Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose can’t seem to catch a break. First, Kimberley, B.C., grants a business licence to a medical cannabis dispensary and then Vancouver City Council votes to regulate and license medical cannabis dispensaries. Coupled with the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that patients can possess all forms of cannabis for medical purposes, Ms. Ambrose is left with feelings of sheer “outrage.”

Note the wide disparity of drug prices across the countries surveyed.

With the recent turn of economic events in Greece and China, it has become ever more apparent that we live in increasingly globalized world in which economies are inextricably linked.

This begged the question; are national drug economies linked in a similar manner?

In this informative video, BuzzFeed shows you how much coffee, cannabis, cigarettes, cocaine, whiskey, and heroin can you buy for $20 U.S. dollars around the world.

As part of our ongoing commitment to improving our patients’ experience with Tilray, we’re excited to announce that we have submitted an application to Health Canada to produce medical cannabis extracts. Under new guidelines issued last Wednesday, July 8, licensed producers may now produce and sell medical cannabis derivatives of medical cannabis such as oils and capsules. These new products will make it possible for patients to utilize medical cannabis in ways other than smoking or vaporizing.

Ms Zeng speaks quietly, almost in a whisper, with a strong Chinese accent. How long have you been having trouble sleeping, she asks her customer.

For more than a year, Canada has had a federally-regulated medical cannabis regime. It’s a system unique in the world – tightly regulated by Health Canada, market-based with multiple competing licensed producers, and arguably represents Canadian leadership in an emerging area of medical research and treatment. Our national medical cannabis system works well, specifically because it treats cannabis as medicine.

The City of White Rock, B.C. is looking into launching a pilot medicinal marijuana dispensary project after the idea was proposed by a local business owner.

There are currently no medical pot dispensaries in White Rock, but Randy Caine, who owns the store Hempyz and is part of the local Releaf Compassion Center, believes they will inevitably come.

Caine recently presented a proposal to city council to develop a governance framework for dispensaries. This way, it can be prepared for any of the businesses possibly opening up in the city. 

This is my understanding and interpretation so far of Health Canada’s new regulations for extracts. New information will continue to come in. If errors are discovered, corrections will be made as I learn of them. ~Adam

What does “cannabis oil” mean under this exemption?

“Cannabis Oil” is defined by Health Canada as “an oil, in liquid form, that contains cannabis or dried marihuana.” This means a liquid containing cannabis, marijuana, and its preparations and derivatives. It definitely encompasses infused vegetable oils – like olive, avocado, and the like – and it remains to be seen what other products may fall under this definition.

What kind of products can I legally make with my dried or fresh marijuana?

A boutique brand aims to give medical marijuana the white-glove, apothecary-chic treatment

Adam Miron handles the package as though it were a newborn. “Look how thick this silk ribbon is,” he says. He points out the embossed gold seal and the acre of tissue paper it holds. He notes the quality of the glass bottles inside, the colourful logos he himself designed, the childproof tops. He is delightfully frank about his desired customer. “Give me a soccer mom who takes a couple of Ambiens,” he says, sunburned, sweaty and grinning in his linen blazer.

Pot shops: Washington state versus B.C.

One year after Washington state legalized the sale of marijuana, B.C. remains bound by Canadian drug laws that consider pot sales, except to about 40,000 authorized medical users, illegal.

This status quo is being challenged, not just by marijuana activists, but also by municipalities, which are grappling with ways to handle consequences of pot prohibition, including illegal grow-ops, gang violence and organized crime.

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