The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and Brainsy, Inc., are collaborating to launch the Cannabis Expert Calling Network (ECN®), a knowledge-sharing platform connecting cannabis industry experts with entrepreneurs and information-seekers online and via paid telephone consultations.

NCIA members who are experts in their area of the cannabis industry will be invited to set up personalized profiles on the Cannabis ECN system, which allows information-seekers to find and contact them, then conduct over-the-phone consultations at a rate set by the expert.

Pot proponents advocating for marijuana legalization in Arizona have asked a rival campaign to return $10,000 in funding from the local alcohol industry.

Carlos Alfonso, a spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA), told reporters Tuesday that Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy (ARDP), an organization fighting against legal marijuana, should reject a contribution from a state liquor group.

Marijuana delivery services used to be the type of thing you heard about through whispers on university campuses or through friends of friends — now, companies are issuing press releases about it.

Aurora Cannabis, the first company to obtain a medicinal marijuana grow licence in Alberta, has launched same-day home delivery to approved users.

The company will now bring pot directly to the homes of registered clients living in Calgary and the surrounding area within hours of it being ordered.

It plans to expand the service to the Edmonton area next month.

Toronto MP Bill Blair offered a glowing endorsement of Canada’s licensed medical marijuana producers on Tuesday, an indication that they are well positioned to serve the recreational market in the future.

Blair, the former Toronto police chief and current parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice and attorney general, is the federal government’s point man on legalizing recreational pot use. He said the licensed producers offer a very strong model to build upon as Ottawa tries to build a functional market.

“I have come to believe it is possible … for marijuana to be produced in a way that maximizes safety for Canadians,” he told the audience at a marijuana regulation conference in Toronto.

“Traveling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller,” said the great traveler Ibn Battuta.

This statement couldn’t be truer of traveling through Canada. We have an enormous country geographically and with that “embarrassment of acreage” comes a widely diverse population, spread across great distances but still sharing the common traits of what it is to be Canadian.

Now with upcoming legislation that will allow the country to sell recreational MJ nationwide, the opportunity for cannabis enthusiasts to see the great white north is upon us, and tour companies are planning to roll out “cannatourism” packages as soon as legally possible.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" goes the old joke, with the obvious answer being, "to get to the other side." Sadly, not all of life's questions have such simple and obvious answers.

Jason Pinsky is a passionate advocate for cannabis legislation in New York. His own personal struggle to overcome a dependency to OxyContin after spinal surgery 15-years ago thrusted him into the cannabis advocacy and legislation sphere.  He was instrumental in the 2014 legislation that legalized cannabis for a select few within the state, and now he wants to improve the program so that everyone who needs medical cannabis can get it.

Change is coming.

And Justin Rotella plans to be ready to embrace that “big change” when it comes.

The Port Colborne native who recently opened the doors of Rose City Seeds can’t dispense marijuana at his 405 East Main St. Welland business; however, he said current legislation does not prevent him from selling seeds.

And his shop is stocked full of a large assortment of seeds from all over the world, allowing his customers to grow a variety of cannabis plants.

“It’s all legit. These are all cannabis seeds for medical patients,” he said. 

Purchasing and growing seeds within limits is legally permitted in Canada for medical users, who submit required documentation to the federal government for approval.

Recent regulations in both Washington state and Oregon now allow out of state investors to fund and/or compete with local cannabis businesses.

Oregon and Washington recreational cannabis businesses will soon face greater pressure from outside competition as new regulations now allow out-of-state investors to fund and compete with local cannabis businesses. 

This new legislation lifts residency requirements enabling once banned out-of-state investors to participate-in and fund Oregon and Washington cannabis operations.

Meghan Walstatter owner of Pure Green Dispensary in Portland, Oregon said she used to favor residency requirements, but now she welcomes outside influence. 

Denver’s Cannabis Odor Ordinance leaves industry scrambling for solutions: Will other legal marijuana markets follow suit?

As Denver City Council passes an odor-control ordinance for commercial marijuana grow facilities and other businesses that release odors in the Mile High City, urban-gro, the product solutions expert for the commercial Cannabis cultivator, offers up a cutting-edge solution: FOGCO odor control system.