By next summer, after cannabis is legalized in three months, the area at the Ottawa Bluesfest for medical-marijuana patients and cigarette smokers will be opened up to anyone who wants to use the drug.

Hidden behind a thicket of porta-potties directly east of the main stage, Ottawa Bluesfest’s first cannabis-consumption zone drew only a few tobacco smokers over the course of several hours on opening night last Thursday.

But by next summer, after cannabis is legalized in three months, the area for medical-marijuana patients and cigarette smokers will be opened up to anyone who wants to use the drug. Organizer Mark Monahan says the so-called “pot garden” is the first of its kind at any music festival in the country.

Cannabis legalization may be just three months away in Canada but First Nations in Chilliwack aren’t waiting.

A second marijuana dispensary on a local reserve opened its doors this week with a grand opening set for July 11, with a third storefront on the way.

Indigenous Bloom opened its doors to customers on the Kwaw-Kwaw-Apilt reserve on Ashwell Road on July 5 while workers were still on site putting the finishing touches on the medical marijuana dispensary.

And Indigenous Bloom Corp, which is based in Kelowna, is just getting started with some big corporate experience and First Nations leadership on its board.

The government of Prince Edward Island will let hotel operators decide whether they'll allow cannabis use in their rooms.

Accommodations operators know their customers best, says Tourism Minister Chris Palmer.

"It will be legal. So we want to allow as many freedoms as we can, but also respect the rights of other people," he said.

"There won't be any cannabis smoking allowed in common areas, hallways and lobbies," Palmer added. 

'Freedom to choose'

Cannabis will be legalized across Canada on Oct. 17.

A proliferation of pot store owners are getting ready for legalization in B.C., but they will have to wait a while to see if they can get a provincial licence.

The attorney general’s ministry posted details Thursday of its requirements for cannabis retail licences, to be issued to qualifying stores in preparation for the federal legalization of recreational marijuana sales in October.

B.C.’s Liquor Control and Licensing Branch has been renamed the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch in preparation for the new era, where Canada becomes the first industrialized country to make the product legal for adult use.

If you believe some of the rhetoric surrounding Canada’s cannabis space, today’s pharmaceutical companies should feel threatened by the rise of medical marijuana and its ability to treat any number of ailments.

Don’t believe the hype, says Eden Rahim of Next Edge Capital, who argues that investors would be better off treating companies like Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis as glorified commodity producers rather than biotech specialists.

Recreational pot may be just a few months away here in Canada but many in the industry are pointing to medical cannabis as the truly international story. Along with a growing number of US states, countries like Germany, Italy and Denmark have in recent years made the move to legalize medical pot.

Second Cup Ltd. is discovering that the stock market’s madness for marijuana comes with a downside.

The Mississauga-based coffee chain, which has suffered from declining sales in recent years as it battles multinational behemoths such as Starbucks Corp. and McDonalds Corp., struck a deal in the spring to convert some of its cafés into cannabis dispensaries.

Its stock price quickly shot up to their highest point in years. Within days, the shares had gone up nearly 50 per cent, to more than $4, a level they had not seen since early 2015.

And since then? Investors have lost all of those gains, amid a volatile ride for the entire cannabis sector as the country edges toward legalization of the drug in October.

A couple of years ago, a slick group of strangers showed up in the office of Edward Garcia, mayor of this sleepy town in a lush agricultural valley in central Colombia. They wanted to talk about marijuana.

National Access Cannabis Corp. ("NAC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: META) today announced that the government of Manitoba has awarded the Company permission to operate ten privately owned retail cannabis stores, as well as an e-commerce platform, in the Province.

The initial ten recreational cannabis retail stores are planned to operate under NAC's retail brand Meta Cannabis Supply Co.™ ("META") and are expected to be located throughout the Province, including a planned four in Winnipeg, one in Brandon and five in smaller Manitoba municipalities. These premium stores will be built around a model of customer education, immersive retail environments, technology and quality cannabis and cannabis-related product offerings, with a balanced range of pricing and product lines.

Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: NINE) ("Delta 9" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the planned locations for its first cannabis retail stores. Delta 9 intends to open two stores in Winnipeg, one in Brandon and one in Thompson before the end of the year. At least one of the Winnipeg stores is expected to be open on October 17, 2018, which is the date that has been announced as the first day for legal retail sales of cannabis. The Company's online sales portal will also be operating on that date.

A former grad student in Thunder Bay, Ont., is hoping to restart the local chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP).

Canada is at a critical time for drug policy with the arrival of legalized marijuana, John Reesor told CBC, and youth need to have a voice in those discussions.

One possible area of concern, he said, is the fact that the newly passed federal law legalizing pot allows possession of very small amounts of the drug - up to five grams - by individuals aged 12 to 18. However, it is a criminal offence for adults who provide the drug to people of that same age group.