Marijuana is going corporate.

Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is the latest big company to explore the cannabis market, joining beverage makers like Molson Coors and Heineken. Other big companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch and Guinness brewer Diageo haven‘t acted yet, but have said they‘re watching closely as the market for marijuana and its extracts evolves.

Late Monday, Cronos Group confirmed talks with Altria about a possible investment. Altria, based in Richmond, Virginia, owns Philip Morris USA, the largest cigarette maker in the United States.

Shares of Cronos Group Inc., based in Toronto, rose 6 percent Tuesday.

Canopy Growth Corp. has announced that the Ontario cannabis producer is partnering with Martha Stewart in the development of their newest line of products. According to CTV News, the celebrity homemaker will be joining the cannabis company as a product advisor, lending her extensive knowledge of consumer products to the rapidly-expanding cannabis industry.

The partnership between Canopy Growth and Martha Stewart will be focused on hemp-derived CBD products for both human and animal consumer markets.

Small-town Southwestern Ontario is pushing back against Ontario’s plan to cushion the fallout of legal marijuana with money, saying the funding formula puts small centres at a big disadvantage.

The province recently announced the second instalment that municipalities will get from a $40-million fund to help cover costs stemming from the roll-out of recreational marijuana use, including police enforcement, over the next two years.

But Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, the region’s senior civic leader, said four months into legal weed in Canada, municipalities have practically been an afterthought.

Toronto’s medical officer of health wants the federal government to ban certain cannabis edibles that would be attractive to kids, such as cannabis-infused gummy bears, candies and lollipops.

The recommendation, which was made in a report authored by Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s top doctor, was approved by Toronto’s board of health on Monday.

De Villa is calling for the government to prohibit edible cannabis products that are “particularly appealing to children due to colour or shape.”

Canopy Growth, a Smith Falls-based marijuana producer, is teaming up with Quebec’s Couche-Tard, the operator of 15,000 variety stores worldwide under the Circle K and other banners, to enter a licence agreement with an Ontario pot lottery winner planning to open an outlet near White Oaks Mall.

“The council there voted overwhelmingly in favour of retail cannabis locations,” Shega Youngson, Canopy’s community engagement manager, said of council’s 13-1 vote Dec. 18 to allow brick-and-mortar stores.

“It’s exciting to be starting our retail footprint in a community that has been open and welcoming to our new industry.”

Canada's largest cannabis company plans to open London's second brick-and-mortar cannabis retail store at a commercial plaza on Wellington Street South north of Bradley Avenue. 

Smith Falls, Ont.-based Canopy Growth plans to open the store at 1025 Wellington Street South under its Tweed brand, pending approval of its application by the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario. 

The application has been filed through a numbered Ontario company, which is registered to a duplex in Toronto's Steeles Avenue and Leslie Street area. 

Paid my first visit to a cannabis dispensary the other day. Say what?

That’s right, storefront weed dispensaries are supposed to be illegal in Ontario. But a few former grey-market shops that were forced to shut their doors on legalization day or risk massive fines are taking their chances.

Doug “Ontario is open for business” Ford reneged on his deal to allow them to apply for retail licences – so WTF, right?

As long as the neighbours aren’t complaining, or so I’m told by the budtender in a too-big toque behind the counter, the cops seem to be cool with it. This one re-opened just before Christmas and hasn’t felt any heat yet.

We’ve witnessed how the cannabis industry has grown over the last couple years, and now that recreational legalization is in full effect, it’s time to begin looking towards the future.  In which direction is the cannabis industry headed?  Will we see mostly dried flower, or will cannabis edibles and concentrates dominate the marijuana market?  Many industry experts and investors believe that the next big thing will be cannabis edibles and derivative products.  Does this make sense?  Ontario Licensed Producer Indiva Ltd. seems to think so.

Planet 13 eyes Ontario for retail partnership expansion

Planet 13 Holdings, the operator of the biggest cannabis store in the world, would be open to a joint venture so that it can bring a pot dispensary to Ontario, the company's chief executive Bob Groesbeck told BNN Bloomberg. While Planet 13 isn't participating in Ontario’s retail license lottery, it sees a partnership as a more viable way to enter Canada's most populous province.

Expansion of existing cannabis grow facilities and construction projects for brand-new greenhouses continue at a breakneck pace in Canada following the legalization of recreational marijuana.