A recent spike in the number of storefront marijuana dispensaries in parts of the country is prompting calls for the government to regulate an area not covered by current legislation.

The Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries estimates there are at least 350 such storefronts in Canada, with dozens opening in Toronto alone in the past few months.

Opponents say the storefront dispensaries are technically illegal and should be closed immediately.

But medical marijuana advocates say the answer is to introduce regulations to standardize the quality of the product they sell and the criteria for clients looking to buy it.

With Canada on the verge of legalizing recreational cannabis, more capital has entered the industry.

One the most significant developments in 2015 was Justin Trudeau’s and the Liberal Party’s success in the Canadian general election. The outcome was a huge victory for the cannabis industry and a catalyst for Canadian cannabis stocks. Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party have said they will make marijuana legalization a priority.

Denis Arsenault hosted an important visitor the other day at his Moncton offices, a moment that revealed much about his company's grand ambitions.

Arsenault is CEO of OrganiGram, producer of Canada's only organic medical marijuana, and the only licensed grower east of Ontario.

His visitor was Brian Gallant, the boyish, 33-year-old premier of New Brunswick, who came to offer wage subsidies to help the company expand.

Arsenault, whose company aims to get a running start on a legalized recreational marijuana market, did not miss the irony of Gallant's visit.

The premier is supporting marijuana production just 30 years after one of his predecessors, Richard Hatfield, was arrested and put on trial for marijuana possession.

Companies developing breathalyzers to detect marijuana's main psychoactive ingredient in suspected cannabis-impaired drivers appear to be entering a crowded field as Canada prepares to legalize pot.

Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at a special United Nations session on drugs that legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating pot will be introduced next spring.

A University of British Columbia engineering professor is the latest to create a breathalyzer she says can detect THC levels in the breath of someone who has smoked pot.

Stoner subculture will likely take a hit with the incoming legalization of marijuana in Canada because as the cause vanishes, so will celebration of the drug, say experts.

The declaration comes as the federal government announced a spring 2017 deadline for introducing new marijuana laws and while thousands of people gathered across Canada for the annual April 20 'Weed Day' protest, also known as 4-20.

Protesting against cannabis prohibition has become a social movement with its own ideology and symbols, but that will likely change with the repeal of criminalization, said Benedikt Fischer, a senior scientist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

A group of students won big at SFU’s Opportunity Fest, an annual event that showcases innovators and entrepreneurs, with a cannabis-infused chocolate company that aims to help North American producers enter the edibles market.

Stolz: Cannabis Infused Fine Chocolates took the prize for most investable opportunity and innovator’s choice, as voted by participants, local investors and business leaders.

Garrett Downes, Smarth Duggal, Michael Pizzolon and Jeff Salzsauler said their company will help growers and processors who want to diversify into edibles, but lack expertise.

Stolz will offer a full package to customers, including equipment purchasing, operations design, staff training, marketing and quality control.

A lawyer is asking a Federal Court judge to expand a ruling that found patients in Canada have the right to grow their own medical marijuana.

John Conroy represented the plaintiffs in the constitutional challenge and he will be in court Friday with a motion to reconsider and vary the judge’s order.

Justice Michael Phelan struck down legislation in February that banned patients from growing their own cannabis and required them to buy pot from licensed producers.

The legislation brought in by the previous Conservative government replaced a 2001 law that allowed patients to obtain licences from Health Canada to grow their own marijuana or find designated growers.

In a rather well-timed speech given at a Special Session of the UN General Assembly, Canada’s Health Minister Jane Philpott announced a federal legislation that will officially legalize cannabis will be put forward by next spring.

Yes, you heard that right, in a year’s time marijuana legalization will be one step closer to reality in Canada.

But don’t get the information twisted, because the Liberal government’s plan to create a new bill on legal marijuana for spring 2017 does not mean that cannabis will actually be legalized by that time.

A lot more work, preparation, and information needs to be gathered and prepared before the legislation is even written, not to mention the governmental processes that will follow once the bill is actually done.

“Doobies,” the dude shouted Wednesday morning, from an empty stage. “There will be doobies. Lots of them.” He paused, looked around. “Free doobies, for anyone here.”

The dude was getting bummed. There were few doobie takers outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, traditional home of what’s become an annual marijuana celebration. It’s also known as 4/20, for the date on which it falls.

There were bewildered tourists, mostly, and local businesspeople and random passers-by. A dozen police officers were on hand. They looked bored.

The real action Wednesday was down at the beach, near English Bay, where the city’s dialled-in 4/20 promoters were staging a massive, open-air marijuana market and rally, perhaps the largest ever seen in Canada.

As the federal government prepares to unveil its marijuana legislation next spring, a researcher at the University of British Columbia has successfully created a breathalyzer test capable of measuring THC levels.

Engineering professor Mina Hoorfar began work on the project in 2013 with the help of PhD student Mohammad Paknahad.

Traditional drug tests rely on blood or saliva samples, which take time and are impractical in a roadside setting.

But Hoorfar’s breathalyzer can detect tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, using only the subject’s breath.