City data shows many vying for prime locations despite no promise of opening.

Cannabis companies are scrambling and taking risks to secure prime spots in Calgary, a real estate broker says.

Companies, hoping to get in on the industry boom expected with legalization later this year, must secure permissions from municipal and provincial governments — and that requires leasing rental space first.

In bidding wars, some companies are offering to pay double the rent, Nick Preston with Colliers International Commercial Real Estate said Friday.

And most are signing leases of five to 10 years even though they may not be allowed to open, he said.

Kait Shane, educator at Natural Health Services, said the chain is hiring, but is finding many doctors are hesitant to get into the cannabis business.

Medical cannabis clinics are on the hunt for physicians as waiting lists grow.

Natural Health Services, a popular Canadian chain of clinics, stopped taking new patients at its Edmonton and Calgary locations in February because the influx of new clients was giving existing patients grief trying to book followup appointments.

“That just came to a head, basically,” said Natural Health Services community outreach educator Kait Shane.

“It was just a matter of really wanting to concentrate on patient care for our existing patients … They’re having problems, they’re frustrated, and we can’t have that.”

Proposed changes to the City of Camrose Smoking Bylaw would see fewer places for smokers to take their afternoon drag.

The City is currently looking into updating their smoking bylaw to include smoking and vaping cannabis. The changes would add city walking trails, public parks, and hotels.

They are following many recommendations made by Les Hagen and Action on Smoking and Health. He originally made a presentation to council in December of 2017 regarding the federal legislation to legalize cannabis. He was back at the committee of the Whole meeting on April 16 as the proposed bylaw was presented.

The Quebec government is calling on the Senate to amend the federal bill to legalize cannabis for recreational use to make it clear that provinces have the right to forbid home cultivation.

Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Canadian Relations, Jean-Marc Fournier, told a Senate committee Wednesday that his government wants all legal cannabis to be grown by federally licensed producers, at least in the initial stages of legalization.

It's the first day to file applications to run retail marijuana shops in Calgary.

The crowds didn't materialize, at least not in person, as the city opened the application process for would-be purveyors of recreational pot in Calgary. 

Most applied online, but there were about two dozen who stood in line at City Hall on Tuesday morning to submit building permit, development permit and business licence applications.

"I think they've been prepping for this and expecting maybe an onrush this morning that they didn't get," said Jeff Mooij, who submitted applications for 11 locations for his company, 420 Premium Market. 

"So things went a lot smoother than anticipated for sure."

MMJ Phytotech has made reportedly made investments worth CAD 1 million (around AUD 1.02 million) in Fire & Flower Inc., a major cannabis retail firm headquartered in Canada. The strategic move has resulted in MMJ receiving 1.25 million shares from Fire & Flower at nearly 80 Canadian cents per share, thereby acquiring a paltry stake in the firm. If sources are to be believed, Canadian authorities are likely to legalize the use of medical marijuana for recreational purposes.

Thousands of Canadians across the country are preparing to attend 4-20 events this year, even though cannabis consumption in Canada will soon be legal. But in Calgary, the privilege of smoking up in public will not be extended to everyone of legal age — not on 4-20, and not following legalization.

Three companies are seriously considering building plants to grow recreational cannabis in the Leduc region in a move that should create 200 local jobs, new research indicates.

With legalization of non-medicinal pot expected this summer, the area south of Edmonton will have an estimated 10,000 people consuming cannabis by 2023, according to a study released Thursday by the Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Association.

The report, based on Statistics Canada information and other data, predicts legal marijuana will capture more than 90 per cent of the Alberta market because the average price will be less than 25 cents a gram higher than its illegal competitors.

'What this ruling really is, is a missed opportunity to liberalize trade,' Calgary economist says

A Supreme Court of Canada ruling on interprovincial beer imports has sparked fears that provinces and territories will be free to impose restrictions on cannabis flowing over their borders at a time the industry is in its early stages of growth.

In its ruling on the so-called free-the-beer case, the top court said provinces and territories can restrict imports of goods, as long as their intent isn't to impede trade.

Despite that proviso, economists said there is enough wiggle room in the decision allowing provinces to impose restrictions on the legal trade of cannabis.

It has at least one local pot company worried.

A day that's come to symbolize protesting prohibition has taken a joyful turn this year

Today is 420 — a day that cannabis activists associate with the aroma of protest and lighting up in defiance of the law, but on this last April 20 before prohibition is lifted in Canada, many say it's a day to celebrate.

"We're the first G20 country to have a legal recreational cannabis market. It's a moment for Canada to be proud of what's to come," says Josh Lyon, vice-president of marketing at Hiku Brands, which not only owns licensed cannabis producers, but the Tokyo Smoke chain of cannabis lifestyle stores.