B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch has made its second product call for licensed marijuana growers, adding to the 150 cannabis types it signed up in July to prepare for provincial stores to open in October.

Applications from federally licensed producers of dried cannabis, oils, capsules and seed are being accepted until the end of August, to add to the accepted products from large producers that will stock both private and LDB stores in B.C.

The way cannabis will be sold througout Canada will vary province to province, but for Calgarians, it may be as easy as heading to the nearest grocery store.

Eleven Calgary Co-op locations, including a gas station have received approval to sell cannabis, according to Global News.

Seven Real Canadian Superstores and one Real Canadian Liquor Store also received approval. Both chain locations have said previously that they intend to sell cannabis.

Of the 187 applications received in April, 155 decisions have been made as of Thursday, August 9. There have been 83 locations approved to sell cannabis with 11 applications still pending.

Three Second Cup locations are approved and will be a part of the National Access Cannabis network of dispensaries.

In Spruce Grove, Alta., people camped out by city hall, waiting for the doors to open so they could apply to open a cannabis store.

In other places in the province, retailers are signing leases with rents that are as much as twice the usual rate, in the hope they will eventually win the right to sell marijuana in those locations.

In Ontario, veteran retailer Michael Serruya says he has identified 27 future locations for cannabis shops – even though the province’s new government hasn’t officially said whether it will allow a single privately owned store to sell recreational marijuana.

VICTORIA, Aug. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - Alternabis Farms Ltd. ("Alternabis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce construction is advancing at their new state-of-the-art cannabis production facility on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

The family-owned and operated company applied to become a licensed producer of medical cannabis under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) in 2014. The facility is located on a 100-acre farm that is agriculturally zoned and approved for cannabis cultivation.

"Alternabis is a passionate family business with the goal of producing premium and innovative cannabis at an affordable price," said Max Walker, Director of Marketing & Sales.

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust said it’s anticipating a “gold rush” from Canada’s legalization of recreational marijuana in October, bringing premium rents and boosting demand for retail real estate across the country’s biggest markets.

Canadian pot companies say they’re ready to start building in Ontario if its government allows private stores to sell marijuana, a prospect being considered by the conservative premier, Doug Ford. That system would mark a shift from the previous, liberal government’s decision to leave sales to government entities like the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

Cannabis is slowly taking root in increasingly tolerant communities. The incremental decriminalization or legalization of cannabis across the world has fed an expanding international market trading the plant, its extracts and its end products.

"2018 has seen a lot of trends in cannabis, but the beginning of an international market infrastructure is one of the most promising features of the industry for investor interest,” AxisWire CEO Cynthia Salarizadeh told Benzinga.

The North American Marijuana Index saw it’s third straight day of gains on Thursday, despite fluctuation in the global markets, which may be an indication of a turning tide for pot stocks as opening day for recreational cannabis sales in Canada nears. In fact, most Canadian cannabis companies and marijuana stocks have spent the summer putting together deals to prepare for the moment, both locally and internationally. The Index rose 3.53 points or 1.55 percent to close out the day at 231.63.

The United States Marijuana Index rose 1.70 points, or 1.86 percent, while the Canadian Marijuana Index jumped an impressive 7.23 points for an increase of 1.38 percent.

Canada’s new recreational cannabis industry is set to boost retail opportunities from coast to coast, but it’s becoming increasingly clear those businesses and their products will not be consistently available across Canada. 

Varying retail regulations and business models within the provinces and territories are making some markets more attractive than others, experts say. Meanwhile, some municipalities have decided to ban cannabis retailers within their borders, despite nationwide legalization of recreational marijuana possession set to occur on Oct. 17.

Retail landlords around the country should be paying close attention to the emergence of recreational cannabis in their markets, said Dan Rowland, a Denver-based cannabis industry consultant.

Shoppers Drug Mart’s announcement they will be advising those who qualify for Manulife’s enhanced medical marijuana insurance coverage is being hailed by cannabis business owners and those already in the medical marijuana field as a major step forward in access for patients and mainstream public acceptance.

Long before reports came out suggesting that Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government would turn to a private-retail model for cannabis sales, two eastern Ontario communities had hitched their wagons to the budding industry.

We don’t yet know much about the government’s plans, but we do know one thing for certain: legal cannabis is coming, and it will create economic winners and losers throughout the province.