British Columbians have never bought so much legal weed. 

Cannabis could be a useful harm reduction strategy for young people struggling with addiction, according to new research out of B.C.

Two newly published studies from researchers with the BC Centre on Substance Use and the University of British Columbia examined cannabis use behaviours among young people and other people who use drugs in downtown Vancouver.

Together, these studies suggest that cannabis could be effective both as harm reduction as well as a substitute for illicit opioid use.

The findings come as B.C. is seeing its worst stretch in history for fatal overdoses, due to a increasingly toxic drug supply and social contact restrictions amid COVID-19 driving many to use alone.

The B.C. government has issued a response to a suit filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia by the owners of a medical cannabis dispensary in Vancouver that was subject to a raid in which the province’s Community Safety Unit (CSU) alleged the store was selling “non-medical cannabis.”

Shop owners Doug and Michelle Sikora claim in the suit that the Feb. 18 raid was essentially “a warrant-less search and seizure of medicinal cannabis and medicinal cannabis products from a medical cannabis dispensary,” and, therefore, represented a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, according to Coast Reporter.

The Canadian-born comedian has some advice for young people partying it up in B.C., which is experiencing a COVID-19 uptick.

As the global COVID-19 pandemic extends another month with no true end in sight, the temptation to return to a semblance of normalcy may come calling. But yet, social distancing protocols prevent many activities we associate with the summer, such as  large family gatherings, late nights out, and group hangouts.

There’s a development in the comic book-like saga that is Horgan’s Heroes.

Comedian Seth Rogen tweeted Saturday a lighthearted message to B.C., urging people not to gather in large groups and instead stay home and “smoke weed.”

Rogen’s tweet follows another funny message to B.C.’s youth from Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds on Friday, asking them not to “kill his mom.”

On Saturday, Rogen wrote:

“People of British Columbia! Please do not go out to parties and BBQs and other large gatherings! The COVID is still out there! It’s more fun to hang out alone and smoke weed and watch movies and TV shows anyway! Do that instead! Thank you!”

lthough British Columbians have typically handled cannabis transactions face-to-face, it’s no surprise that a third of the province’s licit market shoppers now prefer to shop in the absence of other people.

That’s according to a recent survey, commissioned by P.E.I.-based producer Figr Brands, Inc., showing that 33 per cent of B.C.’s cannabis consumers prefer online shopping — slightly behind the national average of 43 per cent.

B.C. has been relatively slow to warm to the idea of private online sales, but made a permanent regulatory change last week to allow click-and-collect for licensed retailers. Pre-pandemic, you could only make online purchases on the provincial store’s website.

Despite the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, cannabis delivery services by private retailers to customers remains illegal in many provinces, including British Columbia.

In British Columbia, the terms of a non-medical retail license to sell cannabis do not permit the licensee to offer or provide a delivery service for non-medical cannabis, or otherwise engage the services of a third party to provide such services in respect of the licensee’s retail establishment. However, in light of the changing business market and social distancing requirements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, some provinces are changing the way in which non-medical cannabis products may be accessed.

"In some cases, we lost food security with the arrival of this new industry."

British Columbian farmers experienced record sales in 2019 – and it’s in large part thanks to weed, according to Energetic City.

Cannabis accounted for roughly two-thirds of B.C.’s agricultural revenues last year, giving a record boost to the province’s farm-generated income – beating out previous top crops like blueberries, mushrooms, grapes and tree fruit.

But despite the province’s considerable weed-related windfall, not everyone is happy.

Regulators in British Columbia announced on Tuesday that private cannabis retailers will now be allowed to conduct sales of recreational marijuana online or over the telephone, although customers will still be required to pick up their purchases at the store.

The regulations are being modified as a way to reduce the chances of transmitting the coronavirus during cannabis transactions, according to British Columbia Attorney General David Eby.

A study published this week in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed scientific and medical journal, found that for some street youth in Vancouver, cannabis is a “