At the Commodore Ballroom on Saturday, August 4

Recreational cannabis industry marketing budgets are getting larger and more adventurous. In a buzz-building “for the fans” move, Canadian medicinal cannabis company Aurora blasted social media with a free Queens of the Stone Age gig in Vancouver as part of the Aurora Illumination Series. Those lucky enough to receive a free e-ticket witnessed QOTSA at the Commodore Ballroom, an intimate venue compared with the grandiosity of the band’s recent arena tours.

Canadians are using self-directed RRSP accounts to hold stocks of companies they hope will help them build a nice nest egg for the golden years.

Let’s take a look at Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED)(NYSE:CGC) and Suncor (TSX:SU)(NYSE:SU) to see if one is more attractive right now.

Investors have compiled a laundry list of reasons to be cautious about cryptocurrency from its volatility to its lack of regulation. A stigma that crypto is the currency of criminals has lingered.

A new study from the US Drug Enforcement Agency may shift some perspectives.

Illegal activity was once behind 90% of crypto transactions, but that number has shrunk to around 10%, according to a Bloomberg report.

So, who’s behind the majority of cryptocurrency transactions? Bitcoin speculators.

Nailing down just how much cultivation and production space Canada’s cannabis industry is going to need is like trying to hit a moving target.

At the latest check, there were 113 licenses for marijuana cultivation operations in the country, according to Health Canada. Sixty-one of those licenses are in Ontario, 24 in B.C. and the rest are spread throughout the other provinces.

But that could be just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak; more than 500 additional marijuana cultivation license applications are under review by the Canadian government as the Oct. 17 dates looms for legalization.

It’s an age-old pairing that’s sparked a subgenre of films, shows and standup acts: cannabis and comedy.

“You just have to watch a Cheech and Chong movie to know that cannabis makes you susceptible to laughter,” says Mark Breslin, founder of Yuk Yuk’s comedy clubs in Canada.

Yet stoned audiences are often the toughest to make laugh, say standup comics, who note that what high crowds lack in audible appreciation they make up for in friendly feedback and less heckling than drinking audiences.

“They might not laugh at you the entire show but after they’ll stop you outside and be like, ‘Dude, that was the best show,'” says comic Mike Rita, host of the Stoner Sundays comedy showcase at Vapor Central in Toronto.

Today, Fire & Flower, an independent corporate cannabis retailer shared that it has received conditional approval from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC).

Under the conditional approval, Fire & Flower is being considered for final approval for its 37 store licenses in the province of Alberta once the remaining approvals are obtained from all orders of government.

"This a monumental achievement for our company," shared Trevor Fencott, Fire & Flower's Chief Executive Officer. "Receiving conditional approval from AGLC is a key step in Fire & Flower being among the first to market as a cannabis retail shop in Alberta. We look forward to welcoming our guests at our shops across the province in October."

From a $1 billion projection to $2 billion in sales revenue by the year 2020, now is surely the best time to start thinking about putting your money where the cannabis plant grows.

Five years ago, Yahoo Canada News did a series on the dying small towns of Canada. The stagnation was largely blamed on the exit of one industry or another from many of the places visited. One of the towns featured in that series was Smiths Falls, Ont., struggling to recover from the exit of chocolate maker Hershey’s in 2007. At the time, residents said tourism was the answer to the town’s economic woes. Little did they know the industry that would breath life back into Smiths Falls was cannabis.

There are many different answers out there about how long one should wait after smoking up before its safe to get behind the wheel, ranging from four hours to a full day.

Health Canada says that, unlike alcohol, the existing scientific evidence does not provide general guidance to drivers about how much cannabis can be consumed before it is unsafe to drive, or how long a driver should wait to drive after consuming cannabis. Health Canada warns that mixing driving with the drug is not safe and that impairment can last up to 24 hours.

Under the new impaired driving legislation set out in Bill C-46, having more than two nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood within two hours of driving can result in a fine, and more than five nanograms can result in criminal charges.

With the legalization of cannabis coming to Quebec in just two months, the provincial government launched a campaign aimed at educating the public about the nuances of pot law.

“This is an issue that has to be addressed and I think everybody across this province and across this country are waiting for something like that to happen,” said Health Minister Gaetan Barrette on Monday.

Among the issues addressed in the campaign, which will include television advertisements, is informing the public about who will be allowed to own, grow and sell pot once it’s been legalized.