3-day hearing underway to determine whether class action can go ahead.

New Brunswick's largest licensed supplier of medical marijuana is trying to fend off a class-action lawsuit at a three-day hearing that started Tuesday in Halifax.

Organigram, which employs some 300 people in Moncton, is accused of making customers sick by supplying them with cannabis that was tainted with unapproved pesticides in 2016.

"One of the things we want for people who purchased contaminated products is to get their money back," said the plaintiff's lawyer, Ray Wagner.

"The second thing is that we're also looking for punitive damages to punish Organigram for what they did, we say, knowingly or recklessly, using banned pesticides to improve commercial value of their product."

As Canada’s provinces get ready for the advent of legal recreational pot, many questions remain about Ontario’s plans to sell cannabis through a subsidiary of the LCBO. But there are no quick answers from the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., which is responsible for both online sales and stores.

While Alberta’s premier says that province’s privately run stores will be ready and waiting for legalization, and New Brunswick’s provincial cannabis authority recently gave a tour of a store, Ontario is plodding along carefully and keeping a tight lid on information.

The Liberal government and the Senate may be in the midst of a battle that further delays the legalization of recreational marijuana, but Cannabis NB is good to go with at least of one its stores.

The one in the north end of Saint John is now complete. Once the date for legalization is announced, Cannabis NB can stock the products and train the staff to be ready for opening day.

Brian Harriman, president and CEO of NB Liquor, hosted a tour of the new store with journalists, who took pictures and videos and asked questions about how the new stores will operate.

In a move designed to increase transparency and destigmatize the soon-to-be-legal recreational cannabis market, a newly formed international accreditation body called the Global Cannabis Partnership announced its inaugural members on Tuesday.

Speaking at the World Cannabis Congress, corporate social-responsibility expert Rick Petersen said the Global Cannabis Partnership he helped create will establish international corporate social-responsibility standards around informed choice, restrictions to youth, safety, advertising, the environment and ethics.

Saint John conference hears how companies grapple with raising brand awareness — without breaking the law.

Before New Brunswick's cannabis stores open to the public, marketers are grappling with the challenge of how to tell customers about their brand without breaking the law. 

"We've been given very clear direction," Ray Gracewood, chief commercial officer for New Brunswick-based Organigram, said Tuesday at the World Cannabis Congress in Saint John.

"[For example,] the fact that we are only allowed one colour on the packaging."

Earlier this year, Health Canada introduced strict guidelines around labelling.

Containers must display health warnings, similar to tobacco products, and company logos and lettering have to stay small.

General manager of provincial pot retailer hopes to conquer stereotypes about cannabis users.

It's not everyday that someone can add "general manager of New Brunswick's first cannabis retail chain" to the old resumé.

But Lara Wood can. And with her new position as general manager of Cannabis NB comes a wide array of challenges.

One of the main issues is the promotion of the product itself, a task mostly centred on education and public safety.

"As it becomes legal, the priority has to be helping people understand the product … how it works, the effects," said Wood, who will oversee the retail chain, staff and product.

"People who are existing consumers even have to understand how it works in a legal environment."

Many Canadian workplaces aren’t nearly ready for the fast-approaching legalization of marijuana, a marijuana industry expert told the World Cannabis Congress Monday.

Jason Fleming, vice-president of human resources for Ontario marijuana producer MedReleaf, said there’s still a lack of definitive testing, and many employers have not educated staff on new policies.

“Employers are having to write policies and have to prepare, but in many cases they are still using really outdated, anecdotal information,” he said Monday in Saint John.

As Ottawa prepares to take its final steps toward legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the head of a task force that made recommendations to the federal government for the bill issued a warning to industry members not to “play fast and loose” with the new rules.

Speaking to industry members gathered at the first World Cannabis Congress in Saint John, former Liberal cabinet minister Anne McLellan said Canadians are becoming increasingly sensitive about the legalization of cannabis as its advent draws nearer. She urged companies that are licensed to produce cannabis – many of which have bristled at the strict limitations the government is pursuing on branding and packaging their products, for example – to respect legislators’ cautious approach and boundaries.

Global leaders in the marijuana industry are gathering in New Brunswick today to discuss how to market cannabis
in a competitive legal marketplace.

The World Cannabis Congress is hosting 450 industry titans in Saint John to talk about that and other issues raised by the dawn of government-run weed.

Topping the agenda is the branding challenge since Health Canada is requiring marijuana packages to be a single, uniform colour without images or graphics other than the logo and a health warning.

Ray Gracewood of Organigram says the legal market needs to be able to target responsible adults and combat the illicit market where brands and flashy packaging do exist.

New Brunswick has been a leader among provinces in developing expertise in cannabis field.

NB Liquor, tasked with operating New Brunswick's stand-alone cannabis stores, says it's ready to go. 

"If we had to open today, we could open 11 stores," CEO and president Brian Harriman said at the World Cannabis Congress in Saint John on Monday.

However, some 100 workers have yet to be hired or trained by Cannabis NB, he said. 

To manage costs, hiring has been put off until it's clear when the law will be in effect, he said. 

The three-day cannabis conference is a gathering of stakeholders sponsored by Civilized, a digital media company founded by communications strategist and Saint John native Derek Riedle.