The way Alan Gertner’s shop is set up is de rigueur in Toronto right now. Handmade salvaged wood shelves fill the walls. They’re sparsely decked with a select mixture of local and novelty items: soaps, candles, lapel pins, retro tins, stationery. Along the middle of the space runs a slim bar where people can gather to sip coffee, socialize or do work.

Tokyo Smoke is also a cafe, and what sets it apart is that it’s all cannabis-themed. Alongside the kitschy tchotchkes you’ll find neon grinders, a selection of vapes, and coffee and baked treats.

Municipal leaders will debate several pot related resolutions at the annual UBCM gathering in Victoria.

Local government leaders will spend a lot of time talking about marijuana this week at their annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria.

With the federal government looking to legalize the recreational use of marijuana sometime next year, up to four resolutions dealing with pot will be discussed.

Regulation

One asks senior levels of government to consult with their local counterparts when coming up with new regulations for legalized marijuana.

As the cannabis industry continues to gain legal status around the world more and more cannabis growers are learning about commercial scale horticultural production techniques, and of course, that means greenhouse growing. Anxious to grab a piece of the hottest industry of our generation, many consultants have jumped into the picture claiming to be manufacturers and greenhouse experts. Unfortunately these groups are not always well informed and often perpetuate wrong thinking.

Here are the 10 most frequent misconceptions we hear being told to cannabis growers looking to move to greenhouse growing.

Victoria city council has approved new regulations for medical cannabis businesses, but complying with the new bylaw won’t be cheap.

Starting immediately, a $5,000 business licence and $7,500 rezoning application are required for all shops where medicinal pot is sold.

The zoning restrictions prevent storefront cannabis retailers from being closer than 200 metres apart and also create an exclusion zone of the same distance around schools.

Pot shops opened since July 28 must immediately abide by the bylaw, meaning they can’t operate until all their paperwork is approved, but shops that were in business before then can stay open while their applications are processed.

Provincial police say a Leamington raid and the arrest this week of a now-former Crime Stoppers president also yielded a marijuana seizure worth more than $3 million.

Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers called an emergency meeting and immediately ousted Jon-Paul Fuller after learning of his arrest. He also used to work for Aphria, a licensed medical marijuana producer in Leamington, but he was let go from that company more than two years ago.

Fuller, 44, is charged with production of marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. 

Atwo day marijuana exhibition in Vancouver is giving people an idea of just how large and varied Canada’s cannabis industry has become—and where it could grow next. More than 100 businesses set up booths to showcase their wares at the event, but not a single cloud of smoke could be seen in the massive hall.

The expo is helping to break down stereotypes and prove that there’s a credible side to the industry, said Natasha Raey, spokeswoman for Lift Cannabis Co., which put on the show. “It’s not just someone selling bud out of a ziploc bag anymore. You’re seeing real brand development. The industry is growing up,” she said.

Canadians physicians, like most Canadian citizens, hold highly polarized views regarding cannabis. Doctors tend to be all for or completely against cannabis, with few taking a nuanced view of both the risks and the potential benefits. To fulfill our duty to protect, promote and restore health, we must become informed leaders, not reluctant followers or reckless zealots.

Some physicians are writing thousands of cannabis prescriptions every year for a wide variety of maladies. Many of their "patients" are not adequately assessed, nor are they informed about or encouraged to try conventional treatment options, which often have far more evidence for their safety and efficacy. Their "patient" wants cannabis and they get cannabis.

By David Brown, Lift Cannabis

We were incredibly lucky at the Vancouver Lift Cannabis Expo this past weekend to have heard from legalization and regulation task force Vice Chair Dr. Mark Ware. Dr. Ware discussed the task force’s process and experience thus far engaging Canadians on the subject of legalization, as well as presented some preliminary findings.

Dr. Ian Mitchell is a Kamloops emergency room physician, with a keen interest in pot.

Specifically medicinal marijuana, and how it might be used as an anti anxiety medication and for people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Mitchell is sharing what he knows as part of the Kamloops Adult Learners' Society programming for the fall.

To listen to the full interview, play below:

The Canadian government claims that the black market for marijuana is essentially a cash buffet for organized crime. But the feds aren't offering numbers to backup their argument, so it's hard to tell if they're portrayal of the nation's illegal cannabis industry is realistic or simply hysterical rhetoric.