Almost 300 Circle K stores across Canada are now carrying cannabis gift cards, cannabis retailer Fire & Flower announced in a press release.

The gift cards are available in denominations of $25 to $100, and are redeemable at any Fire & Flower location and online for ‘click and collect’ orders.

Five people are facing charges after a Saskatoon police investigation led by the guns and gangs unit.

Originally, police were investigating information that a home on the 1700 block of 2nd Avenue N. may have been selling drugs and that the people involved may have had a weapon.

On Tuesday, police pulled over a Buick Regal at Assiniboine Drive and Warman Road. According to a news release, police arrested a person in the car wanted in connection with the drug house investigation.

Officers allegedly found numerous cell phones in the car, as well as a meth pipe and various identity documents, some of which had been reported stolen. Police also say they found a conducted energy weapon, a knife, a machete, a meat cleaver and open alcohol.

Alcanna Inc. said Monday it is spinning off its cannabis retailer division and merging it with YSS Corp. in an all-stock deal that would value the combined company at about $130 million. 

The new company is expected to be renamed Nova Cannabis Inc. and will rebrand most of its retail footprint to Value Buds, a move that acknowledges the growing demand for cheaper cannabis in the Canadian recreational market. 

"This new offering, new Nova Cannabis, is really laser-focused on a segment of the marketplace that's proven to exist -- and that's the value-conscious consumer," said Darren Karasiuk, who will be the chief executive officer of the combined company and is a former chief commercial officer for Aurora Cannabis  Inc., in a broadcast interview. 

University of Saskatchewan (USask) pharmacologist Robert Laprairie will use a Brain Canada research grant to determine how a mother's use of cannabis during pregnancy affects the brain of the developing fetus she's carrying.

Laprairie is one of 20 Canadian neuroscientists each awarded $100,000 today as part of Brain Canada's Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program.

Following on Canada's legalization of cannabis in 2018, there is merited concern that people might seek out cannabis either for medicinal or recreational use during pregnancy."

Robert Laprairie, USask Pharmacologist

A Saskatoon life sciences company known for its work with medical cannabis says it has successfully isolated the antigen for SARS-CoV-2 in plant cells.

Zyus Life Sciences Inc. CEO Brent Zettl says it’s an important first step that shows plants can effectively “photocopy” proteins that could be ingredients in a COVID-19 vaccine.

Canadians are clearly in love with cannabis, but not all provinces were created equal when it comes to permitting pot. While the historic Cannabis Act applies to all provinces, the rules around distribution and consumption fall to the provinces — and municipalities have some say on it, too.

That’s why for Canada Day, The GrowthOp takes a look at the growing industry from coast-to-coast — crunching the data on price, consumption habits, number of stores, public consumption options and the ability to grow at home — to find out which provinces are rolling out the red carpet for weed and which are still warming up to the country’s second favourite leaf.

Here are our findings.