Employment law around doctor-prescribed cannabis is evolving, and businesses must adapt accordingly

As medical marijuana gains traction as a treatment option for a host of conditions including chronic pain and other conditions, Canadian employers could find themselves grappling with a sticky issue.

When marijuana dispensaries started popping up with greater frequency around Vancouver a few years ago, some sections of the city began to resemble Amsterdam. On Broadway, West 4th Avenue, and Granville Street, for example, three or more storefronts have established themselves on single blocks.

Denver city inspectors for marijuana licensing asked the Board of Ethics for its blessing to work as paid consultants to the cannabis industry elsewhere.

In a resounding “No” this week, the board balked. Its advisory opinion cites concerns about potential conflicts of interest and bad appearances, saying such work would violate the city’s Code of Ethics.

When the board discussed the inspectors’ request for an ethics opinion last week — before issuing its formal guidance Tuesday — chairman Brian Spano spoke more plainly.

“I just think it’s too close a call to be a paid consultant in the industry you’re regulating for the city,” Spano said. That would be true, he added, even if potential clients aimed to open businesses outside Denver or even Colorado.

The argument surrounding marijuana is not simply confusing for Americans choosing new laws or for prospective presidential prospects establishing a notified stance, it is puzzling for those staying in states with already-legalized marijuana. From aiming to find out exactly what’s a legal investment to what might be a possible criminal activity, cannabis legalisation can look like a minefield.

Washington as Case Study

To the courts, Aaron Bott is just a drug dealer. But to members of his cannabis dispensary, he was a connection to medicine.

“We were helping people,” Bott, who is currently facing trafficking charges, said.  

“Unfortunately, it seems like Alberta isn’t willing to listen, and is persecuting us as hard and fast as they can. They aren’t even looking at us helping people access their medicine or anything like that.”

Bott is president of the Mobile Access Compassionate Resources Organization Society (MACROS), Edmonton’s only compassion club. For the past 11 years, MACROS operated without issue until July, when Alberta’s Law Enforcement Response Team shut it down.

He and several members of his family were in court facing trafficking and cultivation charges.

Snoop Dogg has released his own lifestyle website, and unsurprisingly, it's all about weed. 

It's called Merry Jane, an online repository for the latest in weed culture, business and information, reports Business Insider.

Snoop announced the new site at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF conference in San Francisco on Monday.

September 22, 2015 —  In a special InvestorIntel interview, Publisher Tracy Weslosky, speaks with Terry Booth, President, CEO and Director of Aurora Cannabis Inc. (CSE: ACB | OTCQB: ACBFF) on the two new Board members and securing the former executive director of the CMCIA for the Aurora management team. They also discuss how Aurora is positioned as rising leaders in the marihuana sector and what the Allard decision and elections will mean to the overall industry.

Vaults, armed guards, and paranoia are costs of doing business today in the recreational marijuana industry. Because they have little access to banking, marijuana business owners must conduct their day-to-day operations entirely in cash. “Nothing has gotten violent yet,” says Andrew Freedman, Colorado’s marijuana coordination director, “but we’re kind of asking for it.”

HARTFORD — Sixteen applicants have submitted the 19 proposals for new medical marijuana dispensaries in Connecticut, as the state seeks to increase the number from six to as many as nine, according to a list released by the state.

Three applicants have submitted proposals for multiple locations, and one — Angelo DeFazio, who now operates one of the six existing dispensaries, in Hartford — is seeking to open a second location.

The state is compiling the applications, which needed to be submitted by Friday, and did not release the proposed locations of the dispensaries. The state is focusing on New Haven and Fairfield counties where there are the most registered patients and the fewest dispensary options.

I am a 20-year-old young man sitting on the sidelines, observing the development being undertaken in one of Jamaica's most potent industries -- the marijuana industry. Marijuana is poised for development, especially as a result of the important pieces of legislation that are in train, one of which was piloted, ironically, by the now embattled Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth NE Raymond Pryce.