BC Ferries says it has the right to ban pot smoking, but medical user cries 'harassment on the high seas'.

A medical marijuana smoker who posted a video of a heated argument with a BC Ferries officer says he's within his rights to light up in designated smoking zones.

But the ferry corporation says not so fast and is claiming the right to limit pot smoking, just like they limit alcohol consumption.

Ryan Malazdrewicz, 40, says he was on his way home to Vancouver Island on the Wednesday afternoon, when he decided to "'medicate" in the ship's outside smoking zone.

The Ucluelet resident says he's had a medical marijuana licence for about seven years because of his back pain.

It’s like forecasting early gold reserves in the heady days of California’s Gold Rush era. Revenue estimates that will come from legalizing marijuana are growing almost like weed itself.

In analyzing the ballot initiative to legalize recreational use of marijuana, California’s legislative analyst and finance director estimates that legalizing marijuana for casual use could net as much as $1 billion in new tax revenue for the state and local governments.

That estimated revenue, however, dwarfs the amount calculated by the state’s tax board, the Board of Equalization, based on legal medical marijuana-related sales.

A conference on Canada’s economic future got a taste Wednesday of a possible new strategy for the country: Becoming a world leader in the burgeoning marijuana industry.

Thanks to Canada’s medical marijuana program, the country’s licensed producers are already the most sophisticated manufacturers of cannabis in the world, said Alan Gertner, co-founder of Tokyo Smoke, a Toronto cafe chain that caters to pot smokers.

Canada “could be to cannabis what France is to wine,” he said.

Gertner was speaking at the Economist magazine's Canada Summit in Toronto, focusing on the country's economic future and featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as keynote speaker.

Alaska regulators were applauded Thursday as they approved the first licenses for legal marijuana growing and testing facilities — another milestone for the fledgling industry.

Priority was being given to growing and testing operations to ensure that retail stores will have legal product to sell. The first retail licenses are expected to be issued later this year.

Thirty applications were on the agenda Thursday at a meeting of the Marijuana Control Board in Anchorage. Two were for testing facilities. The rest were for grow operations.

The first application approved came from CannTest LLC of Anchorage, a marijuana testing facility. The action was greeted by applause and cheers.

“That’s history right there, folks,” board member Brandon Emmett said.

This year’s presidential race has brought out some of the most contentious, divisive and volatile responses and reactions among American voters. Thankfully, there is one issue almost all of us agree upon—legalizing medical marijuana.

Just how united are voters on MMJ? According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, nearly 90 percent of Americans—81 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats—support medical marijuana legalization.

California officials want to ensure that those once punished over harsh weed laws aren’t overrun by wealthy entrepreneurs once it’s legalized recreationally.

Joshua Weitz’s marijuana delivery company was supposed to be the biggest achievement of his life. The San Francisco native began dealing weed when he was 14 years old, and by 2013 he was eager to apply his skills in a legitimate medical cannabis business with a California license.

“You get this sense of a real supreme accomplishment. It felt so good to build something,” said Weitz, now 33.

Female entrepreneurs are carving out a space for themselves in the burgeoning sector.

A Florida-based firm is opening three new offices in cities where cannabis is an emerging industry, and it has plans to open more.

Another sign of how the legal cannabis industry is growing and maturing: the arrival of established law firms, looking to represent those involved in what was once an outlaw enterprise.

Could cannabis be to Canada what France is to wine?

In a fascinating update on Canada’s path to cannabis legalisation, Justin Trudeau found himself fielding this very question at an economic summit in Toronto this Wednesday.

The Huffington Post have shared a clip from the event, where Canada’s much-lauded PM set the record straight on his plans for legalisation.

Speaking earlier in the summit, Alan Gertner, a medicinal cannabis entrepreneur, had made the case for a potential economic windfall brought about by legal pot.

The world has had a long and complicated relationship with hemp.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that hemp fell out of favor as one of the most important crops in the history of mankind. In 2016, however, anything is possible it seems.

So, it could be very soon where a variety of applications using hemp become economical, and hemp grows into a boon for society.

What was once a widespread plant became a taboo within decades. Its history shows it is useful for tens of thousands of applications and counting.