Hemp growers want in on the nutraceutical market, but until now regulations have limited them to harvesting hemp grain and fibre. That might be about to change when cannabis becomes legal.

Farmers may soon be able to harvest the whole hemp plant, including the leaves and flowers they are currently required to throw away.

Health Canada has just completed consultations on the federal government’s proposed framework for legal cannabis, a document that includes regulations that are, “risk based and that allows cultivators of industrial hemp to sell the whole hemp plant to certain persons licensed under the proposed Cannabis Act.”

A Toronto-based pot producer is taking over the former Maple Leaf Foods meat plant in Winnipeg.

GrowForce Holdings has announced it will open its flagship cannabis cultivation facility in the city’s St. Boniface Industrial Park.

It says the 11,000-square-metre facility will employ 150 to 200 people once it’s fully operational next year.

GrowForce CEO Rishi Gautam says the company looked at various cities, including Edmonton and Calgary, but settled on Winnipeg because of reasonable hydro rates and a large skilled workforce.

Gautam says the company purchased the site for about $10 million and plans to invest another $30 million to retrofit the building.

A major new marijuana cultivation business in Manitoba is being announced today, the Free Press has learned.

GrowForce Holdings Inc. will announce it is setting up a 120,000-square-foot facility in an old meat packing plant in Transcona.

The Toronto-based company is a newly created entity that last month announced the acquisition of WILL Cannabis Group in Brampton, Ont., an authorized licensed producer of cannabis for medical purposes through Health Canada.

A spokesman for the company said GrowForce will use that licence to add the Winnipeg production operation as a second facility. GrowForce has said publicly it plans to build a vertically integrated cannabis platform with cultivation, processing and retail facilities across Canada.

Banning Canadians from growing a few marijuana plants in their homes or backyards once recreational cannabis is legalized would be both paternalistic and unenforceable, former federal justice minister Anne McLellan says.

McLellan, who chaired the federal task force on cannabis legalization, offered that opinion Wednesday during an appearance before the Senate’s social affairs committee, which is examining the federal government’s bill to legalize pot use.

The bill would allow individuals to grow up to four plants per dwelling — a provision that has raised concerns among senators, apartment and condo owners, municipalities and police.

Chief planner recommends province choose where pot shops can go, but city says windows must be opaque.

The City of Winnipeg has decided not to create any new rules to govern where cannabis can be sold — but clear glass windows won't be allowed at weed stores.

A city working group on cannabis legalization has concluded provincial officials should approve where cannabis retailers can set up within Winnipeg when recreational cannabis use becomes legal, as it is expected to later this year.

In a report to council's property committee, City of Winnipeg chief planner Braden Smith said no new land-use rules are needed to govern where cannabis retailers can and cannot operate within the city.

With legal pot looming, officials are working on training tools for Canada's cops.

Pop quiz: what does 30 grams of marijuana look like?

It's not an abstract question. Under the federal government's proposed cannabis legalization plan, 30 grams of dried marijuana is the maximum a person can legally possess in a public place. Carry any more and you could be subject to fines, jail time, or both.

Policing quantities is a big shift for police officers, who are used to viewing any amount of pot as a potential red flag, said Sandy Sweet of the Canadian Police Knowledge Network, an agency that provides online training courses for police officers.

Are Canadian legalization laws too strict to be worth the effort?

Legalizing marijuana in Canada will benefit millions of people. First and foremost, people will no longer be incarcerated for minor possession charges. This means fewer arrest records, less government spending on prisons and less longterm impact on the careers and lives of those caught with marijuana. Legalization does, however, vary province by province, and come with a host of bureaucratic complications. Are Canadian legalization laws too strict? Here’s a closer look at the problems marijuana legislation, as it exists today, could cause.

Strict Laws Require Bigger Law Enforcement Budgets

The Quebec government is calling on the Senate to amend the federal bill to legalize cannabis for recreational use to make it clear that provinces have the right to forbid home cultivation.

Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Canadian Relations, Jean-Marc Fournier, told a Senate committee Wednesday that his government wants all legal cannabis to be grown by federally licensed producers, at least in the initial stages of legalization.

DELTA 9 CANNABIS INC. (TSXV: NINE) ("Delta 9" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Health Canada has approved the Company's application for an amendment to its cannabis production and sale license which will allow it to produce bottled cannabis oils under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (the "ACMPR"). The license amendment was issued on April 20, 2018 and is valid until August 30, 2019. "This is another important step for Delta 9 in preparing for legalization in Canada, but also in working with our partners in Germany, where we have signed an export agreement," said Delta 9 CEO John Arbuthnot.

Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. (TSXV:NINE) ("Delta 9" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a limited partnership agreement with Westleaf Cannabis Inc. ("Westleaf") and Delta West Inc. for the joint development of a large-scale cannabis production facility located in Southern Alberta (the "Project"). The entering into of a non-binding letter of intent in connection with the Project was previously announced by the Company on January 24, 2018. Delta West Inc. acts as general partner of the limited partnership formed by Delta 9 and Westleaf.