The first and only medical marijuana dispensary in Fredericton believes the standards they hold their operation to will help to erase the negative stigma that is still surrounding marijuana usage.

Despite legalization not yet being a reality in Canada, HBB Medical Inc. opened in April.

Since then they say they have brought in over 400 members, all of which go through a stringent screening process to ensure they are legally permitted to access medical marijuana.

“We want to identify that mainstream medical dispensaries do have a place in society,” said Hank Merchant, HBB president of procedures. “We set standards above and beyond.”

The Liberal government is making a hash of marijuana legalization by embarking on a needless consultation exercise led by a task force of well-meaning volunteers.

Four U.S. states made cannabis legal in 2012 and others are vocally following suit.

Canada, which has had a legal medical scheme for more than 15 years, has had calls for legalization for half a century.

The 1969 Le Dain Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, set up by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's dad, recommended after three years' study that the country decriminalize cannabis.

There have been all kinds of smart people and a broad range of groups - mayors, chiefs of police, former attorneys general, medical officers of health - who have since echoed the message.

It calls itself “Canada’s national mail order marijuana service,” but a BC based online dispensary is being accused of ripping off customers.

The website BCbud.ca is one of dozens of online pot shops sprouting up in Vancouver, and across Canada.

But the nameless, faceless nature of the internet has some customers learning “buyer beware” the hard way.

Ratings for BCbud.Ca on consumer review site Sitejabber.com

It's a remarkable transformation. Even a shocking one. 

Especially considering the unlikely remedy. 

Six-year-old Tyler used to be tormented by hundreds of painful seizures a day. Which would leave him absolutely exhausted at bedtime. 

Even so, his doting mother would still have to pin him down to his mattress until he fell asleep. Otherwise, his small, frail body would continue to thrash about, robbing him of any rest and respite.

"Now he sleeps through the night, because he's having far fewer seizures," says single mother, Angele Vanier, 32. "It's amazing how much progress he's made over the past several months. He has a new lease on life."

Faced with potential labour disruptions at Canada Post, licensed medical marijuana producers have turned to alternative methods for delivering patient prescriptions.

Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are still locked in increasingly frosty contract negotiations, and though no work stoppage has been announced, medical marijuana producers have already made the switch to competing courier services.

Shares in medicinal marijuana firm MMJ Phytotech have surged after Canada's health regulator announced a taskforce to help design a framework for recreational use of the drug.

MMJ Phyotech recently won a licence in Canada to grow marijuana for medical use.

MMJ said on Tuesday that the requirements for consumer protection and product quality control for recreational use were expected to be similar to those governing marijuana for medical use.

The recreational cannabis market in Canada is believed to be worth about $CAD5 billion ($A5.2 billion) a year.

A new company striving to connect people looking for medical marijuana with doctors has set up shop in Sherbrooke, Que.

For a monthly fee, Dr. Cannabis will set up clients with a doctor who will prescribe them medical marijuana, if they meet the necessary criteria to qualify.

Not all doctors are willing to prescribe the drug, so Dr. Cannabis will work as an intermediary, working to find doctors who will prescribe it for patients who are looking to use it.

For $155, it will find a doctor for the patient within three to four months. If you're willing to pay $700, they'll work much faster, finding a doctor in just two weeks.

As the provincial government prepares for legal marijuana sales, pharmacists say they welcome the opportunity to dispense the drug for medicinal purposes — just don’t get them into the recreational market.

The Canadian Pharmacists Association released its position on medical marijuana in April, stating that, given that there is a growing number of Canadians obtaining medical marijuana licences with minimal oversight by health-care professionals, it’s important pharmacists play a front-line role in patient management and dispensing of medical marijuana.

A Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer recently named to a task force on legalizing and regulating marijuana says one of the biggest hurdles they face is dealing with impairment.

"I do believe it's going to be a big concern," Supt. Marlene Jesso told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.

"That's something we'll have to look at as a task force, and see if we can come up with certain ways and different ways to be able to do that, because that, I think, may be a major issue in relation to the legalization of marijuana."

It’s totally unexpected. Alberta’s struggling economy is about to be lifted up by marijuana. For years, medical marijuana in Canada has been a dicey issue, with recreational use outlawed and medical use closely monitored. But, Alberta’s only industrial-scale grower of medical marijuana, Aurora Cannabis, has just gotten the green light. And, it’s noticed business is booming. The company has over 2,000 customers.  

Before that, Aurora waited for the issuance of a sales license from Health Canada. It wasn’t forthcoming until its crops had undergone extensive lab testing for quality control. It had to be done by independent, licensed, third parties.