The City of Grande Prairie will eliminate the restriction of one cannabis business license per business entity and will no longer require sales information.

City council amended the existing Business License Bylaw during its Monday meeting.

Over the past two years since cannabis legalization, the city has received a number of inquires from industry stakeholders regarding opening additional outlets. They have also requested that the limit of one license per business entity be removed.

In a previous interview, Coun. Dylan Bressey noted that this cap only served to impede mom-and-pop stores.

Faced with multiple complaints from residents, Winnipeg city council's property and planning committee has voted to ask the public service to look at whether the municipality can regulate or ban growing cannabis at home.

Councillors on the committee heard from several residents at a Monday meeting who complained about the odour from homes set up to grow cannabis under medicinal licences issued by the federal government.

They also raised fears about the possible involvement of organized crime in such grow-ops.

Canada’s medical cannabis system effectively prioritizes safety and transparency. But from the patient perspective, the experience is not ideal.

People living in several north Winnipeg neighbourhoods say they have become prisoners in their own homes since their neighbours sold their houses to new owners who have turned them into medical marijuana grow operations.

"The smell is horrific," said Eddie Calisto-Tavares.

Calisto-Tavares owns her own business and, like many, is now working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her husband started going for daily walks around the neighbourhood in March and began to notice a strong odour around certain homes, she said.

"We thought it was winter and probably the skunks are hibernating," she said.

In order for the legal cannabis industry to continue maturing into adulthood, Canada needs to redefine its position on the quality of the products being produced.

Saturday, October 17, marked the two-year milestone of Canada becoming the first G7 country to legalize adult-use cannabis federally with the adoption of the Cannabis Act. Since then, the country’s cannabis industry has seen a rapid expansion.

Changes in Cannabis Policy for Veterans since the introduction

It all began in 2007, when Veterans Affairs Canada made the decision to reimburse a veteran for his medical cannabis expenses. Since then, the department has been reimbursing the cannabis costs of thousands of veterans.

Nearly 75% f the country has legalized cannabis to some extent – either medical, recreational, or both – which begs the question, how are employers dealing with the rapidly changing laws in their regions?

As of election day, November 3rd, 2020, a total of 36 states, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Island have approved comprehensive medical cannabis programs. Out of those, 15 states have legalized adult-use marijuana. Recreational is even legal in our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., where you will find a robust legal market.

According to new studies, the legalization of marijuana doesn’t lead to teens using more weed. And in the case of Colorado, the amount of teen use went slightly down after voters in the state made cannabis legal.

Those findings stand in direct contradiction to a popular argument that legalization would lead to the rampant use of marijuana by underage teens. Even though 15 states have now legalized recreational marijuana, it’s an issue that makes some hesitate to support legalization.