TRURO - Production of Nova Scotia’s first, legalized medicinal marijuana grow operation is expected to begin next summer if all goes according to plan.

The Truro Herbal Co. (The THC) has received Stage 3 approval from Health Canada under the federal medical marijuana production regulations.

Company president Evan Price said he is hoping production will be underway by next July or August.

“It’s not just something that you do overnight,” he said, of the heavily scrutinized approval process required to set up a legalized marijuana grow op.

The THC is now reviewing security system protocols and developing a construction plan for the new facility to be built in the Truro Business Park.

Nova Scotia activist doesn't want people to mix marijuana with tobacco if pot is legalized

With the expected legalization of pot, a Nova Scotia activist is concerned about a Maritime marijuana tradition spreading — smoking marijuana cigarettes cut with tobacco.

It's a practice Nova Scotia rapper Classified referenced in his song, The Maritimes. 

"We always mix our tobacco with weed, it's the way we've always done it," Classified raps.

That song brings a smile to Chris Backer's face.

"For a lot of Maritimers financially, we have less money here. And a lot of people stretched [marijuana] out that way by mixing it with tobacco," said the vice-chair of Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana.

While many are eager to learn if Trudeau's government will make good on its promise to legalize marijuana, Halifax's deputy chief of police says everything from enforcing impaired driving to smoking regulations is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

"Just because it's legal, doesn't make it safe," said Bill Moore.

"I don't think the discussion has meant decriminalization is a free for all. I don't think that's where we're going. Hopefully not."

During the election, Justin Trudeau promised legalization would keep pot out of the hands of children and profits out of the hands of criminals. 

RCMP in two provinces have seized more than $232,000 in cash, nearly 100 kilograms of marijuana and 14 vehicles after a huge drug bust following an extensive investigation.

Operation Hagrid was a five-month investigation targeting a suspected drug trafficking network between the Vancouver area and Eastern and Atlantic Canada including:

• Toronto
• Montreal
• Halifax
• St. John's

Investigators found that people were taking commercial flights and transporting large quantities of marijuana and cash in checked bags. 

"These individuals had an established network operating a sophisticated drug distribution chain that has ties to organized crime," Nova Scotia RCMP Insp. Mike Payne in a news release. 

Canada's major marijuana producers are bracing for big changes, with a pro-pot parliament waiting in the wings.

During his campaign, prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau said legalizing the recreational use of marijuana would be a top priority.

But Christopher Enns, who runs a Halifax medical marijuana shop, isn't sure the anticipated new laws will change much for him.

He's licensed as a designated grower, but technically only allowed to supply one or two people. His shop has been raided by police twice.

And while he said he hopes his customers will eventually feel less stigmatized under the new Liberal government, as a small supplier, he's also feeling a little left out.

WINDSOR, NS – The fight to keep drugs off the streets in Nova Scotia is now starting hundreds of feet in the air.

For the last month, RCMP have been partnering with the Department of Defense to eradicate marijuana grow operations in the province.

Project SABOT is an annual initiative that sees officers take to the skies to seek out drug operations from a military helicopter. This year, Global News got to ride along on one of the explorations.

“The helicopter allows for a different perspective,”Const. Mark Skinner, RCMP told Global News. “It’s easier to spot the plants, where we couldn’t necessarily see the plants from the ground.”

A veteran's centre in Cape Breton is now helping about 80 people access medical marijuana, but many of them have not served in the military.

The Marijuana for Trauma Inc. centre opened in Sydney in June. The primary focus was to help veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, but volunteer Joe MacGillivray says the patient list is growing beyond that.

"We have cancer patients that are coming through, people that are in constant pain," he said. "People that just had surgeries."

He says two patients, for instance, had operations on their backs and were on heavy pain medication, but were searching for alternatives to drugs such as Oxycontin and Dilaudid.

HALIFAX – The Arthritis Society has announced it is funding research into medical cannabis at Dalhousie University.

In a media release, the society said Dr. Jason McDougall was awarded a three-year research grant to look into how the drug impacts arthritis pain.

The Arthritis Society previously promised more studies into medical marijuana in September last year.

“People living with arthritis pain are looking for alternatives to improve their quality of life,” Janet Yale, president and CEO of The Arthritis Society said in the release.

“Our goal is to give Canadians the ability to make informed choices about their treatment options … This project is an important step to achieving these goals.”

The group Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana was one of the highlights at the 50+expo in Halifax.

Group spokesperson Debbie Stultz-Giffin said almost everyone who came to the group's booth was positive and wanted to learn more about how cannabis can help people's health.

"It shows that times are changing and the conversations about cannabis is coming more and more into the open and the benefits of it being used as medicine," she said.

Stultz-Giffin says her group will be heading to P.E.I. for another event next weekend and plans to be part of the Nova Scotia Multicultural Festival in Halifax in two weeks.

Construction appears to have been halted on a massive medical marijuana grow operation planned for Stellarton.

According to a Vida Cannabis news release, it is attempting to reduce expenditures while it waits for approval from Health Canada for its required security clearance.

“Because of the lack of visibility regarding timelines for security clearance, we feel it is prudent to pace our expenditures until we have a better idea of our progress in the licensing process,” reads the release.

“We are working together with Lindsay Construction, with their full support, on a construction timeline and budget that takes into account the longer than anticipated wait at the security clearance stage.”