Eight employees of a Toronto marijuana dispensary are facing multiple charges following a police raid on Wednesday.

Toronto police said they executed a search warrant at a Canna Clinic at 213 Ossington Ave.

Police seized about 908.12 grams of marijuana oil, 73.5 grams of shatter, 8.3 kilograms of marijuana, and 42.7 grams of hash. They also took $4,941 of cash.

Petro Merkulov, 21; Pabo Ogunlesi, 22; Grad Murray, 29; Kavan Benthien, 28; Ruth-Lande Henry, 21; Eric On, 23; Joshua Hakimi, 23, and Katherine Klippenstein, 27, all from Toronto, were arrested during the raid.

They were all charged with possession schedule II substance, possession for the purpose trafficking schedule II substance, and possession proceeds of crime (under 5,000)

MYM Nutraceuticals Inc. (CSE:MYM) (OTC:MYMMF), is extremely pleased to announce that GGS Structures and CannaCanada Inc., subsidiary of MYM, are working together on the planning and design of the 1.5 Million sq. ft. Weedon Cannabis Greenhouse Production Project.

Gerry Harrison of GGS Structures commented, “We are thrilled to be working with MYM Nutraceuticals on their project located at Weedon, Quebec. Planning is underway for the first phase of a greenhouse medical cannabis cultivation facility of approximately 100,000 sf. The completed state of the art growing facility will consist of 15 greenhouses that will total 1,500,000 sq. sf.”

While it is still early days with the Cannabis Act  having only been tabled about two months ago, things have begun buzzing at the provincial and municipal level where issues such as sale, distribution and consumption will be legislated. Below is a coast to coast summary of what is transpiring at the provincial (and in some instances municipal) level.

British Columbia

Out on the West Coast, British Columbia is known around the world for its cannabis but getting a sense for how liberal the law might be in B.C. is challenging at the moment.

ParcelPal Technology Inc. (OTC: PTNYF) (CSE: PKG.CN) (FSE:PT0) (“ParcelPal” or the “Company) the Vancouver based on demand delivery company is pleased to announce they have successfully tested and have begun facilitating the delivery of medical cannabis to patients across Vancouver through a strategic partnership with the premium online dispensary, Birch + Fog (www.birchandfog.com).

In advance of the country’s legalization of adult-use cannabis, last week a coalition of Canadian health agencies released their “Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines” (LRCUG)—a series of risk-reduction tips for all who’d imbibe the soon-to-be-legal plant. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and endorsed by the Canadian Medical Association, the guidelines kick off with the mandatory nod to abstinence: “The safest way to reduce risks is to avoid [cannabis] altogether.” But from there they proceed with the kind of lucid talk from government officials that is but a dream in less-evolved countries like the US, where the federal government still classifies cannabis a dangerous narcotic on par with heroin and refuses to say much more.

Adult use legalization is scheduled for July 2018, but in the meantime, the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations is still in full effect for registered medical patients.

Canada’s medical marijuana program has undergone multiple reincarnations since 2000, when medical marijuana was first legalized. The Medical Marihuana Access Regulations (MMAR) was passed in 2001, and created three avenues through which patients could procure cannabis:

Treating cannabis as a dangerous and deviant, while treating alcohol as normal and beneficial, is just bad policy and bad advice.

Canada's health and addiction organizations have released new guidelines for cannabis users. Unfortunately their advice is biased against cannabis, and will promote heavier use of the more dangerous drug: alcohol.

Eating, rather than smoking, cannabis is better for you.

A new review conducted by some of the world’s leading experts on cannabis provides 10 tips on how to reduce the potential harm of using cannabis. 

The latest scientific evidence was used to draw up the Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG) recognising the lack of research-based advice for the millions of people who use cannabis. 

The legislature’s committee on marijuana legalization and regulation will hold public consultations across the province in July, the government announced Monday.

The committee made up of members of the government and opposition will use the report produced by the working group, which was released last week, as a guide for discussions with the public.

Here’s a list of the dates and locations of the hearings:

Annacis Island will soon be home to much more than industrial sites and wastewater treatment plants. 

Zenabis West is the second company in the Lower Mainland to be issued a cultivation licence by Health Canada to produce medical cannabis, and will soon open its facility in the industrial area along the Fraser River.

The company, operated by International Herbs Medical Marijuana Ltd. (IHMML), has spent three years preparing, and is one of few in the country to be issued a licence on its first pre-licence inspection, according to a news release published earlier today.