Tony Machado is on good terms with his new neighbours — a pot dispensary that's opened two doors down from his supermarket in Little Portugal.

It’s even brought new clientele to the neighbourhood where Machado’s been doing business for 20 years. But, with another dispensary located one block east and yet another preparing to open soon across the street, he has concerns. 

But, politicians and bureaucrats say their hands are tied, and they can’t effectively manage the marijuana dispensary boom that’s hit Toronto since Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were elected.

Between the party’s promise to legalize marijuana and the time its taken them to do anything substantive on the file, Toronto has been left without options for managing the industry.

The third annual Brantford 4/20 rally in support of the decriminalization of marijuana takes place at Victoria Park on Wednesday.

The rally, organized by the Brantford Cannabis Club, takes place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It will include speeches, vendors, live entertainment and prizes.

"It should be a very educational day in the park," said Calvin Reese, of the Brantford Cannabis Club.

"It (the rally) is aimed at pushing for the decriminalization of cannabis and to educate people about the plant. We do not condone the use of cannabis for minors at this event or ever unless directed by a medical professional."

A Windsor lawyer accused of practising law without a licence is being hauled before a disciplinary hearing later this week.

Brian McAllister, the lawyer responsible for getting marijuana possession laws temporarily struck down in 2003, has been without a licence to practice law since November 2013. In 2012, he had signed an agreement not to practise law unless he was under the supervision of a mentor approved by the Law Society of Upper Canada, the regulatory body for lawyers in the province. He now stands accused of breaching that 2012 agreement and continuing to practise despite the 2013 licence suspension.

Who: Jonathan Zaid is a student at the University of Waterloo and executive director of the group Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana. The group is "dedicated to protecting and improving the rights of medical cannabis patients." It's also partnered with Aphria, a company that produces and supplies medical marijuana.

They’re smoking and drinking much stronger stuff in Toronto at Queen’s Park in contrast to the stuff we’ve got down here in Windsor.

Or it at least seems that way when you read over their latest assault on medical marijuana users’ rights.

How else do you explain reclassifying medical marijuana to place it in the Smoke Free Ontario Act and to refuse the combustion and vaping of it in all places cigarettes and e-cigarettes are banned.

In a span of just a few months, the province went from publicly stating medical marijuana users’ rights would be extended to allow for vaping in all public spaces to a total prohibition.

Canadian licensed producer Aphria is partnering with non-profit organization Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM) to provide insurance claim support and educational services to Aphria patients. The partnership agreement is effective immediately.

In Canada, medical cannabis is only covered by insurance plans for certain groups including military veterans and some individuals involved in workplace accidents. CFAMM will guide Aphria patients, who have existing private insurance, in navigating the process of advocating for insurance coverage for their medication and will provide extended one-on-one support for select Aphria patients.

To find out where this past weekend’s Marijuana Job Fair was being held, you had to text a guy—because of course you did.

The crowd lined up outside 15 Mercer Street in Toronto’s Entertainment District early Sunday afternoon suggested hundreds had done so in hopes of landing a job in an industry poised for growth, as pot legalization—part of the Liberals’ platform in the last federal election—eventually approaches.

Inside, anyone expecting kiosks and brochures would have been disappointed. Although if the absence of resumes in the hands of attendees and the smell of pot wafting down the street were any indication, it’s doubtful many were upset by the laid-back setup.

A Toronto mother of three has opened up a medical marijuana shop on Parkdale’s main strip on Queen Street West and a passer-by wouldn’t even know it.

Nestled between a flower shop and a bar, The Caylx Wellness Centre has no enlarged marijuana leaf emblazoned on the store front, its name isn’t a play on words associated with weed and there’s no neon lights; the go-to marketing designs for dispensaries.

Instead store owner Danielle, who requested to not have her last name published, went a different route and focused on the importance of discretion.

Downtown Windsor will have another place where people can vape or smoke medical marijuana — if Leo Lucier can pull off plans for his Vapelated Vapor Lounge.

“I want to set it up like a European cafe,” says Lucier, 46, proprietor of the new business at 26 Chatham St. E.

Lucier said he intended for the lounge to open on Thursday, but he admitted there’s a lot of work to be done. “We’re winging it,” he said.

Although mostly stripped of decor, the address still bears the bar, tables, and chairs of its former business, Fidel’s Havana Lounge. Instead of alcohol, the shelves now carry an assortment of  bongs and candy bars.

TORONTO - You won't find brightly coloured bongs or bubble gum-flavoured rolling papers displayed against the backdrop of exposed brick and modern, industrial-style furnishings at Tokyo Smoke.

Instead, the shop - located in a former shipping dock nestled between two warehouses in Toronto's west end - carries high-end pot paraphernalia befitting the pages of a design magazine while also serving up cups of artisanal coffee.

Pipes handcrafted by California-based ceramicist Ben Medansky sit alongside a pricey portable vaporizer, a reimagined version of the French press coffeemaker launched via a Kickstarter campaign and a selection of what shop owner Alan Gertner calls "museum quality collectibles" - items such as vintage Barbies and a vintage Hermes bag.