Import restrictions have been changed to help ensure people with prescriptions for cannabis-based products for medicinal use do not have their treatment delayed or interrupted.

The changes will help patients with conditions such as rare, serious forms of epilepsy or multiple sclerosis.

Most cannabis-based medicines are imported from foreign countries. Export restrictions mean it can take weeks or months for the drugs to reach the patients in the UK. For example, in Canada, an export certificate can take 4 to 8 weeks.

Alberta has been celebrated as the country’s fastest-growing cannabis market as the nascent industry continues to climb out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

The Sunshine Province led the nation in sales in the first year of legalization and it continues to outpace every province in retail operations. Currently, there are more than 400 cannabis retail stores in Alberta, compared to less than 40 in Ontario.

Alberta has also attracted significant investment from some of the country’s largest licensed producers, including Aurora, which moved to Medicine Hat in 2018 with plans to build the world’s largest cannabis greenhouse.

Pedestrian fatalities have reached a 30-year high in the U.S. and smartphones, SUVs and marijuana may be to blame.

A new study has found that 6,590 pedestrians were killed in car crashes in 2019, an increase of five per cent from the previous year and up 60 per cent from 2009. That also happened to be the year the first smartphones starting appearing, New York Post reports.

A legal fight has emerged after Tilray Inc.’s deal to buy 420 Investments Ltd. for $110 million was terminated last week, with the Alberta-based retailer suing the Canadian cannabis producer for breach of contract and accusing it of dragging its feet on the deal following a “change of heart”, according to documents obtained by BNN Bloomberg.

Tilray announced its plan to buy the retailer, which currently operates 11 Four20 Premium Market cannabis stores in Alberta and is also known broadly as Four20, in late August for $110 million in a cash and stock deal. The deal – which occurred after five months of negotiations between the two companies – included $40 million in Tilray promissory notes based on future store openings, according to the statement of claim.

Israel wants to be a little more like Canada.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tweeted on Sunday that he will be expunging the criminal records of vast amounts of Israelis who had been caught with cannabis and modelling its budding industry after Canada’s, according to The Jerusalem Post.

“I examined the matter and decided to advance the erasure of criminal records of tens of thousands of Israelis for personal use and possession (of cannabis), something that causes unnecessary suffering to many and is a burden on the courts,” he wrote on the social media site.

For Michelle, driving to the closest provincially regulated cannabis store isn’t worth the gas money. Her closest option is nearly 70 kilometres from her home in Lawrencetown, N.S., a village of 668 people. 

“We started growing just because of where we’re situated,” said Michelle, who asked to keep her last name private. “It’s not convenient to go to the NSLC, and I found the quality just wasn’t there for what you’re paying.” Before that, she bought from a “backyard dealer” who also grew his own. 

he Canadian pot industry still has many hurdles to jump before it reaches the success of Colorado’s lucrative legal weed market, according to one expert.

If Ontario opened up hundreds of new pot stores, producers focused on price and quality, and governments dropped taxes and eventually relaxed rules, Canada would have cannabis sales closer to Colorado’s thriving market. That’s according to Michael Armstrong, an associate professor at the Goodman School of Business at Brock University, who has been following the Canadian industry closely since 2018.

A series of cannabis store robberies in Alberta has led some retailers to tear down window coverings initially erected to satisfy federal legislation.

Those visual obstructions were meant to adhere to the Cannabis Act to keep cannabis products and accessories out of the view of minors.

But retailer Nathan Mison said those window coverings compromise the safety of staff by making it easier for robbers to commit their crimes.

“We’ve made ourselves a target by making it so someone can come in, lock the door and take all the time they want robbing a store because no one can see in,” said Mison, spokesman for the Edmonton-based Fire and Flower Cannabis chain.

“Nobody should be in jeopardy at their work.”

The city’s community and public services committee is slated to review a report on the future of cannabis lounges next week.

But before the businesses can hit Edmonton’s streets, Alberta and Ottawa have to roll out separate legislations.

The report headed to Tuesday’s meeting states no provinces have licensed cannabis lounges or cafes, however, some American states do. In California, for example, businesses have to be 600 feet from a daycare, school or youth centre, must have an odour absorbing ventilation system and have security guards patrolling during business hours.