A panel of three Ontario judges have pushed their decision on whether a group of disqualified cannabis store applicants should return back to the application process to next Monday. 

The ruling, which came after a two-week wait that delayed the opening of new cannabis stores in the province, came after a full day of deliberations between lawyers representing the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, 11 disqualified candidates and another 11 people on a waiting list. 

The ruling will be released Sept. 30, no later than 5 p.m. ET, a panel of judges at the Ontario Divisional Court in Toronto said. The presiding three-member judicial panel consisted of Justice David Corbett, Justice Katherine Swinton and Justice Robbie Gordon. 

An Ontario court is expected to hear the case today of 11 people who won the chance to apply for a cannabis retail licence only to be disqualified shortly afterwards.

The applicants are requesting a judicial review of their rejection, as well as the procedures involved in the lottery that has been used to grant all Ontario’s pot shop licences.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario said in August the group had missed a deadline in the application process but the group says that’s not the case.

Earlier this month, a Toronto judge paused the licensing process for the latest round of cannabis stores until the case is resolved.

Lawyers representing the commission had contested the stay, saying it would interfere with the integrity of the lottery system.

At midnight on Oct. 17, 2018—the second it became legal to sell cannabis—Christopher Duffitt was ready. His store, Puff Puff Pass Head Shop, opened its doors to a lineup of customers in Clarenville, Nfld., a town of 6,300 people northwest of St. John’s. But it quickly became clear that the business wouldn’t be open for long.

One of the bizarre parts about the recent string of vaping related illnesses and deaths is that it has been restricted to the United States. So far there have been 380 likely cases of vaping-correlated lung disease in 36 states and one US territory, but not a peep from the rest of the world.

That changed this week, when officials in Ontario, Canada told the public that they were investigating the severe respiratory problems that had been experienced by a high school student after vaping. They would not release many details about the case, however—we’re still in the dark even as to whether the young person was using cannabis and/or tobacco products.

Ottawa should reduce the THC content permitted in legal cannabis edibles to limit the risk of overdoses, say Canada’s doctors.

The allowable maximum amount of 10 mg of THC per edible should be lowered to five mg, says the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

The experience in U.S. states such as Colorado, where the derivatives have been legal for several years and have led to hospitalizations, should serve as a warning to Canadian regulators, said CMA president Sandy Buchman.

“The CMA maintains that 10 mg per discrete unit and package is too high and should be established at a maximum of 5 mg per dose, given the higher risks of overconsumption with edibles,” Buchman said in a statement.

A London, Ont., high school student who ended up in intensive care on life support earlier this month is Canada’s first confirmed case of vaping-related lung illness.

The case underscores growing concern about the health dangers related to an explosion in vaping by high school and elementary school students in Ontario and elsewhere.

Public health officials from London said Wednesday that the youth, who has now recovered, had no other health issues that could have caused the severe illness.

Cannabis legalization is bringing plenty of good news to Canada, but a new study by the University of Toronto suggests the downsides may also be on the rise.

Several unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in Toronto opened for business this weekend in defiance of the city’s efforts to keep them shuttered.

Weedora, an illicit pot business owned by Chris James, even claimed to distribute $200,000 in $100 vouchers for free cannabis. The owner claims he made the move in protest and to bring attention to the difficulties he and other cannabis small businesses are facing under current regulations.

Namaste Technologies Inc. (“Namaste” or the “Company“) (TSXV: N) (FRANKFURT: M5BQ) (OTCMKTS: NXTTF) today announced that CannMart has received a purchase order for pre-rolled cannabis products from the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) to cater to the Province of British Columbia. The LDB is the sole wholesale distribution and public retailer of non-medical cannabis in B.C.