As of Aug. 24, the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) replace the 2013 Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR), which replaced the 2001 Marihuana Medical Access Regulations.

The new rules set out a framework for commercial production by licensed producers, like the MMPR, but like the former MMAR, allows patients to produce a “limited amount” for their own use or designate someone to grow it for them.

The 34 licensed producers will be the only legal source of “starting materials” — seeds and plants.

People who want to use medical cannabis still have to get a document from an authorized health-care practitioner specifying a period of use of up to one year and a daily quantity of marijuana in grams.

The U.S. and Canadian equity markets are currently enjoying different types of highs.

In the U.S., the three main stock market indexes are hitting levels not seen before while in Canada it is investors’ interest in medical marijuana stocks that is reaching new heights.

Consider this: Over the past three weeks, six local companies raised $124.5 million of equity capital. To put that number in perspective, $124.5 million makes this the busiest quarter on record and almost six times what was raised in the second quarter.

By Andrea Hill, Toronto Lawyer

“The way individuals access cannabis for medical purposes is changing.”

With this sparse statement, Health Canada introduced a new set of regulations, the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), which will replace the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) on Aug. 24.

Over the past year we have heard stories of Big Pharma being out to get the growing medical cannabis industry. We wanted to know if there was any truth behind these fears, oft dismissed as conspiracy theories.

We spoke to a pharmaceutical market analyst* to see if the cannabis industry should fear Big Pharma. Here’s what they told us.

*Due to the sensitive nature of their work, their name has been withheld.

A new non-profit medical marijuana dispensary has opened in Regina and owner Kelly Csada says she plans to donate a chunk of her profits to charity.

“There’s a lot of mental health and different things that I want to give back to so that’s why I decided to go the non-profit way.”

The business venture was a natural choice for Csada.

“I have Crohn’s disease and that’s what brought me here in the first place,” she said.

The Cannabis Culture Lounge has everything a pothead might need to feel right at home: $3 marijuana buds, bongs for rent, bags of Skittles and Doritos for sale, and black leather couches where customers can recline in zoned-out contemplation in a pungent haze. Never mind that it is all technically prohibited by Canadian law.

Driving past the gravel driveway that leads to an unremarkable rural bungalow just outside the Village of Cremona, most would never know the property is also home to the fastest growing manufacturer of medical marijuana in Canada.

Just beyond the rustic homestead, encircled by a stout, chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, sits a massive one-storey factory that this year is expected to produce 7,000 kg (about the weight of a full-grown African bull elephant) of cannabis for patients who’ve found relief for a wide range of symptoms thanks to a new frontier of medicine.

Much of the media focus on cannabis research is on the people side: the medicinal advantages, the addictive risks, the socioeconomic impacts. Because people stories sell! They evoke emotion, inspire action, make great headlines, and are relatable to the masses, all of which bring media attention.

Last week Ottawa announced it was going to make it easier to bring in temporary foreign workers. More and more of what we produce in Canada relies on such workers. You can add marijuana to that list; and even if you don’t use it, this story involves you.

The story begins in 1974. That’s when Terrance Parker, a severe epileptic, started to treat his condition with marijuana. For Parker it was a choice between reducing the effects of a life-threatening health condition and the risk of imprisonment. In 1997 he was charged with possession and cultivation of a controlled substance.

On August 11, 2016, Health Canada announced the new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). These new regulations will replace theMarihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) when they come into force on August 24, 2016, and are being implemented as a result of the Federal Court ruling in the case of Allard v. Canada. These new regulations will allow for reasonable access to cannabis for medical purposes for Canadians who have been authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes by their health care practitioner.