There might be something special about grandma’s latest batch of brownies.

A new monthly workshop north of Toronto is helping seniors navigate the world of medical marijuana.

“Our demographic is middle-aged to older people,” Rick Gillman of CanCann Consulting told CTV Barrie. “We do have lots of people in their 80s and even one I know in their 90s who are successfully using cannabis and having great results with it.”

Marijuana has been used to treat a diverse array of conditions, such as PTSD, epilepsy and arthritis. From general information about cannabis, as the plant is also called, to ways it can be turned into edibles, oils and tinctures, the workshop covered all aspects of using marijuana as a medicine.

The Canadian cannabis industry has continued to be a bright spot for cannabis investors and 2017 has already provided investors with strong investment returns.

This sub-sector of the cannabis industry has been on fire since July 2016 with the increased interest fueled by the anticipation that Canada will become the first G-7 nation to legalize recreational cannabis.

All Eyes on Legislation this Spring

One of the highly anticipated events of 2017 is the tabling of legislation as it relates to a legal recreational cannabis program. This development is expected to take place in the spring.

With all the excitement in the recreational marijuana space, it is hard for growth oriented investors to ignore this new market. Society has become more liberal with the idea of legalizing marijuana. Two polls from April 2015, found that the majority of Americans, 53%, were in support of this idea and it can be seen from the map below how the States have slowly began this process. Marijuana stocks in Canada and the USA have been rising since their respective elections.

Patients in the GTA can now receive medical cannabis within a single day.

MedReleaf, Canada’s premium licensed producer (LP) of medical cannabis, is offering same-day delivery service to patients in Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Markham and Toronto.

“Everything we do is driven by an unwavering commitment to our patients, the desire to lead Canada’s medical cannabis industry and to strengthen our position as the country’s premium licensed producer,” said MedReleaf CEO Neil Closner. “Being Canada’s premium LP means every part of the patient experience should be premium and health-focused.”

Cities have the right to deny business licences to illegal marijuana dispensaries and to prohibit the cultivation or sale of marijuana through their zoning bylaws, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.

The case is the latest development in what has become a patchwork of inconsistent rules and legal skirmishes as cities grapple with changing laws and an aggressive new marijuana industry. While the sale of marijuana at storefronts, such as dispensaries, remains illegal, some cities such as Vancouver have moved to regulate them through business licences. Others, including Abbotsford, have remained determined to keep them outlawed.

Medical marijuana dispensary owners, employees and patients gathered outside city hall Wednesday in protest of the city's crackdown against the businesses and to call for regulation.

The rally was organized in response to "cease and desist" letters sent out by the city to 17 medical marijuana dispensaries last week.

The letters cited zoning infractions and come with a warning of fines up to $50,000, plus up to $25,000 per day after conviction.

Ontario officials will seek public comment on a proposal by Los Angeles-based MedMen to build and operate a 35,000- to 40,000-square-foot medical marijuana growing operation somewhere in Richland County — possibly on two undisclosed industrially zoned parcels within Ontario city limits.

Mayor Randy Hutchinson was non-commital about a conference call held recently with Barrett Thomas, director of economic development for the Richland Community Development Group; a MedMen company representative; and Shelby Mayor Steve Schag, in which the company described its plans to apply for a state license to open a marijuana growing operation. The marijuana would be for medical use.

A Canadian company will begin exporting medicinal cannabis to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital from later this month.

Tilray has been granted approvals to export oils containing THC and cannabidoil to New Zealand.

It comes days after Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne, who had been responsible for approving almost all medicinal cannabis prescriptions, downgraded requirements.

Patients now only need authorisation from the Ministry of Health for prescriptions for medicinal cannabis products.

Tilray is expected to be an alternative to Sativex, a cannabis-based mouth spray used to help multiple sclerosis patients with pain, which costs $1200 a month.

Canada recently concluded a study on the benefits of medical cannabis and found that the plant was not only effective in pain management, but that it also helped with addiction to more harmful vices.

The study found that cannabis use can diminish a user’s dependency on tobacco, alcohol and other dangerous drugs like painkillers. The research is one of the first major studies to make the connection between cannabis and substance addiction. The study asserts that cannabis can help you get off drugs, and is not the “gateway drug” that it has been described as for years.

Medical marijuana producers oppose federal task force's calls for plain packaging and bans on advertising.

Garfield Mahood has spent 30 years fighting for the Canadian government to require plain packaging for cigarettes.

So, the long-time non-smokers' rights activist says he doesn't have much faith in the government's ability to regulate and restrict the marketing of marijuana.

"They identified tobacco products as a cause of disease back in the 1950s," said Mahood, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud. "They've never been able to bring this epidemic
close to a conclusion.

"What would give you faith that health departments are going to effectively regulate any health problems related to these other drugs?"