A company in Canada has been given the green light to trial cannabis in pet food to help calm anxious animals.

Health Canada’s Veterinary Drug Directorate has given approval to Canopy Animal Health to carry out clinical trials of the cannabis-derived compound cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment for pet ailments.

CBD is the main ingredient in hemp oils and is associated with pain relief, as opposed to THC, the ingredient in marijuana can produce a high.

The first device set to be approved by the federal government for roadside saliva tests to determine marijuana impairment isn’t suited for cold weather, and has been found to give “fairly large proportions of false-positive or false-negative results.”

Last month Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould published a notice of intention to approve the Dräger DrugTest 5000, and list it as “approved drug screening equipment” for law enforcement to use at the roadside to test for both THC and cocaine. 

However, CTV News has found concerns about the efficacy and efficiency of the device.

Just as digital transformation has disrupted legacy business models, cannabis legalization will fundamentally challenge workplace policies.

On Oct. 17, recreational marijuana will officially become legal in Canada. According to a recent study conducted by Deloitte, 22 per cent of the Canadian adult population consumes recreational cannabis at least occasionally, and a further 17 per cent show some willingness to try it.

The North American Marijuana Index saw it’s third straight day of gains on Thursday, despite fluctuation in the global markets, which may be an indication of a turning tide for pot stocks as opening day for recreational cannabis sales in Canada nears. In fact, most Canadian cannabis companies and marijuana stocks have spent the summer putting together deals to prepare for the moment, both locally and internationally. The Index rose 3.53 points or 1.55 percent to close out the day at 231.63.

The United States Marijuana Index rose 1.70 points, or 1.86 percent, while the Canadian Marijuana Index jumped an impressive 7.23 points for an increase of 1.38 percent.

Canada’s new recreational cannabis industry is set to boost retail opportunities from coast to coast, but it’s becoming increasingly clear those businesses and their products will not be consistently available across Canada. 

Varying retail regulations and business models within the provinces and territories are making some markets more attractive than others, experts say. Meanwhile, some municipalities have decided to ban cannabis retailers within their borders, despite nationwide legalization of recreational marijuana possession set to occur on Oct. 17.

Retail landlords around the country should be paying close attention to the emergence of recreational cannabis in their markets, said Dan Rowland, a Denver-based cannabis industry consultant.

Over a million Canadians have been a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who had consumed cannabis in the previous two hours, according to a government survey.

One in seven Canadian cannabis users had driven at least once within two hours of using the drug in the three months before a government survey was conducted. The Statistics Canada survey also found about 1.4 million Canadians said they had been a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who had consumer the drug in the previous two hours.

The recreational use of cannabis will become legal in Canada on October 17, 2018. The federal government has been conducting quarterly surveys to try to predict what the social and economic impacts might be.

Shoppers Drug Mart’s announcement they will be advising those who qualify for Manulife’s enhanced medical marijuana insurance coverage is being hailed by cannabis business owners and those already in the medical marijuana field as a major step forward in access for patients and mainstream public acceptance.

Long before reports came out suggesting that Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government would turn to a private-retail model for cannabis sales, two eastern Ontario communities had hitched their wagons to the budding industry.

We don’t yet know much about the government’s plans, but we do know one thing for certain: legal cannabis is coming, and it will create economic winners and losers throughout the province.

Aphria Inc. ("Aphria" or the "Company") (TSX: APH and US OTC: APHQF) today announced that it has signed a Manufacturer's Representative agreement (the "Agreement") with We Grow BC Ltd. ("We Grow"), a Vancouver-based licensed producer of premium cannabis, to become We Grow's exclusive sales representative across Canada. The Agreement adds a second brand of premium B.C.-bud to be sold alongside Aphria's expanding portfolio of adult-use brands, which includes celebrated B.C.-bud from Broken Coast Cannabis, through the Company's coast-to-coast sales distribution network.

B.C. is chock-full of players just waiting for the federal government to give marijuana the (green) thumbs up

It’s easy to see how the cannabis market has exploded in the past few years—just look at the stock of an industry leader. In May 2014, Aurora Cannabis, with offices in Toronto and Vancouver, was trading at about three cents a share. Four years later, it was hovering around eight bucks. 

When Canada's favourite plant does go legit in October, a bevy of B.C. companies and organizations are poised to take advantage, some in ways you might not expect.