Tilray Inc. is looking to become the next big publicly traded medical cannabis producer.

According to people familiar with the matter, the British Columbia-based company is working with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and New York City-based investment bank Cowen and Co. on an initial public offering. At this time, Tilray is weighing a listing south of the border, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details aren’t public.

As Canada’s last major privately owned marijuana grower, Tilray has watched from the sidelines as dozens of other cannabis companies have gone public in Canada to great fanfare and used their shares as currency to make acquisitions.

The Kootenays has been growing pot for decades; now locals are worried about losing their grey market.

Patrick Bonin thinks of growing cannabis as a "moral obligation."

He developed a strain that is high in CBD, or cannabidiol, a major component of the plant that has mellowing and pain relieving effects, but low in THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the ingredient that gets you high.

He considers his "melatonic" strain a form of medicine, and has used it to treat his own chronic pain from work in the construction industry.

Bonin has a licence to grow — but not sell — marijuana. But that hasn't stopped him from offering up his unique strain as a tincture to local dispensaries — and the stores can't keep it on the shelves.

Bob Kay feels a twinge of fear every day as he runs his business in Kelowna, B.C., but he charges forward knowing he’s helping people ease their pain.

For the past 10 years Kay has been operating a medical marijuana dispensary “in a legal limbo,” running the risk of a police raid as the country prepares for the legalization of recreational pot this summer.

Be Kind is a “compassion club,” he says, helping those with chronic pain and providing cannabis in various forms to those who are prescribed it through a health practitioner.

Viewers can go inside the operation as it’s featured in the new docu-series “Bud Empire,” premiering Tuesday on History.

Marijuana businesses are growing in size and scope as Canada moves toward legalization of recreational pot, creating an increasingly daunting job for those tasked with enforcing the rules.

In Vancouver's bustling downtown, sleek, modern posters with fashionable fonts and simple images are plastered on lamp posts. It's not until you take a closer look that you spot the rolled joints inside a sandwich or buds among a plate of broccoli.

"Weed delivery. Simplified," the posters read.

Once an underground industry, marijuana delivery services are now advertising publicly, joining unlicensed retail stores and online shops as cannabis businesses openly skirting the existing law.

Cathy McLeod's private member's bill in defense of landlords has gone down to defeat in the House of Commons.

The Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Conservative MP's bill, C-330, would have required landlords consent before medical marijuana plants can be grown on their property.

She tells CFJC Today she was "terribly disappointed when the Liberals chose not to support it."

"What this means is that landlords still do not have protection. So, if someone with a medical authorization from Health Canada. The municipality will not know about it. They will have no ability to inspect for wiring issues, for fire hazards," McLeod says. "The landlord will have no ability to deal with it. Certainly, insurance tends to immediately delete coverage."

Health Canada says they are illegal and both are close to residential neighbourhoods.

First it was The Kure, now it’s Indigenous Bloom.

Some wonder what’s taken so long, but it appears some local First Nations people are taking advantage of marijuana’s legal grey area by opening up shops on reserves.

And while marijuana is technically illegal to sell, and cannabis dispensaries are forbidden in the City of Chilliwack, dealing with what happens on reserve may prove to be a tricky matter.

The Kure Cannabis Dispensary quietly opened up in April on Dyke Road on the Skwah Reserve near Townsend Park. The operation is on a privately held CP (Certificate of Possession) land, according to band councillor Lara Mussell.

There has been a great deal of discussion about the British Columbia Cannabis Act, but there has not been a solid breakdown of all of the offences under the Act. In an effort to provide a helpful guide, this post summarizes all the offences laid out in the Cannabis Act.

What is particularly interesting about the penalties in the Cannabis Act, is that many of the offences for possession, production, and distribution mimic those in the proposed federal regulations. This would mean that police have the opportunity to charge individuals under the provincial law or the federal law.

A couple of entrepreneurs in Oliver have filled the gap for medical marijuana users in town.

Canna Cabana, a new medical marijuana dispensary located beside C & C Food Mart on Highway 97 just south of town, is open for business.

Although the dispensary has only been open for two weeks, plans for it have been in the works for over three years when Rick Stagg, one of the shop’s owners, started researching dispensaries.

“I just really wanted to wait and see how legislation was going to fall into place and I wanted to learn a little more.”

While the majority of the city’s pot community was engulfed in smoke at Sunset Beach Park, a former Master Chef contestant was cooking up weed-infused meals for 132 strangers.

The MP for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding is not overly optimistic heading into Wednesday’s vote on her private member’s bill concerning landlords and medicinal marijuana home grows, but she hopes it’s the start of a conversation.

“I’m not anticipating support in terms of the vote from the Liberals,” Cathy McLeod told KTW. “But if they’re not willing to support this, then I think they need to be held accountable.”

McLeod’s bill would give rights to landlords who currently have little to no say on whether Health Canada-approved medicinal marijuana users grow pot plants in their homes.