Canada's medical marijuana industry has recently become a battleground between the nation's "gray market" dispensaries - illegal storefronts selling marijuana in cities like Vancouver and Toronto - and licensed producers such as Tilray and OrganiGram

Travis Lane has been growing marijuana since high school, when his first pot plant swiftly withered and died in his bedroom closet. By the time he was 20, he had cultivated a small basement grow-operation.

Now in his mid-thirties, Lane owns an online dispensary and runs two 390-plant operations on Vancouver Island. He employs two growers and raises his plants without pesticides or liquid fertilizer.

"I don't want to hide what I do. I'm good at what I do. I'm proud of being good at what I do," he said. "I've been proactive my whole life in trying to move towards a time where I can openly be a cannabis professional."

BC Ferries says it has the right to ban pot smoking, but medical user cries 'harassment on the high seas'.

A medical marijuana smoker who posted a video of a heated argument with a BC Ferries officer says he's within his rights to light up in designated smoking zones.

But the ferry corporation says not so fast and is claiming the right to limit pot smoking, just like they limit alcohol consumption.

Ryan Malazdrewicz, 40, says he was on his way home to Vancouver Island on the Wednesday afternoon, when he decided to "'medicate" in the ship's outside smoking zone.

The Ucluelet resident says he's had a medical marijuana licence for about seven years because of his back pain.

Regulatory hurdles seen hindering expansion of acres.

An explosion in demand for Canadian hemp out of South Korea is welcome news for the industry, but strict regulations may hamper just how much of that demand will be met this year.

“The doors have blown off the market in Korea for hemp,” said Kim Shukla, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance at Steinbach, Man.

Six months ago, South Korea was unknown as a market for Canadian hemp; now, “that market requirement is outstripping the requirements for the U.S.,” said Shukla. A promotion on a home shopping channel in South Korea led to sales of 40,000 pounds of hempseed in one hour, according to reports.

In the market for 350 marijuana grow lights, 50 air ventilators or two dozen giant fans? You're in luck.

More than $1 million worth of equipment inside a defunct medical cannabis producer's former 6,100 square-metre facility in Richmond, B.C., will be auctioned off on Thursday.

MediJean's closure draws attention to the costly risks of launching a pot-production business, observers say.

Former chief operating officer Chris Dollard said he left the company before it closed, but he believes Health Canada rejected its application to be a licensed producer.

"We were waiting, waiting, waiting. That's what Health Canada does. They keep you waiting until you run out of money," he said. "It's pretty clear that if they had been accepted, they'd be in business."

Vancouver has issued its first business licence to an illegal marijuana dispensary, as the city presses ahead with a landmark set of municipal bylaws in Canada aimed at regulating the sector.

The Wealth Shop was granted a licence this week to operate in a shopping complex on West 10th Avenue in the tony Point Grey neighbourhood, near the University of British Columbia.

Malik Sayadi, who has been in charge of hiring for the store, said the group of young local entrepreneurs behind the dispensary likely benefited by not joining in on the green rush of the past several years.

A review of costs associated with the 420 marijuana protest event last month showed that it cost the city nearly $150,000.

A joint release from the city of Vancouver, the Vancouver park board and Vancouver park on Wednesday said that the unsanctioned, illegal marijuana events at Sunset Beach Park and the Vancouver Art Gallery on April 20 showed that additional resources were required to ensure the public’s safety because of the organizers’ decision to hold events at the two locations.

Costs included $99,400 for police, $24,000 for the park board, $13,600 for streets and sanitation, $6,900 for Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, and $4,100 for traffic, special events and emergency management.

A city spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that the Wealth Shop was granted a licence to operate in a shopping complex on West 10th Avenue in the city’s tony Point Grey neighbourhood, near the University of British Columbia.

Vancouver pot shops have won seven-for-10 at the city’s board of variance since March, having brought forward successful arguments for second cracks at marijuana business licenses. 

While it’s a tidal shift from the first two months of hearings when every decision went against shopkeepers, even the most keen observers, appellants and their lawyers would have a difficult time divining the precise ingredients that make for a successful pot shop appeal. In some cases, shops with nearly identical characteristics have received opposite decisions at the board.

Senior citizens in Victoria support council’s push to adopt a bylaw that allows edible pot products in medical marijuana dispensaries, despite health and safety concerns raised by the province’s medical health officer, says Mayor Lisa Helps.

Victoria’s council voted in favour of preparing a medical marijuana business bylaw Thursday that permits the sale of edible pot products, keeps marijuana businesses 200 metres apart from each other and prohibits any forms of advertising.

The bylaw will also keep the dispensaries 200 metres away from schools and licensed daycares.