Consumers have a wide selection of hemp based food and cosmetics, but regulations and scientific information have not kept up.

Commercial hemp production was not allowed for many years because it was confused with other types of cannabis, and authorities did not want products with high levels of the intoxicant tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), said Daniel Kruse of Hemp International in Germany, which sells seeds, hulled nuts, oil, cosmetics and hemp garments.

Canada lifted its ban in 1998 with a set of regulations on allowable limits of THC. The European Union also allows hemp cultivation, but there are inconsistencies across the region when it comes to THC levels in food products.

The ballots were barely counted on federal election night when British Columbia’s largest union began planning its pitch to sell legal marijuana in B.C. liquor stores.

“On Oct. 19, after the election results, that’s when we first started having informal conversations about it with our senior staff,” said Stephanie Smith, president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised during that election to legalize pot across Canada, assuring voters it would be a top priority for his new Liberal government.

The BCGEU, which represents government liquor-store workers, knew it had to quickly make its case to get the public and politicians on side.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration has reiterated Canada’s commitment to legalizing cannabis, reaffirming the government’s intention to end the failed and harmful policy of prohibition. Canada has had a long history of progressive marijuana policies, particularly before the decade long reign of the Conservative Stephen Harper-led government, but the landslide election of the Liberal Party has ushered in a new era of progressive cannabis reform, along with greater criminal justice policy changes.

VANCOUVER—When Jonathan Zaid turned 18, his mom gave him an unusual birthday present — one that would turn out to be life-changing.

Zaid had been diagnosed at 14 with a pain syndrome that caused constant, daily headaches. He tried dozens of prescription medications and even had to drop out of school for two years.

Then his mother bought him a marijuana joint.

“I tried it and it helped a bit,” he said. “But I really struggled with sources of access. Physicians were leery to give it to someone that young.”

Zaid, now 22, is the founder and executive director of Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana. His group is among those attending a national roundtable on medical cannabis hosted by the Arthritis Society in Vancouver.

A former member of Canada’s elite counter-terrorism unit has emerged from the shadows to promote medical marijuana for ailing veterans.

Kevin Whitenect hopes that his message promoting medical cannabis will bring hope to those former soldiers dealing with emotional or physical pain as well as reduce the stigma surrounding its use.

“I saw a value for veterans,” said Whitenect, who spent most of his 17 years in the Canadian Forces with the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 counter-terrorism unit. “I started speaking with veterans who were using (medical cannabis) and started hearing the great stories about how it is getting them off the mind-numbing narcotics they are being issued.”

MONTREAL — For police forces across Canada, the month of August is harvest time.

Officers slip on their coveralls, grab thick gardening gloves, shoulder machetes and begin the annual ritual of chopping down marijuana plants hidden in cornfields, remote mountain valleys and forest clearings.

If growers are unlucky enough to be caught red-handed, they are cuffed and taken to court. Each police unit hits two or three of these hidden marijuana plantations, with the confiscated pot taken to incinerators. The destruction of marijuana plants goes on for about two weeks, and then it’s back to normal police work.

Has this war on marijuana worked?

We keep hearing the cannabis industry is poised to be North America's first blllion-dollar industry dominated by women, who make up 36 percent of executive positions.

Next year Canada could become the first country in the G7 group of the world’s leading economies to legalize marijuana as the government announces its plans in a speech to parliament.

The freshly-elected Liberal government has reaffirmed their pledge to legalize marijuana as Governor-General David Johnson addressed the parliament with a speech that outlined the legislative agenda for the coming year.

“The Government will introduce legislation that… will legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana,” Johnson said, Canadian Global News reports. He did not elaborate on how the government plans to regulate or restrict access to the soft drug.

Dozens rallied in Mission on Saturday, a few weeks after RCMP officers executed search warrants on a store selling marijuana products.

The couple operating The BC Pain Society said they don’t know why they were targeted, but speculate it’s connected to other recent police raids in the province.

“How can we be punished for helping?’ asked Dawn Parker, whose husband operates the store. “We don’t make a lot of money.”

Canada’s leadership pledged to move forward with efforts to legalise marijuana.

“The government will introduce legislation that will…legalise, regulate and restrict access to marijuana,” Canada’s Governor General David Johnston said during a speech to parliament about the Liberal party’s plans.

Johnston offered no specific details about how legalization of maijuana might work during his address to parliament.

Party leader and newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has supported legalising marijuana for several years.

Trudeau’s win in October effectively ended conservatives’ hold on the government.