The surge for cannabis stocks mid-week was the lone bright spot, as the S&P/TSX Composite Index succumbed to volatility in global markets. The $5 billion injection into Canopy Growth courtesy of Constellation Brands is a very encouraging development. However, today I want to focus on how beer companies are dipping into this fledgling industry and why it will be helpful going forward. Cannabis industry potential is attracting investment Analysts, economists, and prognosticators of all stripes continue to debate just how large the cannabis market will be when it ramps up to full capacity. The most recent report from Statistics Canada…

Dealing with Health Canada bureaucracy to get a permit to grow medical cannabis at home is a “complete nightmare,” says a man taking the government to court alleging lengthy processing delays that he says violate his Charter rights.

Jeff Harris, 49, an accountant in Burnaby, B.C., has been using medical cannabis since 2010 and has a designated grower to cultivate his medical marijuana for him.

It’s a “nightmare” trying to navigate government bureaucracy and learn about how far along your own application is, Harris tells iPolitics. “All they’ll tell you is they got your paperwork and they’re working on processing it.”

What do alcohol, tobacco and gambling have in common?

On the one hand, they have been viewed as “sinful” activities, perhaps bringing immediate pleasure to the partaker but health and social costs in the long run. Governments look to prohibit or limit such scurrilous consumption.

On the other hand, these sinful activities are also common favourites for taxation. In Gulliver’s Travels, a Lagado island professor argues for “effectual ways and means of raising money without grieving the subject,” which, of course, would be to justly tax “vices and folly.”

With marijuana set to be legalized in Canada on October 17, the provincial government recently announced a policy change that would allow recreational pot to be sold in retail stores while the province handles online sales.

Under the province’s new retail model, Ontario residents 19 years of age and older will be able to buy legal cannabis through a government-run website before the ‘private retail model’ is launched in 2019.

What does a beer company do to hedge against slowing growth in its main business? In the case of the parent company of Corona, the answer is to invest heavily in the marijuana industry.

In a shade over two months, on Oct. 17, history will be made. After months of debate in Parliament, and years of promises from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, recreational marijuana will become officially legal in Canada and go on sale in private and government-owned dispensaries.

Indiva, London’s first medical-cannabis producer, has been granted a federal licence and is already looking ahead to opening a retail store in the city.

In anticipation of receiving its licence from Health Canada, Indiva began construction of a major expansion of its plant in an industrial park in south London.

Indiva, London’s first medical-cannabis producer, has been granted a federal licence and is already looking ahead to opening a retail store in the city.

In anticipation of receiving its licence from Health Canada, Indiva began construction of a major expansion of its plant in an industrial park in south London.

ndiva CEO Niel Marotta said the company should be sending out it first orders to patients through its website later this year.

WeedMD Inc. (CVE:WMD) and Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE: VIDA) announced Wednesday they have signed a joint agreement to develop and operate Cannabis Beverages Inc. at WeedMD’s greenhouse facility in Strathroy, Ontario.

The joint venture will be focused on product development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of cannabis-infused beverages for Canada and export to licensed international markets.

The Second Cup Ltd. says it is actively reviewing locations in Ontario for potential conversion to cannabis retail stores in light of policy changes in the province.

The company's announcement comes after Ontario's Progressive Conservative government said it would allow private retailers to sell recreational marijuana starting next April.

Second Cup had announced a partnership with marijuana clinic operator National Access Cannabis in April to potentially convert coffee shops to retail stores under the brand Meta Cannabis Supply Co.

At the time, the companies said they were focused on Western Canada, as Ontario had planned to sell cannabis through provincial liquor commissions, in line with policies in Quebec and several Atlantic provinces.

Shatter, budder and other cannabis concentrates that can be consumed using small, portable vaporizers have become very popular in legal states. In Canada, however, vapes won't be part of the legal framework come October 17 because the Canadian government is concerned about their impact on public health and safety.