Aurora Cannabis Inc. has reached an agreement with Shopify Inc. to power a new e-commerce portal as the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada looms.

"Shopify's unique, industry leading platform provides a safe, secure and flexible e-commerce site that we can build on as we execute our global growth initiatives and enter new markets," said Darryl Vleeming, chief information officer of Aurora Cannabis, in a statement.

Under the terms of the deal announced Monday, Shopify will help Aurora migrate its current e-commerce site onto a new platform as Aurora embarks on its expansion strategy.

The B.C. government has announced plans to protect farmland from being alienated by concrete-floored “industrial bunkers” built to grow recreational marijuana.

New marijuana structure projects had to have been under construction, with permits, by today (July 13, 2018) to be immune from a new regulation allowing local governments to prohibit them in the Agriculture Land Reserve, the B.C. agriculture ministry says.

The federal government has allowed non-medical marijuana in “bunkers,” some of which were built as secure locations for growing licensed medical marijuana. Recreational marijuana growing, possession and use become legal Oct. 17 across Canada, due to federal law passed this spring.

VANCOUVER - Local and Indigenous governments in British Columbia will be permitted to prevent marijuana production in their communities on land that is part of the Agricultural Land Reserve, but with conditions.

The Ministry of Agriculture said Friday the regulatory change is effective immediately and gives governments the right to prevent industrial-style, cement-based and cannabis-production bunkers in their communities.

However, the ministry said pot production can't be prohibited if it's grown lawfully in an open field, in a structure that is soil based, or in an existing licensed operation.

Marijuana firms are warning that Ottawa’s move to impose an additional $100-million in taxes ostensibly to recoup regulatory costs – on top of hundreds of millions in government revenue expected from excise taxes − will hurt their ability to undercut the cannabis black market.

Health Canada, which recently announced a proposed “annual regulatory fee” of 2.3 per cent on the gross revenues of big cannabis producers, is facing industry pushback on the levy in the runup to the Oct. 17 legalization of the recreational market in this country.

The fee would be in addition to the $1-a-gram excise tax on cannabis that has already been announced and will go mainly to the provinces. Health Canada is giving companies and other interested parties 30 days to comment on the plan.

The anticipated Oct. 17 legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada is expected to bring about a major culture shift for those using, and interested in using, marijuana.

A coalition of employers from across the country are now demanding federal legislation for alcohol and drug testing for workers in safety-sensitive positions. The primary goal of this legislation is to tackle the anticipated workplace safety risk.

Most employers and associations in the coalition are in industries where safety is a critical component of what they do.

Crossing the border may become much more difficult for a certain group of Canadians come October 17, 2018.

While marijuana users have been gearing up for potential issues at the border for some time, it now appears that people working in the cannabis industry may also be affected—regardless of whether they use the drug or not. 

Under U.S. law, anyone associated with the cannabis industry could be banned from entering the country for life, even after it is legalized in Canada nationwide. If it seems harsh, that’s because it is…but it’s all in the context of the war on drugs. 

While the federal government is legalizing marijuana to regulate and tax the psychoactive drug, Prairie farmers growing non-smokable hemp appear set to become major beneficiaries of the new regime.

The updated industrial hemp regulations, released this week alongside Health Canada’s recreational cannabis rules, will allow hemp growers to harvest the flowers and leaves from their crop for non-psychoactive compounds such as cannabidiol (CBD).

“Whole plant” harvest could generate up to $10 billion in economic activity over the next 10 years, the government estimates, as the market for CBD — seen as a potential input for medical products, supplements and beauty products — continues to grow.

KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) – B.C.’s first government-licensed pot store will be in Kamloops and it’s expected to employ at least 20 people.

Viviana Zanocco with the Liquor Distribution Branch says the shop at the Columbia Place Shopping Centre is slated to open in October when the federal legalization of recreational marijuana takes effect.

“Kamloops City Council has been very proactive in terms of setting out areas where they would like to see cannabis retail and so that’s a huge advantage for us,” she says, hinting that Burnaby might be using a similar tactic and could be have the first Lower Mainland store.

B.C.'s Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB), the province's only legal wholesaler of non-medicinal cannabis has made agreements with 31 licensed producers to secure a steady retail supply of the drug when it's legalized later this year. 

The Ministry of the Attorney General announced Wednesday the LDB has signed memorandums of understanding with the producers to create "an extensive and competitive wholesale product assortment." 

Initially, the ministry says the LDB will offer more than 150 strains of non-medicinal marijuana, with a range of quality from value to ultra-premium, competitively priced by the provincial government.   

The LDB has also secured cannabis accessories for sale in B.C. Cannabis Stores.

VANCOUVER, July 11, 2018 /CNW/ - THC BioMed Intl Ltd. ("THC" or the "Company") (CSE:THC) announces that it has been selected by the province to supply British Columbians with adult-use cannabis. THC has entered into an agreement through its wholly-owned subsidiary, THC BioMed Ltd. to supply non-medical cannabis to the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch following legalization.   

THC is very proud to be given this opportunity to have its products available for sale in British Columbia, beginning October 17, 2018.