In marijuana dispensaries across Ottawa, customers are snapping up dried weed, cannabis brownies and hash, while authorities at every level stand by.

Federal politicians condemn the dispensaries as illegal businesses selling products that may be unsafe. They want Canada’s drug laws enforced, but that’s up to the police.

Ottawa police say they have been monitoring the dispensaries since the first one opened in November 2015. They don’t reveal details of “ongoing investigations.”

What’s worse than having stinky breath? Being completely oblivious to the fact that you have stinky breath. We can all admit at some time or another we’ve had questionable breath, and we’ve also encountered someone whose breath reminded us far too much of our first visit to the zoo. But can smoking cannabis give you bad breath?  If so, what are some ways to combat foul breath after hitting a joint or bong?

Should the same festival offer both a “bud garden” and a bouncy castle?

A local medical marijuana advocate is proposing just that for a pro-cannabis event next spring.

Steven Stairs, president of the Winnipeg 4/20 organizing committee, said he’s met with city and provincial officials to discuss ways to add a kid-friendly element to festivities a day after the main event on April 20, 2017.

Otherwise known as 4/20, that’s the day cities around the world host pot-smoking demonstrations.

A new class designed to teach people how to grow marijuana is expected to create a lot of buzz in Windsor, Ont.

Leo Lucier plans to start the classes later this month at his downtown cannabis vaping lounge, which already provides a space for medical marijuana users to consume their pot.

Launching what he calls the School of Higher Learning at his Vapelated Lounge will depend on what new regulations the federal government introduces.

In February, a Federal Court judge struck down regulations restricting the rights of medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis, giving Ottawa six months to come up with new rules.

No one has signed up for classes yet, but Lucier doesn't suspect he'll have any difficulties finding students.

There is a push on to make sure the Windsor area is at the forefront when Canada legalizes the recreational use of marijuana, and it’s coming from a surprising source.

The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce wants input when the federal legislation is drafted to ensure the area gets its fair share of the potential $5-billion dollar industry.

“We have an emerging cannabis marketplace and we want to be at the forefront in the industry for whatever the future holds,” Matt Marchand, CEO of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday.

“Windsor-Essex is a global leader in agricultural production and research. We have skilled talent in the agricultural community, so we want to make sure the economic benefits for Essex County are maximized.”

Health Canada’s restrictive approach to marijuana safety testing is putting the public at risk, a growing chorus of scientists and activists warns – saying consumers are potentially being exposed to contamination in products that are widely accessible since the federal Liberals took power promising legalization.

A new Globe and Mail investigation is raising alarming questions about the safety of cannabis being sold illegally in unregulated dispensaries. But for the thousands of Canadians who use regulated and tested medical cannabis, there is another urgent issue researchers are scrambling to address: Does it work?

Background and regulations

Health Canada has not approved the use of medical cannabis, but a court ruling requires the government to “provide reasonable access to a legal source of marijuana when authorized by a health-care practitioner.”

As the federal government explores how to properly legalize marijuana, hundreds of dispensaries have sprung up in Vancouver and Toronto – all of them selling a product that is still illegal and having no obligations in terms of labelling, safety or quality assurance.

Dispensary proponents say concerns about contaminants amount to fear mongering – akin to the sort of propaganda that brought the world the infamous 1936 film Reefer Madness. The government favours a heavily regulated market and argues that dispensaries can’t be trusted to provide consumers with a sterile and safe product. These entrepreneurs, Ottawa argues, need to be held to the same stringent standards required of the 31 companies licensed to sell medical marijuana to consumers through mail order.

They are ubiquitous, still. Marijuana dispensaries, ranging in style from pristine to slightly scary to plain sad, continue to offer illicit products in Vancouver, despite an expensive effort by city officials to limit their number with rules and enforcement provisions unique in Canada.

The pot shop bylaws, which came into effect this year, are supposed to stop cannabis impresarios from operating with typical impunity, dealing products near schools and community centres, and at all hours.

Dispensaries began to proliferate in Vancouver about four years ago, when police quit trying to enforce federal prohibitions on retail marijuana sales. By 2015, no fewer than 100 illegal dispensaries were in business.

Canopy Growth Corp., the first marijuana producer in North America to graduate to a major exchange, erased early gains on Tuesday, closing down 1.2 per cent in its first day on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The stock, which previously traded on the junior Venture exchange, had surged 25 per cent during a three-day rally, reversing losses for the year.

“Being the first cannabis producing company in North America listed on a major exchange such as the TSX strengthens the sector,” Bruce Linton, chief executive officer of Canopy, said in a statement on Monday. “The addition of Canopy Growth helps signal that the world’s view of cannabis has finally shifted, starting right here in Canada.”