ZYUS Life Sciences is partnering with the University of Saskatchewan to take a closer look at how cannabis derivatives can improve mental health.

The pre-clinical study, called Cannabis Derivatives: Therapeutic Potential in Animal Models of Brain Disorders, will be led by Yanbo Zhang, a psychiatrist and associate professor at the university.

The provincial government says people should be prepared as marijuana edibles, extracts and topicals become available for purchase this week.

While these products have been approved by Health Canada, experts said edibles work differently in people's bodies than smoked marijuana.

"Consumers should be starting low and going slow," said Geoff Conn, owner of Saskatoon's The Pot Shack. "Your body's got to get used to it."

Conn said edibles often have a longer onset period between eating the pot and feeling its effects. As a result, people need to be careful not to ingest too much if they think the edible isn't working.

A report to Saskatoon's Board of Police Commissioners outlines how the first year of marijuana legalization affected law enforcement in the city.

"Since cannabis legalization on Oct. 17, 2018, the Saskatoon Police Service has experienced fewer issues than were expected based on our research," says the report, dated Nov. 28 and set to be presented at the board's Thursday meeting.

Canadian licensed producer Zenabis has increased its market share in the New Brunswick cannabis market since launching Re-Up, a lower-cost brand of flower and pre-rolls.

The Atholville, N.B.-based company has produced data indicating a 38 percent market share of sales in Cannabis NB stores across the province for the period concluding in October 2019. The number indicates a spike in sales of the brand, which rang in at 20 percent this past July.

Zenabis credits its bump in sales to the Re-Up brand, which the company hopes will give it a competitive edge against the cheaper prices offered on the unlicensed market and incentivize consumers who source their cannabis from illicit distributors to consider purchasing from the legal market.

Medicinal cannabis users in Saskatchewan can now order online from the largest pharmacy chain in Canada.

Starting Tuesday, Shoppers Drug Mart has expanded its online platform to provide Saskatchewan residents with front-door registered mail delivery of dried cannabis or oil to be ingested orally. Shoppers launched the platform, Medical Cannabis by Shoppers, in Ontario in January and expanded in April to include Alberta.

Under the current legalization legislation, pharmacies are not allowed to dispense medical cannabis.

With growing interest in potential therapeutic uses for cannabis-derived products, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Western College of Veterinary Medicine are examining the effects of cannabis extracts in pets.

"What we want to do is administer various doses of cannabis extracts to dogs currently and eventually cats, to see what we find in terms of changes in behaviour or neurological signs or gastral intestinal signs," Dr. Al Chicoine said in an interview.

The department of veterinary biomedical sciences assistant professor is leading the project and a team of three research students and three other veterinarians.

The preliminary portion of the research project started in October.

A team at the University of Saskatchewan is setting the stage for future research into the potential health benefits of cannabis for pets.

While the project is still in its early stages, researchers at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) are looking into whether cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis, could be used as a long-term therapy to treat chronic vomiting in animals. 

In August, a team led by Dr. Al Chicoine and Dr. Kevin Cosford started preliminary work that must occur before any clinical trials can take place. Low doses of a CDB-rich extract were administered to 12 dogs from the WCVM’s teaching population. 

The province’s decision to tackle cannabis legalization by implementing a relatively liberal cannabis framework compared to some other provinces has begun to yield big results. Unlike Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and Alberta, private sector companies, such as Inner Spirit Holdings, are permitted to operate online dispensaries in Saskatchewan.