects as smoking pot. People rub it on their achy joints or put it under their tongue to help them sleep. Some purveyors say it's completely legal in Canada and can be used for a long list of ailments, including epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

But federal authorities say CBD oil, which is widely available at head shops and online, is indeed illegal without a medical marijuana prescription. And its purported health benefits are also still in question.

Corporate giants, like Anheuser-Busch, may enter cannabis trade if they decide a profit can be made, prof says.

The name change of Liquor Stores N.A., which owns the Liquor Depot chain, to Alcanna this week represents the company's intent to expand into the Canadian cannabis market alongside Aurora Cannabis, the second-largest cannabis grower in Canada.

"They're our business partner," James Burns, vice-chair and CEO of Alcanna, told CBC News. "It gives us one of the top, most incredible-leading, fastest-growing cannabis producers in the world."

Alcanna — a portmanteau of alcohol and cannabis — reflects the company's vision of having two separate divisions of alcohol and cannabis, since legislation will likely bar the sale of the two in the same building.