Mistakes were made.

Canadian provinces went their own way when establishing a legal framework for cannabis and some have found considerably more success than others.

The Cannalysts, an independent analysis firm, released data this week showing that if Ontario had followed Alberta’s model, the province would have stimulated an extra $325 million in economic activity. On a yearly basis, the analysis notes, the province is missing out on around $488 million more, in addition to $75 million in taxes.

A majority of Canadians support a temporary ban on e-cigarettes following a rise in serious lung damage, a new poll suggests.

The Research Co. survey found 74 per cent of those polled would agree with their province implementing a temporary ban on vaping products like a controversial one that has been implemented in Massachusetts.

Health agencies in North America are investigating the potential harms caused by vaping following a mysterious lung illness related to e-cigarettes.

The co-founder of global circus company Cirque du Soleil has been detained for growing cannabis on his private island in the South Pacific.

Billionaire Guy Laliberté turned himself in to police in French Polynesia.

The Canadian entrepreneur is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

In a statement, Mr Laliberté's company Lune Rouge denied he was growing the plant on his private island of Nukutepipi for commercial gain.

It said that he used cannabis for "medical" and "strictly personal" purposes

"Guy Laliberté completely dissociates himself from any rumour implicating him... in the sale or traffic of drugs," it said.

Cannabis growers in Alberta are about to be hit with higher taxes.

The province is changing the rules, so pot producers are no longer treated like farms, which pay zero in municipal taxes.

Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu made the announcement Wednesday at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) convention.

“This change responds directly to the concerns of municipalities, who asked for this distinction in provincial tax regulations. While cannabis is a burgeoning industry, it is important that cannabis-production facilities, which are heavy users of municipal services, pay their share for those services.”

It's a basic tenet of retailing: if you want to reach more customers, you need more locations. And according to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, that principle applies to pot just as much any other product. 

The chamber says people in this province are open to allowing a bigger role for private industry in providing convenient access to cannabis, if it helps get rid of the black market — pointing to a Nanos survey conducted online at the end of October.

The poll, released Thursday, suggests 51 per cent of Ontarians would favour allowing private-sector companies to purchase, distribute and sell cannabis, with the province's oversight. But not everyone's convinced it will get rid of the illegal market, especially heavy smokers like Abi Roach. 

Canadian securities regulators are calling on companies in the cannabis industry to strengthen their governance and disclosure practices to ensure investors are aware of potential conflicts of interest for executives and directors relating to M&A activity.

The Canadian Securities Administrators, an umbrella organization for provincial securities regulators, issued a staff notice on Tuesday saying it will monitor developments in the cannabis industry after observing a “higher-than-usual crossover” of potential conflicts of interest, such as overlapping debt and equity, in the sector’s M&A transactions over the past several years.

Cannabis-related tourism, or canna-tourism, is a niche in the cannabis sector that has a way to go to take shape as the legal cannabis industry evolves.

After Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018, many businesses started to realize that cannabis culture’s social element, similar to that of alcohol, makes the drug a natural counterpart for tourism ventures.

That upped efforts to encourage the province to change laws to allow consumption lounges and farm-gate sales at production facilities to create attractions that would draw a new demographic of tourists to B.C.

Close to a year after opting out, Mississauga will reconsider allowing retail cannabis stores in the city.

The city will look again at cannabis storefronts in the new year, in part, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said, because of the persistence of the illegal market in Mississauga. She said she was “very startled” by the amount of unauthorized cannabis businesses in the city.

Crombie said the full costs of allowing cannabis stores, from enforcement to public health and education, is to be determined.

“Certainly, there would be a much higher bylaw cost than we had anticipated given the proliferation of the illegal outlets to purchase,” she said.