Companies are falling short when it comes to having comprehensive policies on substance use, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.

The report, which is based on a review of about 800 companies, interviews with experts and responses to an online survey, aimed to analyze and provide a general overview of the state of workplace policies on substance use as Canada moves towards the legalization and regulation of cannabis this summer. It found that while most respondents had a specific policy on employee alcohol and drug use, there’s a particular gap when it comes to medical marijuana. It was the only substance that the majority (55 per cent) of respondents indicated wasn’t part of their organization’s policy on substance use.

The results of a survey published by Statistics Canada last week reveal some interesting information about how Canadians are consuming cannabis.

How many users? 

According to the data, which was gathered earlier this year as part of the National Cannabis Survey, approximately 4.2 million or 14 percent of Canadians aged 15 and over have used cannabis products in the last three months. Of them, about 56 percent said their use occurred on a daily or weekly basis. (The information comes ahead of the federal government’s implementation of Bill C-45, an act that will legalize, regulate, and restrict access to non-medical cannabis.)

Will legalization increase use? 

Dixie Brands Inc., a U.S. maker of marijuana beverages, is considering an initial public offering toward the end of this year or early next year as it seeks capital for expansion and acquisitions. The company, which hasn’t mandated bankers yet, is eyeing a listing in Canada, Chief Executive Officer Chuck Smith said Thursday in an interview on the sidelines of the Cannabis Invest U.K. conference in London. Dixie will have about $20 million in revenue this year and up to about $50-million in 2019, Smith said. “We need access to capital, we need liquidity because this growth is very expensive,” said Smith, who founded the company in 2009 and remains its majority shareholder. “We’re going to continue to acquire brands or innovate them.”

As we move toward the legalization of recreational cannabis, I thought it would be interesting to look at a recent case dealing with medical cannabis and the efforts of one person to get assistance from his province's workers' compensation board to contribute to the cost of the medical cannabis prescribed to him.

In case you haven’t noticed, the legal marijuana movement is creating quite the buzz on Wall Street. Since the start of 2016, a number of the largest pot companies by market cap have seen their share prices rise by more than 1,000%.

It has to do with a combination of rapidly growing sales, a consistent shift in the public’s opinion on cannabis, and a “marijuana first” expected out of Canada later this year.

But it’s not just sales growth that has investors excited. It’s the shift in consumer opinion toward cannabis.  With the public strongly behind the idea of legalization, investors expect sales growth throughout North America to continue climbing.

Investing in Canadian marijuana stocks two years ago would have been a dream for most investors.

District adds voice to municipalities calling for production to stay off ALR land.

North Saanich is adding its voice to a call for the province to ban recreational marijuana production on land within B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

Echoing a Central Saanich resolution presented earlier this month at the annual convention of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC), North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall got the support of most of her council to make a similar plea to Victoria.

Finall said she is going after recreational cannabis production, and not medicinal, due to the fact there’s a Supreme Court of Canada decision that makes access to medicinal cannabis a right.

It’s a very exciting year for Canada as the country is gearing toward legalization, set for the summer of 2018. Canada is already a major player on the world cannabis stage and rightly so, being the first country to legalize marijuana for medical use back in 2001. Other countries and advocates around the world are looking to Canada as a beacon for the acceptance and destigmatizing of recreational cannabis.

Canada has come a long way in its attitude towards marijuana, and it certainly hasn’t always been so accepting. The following is a timeline of the history of cannabis in Canada:

The Quebec government is calling on the Senate to amend the federal bill to legalize cannabis for recreational use to make it clear that provinces have the right to forbid home cultivation.

Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Canadian Relations, Jean-Marc Fournier, told a Senate committee Wednesday that his government wants all legal cannabis to be grown by federally licensed producers, at least in the initial stages of legalization.

With the federal government aiming to legalize marijuana possession, insurers are looking for some assurances that the Cannabis Law will not lead to increased claims frequency and liability; this, in turn, relates to the ability of police to search vehicles and arrest people suspected of violating drug and alcohol laws.

So insurers may be interested to know that the Supreme Court of Canada recently refused to hear a case that would have narrowed the basis upon which police could search for and seize marijuana during a traffic stop. Canada’s highest court announced April 19 that it will not hear an appeal from Tarek Lotfy, who was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Amherst woman says Tory leader hopeful's story of their conversation a 'misrepresentation'.

An Amherst, N.S., business woman says she was misrepresented by Tory leadership candidate Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin when the politician recently referred to her during a debate at Province House.

While debating the Liberal government's bill related to cannabis, Smith-McCrossin, the MLA for Cumberland North, referred to her best friend in Amherst who is from Jamaica, in an attempt to make a point.