The next wave of cannabis retailers in Ontario will soon be felt across the province, with dozens of the 42 approved applicants completing the required 15-day public notice period and poised to open their doors in the coming months.

As reported in 2019, Ontario will soon start authorizing 20 new stores a month, meaning there could be close to 250 stores up and running by the end of next year.

Smoke more, drink less.

That appeared to be the trend among Canadians in the first full year of legal cannabis, when beer volumes fell by three per cent through November, according to data from Beer Canada.

“This is far worse than the trends seen between 2014-2018, where beer industry volumes fell an average 0.3 per cent,” and appears to be related to Canada’s legalization of pot in late 2018, said Cowen analyst Vivien Azer.

Domestic beer volumes slid 3.9 per cent through November, while imported beer volumes grew 1.4 per cent. Cannabis consumers appear to prefer mainstream beer “as they pursue better ‘buzz for your buck,”’ Azer said in a note published Tuesday.

If you read enough cannabis-related articles online, you will eventually come across the “talking to your kids about pot” guide. They have been written by many people and contain various nuggets of advice, but what most of them have in common is trying to communicate ways to parents to communicate to their children that marijuana is something they should stay away from.

There’s obviously nothing wrong with that, but there are a couple risks parents run: 1) lying to your children can erode their trust in other things you have told them and 2) lying to your children about marijuana could inadvertently drive them to experiment with some other, more dangerous behavior.

It would appear to be too little, too late.

Sales of recreational cannabis in New Brunswick are surging as the provincial government pushes forward with its plans to privatize the rights to operate recreational cannabis retail, wholesale/distribution and e-commerce.

Nova Scotians can finally buy edibles and other cannabis 2.0 products online.

On January 6, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) began sales on its website — two weeks after the province introduced edibles to its 12 stores on December 23.

“The gummies and chocolate squares are by far our best-selling products,” said NSLC spokesperson Beverley Ware. “We have already had to re-stock twice and we’re expecting a third shipment by the end of the week.”

Here’s what’s in store.

The menu

Some products currently available online through the NSLC’s website or in-store are chocolate squares, soft chews and vape pens.

Other products available for sale are cannabis infused teas and mints.

Health Canada’s most recent statistics indicate that Canadians bought close to 100 tonnes of legal, adult-use cannabis in the first year of legalization, BayStreet.ca Media Corp reports.

While sales amounted to approximately $1.27 billion, the lion’s share of that cash went into the pockets of the illicit market — legal sales estimated at about $417 million and unlicensed sales estimated at a whopping $860 million.

The real challenge to reduce crime associated with marijuana is federal legalization and more aggressive law enforcement to eliminate the black market, which flourishes in part because of high taxes on legalized marijuana products.

Marijuana advocates like to say that legalization generally means a decrease in crime wherever it is legalized. But that assertion is difficult to prove.

One study found that while marijuana use can increase the likelihood of violent and property crimes, marijuana use may also diminish a user’s violent tendencies.

Cannabis edibles are now available through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) website.

NSLC spokesperson Beverley Ware said online sales began today, Monday, Jan. 6.

"It's very limited as to what we have available, but it does list all the products that we expect to be carrying over time," she told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

The NSLC was allowed to start issuing purchase orders on December 16 and it had a limited supply of products by Dec. 23 at its 12 cannabis stores across the province.

"The most popular items have been the chocolates and the soft chews," Ware explained. "They had pretty much been sold out across the province by the time we closed Christmas Eve."

While our teeth most definitely are of utmost importance, most of us neglect a frequent visit to the dentist. We would brush our teeth regularly, but ignore some critical signs that overtime escalates to some serious dental work. Fact is, for some or other reason, we are afraid of the dentist. We pay the least attention to our dental health.

The mouth is a completely different ball game

People who have never smoked marijuana could be most at risk of overdosing on cannabis-infused edibles that will soon be on store shelves across the country, warns a public health physician who says first-time users may keep noshing away while expecting a high, only to experience a racing heart, anxiety and panic attacks.

Dr. Lawrence Loh, adjunct professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said overdose from overconsumption often means a trip to the emergency room for those who are unaware that feeling the mellow effects of pot from edibles can take several hours because of the time needed to digest and absorb food into the small intestine versus quickly inhaling the drug through the lungs.