In the U.S., specialty crops tend to remain specialty crops, meaning comparatively small acreage and production, said USDA economists in assessing the prospects for industrial hemp. Challenges including competition for acreage, the threat of imports, and the necessity of building marketing networks “will determine patterns of development in the emerging U.S. hemp industry,” they said in a report on Wednesday.

Budtenders at a British Columbia cannabis retailer are reported to be the first private-sector pot shop employees to unionize in the country.

Staff at two Clarity Cannabis dispensaries in the Greater Victoria area have joined the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 1518, the union announced Tuesday in a press release. Clarity Cannabis operates seven stores in B.C. with approximately 40 employees.

Nova Scotia RCMP report there has been an increase in intoxicated driving events since federal cannabis legalization came into force in October 2018.

There are currently approximately five to 10 drug-driving arrests monthly across the Atlantic province, noted RCMP provincial drug recognition expert, Constable Chad Morrison. The numbers constitute “maybe a 30 to 40 per cent increase in terms of the numbers of arrests and the number of drug evaluations that we’ve been conducting,” Morrison told CBC News.

Shopping for legal weed in Nova Scotia is about to get a little more convenient for cannabis-loving Maritimers.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., the province’s sole licensed cannabis retailer, has announced that more locations will start selling cannabis, which will more than double the number of legal retailers available to Nova Scotians, CBC reports.

The new moves are the province’s latest effort to “address geographical gaps” and better compete with illicit sellers, who currently dominate Nova Scotia cannabis sales.

Finance and Treasury Board Minister Karen Casey announced the decision on Friday.

Nunavut's Legislative Assembly will reconvene Tuesday in Iqaluit for nearly four weeks. During that time cabinet has plans to talk about cannabis regulation. 

Nunavut's Cannabis Act passed in June of 2018, before the federal government legalized cannabis that fall. But the act only allows for online sales of cannabis. 

This sitting, the government will introduce amendments to that legislation that would regulate the supply and sale of cannabis by in-store retailers. 

The Cannabis Act already allows the government to approve licences for retailers, and it did put out a request for "expressions of interest" from vendors and suppliers.   

Embattled cannabis producer CannTrust Holdings Inc. announced Thursday it has appointed a new chief executive officer, while providing an update on how it plans to get its licence to grow cannabis again. 

CannTrust said in a statement that the company's board appointed Greg Guyatt as its CEO, replacing interim chief Robert Marcovitch who will return to his role as chairman of the company. 

Marcovitch took on the interim CEO position in July after the company's former CEO Peter Aceto was fired with cause several weeks after inspectors from Health Canada said CannTrust was found to have grown thousands of kilograms of cannabis in unlicensed rooms. 

I want a Goddamn strong statement on marijuana … I mean one on marijuana that just tears the ass out of them. … By God we are going to hit the marijuana thing, and I want to hit it right square in the puss. … I want to hit it, against legalizing and all that sort of thing.

—Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States

Before the war on drugs put marijuana farmers firmly in its crosshairs, cannabis was being grown openly and with commercial success on every continent on earth, much as it had been for centuries.

Humans have been cultivating the numerous varieties of Cannabis plant for thousands of years – and the plant is thought to have grown naturally in the wild for much longer before that. From sativa to indica, the plant has been used for everything from paper and clothing to nutrition and medicine, and everything in between. Cannabis has also been credited with having various properties and uses that can have positive environmental impacts. 

Ontario launched a consultation process Monday to solicit input about potentially permitting cannabis consumption in lounges, outdoor festivals and concerts across the province.

The provincial government said it is collecting feedback now to explore future policies that could result in a more open cannabis market, although no changes to existing legislation are expected and there is no timeline provided on when a decision could be made. Any new legislation tabled by the Ontario government is also expected to leave smoke-free laws intact, meaning that there would be no public indoor smoking or vaping permitted in the province.

The Canadian cannabis industry had a promising beginning, but the “Green Rush” has significantly slowed in recent months. Now, the industry is facing a long list of challenges: Lacklustre sales, a slow rollout of retail outlets, competition from the illicit market and waning enthusiasm among investors, to name a few.

But bad behaviour on the part of licensed cannabis cultivators has generated more interest across the country than any other problem. Some industry observers attribute contraventions of the Cannabis Act (which replaced the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations in 2018) and securities infractions to increasing pressure from consumers and investors. But some balk at that notion.