Vancouver's board of variance has denied the first four appeals from marijuana dispensaries hoping to reverse the city's refusal to grant them a business licence.

In June 2015 Vancouver city council voted to regulate and license medical marijuana retailers, making it the first city in Canada to do so. But by late October, only six per cent of those who applied were successful. 

Most of the shops had their licences denied because they were too close to schools, community centres, or other marijuana dispensaries.

"I'm hoping not everyone is putting their eggs in one basket, hoping the board of appeals will grant them their application," said Vancouver chief licensing inspector Andrea Toma.

There has been quite an uptick in the discussion of BitCoin as an alternative to fill the banking need for cannabis.

I do not believe it is even a temporary solution to the problem.

Since Colorado created a “for profit” model for cannabis distribution, every aspect of this industry has been subject to invasive government oversight. “Seed-to-Sale tracking,” which I helped to develop, created a paradigm that uses technology to cover every movement of the plant on its way to market.

To add an alternate currency at the end of the transaction further muddles the legitimate sale of cannabis.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a chemical found in the marijuana plant, and many people believe it has medicinal benefits. CBD has recently become readily available in states with medical marijuana laws—and now some companies are putting it in dog treats. 

CBD has no psychoactive effects, so dogs that take CBD don't get high. But pet owners say that it eases anxiety and helps with the symptoms of cancer and epilepsy.

"Dogs take it for things like hip dysplasia, mobility pain, and aging," says Julianna Carella, founder of the company Treatibles.

Seed CX of Chicago has applied to a US regulator to become a trading venue for financial contracts on industrial hemp, the marijuana cousin found in such products as fabric, shampoo, plastics, building materials and food.

Brian Liston, Seed CX president, hopes to offer three contracts tracking markets for hemp seed, whole hemp plant and hemp plant extract. He aims to wipe away what he calls a “stigma” around the commodity. “We will be successful when it is normal and when it is boring,” Mr Liston said.

Vancouver marijuana shops not offered business licences will appeal the city's decision in front of the board of variance beginning Wednesday.

In June 2015 Vancouver city council voted to regulate and license medical marijuana retailers, making it the first city in Canada to do so. But by late October, only six per cent of those who applied were successful. 

Chuck Varabioff is the owner of the B.C. Pain Society on Commercial Drive, which had its licence application denied last year.

He says he's appealing because his society has many members, is close to SkyTrain, and has low prices.

In Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Utah, people suffering from seizures, glaucoma or cancer can receive a jail sentence if caught with marijuana, despite its numerous noted medical attributes. In Colorado, which shares a border with each of these states, you can be healthy as a horse and stroll into any number of cannabis shops to sniff and sample various THC-laced wares as though it were Twinings Tea Shop on the Strand.

WATCH ABOVE: As Angie Seth reports, we may be a few years away from marijuana becoming legal in Canada, but that is not swaying investors who are already looking to buy in.

The recently elected Liberal government has made few tangible moves to realize Justin Trudeau’s plans to legalize marijuana, but the mere prospect of legal pot has investors and business owners springing up like, well… weeds.

Leigh Coulter, the president of greenhouse company GGS Structures says the legal marijuana market started heating up the moment Trudeau’s Liberals won last October’s election.

When it comes to setting up a pot business in Anchorage, the way its distance is measured from a school can make a big difference in whether the business is allowed or not.

At its most recent meeting, amid a flurry of amendments to land use regulations, the Anchorage Assembly passed conflicting rules for the measurement method. One amendment, from Assemblymembers Amy Demboski and Bill Starr, specified that distances would be measured "as the crow flies" -- from the edge of a marijuana business to the lot line of a protected area -- instead of by pedestrian routes, which could be more circuitous.

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