A groundbreaking ceremony was held south of Edmonton Friday morning on what’s touted to be the largest cannabis production facilities of its kind in the world.

The 800,000 square-foot Aurora Sky cannabis production facility will be capable of producing more than 100,000 kilograms of cannabis every year.

Larger than 16 football fields, the facility is being built on the land at the Edmonton International Airport.

“Beyond that, it’s so technologically advanced,” said Cam Battley, with Aurora Sky. “We’re using technologies that have never been used, in some cases in cannabis production and in other cases, in agriculture.

A Nevada-licensed marijuana producer is breaking ground with a Canadian stock listing that allows it to raise funds to grow and sell pot in the legally murky U.S. market, likely opening the door for an influx of others.

Friday Night Inc. made its public trading debut Friday on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and saw its shares spike 467 per cent to close its first day with a market value of $44.2 million, suggesting there is significant investor interest in companies with U.S. state licences to cultivate cannabis.

U.S. marijuana companies are forbidden to list on public stock exchanges in their home country because the drug is considered a Schedule I narcotic at the federal level.

The Trudeau government is set on legalizing marijuana by the summer of 2018. While they will enjoy the political payoff of appearing progressive on this matter, all of the associated problems and the logistics of doing so will fall on the shoulders of the provincial governments and their civic counterparts.

I suggest the Manitoba provincial government draw lessons from the last time an illegal substance was legalized following Prohibition in the late 1920s, as well as from the current public health efforts to eliminate tobacco use in Canada as a means to guide their policy on marijuana.

We are almost halfway through 2017 and the year has been a year to remember (or forget) for many companies.

From Germany introducing legal medical marijuana legislation to Canada introducing a plan to legalize recreational marijuana, new opportunities continue to emerge.

One of the major differences between the cannabis sector today and this time last year is the strength of the companies from a capital standpoint. More than $1 billion has been raised over the last year and much of this has been done by Canadian cannabis firms.

An air of optimism is brewing around Canada's fledgling cannabis sector.

In Alberta, a cannabis company is breaking ground this week on an 800 square-foot, state-of-the-art medical marijuana greenhouse near Edmonton.

Then, another startup out of Okotoks will launch an online marketplace, called DooberExpress.com on Saturday.

But is now the right time to buy into the hype and invest in this growing industry?

Sean Mason, a senior editor with Small Cap Power, a website that reports on stocks, spoke with the Calgary Eyeopener Friday about the risks and rewards of the looming marijuana regulation.

From the WestJet YouTube Channel: "This Father’s Day, we partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada to surprise Coach Dad Troy and his 13-year-old son Darian by bringing together some of those who mean the most to them."

In a triumph for sanity and compassion, British Columbia has declared mandatory minimum prison sentences for cannabis producers to be unconstitutional.

The unwitting engine of this development: Keith Steven Elliott, a man in the southern B.C. city of Kelowna, who spent two years working a $20-an-hour job trimming homegrown cannabis destined for resale on the black market. When the grow-op was busted in 2013, Elliott found himself charged under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which mandates a six-month minimum prison sentence for anyone caught producing between six and 200 plants for the purpose of trafficking. (The grow-op employing Elliott held 195 plants.)

From the United States to Australia, from Germany to Colombia, the Canadian cannabis sector continues to capitalize on an emerging global industry.

As countries around the world continue to reform their laws and legalize medical marijuana, new opportunities are created for Canadian cannabis producers.

Colombia Cannabis Industry Heats Up

Earlier this week, ICC International Cannabis Corporation (ICC.V) (ICCLF) announced that it has incorporated a subsidiary in Colombia, ICC Colombia S.A.S. to apply for a series of licenses pursuant to Article 2.8.11.2.1.2 of the Decree 613 of 2017, Article that develops Law1787 of 2016:

Hempseed production in Canada may reach record levels in 2017, according to an industry report that projects up to 150,000 acres planted in Western Canada.

Hempseed production in Canada may reach record levels in 2017, according to an industry report that projects up to 150,000 acres planted in Western Canada this year.

Toronto’s Board of Health has unanimously endorses Medical Officer of Health’s recommendations on the looming legalization of pot.

Toronto’s Board of Health is calling on the federal government to decriminalize pot possession immediately as part has of a package of recommendations it adopted unanimously on the looming legalization of marijuana.

The “fact it is still criminal is criminal,” board member and Councillor Paula Fletcher said during Monday’s Board of Health meeting.

Fletcher noted illegal pot dispensaries continue to operate in the city, while “some of my residents are being charged with possession and trafficking for hand-to-hand sales of marijuana. It does not seem fair at all.”