Ontario’s second pot licence lottery will go ‘quite smoothly,’ lawyer says

Karen Hamilton was No. 1 in line at Weedology, Ontario’s first marijuana retailer, when the doors opened for sales Friday. 

David Schelhorn was second. 

Hamilton is a physician, and used to practice medicine in Seattle. She recommended medical marijuana to her patients suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome and saw good results.  

“That’s why I’m really big on this for veterans,” she said.“That’s why I want to get it legal in Idaho.” 

Schelhorn, a drywaller from Idaho, has PTSD and is a recovering alcoholic, and he said that he credits marijuana with helping him stop drinking for the past 23 years. 

“This is a plant,” Schelhorn, said as he stood in line next to Hamilton. “God gave it to us for all of these reasons.” 

Ahead of the lottery for the next round of retail cannabis stores in Ontario, Amherstburg council is putting some extra "teeth" into the town's cannabis retail bylaws.

Council unanimously passed a "cannabis retail nuisance bylaw" Monday night, which includes standards and protocols for any store that opens in the future.

The town doesn't have any pot shops yet -- administration says it's just trying to get ahead of the game.

That’s because earlier this month the provincial government announced it would issue another 50 licenses to any community that's opted in. 11 of those will go to the west region and that includes Amherstburg.

A belief that Ontario’s lottery system is ‘unfair’ to dispensaries looking to enter the legal market is why illegal dispensaries stay open despite legal ramifications, says cannabis lawyer.

Last week, after 18 people were arrested in connection with the Café chain of cannabis dispensaries across Toronto, police blocked the entrances with cement blocks.

The barricades did not stop sales, however, as marijuana transactions were conducted one by one on the street outside.

On bad days, Samantha Gold lies writhing on her couch, waiting for her agonizing back pain to pass.

With cannabis topical creams set for legalization across Canada this fall, Gold was hoping to try using them to help manage her pain. 

Those hopes were dashed, however, when the Quebec government announced it would be banning the sale of topicals in the province.

That same regulation will also ban the sale of cannabis edibles. 

Lionel Carmant, the CAQ's junior health minister, said the government is implementing the ban to prevent children from accidentally consuming cannabis.

As for the creams, he said they have no place in a recreational cannabis shop.

Nova Cannabis, 499 Queen W.

BUZZ Airy. Most user-friendly of Toronto’s legal pot shops.

COOL Emphasis on the consumer experience; cannabis education sessions offered every Thursday; helpful cue cards on display with info on strains; decent selection of accessories for your smokables – the other places try too hard; you can order using giant touch screen.

NOT COOL Website. You can subscribe to their newsletter but otherwise little information on what’s available in-store. 

With recreational marijuana dominating public conversation since legalization last October, and even before that, issues with access to medicinal cannabis for Canadians have fallen to the wayside.

That’s according to Dr. Rahim Dhalla, an Ottawa pharmacist who decided to open a pharmacy in Westboro last year that, on top of your standard medications, also offered education and health information surrounding medicinal cannabis and other related products.

Dhalla’s father, a lifelong pharmacist himself, was diagnosed with cancer and saw benefits from cannabidiol (CBD) oils during his treatment, which Dhalla said was the inspiration for the pharmacy.

Ontario marijuana dispensary Weedology passed its state inspection and received its license last Friday.

Store Manager Eric Lantz said they began placing orders for products Friday in hopes of getting the shop open this week. They’re not sure what day, but they’d become the first pot shop to open right across the state line from the Treasure Valley, Ontario Community Development Director Dan Cummings told the Statesman on Monday.

“We’re hopefully going to be open by Wednesday ... but Friday is our anticipated opening,” Lantz said.

A medical cannabis company is building a 32,000 square foot cultivation facility in Espanola, Ont.

Jeff Scharf, President and CEO of GaiaCann Inc., began building a greenhouse to grow lettuce, but pivoted to cannabis after being approached by individuals in the sector.  

"Our goal is to create pharmaceutical grade cannabis products," he said. 

The facility is at the south end of Espanola, next to a small solar panel farm which Scharf also owns. 

He expects the facility will be ready for operation in January 2020 and will cost upward of $20 million to complete. Work crews have just finished the walls, roof and upper level flooring. He says the electric and ventilation systems are next. 

The building's large, white roof slants southward.

Could cannabis be good for gardening? We have all heard about the benefits of the Canadian cannabis industry for Bay Street, the agricultural sector and even the Canadian economy, but I think cannabis could create a whole new crop of future gardeners.

Cannabis makes being a gardener or grower cool: well, at least in the eyes of those who desire growing their own. Never in modern history has there been a time you could legally grow cannabis at home. In the past, you had to resort to growing it secretly in a remote forested area or indoors in a tented basement.