annabis advocacy veteran Neil Magnuson greets people by name as they walk into the Vancouver Downtown Eastside’s newest weed store. 

The small storefront is inviting, with free helpings of CBD orange chicken kept hot by a slow cooker in the corner. Staff roll and spark joints as they list off the product catalogue to customers. 

The store’s prices are also staggering when compared to other cannabis retailers in the city. Joints sell for $1, pungent buds heaped in clear jars go for anywhere between $2.50 – $6 per gram. Caps with 50 milligrams of CBD sell for $2.50 each.

British Columbia is still perceived as the top spot for quality pot, according to new survey results collected by Maru/Blue and commissioned by Auxly Cannabis Group — but local love for homegrown weed is emerging among consumers, too.

The survey results were released to celebrate the launch of Robinsons Cannabis (an eponymous label by Kentville, Nova Scotia-based master grower Andrew Robinson), which is now available at the NSLC and Ontario cannabis stores. The survey was completed on June 16 and asked just over 1,500 “randomly selected Canadians” about their geographical preferences for the origins of their cannabis.

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

B.C. has has a difficult road to getting cannabis users interested in purchasing from legal retailers over their neighbourhood dealer, but a recent poll suggests that the province may finally be winning the battle over bud.

A Research Co. poll released earlier this month found that 51 per cent of B.C. respondents who have consumed cannabis in the past six months have bought all of their products from licensed retailers. That’s an 18-point increase from a similar survey conducted in October 2019.

About 20 per cent of the 800 respondents surveyed said that “most” or “some” of their cannabis was obtained at a licensed retailer, while 16 per cent admitted to purchasing only through illegal dealers or unlicensed retailers.

n emerging Indigenous cannabis producer says its products will soon be on the shelves of 65 British Columbia pot shops, making it the first partnership of its kind in the province.

Last week, Nations Cannabis said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Association of Canadian Cannabis Retailers, which represents 26 B.C. weed retailers that operate 65 private stores throughout the province. The projected value of the agreement is $28 million in the first year, and $96 million by year three, according to the press statement.

If you’re a cannabis consumer on the West Coast, you’ve likely purchased an ‘eighth’ before. If you’re located in Ontario or the East Coast, you might call the same amount of cannabis a ‘half-quarter.’ But if you’re new to pot and you buy it through the government channels, you might call the same amount of cannabis something else entirely: 3.5 grams. 

Those working in recreational cannabis retail in B.C. will need to complete security verification every five years instead of every two, an obligation initially meant to keep organized crime out of the province’s legal weed market.

The change will apply for workers who currently have valid security screening. The period will be extended from the date of their initial verification, according to B.C. Ministry of Attorney General.

Last month, Tupa’s Joint, an Indigenous cannabis dispensary in Vernon, B.C., was raided by members of the province’s Community Safety Unit. 

Tupa’s Joint does not have a provincial licence to sell cannabis, but the shop was opened with support from the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB), which passed its own regulations — the OKIB Cannabis Control Law.

If you like green gummies, the lime-flavoured ones, then a new factory out in Nisku is a little slice of heaven.

These, though, will have an added kick. They are cannabis edibles infused with either CBD or THC, the active chemicals in marijuana — THC for recreational users and the CBD for its health and wellness properties.

Dynaleo believes it can produce more edible gummies than anyone else in Canada, and that there will be a shortfall in the industry of about 85 million of the edibles each year.

They say when their plant hits capacity it could produce 400 million of them a year.

Canadians are clearly in love with cannabis, but not all provinces were created equal when it comes to permitting pot. While the historic Cannabis Act applies to all provinces, the rules around distribution and consumption fall to the provinces — and municipalities have some say on it, too.

That’s why for Canada Day, The GrowthOp takes a look at the growing industry from coast-to-coast — crunching the data on price, consumption habits, number of stores, public consumption options and the ability to grow at home — to find out which provinces are rolling out the red carpet for weed and which are still warming up to the country’s second favourite leaf.

Here are our findings.