A couple of weeks ago I posed a question: would you be willing to invest in legal cannabis?

I was trying to take the temperature.

I know, as a rule, you’re interested in money-making opportunities. And pot definitely ticks that box.

But I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, and share tonnes of research, only to find out you’re disgusted by the idea of investing in legal cannabis, and you’re planning on unsubscribing, and reporting me to the police.

I needn’t have worried. I got about seventy emails on the subject, and only one of them was against investing in pot. They’re still coming in.

So today I’m going to share a bit more with you. I’ll talk about how we got to this point, where a multi-billion pound business is about to take off overnight.

'They are not going to walk an extra 60 feet? I am trying to understand the rationale'.

Recreational weed stores aren't in Calgary yet, ahead of federal legalization, but city council is looking at adding more restrictions on where they can be located.

A council committee voted Thursday to ensure there's a 30-metre separation between cannabis stores and places of worship, pawn shops, and payday loan stores.

That's on top of existing rules which cover minimum distances between cannabis stores and places like schools, emergency shelters and even other cannabis stores.

City administration had recommended a 10-metre separation from pawn shops and payday lenders.

More short-sellers are placing bets that marijuana stocks are headed downward as five cannabis stocks hit the latest short-sellers lists published by The Globe and Mail.

The five were: Aphria Inc., Canopy Growth Corp., Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp., Medmen Enterprises Inc. and Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. Short-sellers’ bearish views on the fledgling industry thus appear to have acquired more conviction in recent weeks.

Of course, the legalization of cannabis in Canada and several states within the United States creates a substantial commercial opportunity. But short-sellers seem to be saying that the run-up in marijuana stocks over the past 18 months may be overestimating the growth potential.

The House of Commons continues to comb through about four dozen different ammendments after the Senate passed recreational marijuana legislation.

Bill C-45 was passed by the Senate last week with 50 votes in favour, 30 against and one abstention. It's a first for a G20 country to make cannabis completely legal on the federal level, and will end the 94 year prohibition of cannabis in Canada.

Canada's public health board will be regulating the packaging laws and who would able to smoke and purchase the drug; the minimum age being 19 or older across the country.

After the House of Commons is done with their process the bill will be passed back to the Senate where they will go through the same proccess.

The Cannabis Act has been approved by the Senate and the House of Commons has rejected 13 of the Red Chamber’s recommendations, including the prohibition of branded merchandise by marijuana companies and allowing provinces to prohibit home cultivation, but as Bill C-45 nears its official rollout, many details about how the market will be regulated remain unknown.

Trina Fraser, co-managing partner at Brazeau Seller LLP, has been a legal adviser to the industry for five years and was just retained by the Cannabis Canada Council. Earlier this year, the Cannabis Canada Association, Canadian Medical Cannabis Council and Canopy Growth Corporation merged to create the Cannabis Canada Council, now Canada’s preeminent marijuana industry trade association.

The County of Grande Prairie has started to make some decisions regarding marijuana.

At a council meeting this week, bylaw amendments were approved regarding production and distribution as well as cannabis retail sales.

County Planner Baily Lapp says they looked to the responses from a public consultation survey to form the changes. There were 1,852 completed submissions which outlined proposed changes to the Land Use Bylaw.

"The topic itself is a hot topic. I think it drew people into doing the survey. I think people are interested in completing a survey about cannabis and having input on what the final results are on the county's policy," said Lapp.

Any enthusiasm to pass amendments to the current smoking bylaw to include approaches on how to deal with recreational cannabis appears to have gone up in smoke.

At least, for the time being.

Coun. Deanna Lennox put forward a motion during the June 12 regular city council meeting to put off any decision making on the current smoking bylaw until August. The Fort, like many municipalities, has been working to figure out how to tackle marijuana once it becomes legalized in Canada.

City of Camrose administration is proposing a 150-metre buffer to be put in place between any school or health care centre and businesses selling cannabis.

The regulations were brought forward to the committee of the whole meeting on June 4 for discussion. Council will now seek public input at two open houses, this past Tuesday and on June 19 at the Recreation Centre.

The guidelines policy has become necessary as the federal government is set to legalize the use and retail sale of cannabis sometime this summer. It has been left up to the provinces to determine distribution regulations, much like alcohol, and Alberta, while maintaining control of distribution of cannabis and online sales, is moving forward with private sector sales.

Former cop turned Liberal MP has the life experience to run the delicate file.

The idea that Bill Blair was ever an undercover cop in the Toronto Police Services drug unit does not speak well to the intelligence of the city’s felons.

He stands erect as a grenadier at six foot four and might as well have: “Keep Calm, I’m a Police Officer” etched on his forehead.

He maintains it mattered more what you said than what you looked like, and that not all undercover officers are short guys with beards.

Industry groups have long complained that Canada lacks regulations for testing workers for drug impairment.

When the Liberal government introduced its cannabis legalization bill in the spring of 2017, it made sure to simultaneously introduce another bill with harsh new penalties and enhanced police powers to crack down on stoned drivers. But there is nothing in either piece of legislation that addresses another big issue around cannabis: testing for it in the workplace.

Industry groups have long complained that Canada lacks regulations for testing workers for drug impairment. This is particularly true for employers who want to institute random testing for safety-sensitive positions, such as pilots, crane operators and long-haul truck drivers.