Ontario's government-run cannabis distributor has cancelled its tender for couriers to make same-day pot deliveries.

The provincial corporation tasked with the online sale and distribution of recreational cannabis posted a cancellation notice on Friday via the Ontario government's tender portal.

The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, which conducts e-commerce as the Ontario Cannabis Store, did not cite a specific reason for why it decided not to proceed, and the OCS was not immediately available for comment.

The corporation first posted the tender in January, calling for "expedited same-day delivery" for OCS orders. The project was set to begin as early as March in the Greater Toronto Area.

This month Ontario opened its first brick and mortar cannabis shops, finally catching up with the rest of the country. However, the appearance of fashionable, though still scarce, stores has drawn attention to another trend in marijuana retail: weed deserts — municipalities that have outlawed legal cannabis shops. Mississauga is one of these deserts, yet it’s also home to TerrAscend, the largest licensed producer of cannabis in an urban setting in Canada.

Nuggets with purple crystals the size of movie popcorn, the marijuana grown at TerrAscend is harvested from 600 plants pruned by experts and hand-trimmed beneath 50 lights, creating a 60,000-watt environment of perpetual spring.

Cannabis retailers in Ontario who have failed to open their stores by a government-set deadline are facing a new round of financial penalties.

In all, 11 pot retailers have been fined $12,500 each for not opening their stores by April 15.

Twenty-five retailers were selected through a government lottery to open the first brick-and-mortar cannabis stores on April 1, but less than half met the deadline.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario established a system of escalating penalties for retailers who didn't start serving customers on time.

The agency says it has drawn down on letters of credit submitted by the licencees -- some for a second time -- taking $12,500 from the $50,000 initially provided.

It’s a historic day for the City of Hamilton, as the first legal marijuana store opened its doors this morning.

Hundreds waited in line around the building throughout the day to get their cannabis products just in time for 4-20 celebrations.

As the weed ribbon was cut, customers who were lining up in the rain, poured into Canna Cabana on Barton Street this morning.

It’s a bright, open concept store, with locked glass displays filled with government approved cannabis products. Consultants were on hand to help. There are glass canisters on display so that customers can see the plant, and smell it.

Lately, Stephen Verbeek's life is one of chaos, sawdust, and weed.

Verbeek is the CEO of Hello Cannabis, which is acting as a consultant for the opening of a legal storefront dispensary at 51 Cootes Drive in Dundas alongside owner Santino Coppolino. It's right next door to Verbeek's medicinal marijuana business of the same name.

There were hopes the shop would be open by this Saturday, but standing in the shell of the building amid the sound of saw blades slicing, Verbeek says that was impossible. Counters aren't yet installed, wires are hanging from the ceiling, and the air inside the building still smells like fresh cut wood.

"I had a full head of hair when we started," he said with a smile.

High Tide Inc. ("High Tide" or the "Company") (CSE:HITI) (OTCQB:HTDEF) (FRA:2LY), an Alberta-based, retail-focused cannabis corporation enhanced by the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of smoking accessories and cannabis lifestyle products, announced that on Friday, April 12, 2019 the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario ("AGCO") approved and issued Retail Operator Licences (the "Licences") to High Tide's counterparties Steven Fry and Saturninus Partners (collectively, the "Winners") and also issued Retail Store Authorizations (the "Authorizations") to the Winners' respective stores Canna Cabana Hamilton ("Hamilton") and Canna Cabana Sudbury ("Sudbury").  The Winners are aiming to open their Canna Cabana-branded locations on or before April 20, 2019.

Beleave bought the former Heritage Garden Gallery greenhouse in September, paying $6.7 million for the 34-hectare property at 6867 Wellington Rd. South.

City hall issued a building permit to the company earlier this month to begin renovations on the 23,000-square-metre greenhouse, Beleave said.

The company will spend $30 million on the operation, where up to 240 employees will eventually work, chief executive Bill Panagiotakopoulos said.

“The whole project should last throughout the year,” he said of the construction’s anticipated completion.

What we learned about pot from the Ontario budget

Cannabis stocks gained momentum Wednesday after losses earlier in the week. 

The North American Marijuana Index, which tracks the top cannabis stocks in the US and Canada, was down 1.3% to 299.89. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF was up 1.6% at C$21.26.

Buds 

WeedMD Inc (CVE:WMD) shares popped on Wednesday after the company announced it had acquired an additional 60 acres of neighbouring land with an aim to expand its outdoor cannabis footprint at its Strathroy, Ontario property. 

Shares were up 2.1% at C$1.95. 

J. London on Richmond Row, the second marijuana retail store to open in London, was designed to ensure customer experience is the top priority, says the team behind the store.

From the moment customers enter the outlet’s age-gating area – where staff ensures everyone who enters is 19 or older – the experience begins.

Customers are handed a “newspaper,” a four-page handout that includes information on how to use the store’s tablet system to browse products and make orders, basic facts on cannabis and its effects, and a detailed menu of the outlet’s many offerings.

Once inside J. London’s 185-square-metre retail area, trendy music fills the air and a projector plays a custom-designed video on a large white wall.