New numbers out on how many charges Edmonton police have laid in the first year since marijuana became legal cover everything from pot-impaired driving incidents to cases of youths trying to buy weed.

There’s a shortage of skilled workers for the growing marijuana sector, where demand for the product is outrunning supply, says an Edmonton-area cannabis company.

That’s why Freedom Cannabis, operating out of a 126,000-sq.-ft. facility just west of Edmonton in Acheson, is facilitating a training class, alongside NorQuest College, to help give students the knowledge required to work in all realms of the industry.

“Growing and operating in a highly regulated environment requires people that understand the ramifications of being in this environment,” said Freedom Cannabis co-founder Troy Dezwart. “The more trained and the more educated they are, the better the work environment is and the higher-quality products we can create.”

The Alberta government's cannabis wholesaler and online retailer is returning all products from CannTrust Holdings Inc. after Health Canada suspended the company's licences to produce and sell pot.

A spokeswoman for the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission says it intends to return its remaining supply of on-hold CannTrust products to the Vaughan, Ont.-based company, but would not confirm the amount, citing contract confidentiality.

In July, the AGLC placed a hold on its inventory of CannTrust products as a precautionary measure as the federal regulator conducted its investigation into allegations of unlicensed growing at the cannabis company's Pelham, Ont. greenhouse.

Eleven months after recreational pot was legalized, city officials have approved 209 cannabis outlets with no end in sight to their growing number.

That’s approaching half the number of liquor stores in Calgary, which numbered about 450 in early 2018.

Neither the province nor city have set limits on the number of retail outlets eligible for approval, which means there could ultimately be many more than those 209 stores in Calgary.

“We never intended to restrict or put a limitation on cannabis stores in Calgary, just the separation distances between stores,” said Brandy MacInnis, a senior planning and policy strategist for the city.

If good things really do come to those who wait, Banff, Alberta, will be a very happy place this fall.

Almost a year after Canada legalized cannabis for recreational use, the town is finally getting its first retail stores. A small commercial district and strict regulations have resulted in the community lagging behind other areas in the province.

Cannabis storefronts are restricted from setting up shop on lucrative Banff Avenue and from having street-facing windows or being within 30 metres each another or a school. Just one of the five town-approved retailers — Spiritleaf Banff — has managed to satisfy all the criteria and is set to open its doors on Oct. 1.

In the final years of cannabis prohibition, Earth Dragon Organics owner Tessa Serra and her five staff members made CBD-infused bath bombs from a small kitchen facility on Salt Spring Island.

Over a hundred dispensaries across Canada stocked Earth Dragon’s line of creams, lotions and other cannabis topicals. No longer. Their bath bombs ended up in police evidence lockers more than once, but Earth Dragon didn’t withdraw from the illegal market because of a raid. Instead, Serra sold Earth Dragon to Pasha Brands, a Vancouver-based company cultivating formerly illegal companies for the regulated market. After the sale went through, Earth Dragon stopped producing and selling — for now.

A hazy rollout of new rules surrounding the promotion of cannabis products has left some Edmonton-area retailers feeling perplexed.

Starting on Oct. 17, any public advertisement for cannabis products or retailers can legally have a surface area no larger than 300 square centimetres — though it remains unclear what exactly this restriction applies to.

For reference, the surface area of a standard piece of printer paper is just over 600 sq. cm.

In the wake of Alberta gripping the top pot spot in Canadian cannabis sales, the province is continuing to roll out more legal cannabis stores, having surpassed 250 early last month.

Eight businesses in Edmonton have been fined $48,000 for selling cannabis products illegally in the city, police said Thursday.

“A legal market is a safer market, and the Edmonton Police Service will continue to crack down on the illegal market,” said Const. Dexx Williams in a news release.

Police received a tip that several businesses were selling cannabis products without the required municipal and provincial licences in early 2019. Approximately $1,500 in cannabis products that were being sold illegally from three separate businesses were seized on Aug. 21 after a joint operation by the city and the Edmonton police.

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