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.

Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation executives showed off one of their new cannabis retail stores in Halifax on Wednesday that will begin selling pot on Oct. 17, when widespread pot use becomes legal across Canada.

President and CEO Bret Mitchell started the tour of the cannabis outlet inside the NSLC store on Joseph Howe Drive at the entrance to the cannabis section, which is located behind frosted glass at the back of the liquor store.

"We call it privacy without barriers," said Mitchell. "People who are not 19 years or older cannot see in here by federal law, so we have frosted the glass."

The countdown is on until cannabis becomes legal in Canada on Oct. 17.

The new law comes with mixed feelings and perspectives for members of the business community.

“It’s happening to us, it’s happening whether you like it or not. It’s happening in the models that have been chosen and we didn’t lobby for it for instance in our world but we really want to do it well and do it responsibly,” said Tim Pellerin, NSLC’s senior vice-president and CEO.

Pellerin was one of the people selected to discuss the potential impacts cannabis legalization will have on businesses throughout Nova Scotia at a luncheon in Halifax Wednesday.

A Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq community is already talking with entrepreneur Ross Rebagliati about opening a retail cannabis store.

“We’re looking at legacy becoming part of the Mi'kmaq nation world moving forward,” Rebagliati told CTV Atlantic on Wednesday.

This fall, on Oct. 17, it will be legal to buy and use non-medical cannabis in Canada, but the provincial government has said the only storefronts that will be able to sell it are its own NSLC locations.

But Rebagliati, a former Olympic snowboarder and cannabis entrepreneur, says his company, Legacy Brands, has an agreement with the Sipene’katik First Nation in Shubenacadie to set up its own cannabis growing operation and a storefront later this year.

AS the legalization of marijuana approaches, there are still unanswered questions, including the effectiveness of roadside drug testing and what prices will be. 

It was originally slated to come into force on Canada Day, but after much wrangling, Oct. 17, 2018, will go down in history as the day the recreational weed prohibition died in this country. With the passage of Bill C-45, it will be legal to buy and consume it.

Enforcing the proposed municipal rules would cost nearly $1M a year, staff report finds.

A new report says the Halifax Regional Municipality will have to hire eight additional bylaw officers to enforce new municipal cannabis rules.

If council decides to follow all of the staff recommendations, it would cost about $970,000 a year.

Once finalized, federal laws will let people grow four plants on their own residential property. 

The HRM report cites concerns about the associated smell. They recommend only allowing plants to be grown inside the home.

"Fortunately we're versed in it, but we're just going to see more of it," says Halifax deputy fire chief.

Halifax's deputy fire chief says the department is looking ahead to the legalization of marijuana and anticipating an increased risk of fires from people growing and smoking pot at home.

Deputy fire chief Roy Hollett told CBC's Information Morning that the department has already dealt with fires that have been caused by illegal growing operations.

"Fortunately we're versed in it, but we're just going to see more of it," he said.

In its review of federal marijuana legislation, the Canadian Senate suggested a number of amendments, including that the federal government grant provinces the authority to ban home cultivation of marijuana. 

An Ontario doctor and medical cannabis expert says caution should be taken when prescribing marijuana to cardiovascular patients.

Danial Schecter, co-founder of the Cannabinoid Medical Clinic, said a challenge for physicians is that cannabinoids are not included in the current health-care curriculum.

A consultant for various medical marijuana companies, Schecter was a presenter at the 21st annual Clinical Day in Cardiology, which took place Friday at Cape Breton University.

“It’s important for all health-care professionals to understand what cannabinoids are because we’re going to see them being more and more incorporated into clinical practice guidelines,” said Schecter.

Cannabis can have troublesome effects on people with unstable heart conditions, says physician.

A medical cannabis expert is cautioning people with heart problems about using marijuana.

Dr. Danial Schecter is one of the keynote speakers at a cardiology symposium today in Sydney, N.S.

Schecter is the co-founder of the Cannabinoid Medical Clinic, which has 20 Canabo Medical Clinic locations across Canada, including one in Halifax. 

His comments come as doctors see more patients using marijuana, both medically and recreationally. Schecter advocates the use of cannabis to treat a variety of medical conditions.

Dispension Industries holds the Canadian distribution rights for a technology designed to deliver regulated products in a secure manner.

A Dartmouth company is hoping one day Nova Scotians will be allowed to get cannabis from a vending machine that would only dispense pot to verified customers.

Dispension Industries holds the Canadian distribution rights for a technology designed to deliver regulated products in a secure manner.

"The way we do that is by implementing a dispensing system that verifies a person's identity by using their vascular imprint, which is the vein pattern, to give them access to the regulated products kept inside," explained co-founder Corey Yantha.