A new rule prohibiting some Metrolinx employees from using cannabis while off-duty is drawing criticism from the union representing those workers, which plans to explore possible legal challenges to the policy.

"This Metrolinx action shows a profound lack of respect for the men and women who work for it and who devote their working lives to the safety of the public," read a statement sent out by the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587.

This week, Metrolinx updated its 'Fit for Duty' policy to ban cannabis use by employees in "safety sensitive positions." The prohibition applies to those workers whether they are on or off-duty, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster said in an email statement. 

Israel has given final approval to a law permitting the export of medical marijuana, a move the government expects will catapult investment in local industry and agriculture.

The Cabinet’s decision Sunday came a month after the Israeli parliament unanimously approved the decision, making Israel the third country in the world, after the Netherlands and Canada, to allow export of medical cannabis products.

Israel is home to dozens of companies active in the medical marijuana industry, and approved companies will be able to export to countries where it is legal.

Canada's persistent shortage of legal cannabis could drag on for years. The impending legalization of edible pot will only divert more product away from empty store shelves across the country. One industry insider said he now expects that shortage to endure until 2022.

"If it was just the current product set, I'd say a year to 18 months," said Chuck Rifici, CEO of the Toronto-based cannabis company Auxly.

"But because we have edibles and a bunch of new product types coming in October, I think it'll be the better part of three years before we have true equilibrium and oversupply in the space."

Travellers caught sneaking small amounts of marijuana into Canada could soon be forced to pay fines.

Although stiff criminal penalties will remain options on the books, the federal border agency is developing administrative sanctions to give it more flexibility to deal with people who arrive at the border with cannabis in the era of legal recreational use.

Since Oct. 17, adults in Canada have been allowed to possess and share up to 30 grams of cannabis, but bringing the drug into the country continues to be illegal, carrying a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.

If you are carrying cannabis upon entering Canada, it must be declared to the border agency. Otherwise, you may face arrest and prosecution, the Canada Border Services Agency says.

A class action lawsuit against licensed cannabis producer Organigram Inc. has been given the green light to proceed to trial.

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia last Friday certified the proposed class action, filed in 2017 after the Moncton-based organic pot grower recalled a number of its products due to the detection of certain pesticides.

Organigram in December 2016 announced a voluntary recall of certain lots of medical marijuana supplied between August and December that year after a certain pesticide not registered for use on marijuana under the Pest Control Products Act was detected.

2018 was a momentous year for cannabis advocates as Canada became the second country (after Uruguay) to legalize recreational marijuana use. Canadians and cannabis companies alike eagerly awaited legalization, but the rollout hasn’t been as smooth as they would have liked.

It’s been nearly three months since cannabis became legal for recreational use in Canada, and now the federal government is preparing to allow more products onto the market — in particular, edibles like baked goods, candy, and chocolate.

It's the first day cannabis retailers can throw their names in a lottery for one of 25 licences to open a pot shop in the province, but the pull-from-the-hat approach could leave Ottawa without a single storefront.

Cannabis has been legal since Oct. 17, but so far, Ontario consumers have only been able to buy the product online.

Only 25 licences will be issued by Apr. 1 to the first wave of private retailers, with a lottery system determining the winners.

According to a local public affairs consultant, that's not the best way to combat black market cannabis sales — especially if Ottawa ends up without any legal outlets.

After a wild year for the cannabis sector, it’s appropriate that 2019 kicks off with a focus on Aphria Inc., the Canadian pot producer that was attacked by short sellers and is now the target of a hostile takeover bid.

Aphria reports results for the fiscal second quarter on Jan. 11, and there will undoubtedly be plenty of questions on the conference call about the allegations from short sellers that it overpaid for “worthless” assets in Latin America. Aphria called the claims by Quintessential Capital Management and Hindenburg Research “malicious and self-serving.”

The legal cannabis stores that opened in Montreal last fall still look pristine. Curious customers file in, but the shelves they peruse are often bare. Supplies are so short the stores are shuttered three days a week.

A few blocks from one outlet, though, a longtime pot dealer was receiving a stream of text alerts one afternoon this winter, a sign of booming business.

When the government opened Canada's official recreational-pot market on Oct. 17, it was banking on the idea that many users would prefer to buy legally and that the black market would quickly begin to fade. It says things seem on track, with "early reports of a 65 percent reduction for illegally sourced products," according to a spokesman for the minister in charge of the cannabis file.