A senate committee is recommending that federal law should specify that the provinces have the power to decide whether or not they want to authorize the cultivation of cannabis at home.

Quebec and several other provinces have said they do not want people to grow marijuana at home, and have been lobbying for the legislation to be very clear on that point.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Fournier presented his arguments to the committee several days ago and convinced the senators of the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

Fournier argued that the provinces had full constitutional jurisdiction to prohibit home-grown marijuana farming, but that clarification was needed to dispel any doubt.

Resolution passed at Special Chiefs Assembly calls for a cut of tax revenue from cannabis sales.

First Nations chiefs on Wednesday called on the federal government to amend its marijuana legalization legislation to prevent provincial regulations from applying on reserves.

Chiefs passed a resolution at a Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau, Que., directing the Assembly of First Nations to lobby the federal government to make the amendment to Bill C-45, which is currently before the Senate.

The resolution also called for First Nations to be included in the excise tax revenue sharing framework, which is currently split 75 per cent to 25 per cent between the provinces/territories and Ottawa.

A new cannabis program is launching at Olds College, a community college specializing in agriculture, horticulture, land and environmental stewardship.

In a statement on its website (“New Cannabis Production Program Launched” on May 1, 2018), the college says the new program is called Cannabis Production Program – Level 1.

A community conversation 'Cannabis – Let's Talk Alberta' hosted by the Town of Vermilion, Community Support Services (FCSS) and Alberta Health Services Provincial Addiction Prevention Team, University of Victoria's Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research and Health Canada took place at the Vermilion Regional Center on April 24.

A large crowd turned out for the two sessions held and participants exchanged their ideas and shared perspectives on the legalization of cannabis and its use in the community.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that recreational cannabis use will be legal by summer as promised in his campaign, despite the fact that a number of senators are urging the Liberal government to delay legalization for up to a year for further consultation with Indigenous communities.

“We have been working with our partners across the country to make this happen and we are going to be moving forward with summer on the legalization of cannabis,” he said.

"Obviously, as I've said many times, this is not an event, this is a process, and we will continue to work with our partners in the municipalities, in provinces and Indigenous leadership in communities to make sure we're doing this right and moving forward in a responsible way."

Creating dishes and culinary experiences that are as fun as they are unique, Chef Luke Reyes makes the art of the cannabis edible look easy.

Reyes, 34, is husky, tattooed, and focused on bringing on good food and a good time.

Every day, as regular as clockwork but with increasing regularity, they come: the kids in their late teens who feel about weed the same way I do about a glass of Fat Bastard; the baby boomers who stopped sparking up because they “grew up:” the octogenarians luxuriating in having the social licence to indulge once again.

The other day Jack Fanning, Halifax Seed Co.’s indoor horticultural specialist and resident cannabis expert, had a call from a woman who introduced herself as a member of the St. Margarets Bay Gardening Association, wondering if he would come out to the bay some day and do a little seminar for the membership, which is mostly over 80 and entirely female.

With the impending legalization of marijuana, Renfrew County councillors continue to have questions about enforcement at least as it pertains to public consumption of pot.

With the Trudeau government pushing legalization through the Senate to the committee stage, it's anticipated recreational marijuana will be lawfully permitted across Canada by late summer. While local law enforcement are training officers to investigate roadside impairment by marijuana, municipal councils may have to implement their own bylaws to control where cannabis can be consumed.

The opportunities aren’t only in alcohol-like products. You only have to look to states where cannabis is legal in the U.S. to see a range of products, from CBD-infused energy drinks to THC tea.

Picture yourself enjoying a bottle of cannabis beer after a long day, as you rub THC cream into your sore muscles and your spouse dozes off thanks to a marijuana-derived sleep aid.

It’s a vision of the future of legal cannabis consumption that may be closer to reality than many expect.

The Canadian government plans to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the next few months and that will mean changes for police forces across the country.

Currently, police are not very much interested in arresting people for possession of small quantities of cannabis, says Michael Kempa, director of criminology at the University of Ottawa. However, he says officers do use suspected possession to obtain search warrants when they want to investigate more serious crimes, and they will soon not be able to do that.