Pot dispensary owners erupted in anger as Toronto City Council’s licensing committee voted to defer discussion of possible rules for storefront medical marijuana operations until October, denying them the ability to address city councillors.

“People are dying every day, calling my shop, crying for their family members,” yelled Brandy Zurborg, co-owner of the Queens of Cannabis medical marijuana dispensary, one of dozens caught in up in last month’s massive sweep by police and bylaw officials.

Toronto begins to look at dispensary regulations, US FDA learns about the MMPR, Canadian researchers in Poland, a possible task force announcement and more.

It’s a big week for those focussed on cannabis and cannabis policy in Canada. Several meetings and expected announcements, as well as one possible discussion are lined up for this last week in June.

The Licensing and Standards Committee is set to debate and review the current state of marijuana dispensaries in Toronto on Monday.

The meeting follows a string of raids linked to the proliferation of pot storefronts in neighbourhoods across the city.

Toronto police executed four search warrants and made 23 arrests related to the marijuana dispensary crackdown last Thursday.

Licensed medical marijuana producers have been warned to stop using mail delivery ahead of a potential Canada Post strike or lockout in early July.

The postal service says it started telling producers on Friday that, if a strike or lockout goes ahead on July 2, it won't be able to guarantee the delivery of patients' prescriptions.

That warning has producers throwing together contingency plans to make sure the increasing number of medical marijuana patients continue to get their prescriptions on time.

At the end of this week, President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will meet in Ottawa for the North American Leaders’ Summit. Since the summit was first convened in 2005, this regular gathering has been used to discuss shared economic and security issues, like trade and resource management. This year, however, these three leaders have a unique chance to address the future of an industry that will be among the defining political and economic forces of the next ten years, if not the next fifty. That industry is legal cannabis.

The frustration of 9:53 p.m. is well known in Ontario. It's the time where glancing at a watch or phone is accompanied by a heartbroken sigh and softly uttered four-letter expletive. Your dinner party is down to its last bottle of wine, some friends just surprised you from out of town, you're just a responsible adult that had to work late. But you certainly aren't allowed to enjoy a glass of wine in any of these circumstances according to Ontario's incredibly outdated alcohol and "social responsibility" laws.

There are no pharmacies in Alberta licensed to sell medical cannabis but there is at least one pharmacist locally that would like to see that changed.

“Pharmacies are the logical choice to be the distribution system. Pharmacists are highly trained and knowledgeable of drugs and drug interactions, have access to medical records, have all the security measures in place and are accessible to the entire community,” said Greg Buekert, pharmacist Greg’s Remedy’s Rx.

A month after police raids on storefront medicinal marijuana dispensaries, dozens continue to sell pot across Toronto including some raided outlets that have reopened.

“We understand the illegality of what we’re doing,” says Katey Asaph of Eden Medicinal Society on Queen St. W., which resumed sales to those with proof of an ailment or injury a few days after the May 26 raids that saw staff, including Asaph, hit with Criminal Code drug trafficking charges.

“There will always be a chance (of another raid) going forward, but we continue to remain open to provide a safe and comfortable space so that our clients can rely on us for cannabis access.”

Jobs are reportedly booming in Canada’s marijuana economy — both the legal one and the not-so-legal one.

There are dozens of ads, mostly in Toronto and Vancouver, for marijuana trimmers at legally sanctioned medical pot growers, or for "budtenders" who serve customers at the not-entirely-legal marijuana dispensaries that have popped up around those cities.

A new P.E.I.-based business is putting the squeeze on cannabis — literally.

Charlottetown's Advanced Extraction Systems Inc. has just sealed a deal with Canopy Growth, a medical marijuana company based out of Smiths Falls, Ont., to provide the equipment to extract cannabis oil directly from marijuana plants.

In a release, Canopy Growth chairman Bruce Linton said the deal will help meet a growing demand.

"Our extracted oil products have been very popular since being launched to our medical customers earlier this year," he said.

"Looking forward to a broader legal marijuana market, we know we'll need greater capacity and AESI's industrial-scale technology will help us meet the growing demand we're forecasting."