The Senate has once again amended Bill C-45, which will legalize cannabis for recreational use, setting up a potential showdown with the House of Commons over key provisions in the proposed legislation.

A Senate committee adopted 40 amendments to the bill this week, including a contentious one that would allow provinces such as Quebec and Manitoba to prohibit the home cultivation of cannabis.

On Friday, the Senate voted to prohibit any promotional material that is branded by cannabis producers, such as t-shirts and hats. The amendment was proposed by Conservative senator Judith Seidman, and it passed 34-28 with the support of 10 independent and unaffiliated senators.

We all know what a landscape is, and “soundscape” is self-explanatory, but what about the complex of smells particular to our environment? We don’t even have a word for it.

Nameless or not, the olfactory profile of Canadian cities is about to change – or rather, is changing now, in anticipation of the end of the prohibition on using cannabis for fun. That became obvious to me earlier this week, as I stepped out of a museum in downtown Montreal and caught a pungent whiff of someone’s weed.

Smelling that aroma at a music festival, or on a warm evening in my residential neighbourhood in Verdun, has been normal for a long time. What’s new is that that scent is creeping into unspoken off-limits areas.

While a recent court ruling has given some relief to plan sponsors concerned about having an obligation cover medical marijuana under their benefits plans, they still face a number of questions with legalization of the recreational version of the drug coming fast.

That was a key message from Loretta Bouwmeester, a partner at Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP, during a session at Benefits Canada‘s Calgary Benefits Summit last week.

“Do you have to cover it? The answer is no. It’s a benefit that you can add on,” Bouwmeester told participants at the event at Calgary’s Fairmont Palliser hotel last Tuesday.

Recreational cannabis use to be prohibited in Churchill Square, Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton Valley Zoo.

City councillors are grappling with where, when and how people use recreational cannabis in public spaces in Edmonton.

"It's a real challenge, balancing the rights and interests of people," says Coun. Scott McKeen. "We have to get our regulations at an appropriate level." 

Provincial regulations already restrict smoking or vaping cannabis in the same way as tobacco, though they further limit use around children and youth. 

The long list of no-toke zones under consideration include:

Cannabis fans won’t be able to buy and sport official merchandise displaying their favourite marijuana company’s logo if the Senate has its way.

The Senate has voted to change the Liberal government’s cannabis legalization bill so it prohibits cannabis “brand-stretching” — selling swag displaying cannabis company logos.

In a 34-28 vote, Senators passed a Conservative amendment put forward by Sen. Judith Seidman that deleted sections of the bill permitting that type of lateral advertising and promotion by cannabis companies — things like branded hats, t-shirts, smartphone cases, and other merchandise.

Tweed online store to serve customers across the Province in addition to retail locations

The company is putting a pharmaceutical spin on the growing cannabis market.

The cannabis market is full of potential and creativity, with companies introducing new and innovative products every day. Dispensaries have gone way beyond smokable marijuana, offering customers everything from cannabis-infused edibles like beer and chocolate to personal care products like lotion and eye creams.

But the cannabis market isn’t all fun and games. Canntab Therapeutics Ltd. (CSE:PILL) is looking to fill a need in the pharmaceutical space.

Plans to construct a marijuana research and development facility at the former Nortel site at 250 Sidney St. may not be up in smoke.

However, until the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) hears Toronto Capital’s appeal of Belleville city council’s decision to turn down a request for a zoning bylaw amendment that would have cleared the way to build the facility, it could take awhile to sort things out. No date has been scheduled for a hearing.

The Saskatchewan Government has named the 51 successfully qualified applicants to sell cannabis across the province.

“This represents the next step in the process of having a privately-operated cannabis retail system carefully regulated by SLGA,” Minister Responsible for SLGA Gene Makowsky said in a news release. “There was a lot of interest in the public Request for Proposal process, resulting in many new businesses that will invest in our province.”

The legalization of cannabis in Canada is right around the corner with the proposed Cannabis Act, Bill C-45, slated for a final Senate vote. The proposed Act will create an entirely new regulated industry which offers both significant opportunities and significant risks for businesses selling cannabis, cannabis accessories, or related services, and their directors and officers.