Namaste Technologies (CVE:N) is a global technology leader in the cannabis space, selling vaporizers and other accessories for consumption of medical cannabis through its 30 e-commerce websites across 20 countries. Despite the buzz around the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, the company continued to focus on the medical side of cannabis until very recently. However, now that there is clarity regarding the rules and regulations that will govern the recreational cannabis market, the online retailer has taken a proactive approach to capitalize on this vast opportunity. In this note, we discuss how Namaste plans to tap into the upcoming recreational cannabis market in Canada.

Deepak Anand is a man on a mission. Vice president of business development and government relations with Cannabis Compliance Inc., Deepak wants to make sure companies and individuals have access to cannabis the right way—because the truth is, not everyone will post October 17.

For many, there’s limited affordability, for others, there are geographical hurdles, and heavy import and export restrictions. Consumers aren’t the only ones feeling (or rather, not feeling) the burn; with Health Canada’s tight requirements for licensure, the doors don’t open easily for many would-be cultivators either.

With the introduction of the Tax-Free Savings Account and the emergence of the exciting yet volatile marijuana sector, it’s hard to remember a time when more everyday people were dipping their toes into the stock market. But the marijuana sector can be a difficult one to navigate, especially for relative newcomers who are putting their money on the line without the steely nerves and savvy of veteran investors. CityNews spoke with Purpose Investments portfolio manager Greg Taylor, who helped make sense of the wild swings and opportunities that mark the sector. He also gave us his top 3 marijuana stock picks (below).

Somehow I had this vision of Alberta’s new legal pot stores (as of October 17, 2018) being like a Bulk Barn, where you would scoop your favourite cannabis buds out of a bin, fill your baggie, weigh, pay at the cashier then home you’d go to roll joints.

Nope, nope, nope.

While we are soon to embark on the Wild West of legalized marijuana, this Wild West comes with rules as decreed by Health Canada, the province, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) and municipalities.

I toured Alberta pot-retailer-in-waiting Fire & Flower’s concept store on Jasper Avenue West. This is no Bulk Barn.  It’s more like an Apple or a Nike store. Spotless, modern, art on the walls, display merchandising, no loose pot to be seen. Definitely no bins of pot buds.

The federal government’s end to its 95-year pot prohibition will also be a boon for hemp producers. They’ll soon be allowed to sell the plant’s flowers to be processed for its CBD, a cannabinoid without any psychoactive effects that’s being hailed for its medicinal potential.

Health Canada approved an exemption last month allowing commercial hemp growers to harvest flowers and leaves to be dried and stored on their farms ahead of Oct. 17, when the sales ban on those portions of the plant will be lifted. Only the stalks, seeds and stems can be sold now.

“That’s a brand new revenue stream,” Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance executive director Ted Haney said.

Namaste Technologies (CVE:N) is a global technology leader in the cannabis space, selling vaporizers and other accessories for consumption of medical cannabis through its 30 e-commerce websites across 20 countries. Despite the buzz around the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, the company continued to focus on the medical side of cannabis until very recently. However, now that there is clarity regarding the rules and regulations that will govern the recreational cannabis market, the online retailer has taken a proactive approach to capitalize on this vast opportunity. In this note, we discuss how Namaste plans to tap into the upcoming recreational cannabis market in Canada.

 Shares in marijuana company Tilray Inc. went on a wild ride -- surging by more than 90 per cent then briefly dropping into negative territory and rebounding -- one day after the licensed producer said it got approval to export medical cannabis from Canada to the U.S. for a clinical trial.

The stock closed at more than US$214, up 38 per cent, after being halted five times within one hour.

The drastic swings in the stock follow a nearly 30 per cent jump on Tuesday after the Nanaimo, B.C.- based firm announced it got the green light from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to export cannabis in capsule form to a researcher at a university in the U.S., where the drug is still illegal at the federal level.

Can I smoke pot and drive? What happens if I'm caught high behind the wheel? How will police test for drug impairment?

With just weeks until Canada becomes the second country in the world to legalize recreational use of marijuana, many questions remain unanswered about how the move will affect drivers.

CTV News teamed up with two medical cannabis users and the Delta Police Department in an effort to get the answers.

"It's given me my life back," said Cheryl McIntyre, who has been using cannabinoid oil on a daily basis since November to calm her tremors and deal with other chronic illnesses.

McIntyre said she doesn't drive after consuming cannabis and is worried about more people driving high once recreational use of the drug is legalized.

Does this whole marijuana legalization process have your head spinning as much as it does mine? With the recent news that smoking and investing in weed could land you a lifetime ban from the U.S., Canadians are justifiably shook - and the whole dilemma just got a tad more complicated. Allow me to explain why.

According to an article by Global News, U.S. authorities don't need a warrant to go snooping into your credit card transactions. With that being said, if one were to purchase marijuana with their credit card and tried to cross the border, patrol officials could potentially see this.

Profit margins will be tight for cannabis retailers next month, an Edmonton business professor says, after the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission released its list of wholesale prices.

All legal retailers will have to buy through AGLC, and the commission recently sent them a list pegging their average price per gram at $8.90 including federal excise duty, provincial duty and GST.

“I think it’s a little higher than we expected, but it’s in the ballpark,” Kyle Murray, vice dean at the University of Alberta’s business school, said Wednesday.

“If they are going to try and sell it (to consumers) for $10 or $9.50 (a gram) it’s going to be a pretty tight margin. I think for a lot of stores this means it’s probably going to be more in the $10 to $12 range.”