Not everyone's a fan of 'blockchain' encryption, but the cannabis industry is eyeing it for protection.

The technology that powers bitcoin could be deployed to track the flow of legal product in Canada's marijuana market without compromising the privacy of its customers.

The Cannabis Act authorizes Health Canada to implement a national tracking system for marijuana — following the journey from seed to sale — to protect the integrity of the legal market.

The challenge is to keep that information confidential in an age of widespread hacking.

Alcohol in the front, 70 strains in the back.

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia will soon become the only known place in the world with combined liquor-cannabis retailers. The twelve stores are set to open on October 17, the official launch date for Canada’s recreational market. 

The retail combination will run through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC), the province’s government-subsidized alcohol retailer. The NSLC will also be selling cannabis separately through an online e-commerce platform.

More than 30,000 people cross the U.S.-Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, every day. For most, it's a trouble-free experience but for some Canadian business people, that seems to be changing. 

Sam Znaimer is a Vancouver, Canada-based venture capitalist who has been investing in everything from tech to telecommunications for more than 30 years. Recently, he put more than $100,000 into legal American cannabis companies. In May, when he attempted to drive across the border, he was flagged for a secondary inspection and questioned for four hours.

Nicholas Reichenbach, CEO and founder of Flow Water Inc., has run into some difficulties while trying to boost the number of staff at his three-year-old spring water company. The Toronto-based company has doubled its work force to 50 in the past year, but as with many companies in the food and beverage industry, he’s found himself in a fierce battle for talent with the nascent legal cannabis sector.

“One of our largest challenges is talent acquisition,” he said. “There have been numerous occasions where, specifically in marketing and sales, we have lost candidates to marijuana companies.”

As recently as last month, Italian cancer patients have been met with a supply shortage in the domestic medical marijuana market. As of mid-June, Italy only had a single medical marijuana facility, which is controlled by the military. The limited supply problem resulted in patients seeking their products from the black market, which highlighted the critical need for Italy expanded legal supply.

CALGARY—A major Canadian medicinal cannabis company has inked a deal with Shopify to build a platform for selling medicinal and recreational cannabis online — but Albertans won’t legally be able to buy the latter.

Aurora Cannabis, which is headquartered in Edmonton, will be moving its e-sales operations over to a platform developed by Shopify, the company said in a statement issued Monday.

“Selecting Shopify allows Aurora to bring a world-class ecommerce solution to our patients and future adult consumer use customers,” said Darryl Vleeming, CIO of Aurora Cannabis Inc, in the statement.

A Canadian company is the first marijuana business to complete an initial public offering on a major U.S. stock exchange, raising $153 million to expand its operations as Canada prepares to legalize the drug nationwide.

British Columbia-based Tilray Inc.'s shares began trading Thursday on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Initially priced at $17, the stock quickly jumped, closing for the day at $22.55 - up about one-third.

Tilray isn't the first pot company to trade on a major American stock exchange, but it is the first to do so with an IPO, a step that could boost credibility and confidence in the industry, said John Kagia, an analyst with the marijuana market research firm New Frontier Data.

Three illegal medical marijuana dispensaries have closed down after intervention from the Fredericton Police.

On July 4, the force issued notices of enforcement to HBB Medical, King Cana and Buddy's medical marijuana dispensaries ordering them to close within 14 business days.

The decision to seek the closure of the dispensaries this way — by giving them time to close or possible risk a raid —  was made with police staffing in mind, said Insp, Kimberly Quartermain of the Fredericton police.

She said the force has been dealing with other criminal matters that require a lot of officers, and the force wanted to make sure it wasn't spread too thin.

The location of Montreal’s first cannabis shop has been released: it will be at Saint-Hubert Plaza.

The Quebec Cannabis Society (SQDC) announced Thursday it has signed the lease for the first recreational marijuana storefront.

It is set to open on Oct. 17.

The SAQ’s subsidiary, the SQDC, said it will operate out of four areas in Montreal, likely in downtown, the Southwest borough and in Montreal East.

The first branch to be confirmed will be located on Saint-Hubert St. between Saint-Zotique and Bélanger Sts.

Depending on several factors, including demand for the product, if local politicians will accept the shops and the availability of the space, the SQDC said it may have up to six points of sale by the end of the fall.

Gerald Major goes out on the back balcony of his condo several times a day, leaning against the wall and smoking or vaping medicinal cannabis to ease the pain and other symptoms of severe arthritis.

But the looming legalization of recreational marijuana may put his daily ritual in jeopardy, as condominium corporations and apartment buildings across the country scramble to enact rules that would ban pot smoking inside units, on balconies and in common areas used by residents.

"I don't use inside my dwelling, I have a seven-year-old. I don't think it's healthy, nor is it necessary," said Major, 46, who has had eight surgeries in the last eight years related to ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis, which he began developing at age 14.