Queens County in Nova Scotia is embracing a new type of crop cultivation.

For decades, the forestry sector was the biggest employer in the area. But in 2012, the Bowater Mersey pulp mill was shut down and hundreds of people were suddenly out of a job.

Seven years later, there's a cannabis production facility on the former mill site and 50 people are working there.

Owner Aqualitas set up its operation in one of the old Bowater warehouses.

It's an investment that hasn't come cheaply.

The large warehouse is one of the newer buildings on the site, but it still cost $20 million to get it ready for cannabis production, says Aqualitas CEO MyrnaGillis.

B.C. has a marijuana shortage.

At least that’s the story with government-sanctioned cannabis products in the wake of the national legalization of marijuana last October.

“Supply is still very much an issue not just here but across the country,” B.C. Minister of Solicitor General and Public Safety Mike Farnworth said April 4. He said the province has been pushing for the addition of marijuana microproducers into the supply chain to ensure enough pot gets to market.

Supply issues began to plague market not long after legalization.

And doobie-desperate British Columbians can forget wandering down the street to the local dealer if that dealer’s become a neighbourhood nuisance.

Invariably, no other investment class generates as much interest and controversy as marijuana stocks. Within a generation, public sentiment toward legalization shifted dramatically from strongly opposed to mostly supportive. This is largely due to demographics, as the more progressive millennials replace older Americans in positions of influence.

Pharmacy franchise system Shoppers Drug Mart has joined forces with Harvest One to provide Canadians with medical cannabis.

Under the terms of the agreement, Satipharm-branded products will be available for purchase through the franchisor’s website, as Canadian regulations restrict the sale of medical cannabis in retail pharmacies. The products will be packaged with colour-coded labels, indicating varying levels of strength.

Soon after announcing the partnership, Harvest One completed its first shipment to the pharmacy through its wholly-owned subsidiary United Greeneries.

Canada may have been the first country in the world to legalize medical marijuana back in 2001, but its provinces are still grappling with what that means in the workers compensation world.

The provinces that have implemented or are planning to adopt policies governing the use of medical marijuana as a pain treatment option have moved slowly out of concern about potential adverse health impacts or questions about its effectiveness, and have limited the circumstances in which it can be prescribed, experts say.

WorkSafeNB, which oversees New Brunswick’s workers comp system, led the way by issuing its marijuana policy in April 2018, which allows for the use of medical marijuana for work-related injuries in limited instances.

There is a wide gap between what Canadians fear might be the impact of cannabis legalization on the value of their homes and what other jurisdictions have experienced.

Most Canadians believe legalization will hurt property values, according to an October 2018 survey by real estate company Zoocasa. The poll found that 42 per cent of respondents believed a dispensary located nearby would reduce their home’s value, compared with 36 per cent who disagreed. An even larger proportion (48 per cent) indicated that a dispensary nearby would reduce their desire to buy a home in that area.

Since the recent birth of the recreational cannabis industry in Canada and the U.S., many have believed that the medicinal market may eventually take a downturn. While this may be true, it seems as though the medicinal market is finding its niche audience, and they have no plans for slowing down any time soon. There are several reasons that the medicinal industry still has a long way to go and the road only looks to keep going up.

One of the reasons that the medicinal industry has been able to stay around at least from a financial perspective is the fact that recreationally based cannabis stocks are still highly volatile and very risky. These companies have a large amount of supply issues, packaging shortages and regulatory measures that are very difficult to navigate.

Cannabis has become one of the most controversial topics on many countries' political agendas. Cannabis is still internationally illegal under regulatory statutes, but clinical trials and research have led countries to explore opportunities within the medical cannabis market. However, the recreational market is still widely being heavily enforced. Nonetheless, certain regions have moved to decriminalize, or even fully legalize, recreational cannabis use. Unlike marijuana, hemp's main component is CBD. While THC provides psychoactive effects to consumers, CBD does not induce psychoactive effects, but provide a therapeutic and relaxing effect akin to that of THC.

With the legalization of marijuana last year, Canadian employers were thrown something of a curve ball. Maintaining the same high standards of health and safety in this new age of legalized cannabis means understanding the new legislative measures.

In their seventh article of the series, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services’ (WSPS) spoke to HRD Canada about the legal obligations employers have regarding marijuana in the workplace.

“Regardless of whether an organization is a commercial enterprise, a non-profit entity, a multi-national corporation or a small business, leaders have a legal and moral responsibility to provide a safe workplace,” explained Larry Masotti, Director of Strategic Relationships at WSPS.

As the legalization of cannabis in Nova Scotia nears its six-month anniversary, it appears sales are still “smoking hot” across the province, including Cape Breton.

“While we aren’t experiencing the lineups in our stores that we saw in the early days, we are seeing a consistent pattern in sales with our stores in metro Halifax and Sydney River doing the greatest volume of business,” said Beverly Ware, spokeswoman with the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp.

“The growth of local product sales continues to be strong as Nova Scotians appreciate the quality of local product offerings and show their support for innovative local business that provide local jobs and invest in their communities.”