The Toronto Maple Leafs’ parent company is locked in a legal battle with rapper Snoop Dogg over his bid to trademark Leafs By Snoop, the musician’s new line of marijuana products.

Snoop, whose given name is Calvin Broadus Jr., filed a trademark application for Leafs By Snoop, with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office in November. His logo features the slogan in white lettering over top of a seven-leaf green plant, according to his trademark application, which was obtained by TSN.

Snoop said he planned to use the logo on products such as cigarette lighters.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment filed an opposition to Snoop’s logo on June 8, asking the Alexandria, Va.-based trademark office for more time to detail its opposition.

Ontario is working on regulations for the recreational marijuana market ahead of the federal government's plan to introduce a legalization bill in spring 2017. But one activist thinks the province's regulations could cost taxpayers a tremendous amount of money, while inadvertently keeping the black market for cannabis in business.

On June 18, the Toronto Star reported that Ontario's ministries of finance and health have struck a working group with the province's attorney general to draft a framework for regulations.

Mike Dixon wants to send plants to Mars. Growing crops in space is the best way to provide proper nutrition to the crew on a long-duration mission, this University of Guelph researcher believes—but because there’s no manned mission to Mars scheduled at the moment, it’s hard to get funding for this type of research.

In the meantime, he and a growing number of other botanists are studying a plant where there’s plenty of funding right now, in Canada anyway: cannabis.

Bill Blair, the federal government’s lead on legalizing marijuana, has been quietly meeting with advocates for the illegal pot shops springing up across the country, hearing their arguments for how regulating the sector could help eliminate the black market.

It would appear no amount of weed is too small for the federal government to prosecute as it works toward legalizing the drug for recreational use.

Brandon Richards was pulled over after leaving the parking lot of a Guelph strip club shortly after 1 a.m. in October 2014 for a sobriety check. He passed, but the officer said he detected the odour of marijuana.

The big discovery: 1.15 g of pot. A street value of about $10.

Richards was charged with simple possession, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the federal agency that handles drug crimes, chose to take the matter to court, where Richards was found guilty and ordered to pay a $100 fine in April 2015.

The Liberals, with their promise of legalization, were elected to power a few months later.

The first crop from Prince Edward Island's medicinal marijuana factory is on the way.

Edwin Jewell has been planning Canada's Island Garden marijuana for the last few years, submitting the licence application to Health Canada in September 2013. The final step in the licensing process is to submit a test crop for inspection by Health Canada. Jewell expects that process will be completed by Christmas.

The marijuana at Canada's Island Garden will be in rooms with special lights to help them grow better. (Krystalle Ramlakhan/CBC)

The Ontario government is quietly gearing up for legalized marijuana sales, the Star has learned.

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to allow recreational cannabis use as early as next year, Queen’s Park has begun work on how distribution and retailing will eventually be handled.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa says a working group has been struck comprised of bureaucrats from his department, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Attorney General.

“We’re working with the feds. With their commitment to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana, we are going to work with them,” Sousa said in an interview.

For those of us who have spent the time studying spirituality, meditation, yoga and various other hippy-dippy ways of being content in the moment, you know what these things can do to improve your quality of life considerably. If you also happen to be a marijuana enthusiast, then you are aware that it’s a whole lot easier to find your Chi when you’ve had some Chiba.

As the cannabis market becomes global, how is the current state of the industry faring in the U.S. and Canada?

Marijuana greenhouse and equipment company GGS Structures Inc. put together an infographic that outlines the amazing progress made within North America over the past few years. See the infographic below:

In one episode of HBO's hit show The Wire, Stringer Bell, the brutal head of a heroin drug cartel in Baltimore, insists that his meetings about the day-to-day operations of the "game" run in strict compliance with Robert’s Rules of Parliamentary Procedure, a book first published in 1876 that gives guidelines for fair and orderly meetings.

Indeed, Bell’s street corner pushers were required to be recognized by the chair before speaking.

At the time, the scene seemed outlandish. However, perhaps it was just ahead of its time.

Recently, the Canadian government announced at the United Nations that it will table legislation in the spring of 2017 to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

This will create a cash cow.