Call it a crash course in cannabis — Alberta's Justice Minister and Solicitor General is Colorado-bound to see how the state south of the border has handled legal weed.

Kathleen Ganley flies out Thursday to Denver, where she's slated to meet with the attorney general, municipal government, police and fire services, building and licensing experts, and the environmental health department.

A new survey conducted by the Centre for Addictions Research of BC helps explain why Big Pharma is so afraid of cannabis.

The pharmaceutical and alcohol industries, both powerful influences in Washington, have long lobbied against cannabis legalization in order to protect their profits.

However, the tide has turned as decriminalization of medical and recreational cannabis sweeps the nation and the continent. With legalization, more and more people are discovering how this plant can provide a safe alternative to the dangerous effects of prescription pills.

More than three in five Canadians say companies should be allowed to administer random drug tests to employees when marijuana is legalized, a new poll finds.

The poll from Insights West found 62 per cent of respondents would support drug-testing policies. That number rises to 70 per cent among those aged 55 and over, and 71 per cent among those who voted Conservative in the last election. 

A larger majority — 84 per cent — back giving police the right to arrest someone suspected of driving on drugs, in order to administer a urine test.

Nearly a million Canadians who don’t smoke marijuana now are very likely to start after it’s legalized, survey data implies.

Whatever else happens when Canada legalizes recreational marijuana after the spring of 2017, pot will be easier to buy.

Canada has become tolerant of marijuana by historical standards, but there are still some barriers to the curious — you have to be willing to grow your own big, smelly obvious plants, be open to dealing with shady people who are committing a crime (and know where to find them in the first place), or talk your way into a dispensary.

British Columbians are split on how recreational marijuana should be sold once it’s legal, but stand-alone shops like the dispensaries that line Vancouver’s streets are the most popular option, according to a new poll.

The latest survey from Insights West suggests 38 per cent of people in this province would prefer to see pot-specific stores, beating out weed sales in pharmacies (23 per cent) or liquor stores (24 per cent).

That’s welcome news to Sunny Bhayana, co-director of The Herb Co. on Main Street, one of the few licensed shops in Vancouver. He believes the dispensary system could have a potent effect on the country’s economy.

Billionaire and tech entrepreneur tells New West summit attendees marijuana should be decriminalized worldwide.

Renowned billionaire and tech entrepreneur Richard Branson told a room full of cannabis advocates he was simply in the mood to "take a spliff or two," and much of the world is ready to legally take some tokes, too.

"Why not?" the Virgin Group founder asked a crowd of about 1,000 people Saturday during the second annual New West Summit conference, "The Future of Cannabis, Now," in downtown San Francisco. 

Cedella Marley’s voice has an intoxicating Jamaica lilt, the sound of a heritage she has long shared with fans of her late father, Bob Marley. Cedella is the eldest child of the legendary reggae artist and spiritual leader of cannabis culture.

More than 35 years after his death, Cedella and the Marley family have jumped into the cannabis business in partnership with Seattle-based Privateer Holdings. They are launching Marley Natural, a line of hemp body products, elegant black walnut accessories and smartly packaged bud — what the superstar called “the herb.”

“We’re very excited to bring Marley Natural to Canada,” said Marley.

The cost of medicinal cannabis is set to tumble after Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne approved a Canadian pain relief product.

It is estimated the marijuana-based tincture called Tilray will cost at least 50 per cent less than the existing legal product Sativex, a UK mouth spray made by GW Pharma.

Multiple sclerosis sufferer, Dr Huhana Hickey, who applied to use Tilray, said: "I'm so relieved. It's going to save me $700 a month."

The AUT academic says she has spent $9000 on prescriptions since she started taking medicinal cannabis in February. Hickey says the results have been remarkable.

"I'm living my life again. I'm back to work, I am fully-functioning"

Medical cannabis sellers are in Vancouver this week hoping to catch a glimpse of what their future may hold in light of the looming federal legalization of recreational marijuana.

Workshops at the International Cannabis Business Conference that began Thursday and continue Friday include titles like "Safeguarding medical marijuana as legalization unfolds" and "The future of dispensaries in Canada."

The medical marijuana industry has flourished in the past decade, dominated by federally illegal but municipally sanctioned dispensaries. These small businesses operate despite a federal dispensary system led by large-scale producers. 

Dangling uselessly at her side, Jan Rieveley’s right arm has become a “paper weight.”

A bad fall in a dark cave in Ohio four years ago tore nerves previously made weaker from cancer radiation treatment.

“It’s pain 24/7,” says the 61-year-old owner of a small Riverside business.

Rieveley said her previous opiate “cocktail” of Percocets and other pain medications permitted her to work about two hours a week.

Rieveley hated what those opioids were doing to her. So, six months ago, her doctor prescribed pot, and it worked wonderfully. Her life on pot has improved to the point she’s working a couple of days a week.

“I like control in my life,” Rieveley said of her decision to avoid the powerful opiates of the pharmaceutical companies.