Ontario licensed producer INIDIVA Ltd. is one of the most innovative small to mid-cap companies currently awaiting recreational cannabis legalization in the second half of 2018.  INDIVA Ltd. is traded on the TSXv under the symbol NDVA, and has been expanding its scope of operations as it prepares to open for business.

Cannabis startups require sophisticated strategies in an intensive marketplace.

A new reality

The markets have soared with early investors being handsomely rewarded for taking the leap into cannabis. However, the landscape is changing and so too must cannabis companies. With full legalization of the adult-use cannabis industry nearly here, licensed producers (LPs) will need sophisticated strategies to meet emerging consumer demands, ongoing investor expectations and successfully compete against the black market - in short, real strategy is required to survive.

Runners-up are Canadian-born former broadcaster Laurie Gelman and Toronto-based culture writer Scaachi Koul.

British Columbia-based author Jennifer Craig has won this year's Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

It was announced that Craig won the $15,000 grand prize for her book Gone to Pot, published by Second Story Press, at a gala in Orillia, Ont.

The novel tells the story of a B.C. grandmother who, after losing her job, takes to growing marijuana in her basement.

Craig's previous work includes a memoir about her time working as a nurse in the U.K. before immigrating to Canada in the 1960s.

Named after famed Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock, the prize is awarded annually for the best book in Canadian literary humour.

Edmonton experts divided, but one legal grower says illegal weed is here to stay.

The locations of Edmonton's proposed legal pot shops could make or break the black market for cannabis, a University of Alberta researcher says.

Most of the proposed legal cannabis stores are situated in central parts of the city like downtown and Whyte Avenue. Grad student Thomas Lippiatt says this means cannabis consumers in the suburbs and outskirts of Edmonton might instead rely on the convenience of the black market.

"Accessibility is likely to be a problem with the legal market, which, a reasonable person can assume, will create challenges for its ability to displace that black market," said Lippiatt, who is studying urban planning. 

The Senate’s June 7 vote to pass the federal Cannabis Act puts the bill on track to become the law of the land by September, in what could be a major boost for Canadian business.

After 95 years of prohibition, entrepreneurs will be able to legally operate throughout the supply chain, from production to retail sale to recreational users.

The wide range of professions set to see a surge of new work includes lawyers, scientists in testing facilities, academic researchers, consultants who help entrepreneurs with licensing, electricians and regulators.

As Ottawa prepares to take its final steps toward legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the head of a task force that made recommendations to the federal government for the bill issued a warning to industry members not to “play fast and loose” with the new rules.

Speaking to industry members gathered at the first World Cannabis Congress in Saint John, former Liberal cabinet minister Anne McLellan said Canadians are becoming increasingly sensitive about the legalization of cannabis as its advent draws nearer. She urged companies that are licensed to produce cannabis – many of which have bristled at the strict limitations the government is pursuing on branding and packaging their products, for example – to respect legislators’ cautious approach and boundaries.

Global leaders in the marijuana industry are gathering in New Brunswick today to discuss how to market cannabis
in a competitive legal marketplace.

The World Cannabis Congress is hosting 450 industry titans in Saint John to talk about that and other issues raised by the dawn of government-run weed.

Topping the agenda is the branding challenge since Health Canada is requiring marijuana packages to be a single, uniform colour without images or graphics other than the logo and a health warning.

Ray Gracewood of Organigram says the legal market needs to be able to target responsible adults and combat the illicit market where brands and flashy packaging do exist.

Burnaby businesses have to be careful not to let the stigma of marijuana use affect how they treat employees once it’s legalized, according to Ashley Mitchell, a labour and employment lawyer with Miller Thomson.

Mitchell was speaking at the Burnaby Board of Trade annual general meeting Monday on the subject of cannabis legalization, alongside Anne Dobson-Mack of WorkSafe B.C.

“We do recommend that everyone treat it like you treat alcohol,” Mitchell told the crowd.

The three areas of concern are employees using marijuana recreationally, medical marijuana use, and employees who claim to have developed an addiction, according to Mitchell.

Businesses should develop clear impairment policies for the workplace that include marijuana. She said.

A move to tell the Province of Ontario that Sault Ste. Marie doesn't want a cannabis store failed miserably.

In fact, only the mover of the resolution, Ward 2 Coun. Susan Myers, voted in favor of the resolution to go on record opposing the opening of a retail cannabis outline in Sault Ste. Marie.

Myers wanted council to go on record opposing the opening of a retail cannabis outlet in Sault Ste. Marie because of all the harmful effects drugs have on the community at large, and particularly youth.

New Brunswick has been a leader among provinces in developing expertise in cannabis field.

NB Liquor, tasked with operating New Brunswick's stand-alone cannabis stores, says it's ready to go. 

"If we had to open today, we could open 11 stores," CEO and president Brian Harriman said at the World Cannabis Congress in Saint John on Monday.

However, some 100 workers have yet to be hired or trained by Cannabis NB, he said. 

To manage costs, hiring has been put off until it's clear when the law will be in effect, he said. 

The three-day cannabis conference is a gathering of stakeholders sponsored by Civilized, a digital media company founded by communications strategist and Saint John native Derek Riedle.