Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work and some say more employees have failed drug tests in Colorado, since the state legalized marijuana in 2014.

Oilpatch CEOs fear their costs will rise when the federal government passes recently introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

The issue of drug use is closely watched in the industry, where workers tend to be young and hazards include long commutes to and from remote drilling sites, wells that produce poisonous or explosive gas and exposure to heavy machinery. Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work.

In a cannabis market awash with thousands of strains and a flood of information on dosing and consumption – some credible, and some, not so much – how can patients make sure they get the most out of their medicine?

A U.S. consultant hired by Ottawa to assess Canada's eventual recreational pot market says jurisdictions that regulate cannabis should expect "unbelievably high" sales growth in the first few years as criminals are driven out of business.

Adam Orens, a founding partner of the Marijuana Policy Group, said he is not yet authorized to discuss his findings on the future Canadian pot market because his organization is under contract with Health Canada.

However, a look at the group's estimates for Colorado's regulated cannabis industry suggests Canada can expect its own sector to generate billions of dollars per year in direct and indirect economic activity.

The regulatory gates to Canada's legal marijuana regime are open, but only a crack.

Health Canada has received 1,630 applications for licences to grow or sell medical cannabis as of March 31. Only 43 licences have been approved so far, representing just 2.6 per cent of the total applications.

The seven-stage application process to obtain a licence is "not for the faint of heart," said Eileen McMahon, who chairs the food and drug regulatory practice at Torys LLP. Compared to other highly regulated industries like pharmaceuticals or medical devices, McMahon said, the rate of regulatory default in Canada's legal marijuana industry is remarkably high so far.

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The marijuana industry is the hottest thing since sliced bread, and marijuana stocks are thriving as a result. Here's a quick rundown of how some of the industry's largest players' stock prices have performed over the trailing 12 months:

Farmacy Dispensary is the first storefront cannabis retailer to receive a business licence from the City of Victoria.

Farmacy, on 3055 Scott St. near Hillside Avenue and Shelbourne Street, was inspected and determined to be complying with all rules under the city’s new regulatory scheme for pot shops.

Manager Andrew Gill could not be reached for comment, but the business posted a photo of the licence on social media and wrote: “We are now the first licensed dispensary in all of Victoria!! This is a huge step forward and we are very excited to be on the forefront of this progressive change.”

This month, Canada finally released its much-anticipated marijuana legislation, making it the second country in the world after Uruguay to legalize marijuana for recreational usage. This is an important moment in the development of cannabis as a global industry and we are all watching Canada take on this new challenge.

At Surna, we like to stay up to date on everything cannabis-related and have been watching these developments closely. Now that legislation has been presented, we’ve put together 5 things you should know about how Canada got here and what adult-use marijuana will look like for the nation.

If investors look around, they'll struggle to find an industry growing faster than legal marijuana.

Data from cannabis research firm ArcView shows that legal pot sales, including medical and recreational marijuana, grew by 34% in North America last year to $6.9 billion. That might sound like a lot, but ArcView also points out that $46.4 billion were conducted in black-market cannabis sales. There's still plenty of opportunity to attract these under-the-table consumers in the years to come, and this shouldn't be too tough with more and more U.S. states legalizing marijuana, and Canada possibly on the precipice of legalizing the drug nationally.

WeedMD Inc. came roaring out of the gates yesterday when it commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol WMD.V.

WeedMD is a licensed producer of medical cannabis under the ACMPR and plans to be Canada’s first producer focused on the long-term and retirement sector by leveraging its deep industry relationships and expertise.

Management believes senior patients represent a significantly higher value market segment than typical ACMPR patients. This is due in large part to consistent treatment schedules and the cost-effective nature of patient acquisition and servicing associated with long-term care facilities.

Positioned to Deliver