Shoppers Drug Mart has received Health Canada’s approval to be a licensed medical marijuana producer, opening the door for the pharmacy giant to dispense medical cannabis to patients.

This comes after Shoppers in October 2016 applied to Health Canada to become a licensed medical marijuana producer.

The federal government is looking to scour social-media platforms to find out what Canadians really think about pot as the country enters its new era of legalized weed.

With only a few weeks to go before the end of recreational marijuana prohibition, Ottawa is seeking an outside contractor to help the government learn more about Canadians’ attitudes and behaviours when it comes to legalized cannabis.

Federal officials want to go deeper than the data they have gleaned from public opinion surveys.

Even in the heyday of cigarettes, when people still smoked in their offices, you wouldn't expect to open a newspaper and see a reporter assigned to cover the "tobacco beat." 

And, alcohol, which is consumed by Canadians in quantities greater than ever, still only typically gets covered by wine reviewers, who suggest the best new vintages for under $20.

Why, then, are many media outlets in Canada now hiring reporters assigned to cover the cannabis beat?

"I think from a journalism perspective, this is more than just a product," said Solomon Israel, a former writer and producer with the CBC News business unit who now covers cannabis for the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper and its online publication, the Leaf News.

With less than a month until federal legislation makes recreational cannabis legal in Canada, experts say gaps in understanding about the drug and impairment remain the biggest challenge facing employers preparing for the change.

Before Oct. 17, experts say workplaces should update substance use policies to include cannabis.

Éric Courcelles, director of strategy for World Trade Center Winnipeg, said while some of the updates may seem like common sense — "don't come to work high or drunk" — the fine points of what precisely that means and setting standards to prove it are touchy.

The federal government’s end to its 95-year pot prohibition will also be a boon for hemp producers. They’ll soon be allowed to sell the plant’s flowers to be processed for its CBD, a cannabinoid without any psychoactive effects that’s being hailed for its medicinal potential.

Health Canada approved an exemption last month allowing commercial hemp growers to harvest flowers and leaves to be dried and stored on their farms ahead of Oct. 17, when the sales ban on those portions of the plant will be lifted. Only the stalks, seeds and stems can be sold now.

“That’s a brand new revenue stream,” Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance executive director Ted Haney said.

The Canadian recreational marijuana market is set to open in one month, but the big news in the sector over the course of the next year might be focused on the United States.

Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC) is a market leader in the emerging global marijuana sector, and while much of the focus has been on the company’s partnership with Constellation Brands, which owns Corona and now has a 38% stake in Canopy Growth, the medical side of the industry remains a core focus for Canopy Growth in Canada and internationally.

A team of former mushroom farmers and pharmacists lead by a veterinarian has built what they believe is one of the quickest-constructed, fully-licensed medicinal cannabis facilities in the country.

They've built what they call a world-class facility inside of a former automotive plant along the Thames River in Chatham, Ont.

"Our founders actually were able to grow large scale indoor grow of mushrooms which is a crop that is very hard to grow," said former veterinarian and current AgMedica Bioscience Inc. CEO Trevor Henry. 

"We think that made perfect sense to transition that technology from the mushroom grow into the cannabis grow."

With just a month left to go until recreational pot is legal across the country, here's what you need to know if you want to partake.

Where can I get some of that legal weed?

On Oct. 17, there will be just one B.C. Cannabis Store in the entire province. The government shop will be located in Kamloops at the Columbia Place Shopping Centre. There will also be online sales through the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch.

What about all those private dispensaries in cities like Vancouver?

There's no indication these will be shut down right away. The province's new Community Safety Unit has pledged a crackdown, but only after more legal outlets are available.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) in Quebec has said it is currently studying a partnership to establish a Health Canada licensed “state-of-the-art” medicinal cannabis greenhouse of at least 50,000-sq-ft, with an additional 20,000-sq-ft of post-harvesting space.

In a statement, the MCK said it is in discussions with Canopy Growth, Canada’s largest medicinal marijuana company, which would see Canopy Growth purchase up to 100% of the cannabis produced at the Kahnawà:ke facility. The partnership would mark Canopy Growth’s first First Nations partnership in the province.

Canadian licensed marijuana producer Tilray Inc. has received the green light from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agency to export a medical cannabis product south of the border for use in a clinical trial.

The Nanaimo, B.C.-based company and a researcher at the University of California San Diego believe it is the first export of a cannabis study drug from a Canadian company to the U.S., where marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

Tilray will be exporting capsules containing a cannabinoid formulation with the active ingredients cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as CBD and THC, for a study examining the drug as a potential treatment for adults with essential tremor.