More Canadians are using medical marijuana for a wider array of health ailments, but the research hasn’t kept pace.

It was a watershed moment for the study of medical marijuana. This past December, Canadian university researchers, federal and provincial officials, patient advocates and industry representatives met in Vancouver to set priorities for evidence-based inquiries into a drug long overshadowed by its reputation as an illegal way to get high. The two-day, invitation-only meeting – convened by the Arthritis Society and partly funded by licensed growers of cannabis for medical purposes – is the latest sign that investigations of medical cannabis are moving into the research mainstream.

OTTAWA — Don’t hold your breath for the legalization of marijuana to happen any time soon. The 415-page briefing book prepared for Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has the Liberal campaign pot pledge on page 410.

Obtained under access to information laws, the heavily-redacted briefing lays out priorities for Wilson-Raybould’s first 100 days in office.

Beyond an overview of the 5,000-employee department and her basic ministerial responsibilities, there are mundane background notes on several national and international meetings she is expected to attend, a primer on appointments and vacancies she will need to fill, departmental and financial administration items and talking points (redacted) for a courtesy call with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

After years of debate, it appears that we now have a federal government that is serious about legalizing marijuana. According to the Canadian Community Health Survey, about a half of Peterborough's adults have tried marijuana or cannabis at least once in their lives, with more than a third of Peterborough high school students reporting the same in a recent study. The numbers of people using it on a regular basis are much lower, but there are concerns that use will increase and with that, a variety of associated harms as well.

Cannabis can be used to treat more than 40 different medical conditions

Montreal’s first medical cannabis clinic, which opened in 2014 at its location on Amherst Street, provides a clean, modern environment where patients can get prescriptions and support in moving away from pharmaceutical drugs. Two glass cases stand in the window, showing off a variety of vaporizers of all shapes and sizes.

Medical marijuana is expected to impact the future of health and affect pharmaceutical companies.

Saskatchewan Compassion Club owner Mark Hauk outside of the Saskatoon Police Station.

A City of Saskatoon committee has made it much more difficult for marijuana dispensaries to open in the city.

Today, the Standing Policy Committee on Planning, Development and Community Services voted against issuing business licences to marijuana dispensaries.

Administration argued that medical marijuana falls under federal jurisdiction, and anyone involved with it must get a federal licence.

It also said that the City of Saskatoon should only issue a business licence to the dispensary if it receives federal approval.

You don’t have to be stoned to be confused by the status of Canada’s marijuana laws.

Users of medical marijuana must wonder if it’s OK to pick up supplies at pot dispensaries across the country.

In Nova Scotia, one operator proudly announced the opening of his Dartmouth dispensary last week.

But at least two in-province pot retailers were raided by police last year.

The law seems to suggest prescription holders should obtain the drug from licensed suppliers — which means by mail-order.

But the Supreme Court says “reasonable access” to medical marijuana should be, and is not being, provided.

No wonder dispensary owners say they operate in a grey area.

The situation is also fuzzy for recreational users. 

The International Cannabis Business Conference isn’t the largest or flashiest marijuana-minded event on the calendar, but it is among the most respected.

What started as the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference in 2013 is now a larger, more inclusive annual gathering held in San Francisco each winter. The 2016 edition will take over the Hyatt Regency in the Embarcadero on Feb. 13-14 with speakers Tommy Chong, former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, U.S. Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Earl Blumenauer, Oaksterdam University executive chancellor Dale Sky Jones and others. 

Canada’s frontline officers and police chiefs are alarmed by the growing chaos in the marijuana industry, saying the Liberal Party’s promise to eventually legalize the drug has sparked confusion across the country.

Illegal pot dispensaries are opening up from coast to coast at the same time as some users feel they should no longer be subject to the Criminal Code, prompting law-enforcement officials to urge the Trudeau government to remind Canadians that marijuana remains an illegal drug.

Every day, lawyer and cannabis advocate Kirk Tousaw checks his email first thing in the morning, hoping for news that he and thousands of medical marijuana patients across Canada have waited for since last May. That's when Tousaw and a team of lawyers wrapped up the Allard case, which challenges the federal prohibition against growing small amounts of cannabis for personal use.

The e-mail he's waiting for is the notice that a decision has been reached, and when it comes he'll race over to federal court for good news, he hopes:

A new report titled ‘The State of Legal Marijuana Markets’, published earlier this week, projects a rapid rise in the value of regulated cannabis markets in the US for 2016.

Just how big is the market for legal pot?

A new report by a leading marijuana industry investment and research firm found legal cannabis sales jumped 17%, to $5.4 billion, in 2015 and they will grow by a whopping 25% this year to reach $6.7 billion in total U.S. sales.

Fortune magazine, quoted above, have published a summary of the report, the 4th edition of findings by cannabis economists ArcView Market Research.