The new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation (ACMPR), which came into force on August 24, 2016, has changed how patients with prescriptions for medical marijuana can get their medicine. The ACMPR came to be, in part, as a response to a Federal Court ruling that the former Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) violated the Charter because it prohibited personal production of medical cannabis. For many medicinal cannabis users, the cost of accessing through the channels allowed under the MMPR were simply unaffordable.

Normally when visiting weed friendly countries such as Amsterdam and certain states within the U.S., travellers still have to save the sneaky puff for allocated spots around the city.

FEATURED IMAGE VIA

Although you’ll find the odd smoking booth outside your hotel, it’s generally not cool to be sparking a fat one in the comfort of your own room. But no longer will this be an issue as there’s now a website called ‘Bud n Breakfast’ where you can find accommodation that is cannabis friendly. Zing!

Set up by Sean Roby and Shayan Bastani, it’s basically like Hostelworld or AirBnB for people who like to get high. What’s not to like?

The biotech sector differs from other sectors of the market in the sense that it is the only industry where earnings are not the most important event for companies.

Unlike other sectors, the biotech sector trades on FDA results, not earnings; and favorable results can serve as a major catalyst for the company and send the price of the company’s stock considerably higher.

Biotech Beneficiaries

The biotech sector will be one of the greatest beneficiaries of the legal cannabis movement and there are only a few publicly traded biotech companies that are focused on developing treatments from the cannabis plan.

Aphria announced today that it has entered into an Intellectual Property transfer agreement with Copperstate Farms, LLC ("Copperstate"). Arizona's medical cannabis program was approved by voters in 2010. At the same time as securing a licence to produce and sell medical cannabis, Copperstate purchased a 40-acre (equivalent to 1.7 million square feet) high-tech, Dutch style greenhouse facility in Snowflake, AZ. Copperstate has one of the largest medical cannabis greenhouse facilities in Arizona.

Analysis

A large majority of Canadians wants marijuana to be legalized and made available for sale to every adult in the country, regardless of medical need. Right?

Maybe not. A new survey conducted by a major financial advisory company and obtained by the National Post ahead of its release casts some doubt on that piece of conventional wisdom. Deloitte LLP surveyed 5,000 Canadians 19 years and older this summer and found that only 40 per cent favour marijuana legalization, with almost as many opposed, throwing shade on one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s key campaign promises from the 2015 federal election.

I can recall a time when it was a rarity to hear or read about a news story about cannabis. For almost two decades I kept a database of every cannabis related news story that I came across. I could never keep up with the torrent of pot news coming out now. 

As someone who was a child in the 1960’s and a counter-culture teenager in the 70s, I recall the intense stigma and controversy that the herb had attached to it. 

Canada’s largest drug store chain has applied to be a licensed producer of medical marijuana, another sign that pharmacies are interested in playing a major role in a growing industry.

“We believe that allowing medical marijuana to be dispensed through pharmacy would increase access, safety, quality and security for the thousands of Canadians who use the drug as part of their medication therapy,” Shoppers Drug Mart spokesperson Tammy Smitham wrote in an e-mail.

Shoppers has no plans to start growing pot itself — they want to buy it from a grower. But under federal rules, patients are only able to buy medical marijuana from licensed producers.

Health Canada market data for the past few years shows that British Columbians and Quebecers appear to prefer the black market over Canada’s legal medical cannabis system. 

Despite being the second and third largest provinces in Canada, with over 8 million and 4.7 million people respectively, shipments to registered patients in Quebec and British Columbia are some of the lowest in the country. 

Patients registered in Quebec only received 2,457 shipments in August. BC, only 2,534. The same month saw 34,757 shipments to registered clients in Ontario and 12,986 in Alberta. Previous data shows similar figures in the past. 

Canada in danger of getting smoked by the competition as Ottawa stalls on cannabis

Canada is in danger of getting smoked by the competition because the marijuana industry isn't waiting for government legislation. American companies know it, and now Shoppers Drug Mart has shown it knows it too.

A public request by Shoppers to sell pot in its stores shows the "pusher" stigma has begun to fade. Shoppers is part of the Loblaws chain known across Canada for its family-friendly Canadian Superstores and President's Choice brands.