One year on, two systems for medical marijuana continue to (awkwardly) co-exist

What are you smoking?
Medical marijuana marketing rules are strict: no social media advertising, no colourful names and no allusions to its recreational use

Vancouver, British Columbia, April 13, 2015: Wildflower Marijuana Inc. (CSE:SUN) (the “Company”) has signed a Letter of Intent with a manufacturer of cannabis e-juice. The Joint Venture is established to develop a line of e-juice products for Wildflower. The Joint Venture partner is currently a licensed Tier 3 producer and processor in the State of Washington.

VANCOUVER — Marc Emery's online magazine, Cannabis Culture, encourages marijuana use during pregnancy for relief of nausea, loss of appetite and to help get emotions under control.

"Most studies say cannabis is perfectly safe during pregnancy, but it's controversial, of course," said Jodie Emery, Marc's wife, a well-known marijuana activist who failed in her attempt to run for the Liberal Party.

In an online article, Dr. Kathy Galbraith, known as "Dr. Kate," writes: "Pot can be safely used during pregnancy, and can help with several of the discomforts/problems associated therewith.

Medical marijuana shops popping up all over Metro Vancouver are giving parents and their children the wrong impression about weed, says an addictions specialist.

“Using the term ‘medical’ is giving a false impression to people — parents and kids,” says Dr. Siavash Jafari, who works out of several Vancouver Coastal Health clinics in Vancouver and also the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction.

“To say ‘medical’ means it is supported by the medical community. It is not. That’s a misconception among the public.” he says.

“Parents feel that it’s not dangerous so they don’t talk to their kids about it.”

A Lumby based medical marijuana company is looking to develop products in the pet nutrition industry and tap into a new market.

True Leaf Medicine International has applied to become a medical marijuana licenced producer and sees the pet industry as a new revenue source. True Leaf CEO Darcy Bomford sees pet nutrition as a “natural fit for his company” and will focus on pet products as an extension to the company.

Perth, April 9, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - PhytoTech Medical Limited (ASX:PYL) is pleased to report that MMJ has received from Health Canada a "confirmation of readiness letter" that precedes the scheduling of a pre-licensing inspection. 

Highlights

- MMJ Bioscience Inc. ("MMJ") receives pre-inspection readiness request from Health Canada for its Duncan facility that traditionally precedes the scheduling of a pre-licence.

- There are currently only 22 companies holding facilities licensed to produce medical cannabis ("MC") in Canada under the MMPR, with MMJ-PYL on track to become one of the next.

Vancouver – True Leaf Medicine International LTD., the Quality of Life Company, which has applied to become a Health Canada Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulation (MMPR) licensed producer, has identified potential new revenue sources in the pet nutrition industry while it continues to engage in the medicinal cannabis licensing process.

With 30 years’ experience in the pet nutrition market, True Leaf CEO Darcy Bomford sees a natural fit for his company to combine its current focus with products for pets as a natural extension of the mission to provide customers with enhanced quality of life and is in negotiations to combine those two areas going forward.

Canadian cities looking for ways to jumpstart economic growth should maybe take a lesson from Nanaimo, B.C., which says it is reaping the benefits of a growing medical marijuana plant that opened last year.

A federally-licenced medical marijuana producer in Nanaimo, B.C., is contributing so much to the local economy that city council has approved a proposal to roughly quintuple the size of the facility.

"At this particular point in time, [Tilray has] contributed about $3.2 million in direct wages in just over a year in operations, and they will continue to do so," Mayor Bill McKay told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

"When they are involved in their building process … 95 per cent of the contractors were locals, so you can imagine when you're going from a 65,000 square foot-facility to a 265,000 square foot-facility — that's good jobs, that's great impact."

The mayor of Nanaimo says his city is rolling in the dough from a new medical marijuana facility opened by Tilray a year ago

“They are providing jobs out there that are good paying, they’re family incomes. They have hired 95 per cent of their work force [from] local, long-time people,” says Bill McKay.

“It’s just a whole new industry, and there are a lot more of those industries coming, at least we hope so, to Nanaimo.”

McKay says the city has just approved an expansion of the plant, which will let Tilray grow from 50,000 to 250,000 square feet. Currently 115 people are employed at the plant, and Tilray has plans to hire 275 more.