"I've never seen this before."

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, sitting in his legislature office for a year-end interview, is looking at a 15-ml container of cannabis spray. It's one of the ways through which recreational cannabis can be consumed since legalization in October.

It is discreet, quick, smokeless and — perhaps surprisingly under Manitoba law — legal to consume in most public places.

"My lunch could be really good," Pallister jokes before handing it back to the reporter who brought it to him.

The premier has said on more than one occasion he's more of a beer man.

Pallister's Progressive Conservative government is not alone in having to adjust to the complex realities of legalized recreational cannabis.

Aphria Inc. ("Aphria" or the "Company") (TSX: APHA and NYSE:APHA) announced that the Company has completed its second shipment of approximately 80 L (equivalent to approximately 20 kg of dried bud) of medical cannabis to its Australian-based partner Althea Company Pty Ltd.("Althea").

Medical marijuana company Cresco Labs signed a deal to acquire two dispensaries, one in the Lakeview neighborhood and another in Rockford, weeks after the Chicago-based company went public in Canada.

The dispensaries, MedMar Lakeview and MedMar Rockford, will be Cresco's fourth and fifth in the state, maxing out the number a company can own in Illinois. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Not only do they become a part of Cresco Labs in Illinois, but they're also part of the fabric of the Cresco Labs company," said Charlie Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco. "We'll learn a lot from them, and they'll have a big influence on how we move forward, even with operations in other states."

The Canadian marijuana company Tilray announced yesterday (December 18) that it has signed an agreement to partner with Novartis subsidiary Sandoz to sell medical marijuana in countries where it is legal, currently numbering 35. This is likely the first time a major pharmaceutical company has gotten into the medical marijuana business, STAT notes.

As more and more states legalize marijuana use, an increasing number of people are turning to it as a way to manage overwhelming anxiety. Marijuana is well-known to have a calming effect for many people, so it’s not surprising that it’s often used in this way.

However, there is scant research on the safety and effectiveness of cannabis for anxiety, as a recent review concluded. (Please note that I’ll be focusing on the psychoactive form of marijuana, not cannabidiol or CBD.)

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a "guidance document" today explaining why he feels it best that Canadians use cash when purchasing marijuana, even at legal and licensed dispensaries. The guideline also advises Canadians to provide as little personal information as possible when making purchases of marijuana.

Marijuana became legal in Canada this past October, and while most Canadians were more than pleased with the choice by the federal government, there have been a handful of hiccups.

Drawing on her background cultivating flowers, the founder of London-area licensed marijuana producer Eve & Co., has now made her company Canada’s first to begin supplying the grow-your-own cannabis market.

It was no easy feat.

Kelsey Jobson, who at the Strathroy-based company deals with provincial pot rules, handled the test shipping runs, using not cannabis plants but citronella.

Medical Marijuana Market size was valued over USD 7.0 billion in 2017 and is expected to witness more than 36.0% CAGR from 2018 to 2024.

Medical marijuana market to register an appreciable CAGR of 36% over 2018-2024, Germany to emerge as a vital regional contender.

Interest in the medical and recreational use of marijuana has led to increased interest in how to best administer the two most abundant cannabinoids in the plant: THC and CBD.  These two molecules typically represent about 70 percent of all of the known cannabinoids in the unadulterated plant. The manner in which THC and CBD are administered plays a critical role in determining the rate and amount of each molecule that is absorbed by the brain.

Canada’s Prime Minister says legal pot supply issues to be sorted out in months

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a supply shortage of legal cannabis in Canada and the prime minister is on the case. While noting the dearth of legal weed in Canada “will take a little time to adjust,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blames the delays on municipal governments and others who have been more critical on pot legalization. Expect some relief in the coming months but Trudeau is quick to point out the industry is on the right track to get legal pot into Canadians’ hands as swiftly as possible.