October 17, 2019, marks the first anniversary of the legalization of cannabis federally in Canada, and the date when the second phase of products — edibles, extracts, topicals and some other alternative cannabis products also become legal. 

Each province and territory were handed the reins for rolling out legalization, and the results in terms of access to legal marijuana are very different for Canadians depending on where they live. This has also had an impact on consumption patterns.

Alberta could host 500 cannabis stores within two years, says an official with the provincial regulator that’s been busier than any in Canada approving the outlets.

One year past the end of cannabis prohibition, Calgary already has more cannabis stores — 66 — than any other city in Canada, with Edmonton second at 48.

Another 154 locations have been approved in Calgary.

Kieley Beaudry is relatively new to micro-cannabis, but so is the rest of Alberta.

Beaudry is the founder of Parkland Flower Inc., a micro-cultivation facility currently under construction in Parkland County west of Edmonton. She is also the president of the fledgling Alberta Cannabis Micro License Association (ACMLA).

After incorporating last November, Parkland Flower’s wholesaling licence is expected to be approved by Health Canada this month. The company also has plans to apply for a processing licence down the line.

With that, and licences for the ACMLA coming in, it’s a busy time for Beaudry on the eve of the second wave of legalization.

After an active first year since federal cannabis legalization came into effect, Edmonton police are predicting an intensification of cannabis-related offences.

And with legal edibles set to hit the shelves sometime in December, a report authored by the city is predicting that along with Edmonton residents, police costs will be getting higher.

FluroTech may have found something promising.

The Calgary-based company is developing biotracker technology that it believes will be a useful tool in determining whether a cannabis strain came from a legal or illegal source. It reports an initial test of the technology on a batch of hemp plants, grown and harvested outdoors, revealed that the roots absorbed and spread the trackers throughout the entire plant.

A provincial review of Alberta’s tobacco and smoking legislation could result in regulations for vaping by next spring.

Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon will lead the review and will work with Alberta Health to examine the evidence and consult with Albertans and stakeholders, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Wednesday.

“We want to let people know the risks of vaping and we want to regulate it based on the evidence,” Shandro said. “So we’re going to take a close look at vaping as part of the overall review of our smoking legislation.”

Alberta’s Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act requires a review to begin by Nov. 1. The current legislation does not address vaping, Shandro noted.

Choom™ (CSE: CHOO; OTCQB: CHOOF), an emerging adult use cannabis company that has secured one of the largest national retail networks in Canada, is pleased to announce that an Alberta provincially approved cannabis retail licensee (“Licensee”) is opening a cannabis retail store in Westlock, Alberta operating under the Choom brand.

To put a dent in the sales of cannabis on the black market, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says it will encourage the Ontario government to allow for the opening of more retail locations that sell cannabis products.

The chamber plans to launch, on Thursday, the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council (OCPC), a lobby group that they say includes cannabis producers, legal experts and the dean of the University of Guelph's school of agriculture.