Thomas George of investment forum Grizzle says that when it comes to the “green rush” of success that the marijuana industry is expecting in Canada, interested parties should be a little more circumspect about getting the same reception south of the border. In fact, the U.S. is far more divided over legalizing cannabis than we are in Canada, says George.

Whether it’s a delicious terpene-rich IPA or a THC-oil Belgian ale boasting no hangover, cannabis-friendly states like California and Colorado are leading the way when it comes to weed-infused beer.

It’s a Canadian company, however, that plans on launching the world’s first beer brewed entirely from the cannabis plant.

“First people thought we were crazy. Then they asked us how we were doing it,” Dooma Wendschuh told the Straight by phone. Wendschuh is the CEO of Province Brands of Canada (PBC), a premium beer and spirits company recently awarded with $300,000 in funding from the Government of Ontario.

With the legalization of cannabis around the corner, Lethbridge City Council is encouraging residents to attend a community issues committee meeting later this month to learn what it’s going to mean for the community.

A panel of independent specialists will be on hand to provide information to City Council members and the public on various aspects of cannabis legalization including the legal framework, provincial regulations and local land-use planning.

Councillor Jeff Carlson says they hold CIC meetings fairly regularly on off Mondays, but when there’s something bubbling in the community that they think a lot of people might have an interest in they try to plan something special.

A local municipal councillor wants Chatham-Kent to be “ahead of the curve” when it comes to preparing for the legalization of marijuana.

Chatham-Kent Councillor Doug Sulman’s motion for staff to prepare a report on its plan to handle the coming legalization of marijuana was approved unanimously at Monday night’s council meeting.

Topics to be addressed in the report include:

'You want to make sure that risks are properly conveyed to the general public,' says food policy researcher.

Put away the gummy bears, lollipops and chocolate bars — at least the ones containing THC.

When marijuana is legalized in Canada this year, edibles won't be included on the approved list in 2018.

That's a mistake, according to Sylvain Charlebois, a food policy researcher at Dalhousie University in Halifax. In a survey he co-authored, he found that more than half of Canadians are willing to try edibles if they're legalized.

"So, when C-45 [the bill allowing legal access to cannabis] didn't include edibles, it was shortsighted because a lot of people would be willing to try," Charlebois told Checkup host Duncan McCue.

Motion requires stores to buy from licensed producers even though those suppliers would be breaking the law if they did so.

Councillor Melissa De Genova is behind the motion that would require city-licensed dispensaries to buy from Health-Canada approved suppliers | Richard Lam

A new petition is demanding the government includes criminal justice reform in its legalization plans.

As Canada gets closer to legalizing recreational marijuana, drug policy advocates are fighting to ensure that criminal justice reform doesn’t get left behind. Now, a new petition is circulating from Cannabis Amnesty, a justice reform group that wants there to be more language addressing pardons for people with weed-related criminal records.

From niche sector to burgeoning industry, the list of marijuana stocks has veritably skyrocketed.

When it comes to cannabis, we’ve come a long way since former President Bill Clinton denied ever inhaling. With the previous presidential administration’s frankness on the matter, marijuana has become more blasé. Naturally, marijuana stocks have also increased in popularity, where we have more choices today than was previously thought possible.

But a Tlicho leader says elders need more details.

As cannabis becomes legalized, a community leader is calling for more public information in his Indigenous language.

In late April, Chief Clifford Daniels of Behchoko told CBC he wants to see information about the proposed cannabis laws in his community's language, Tlicho.

"We really need to inform the public. And it shouldn't be up to the community governments to pick up that cost," he said.

According to the Government of the Northwest Territories and Health Canada, communities like Daniels' will get what they need.

Audio recordings available

Directors refer draft policy back to staff for further discussions.

The Regional District of Nanaimo is establishing a policy for non-medical cannabis retail store licence applications.

When the federal government legalizes the recreational use of marijuana this summer, the regional district and other jurisdictions will be facing challenges in dealing with applications for legal sale of recreational marijuana.

When it becomes legal, the federal government will take sole responsibility on regulating the production of non-medical marijuana. In British Columbia, the wholesale distribution of recreational marijuana will be be processed only through the Liquor Distribution Board.