The recreational marijuana industry is expected to take a sip of less than one per cent initially out of annual Canadian alcohol sales once it becomes legal, a new analysis says.

The Anderson Economic Group, a business consulting firm in New York, says legalization of marijuana would sap $160 million out of the country’s $22.1 billion booze sector, rising as use of the drug expands.

While there are numerous unknowns governing the sale of marijuana, the Anderson Economic Group based its projections on alcohol sales in U.S. states that have legalized the drug. It also took into account a host of factors in Canada including spending patterns, income and demographics.

Tilray, a global leader in medical cannabis research and production, today announced that initial shipments of the company’s medical cannabis products have arrived in Chile, where they are now available for authorized patients to access. The products are initially available at select pharmacies in Santiago. This marks the first time a North American cannabis producer has successfully distributed full-spectrum cannabis-based medicines to patients through pharmacies in the Americas.

Union wants to provide pain-relief alternative to discourage opioid prescriptions.

In a bid to discourage opioid prescriptions and to give workers a healthier alternative to the highly addictive drugs, an Ontario union is now offering medical cannabis products through its benefits plan. 

LIUNA Local 625 in Windsor announced the change to its plan Tuesday after two years of widespread consultation with pharmacies and cannabis suppliers.

"Now that we've added this, we're hoping more doctors ... will move towards prescribing the cannabis oil as opposed to the opioids," said Rob Petroni, business manager at LIUNA. "The most important part of this is to reduce the opioid use and or abuse."

The Canadian based medical cannabis company - CanniMed Thera-peutics - exported its first international shipment of cannabis oil to the Cayman Islands, as a way of testing the territory's potential as an export market.

The company exported its first international shipment of cannabis oils this month, including 12,960 millilitres to a pharmacy here.

The shipment makes Canada the second country, after Jamaica, to export cannabis oils to Cayman since the product was legalised here last October.

While the Legislative Assem-bly legalised the oils for medicinal purposes, it did not approve local production, requiring legally viable product to come from abroad.

We spoke to a public policy expert on how Canadians view cannabis today, and how this opinion is evolving.

A company out of New Brunswick plans to improve the outcomes of medical marijuana treatments with its new mobile app. 

Knalysis Technologies creates software that links physicians, providers and patients, offering a global approach to reporting, monitoring and care. This month, the company is releasing its Wellness Tracker App to the public. The app helps patients and their physicians track their use to find out which exact strain of cannabis treats their specific symptoms.

Chuck Rifici has launched Cannabis Wheaton to help tackle the expected demand once recreational marijuana is legalized.

Marijuana industry pioneer Chuck Rifici is turning to streaming — a business model often used in mining — to tackle what he says are growing pains facing the rapidly expanding sector.

There are 1.4 million square feet of licensed medical marijuana production facilities in Canada, says Rifici, one of two co-founders of Tweed Marijuana Inc., now a part of Canopy Growth Corp. That’s about one tenth of what will be needed to satisfy demand once the drug is legalized for recreational use, he says.

Marijuana stocks have been the best-performing sector on the TSX over the past year, making companies such as Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:WEED), Aphria Inc. (TSX:APH), and Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB) popular subjects for debate at cocktail parties.

With legislation proposed that would have recreational marijuana legalized in Canada by July 1, 2018, there are still a lot of unanswered questions as to what the new industry will look like when it finally emerges.

Those who cynically point to the bursting of the tech bubble in late 2000 as the reason not to invest in pot stocks fail to appreciate that while many…

The New Brunswick government is moving ahead with plans to establish a thriving marijuana industry once the drug is legalized in Canada.

Premier Brian Gallant issued a statement Friday confirming that St. Thomas University in Fredericton will establish a new research chair on cannabis.

The government says the position is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada.

The premier says the research position is expected to provide data and scholarly interpretation to guide public policy.

University president Dawn Russell says more research is needed as the province prepares for a socially complex change.

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