Vancouver city council has made changes to its bylaw to accommodate the sale of non-medical cannabis, ahead of federal legalization on Oct. 17.

City council created the "Cannabis Store" designation through a zoning and development bylaw amendment at a council meeting on Tuesday night. 

This will replace the existing "Medical Marijuana Related Use" (MMRU), so that pot shops also selling non-recreational marijuana can operate under city regulations.

Cannabis producer Tilray Inc. filed for a proposed initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange Wednesday, a day after parliament made a final vote to legalize cannabis nationwide.

The Nanaimo, B.C.-based company says it has not determined the number of shares to be offered or the price range for the offering. It will trade under the symbol TLRY.

The company, one of the largest marijuana producers in Canada yet to go public, says it does not intend to list on any stock exchange in Canada.

Tilray has roots in the U.S., formed as a subsidiary of Seattle-based Privateer Holdings, a private investment firm focused exclusively on the cannabis industry. The firm's portfolio of brands also includes Leafly, Marley Natural and Goodship.

UBC is introducing Canada’s first ever professorship of cannabis science to investigate the potential role that pot-based research could play in the mitigation of the opioid crisis and other addictive disorders.

The two-year position is being created in partnership with the BC Centre on Substance Use, BC’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and Ontario-based medical cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp.

The professorship will investigate potential applications of cannabinoids as an immediate treatment for opioid addiction and potential substitutes to opioids in treating acute and chronic pain.

As the movement to legalize recreational cannabis use gains momentum, investors are looking to get in on the action in any way they can. And that's a huge win for Canada because it's basically the only game in town, writes Brandon Hicks.

Bill C-45 is testing whether Trudeau can make good on one signature promise, to legalize cannabis, without losing ground on another — advancing reconciliation.

In the heart of Alberta’s oil sands, there’s a new opportunity on the horizon, one that isn’t at the mercy of oil prices and pipeline politics.

The Fort McMurray #468 First Nation hopes to open a new marijuana production facility next year on its land south of the city, in partnership with cannabis company RavenQuest BioMed. The operation could eventually produce 15,000 kilograms of cannabis a year, estimates Brad Callihoo, the First Nation’s CEO.

“My mandate is a self-sufficient nation for the next seven generations,” he said.

If you’ve driven past the Torbay Road Mall recently, you may have noticed that one of those big black roadside signs suggests that medical marijuana prescriptions are available inside at Home Grown Hydroponic and Indoor Garden Centre.

Technically speaking, the prescriptions are not available inside — there’s no doctor or naturopath hanging out in the back room with a pad ready to dole out scripts for high-potency cannabis strains.

No, your Insurance Corporation of British Columbia isn’t capitalizing on legalized cannabis, although it could help them put out their financial “dumpster fire” that still seems to be burning.

The International Cannabis Business Conference (the other ICBC, as it were) is rolling into town towards the end of this month.

The two-day event takes place June 24 and 25 at the Sheraton Wall Centre.

Stacked with cannabis industry professionals such as Hilary Black from Canopy Growth and Clint Younge from MMJ Canada, the speaker list for the event is long.

The Agrima facility in Pitt Meadows will supply Aurora with dried cannabis flower and trim.

The Agrima Botanicals facility in Pitt Meadows, as part of a new deal, will supply Aurora with up to 20,000 kilograms of dried cannabis flower per year, for the next five years.

In addition to dried cannabis flower, Agrima will also supply up to 6,000 kg of cannabis trim per year.

Runners-up are Canadian-born former broadcaster Laurie Gelman and Toronto-based culture writer Scaachi Koul.

British Columbia-based author Jennifer Craig has won this year's Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

It was announced that Craig won the $15,000 grand prize for her book Gone to Pot, published by Second Story Press, at a gala in Orillia, Ont.

The novel tells the story of a B.C. grandmother who, after losing her job, takes to growing marijuana in her basement.

Craig's previous work includes a memoir about her time working as a nurse in the U.K. before immigrating to Canada in the 1960s.

Named after famed Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock, the prize is awarded annually for the best book in Canadian literary humour.

Burnaby businesses have to be careful not to let the stigma of marijuana use affect how they treat employees once it’s legalized, according to Ashley Mitchell, a labour and employment lawyer with Miller Thomson.

Mitchell was speaking at the Burnaby Board of Trade annual general meeting Monday on the subject of cannabis legalization, alongside Anne Dobson-Mack of WorkSafe B.C.

“We do recommend that everyone treat it like you treat alcohol,” Mitchell told the crowd.

The three areas of concern are employees using marijuana recreationally, medical marijuana use, and employees who claim to have developed an addiction, according to Mitchell.

Businesses should develop clear impairment policies for the workplace that include marijuana. She said.