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.

A few years ago, edibles started showing up in the last place anyone wanted to see them. The obituaries. 

First, 19-year-old student Levy Thamba Pongi visited Denver during spring break of 2014 and jumped off a motel balcony after eating a marijuana cookie. Less than a year later, also in Colorado, a seemingly happy 23-year-old named Luke Goodman died by suicide on a ski vacation in Keystone -- a tragedy his family blames on cannabis candy. Earlier that day, he’d tried a couple of pieces, and when he didn’t feel anything, popped a few more -- four peach tarts and one red velvet in all, five times the recommended dose.

Despite Manitoba being known for its more open cannabis laws, its government is planning to ban recreational consumption in public places as it also rolls out a safety campaign for edibles.

Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said Tuesday that the Progressive Conservative government will introduce a bill to ban any public use of recreational cannabis before mid-December, when edibles, extracts and topicals are expected to become available in retail stores.

The current law only lists smoking and vaping.

A Vancouver-bound Air Canada flight forced to land at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport due to mechanical issues has sparked a discussion about what domestic air passengers should know if they happen to land on U.S. soil without advance warning.

What was supposed to be a five-hour domestic flight from Toronto to Vancouver last Sunday turned into a 13-hour international ordeal for passengers.

But once the plane landed in Seattle, one passenger wondered aloud about the consequences for anyone carrying cannabis products.

The vaping crisis is a major concern within the cannabis industry, and as news of more illnesses and unfortunate deaths continue to make headlines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has finally released a study detailing what might be causing all the problems. And it's what many in the cannabis industry have been saying all along.

The properties of CBD are a good match for lip balms, specifically for people who have sensitive lips or spend lots of time exposed to harsh weather.

Over the past couple of years CBD has become a huge draw for the beauty and wellness industries, being added onto make up, lotions, oils, serums, and more. Now, it’s being added onto lip balms, providing anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that do a great job of keeping your lips healthy and looking good.

Although it can be argued that CBD is being added into all sorts of products nowadays because it’s trendy and it’ll sell, the properties of the compound are a good match for lip balms, specifically for people who have sensitive lips or spend lots of time exposed to harsh weather.

This is the first year Tom has not felt the need to booby-trap his backyard.

An inveterate pot grower, the North York man says new laws allowing Canadians to raise up to four of the plants per household set his mind at ease for the first time in more than half a century of cannabis cultivation.

“For all the years gone by I used to MacGyver the place,” says Tom, who did not want his last name used. “I would put fishing lines along the ground with tin cans so it would make noise if anybody went back there at nighttime. This year I didn’t worry about any of that, I just let it grow.”

Sluggish cannabis retail in Canada’s largest province has been a sore point for everyday pot consumers and billion-dollar licenced producers alike since recreational legalization over a year ago. 

Provinces charted their own course in establishing legal alternatives to the black market, resulting in a patchwork of public and private channels for online and brick-and-mortar sales. No two markets are as often compared as Ontario and Alberta. 

One key difference is the fact that Ontario has opened just 24 physical cannabis stores versus about 300 in Alberta, a province with roughly 10 million fewer residents.

Canada’s cannabis industry predicts edibles will revitalize the market and shake up dropping stocks. But these issues are a far cry from the very first edibles.

Pot edibles have been a part of human history for thousands of years, tied to religious texts and potentially even being used as a way to attract assassins. Here’s a rundown of how it evolved.

Bhang (1,000 BCE)

While history can be hazy, it appears the first form of edibles were in liquid form. Nicknamed ‘Bhang,’ the cannabis-infused drink may have appeared as early as 1000 BCE in India. The drink is popularly served around Holi, a Hindu festival celebrating the start of spring.

While poking around your local dispensary, it’s almost guaranteed that you will speak or hear the terms “indica,” “sativa,” or “hybrid,” at least once. These three terms remain, by far, the most common for describing the attributes and effects of cannabis flower — and even products like edibles and vapes lay claim to the categories. 

 For most of us, these labels are shorthand. Indicas are chill, sativas are energetic, and hybrids represent a balance between the two. But are these classifications accurate, and — perhaps more importantly — can they be used to authentically predict a person’s experience when consuming cannabis?