You'd never know it standing at the side of the road, but nestled in the rolling hills of Flamborough is an underground bunker capable of producing more than 2,700 kilograms of medical marijuana per year.

At the end of February, Green Relief Inc. became Canada's 28th licensed producer of dried marijuana under the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). The company says it's also the largest aquaponics commercial grow facility in North America.

Just off a main concession, a bumpy dirt road winds past a weathered barn and crosses over a babbling brook. The view might lead one to expect to find an historic farmhouse or field of crops as they crest the final hill up the laneway. 

Canada’s provinces should each get leeway on the way they sell, tax and control marijuana once the drug is legalized by the federal government, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute.

The framework suggested by economist Anindya Sen would create a patchwork of rules across Canada, with different laws governing everything from the stores that can carry the drug to the penalties for selling to underage users.

In this “joint venture,” the federal government would monitor the safe production of marijuana for recreational use, while the provinces would oversee distribution, with an eye to meeting public-health goals.

The Canadian government announced Wednesday that it will introduce legislation next year to decriminalize and legalize the sale of marijuana, making Canada the first G7 country to permit widespread use of the substance.

The announcement was made by Canada’s health minister, Jane Philpott, at a U.N. drug conference in New York. It follows through on a promise made during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successful election campaign last fall.

Understanding the way in which cannabis can help break the chronic pain cycle.

One in five Canadians suffer from chronic pain. Effective chronic pain management is one of the biggest challenges faced by patients and physicians alike. For many patients, traditional interventional treatments and prescription medications provide only limited pain relief and an abundance of side effects. As a result, many patients continue to seek alternative treatments, such as cannabis, to help manage their chronic pain condition. 

As marijuana advocates in Canada take part in 4/20 cannabis culture demonstrations today, they know pot-smoking events in the not-too-distant future could actually be legal.

But when the Liberal government makes good on its campaign promise to legalize marijuana, there are bound to be many questions about life in a pot-permissive Canada that are more about social norms than laws. In the U.S., Colorado and Washington have already lifted their prohibitions on weed, leaving American etiquette experts with a new frontier to address. 

CBC News asked Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of renowned etiquette expert Emily Post and co-president of The Emily Post Institute, to weigh in on marijuana etiquette.  

Yeast fermentation technique allows researchers to isolate cannabinoids for treatment of different diseases.

New medical marijuana products produced by yeast could soon be on the market, the co-founder of a biotech company says. That could potentially lead to a wider range of cannabinoid-based drugs that proponents say could be more effective for treating certain medical conditions than medical marijuana itself.

Cannabinoids are chemical compounds found in marijuana. Kevin Chen's Montreal-based company,  Hyasynth, has successfully made the cannabinoid  cannabigerol (CBG) from genetically engineered yeast, and he says this could be a precursor to other major and minor  cannabinoids.

Mayor and provincial minister of public safety talking tough. What about the feds?

Surrey has been the site of more than 30 shootings since January, and residents have demanded government at all levels take action.

Last week, Mayor Linda Hepner offered tough talk about those involved with the shootings — "I want to call them punks," she said — saying that tougher sentences and more enforcement was the solution.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Morris also trumpeted enforcement, quoted as saying, "We're going to put these guys in jail."

So what does the federal government have to offer?

Tony Machado is on good terms with his new neighbours — a pot dispensary that's opened two doors down from his supermarket in Little Portugal.

It’s even brought new clientele to the neighbourhood where Machado’s been doing business for 20 years. But, with another dispensary located one block east and yet another preparing to open soon across the street, he has concerns. 

But, politicians and bureaucrats say their hands are tied, and they can’t effectively manage the marijuana dispensary boom that’s hit Toronto since Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were elected.

Between the party’s promise to legalize marijuana and the time its taken them to do anything substantive on the file, Toronto has been left without options for managing the industry.

The third annual Brantford 4/20 rally in support of the decriminalization of marijuana takes place at Victoria Park on Wednesday.

The rally, organized by the Brantford Cannabis Club, takes place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It will include speeches, vendors, live entertainment and prizes.

"It should be a very educational day in the park," said Calvin Reese, of the Brantford Cannabis Club.

"It (the rally) is aimed at pushing for the decriminalization of cannabis and to educate people about the plant. We do not condone the use of cannabis for minors at this event or ever unless directed by a medical professional."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise to legalize marijuana, but efforts to implement an effective medical system and reform marijuana laws in the country have not happened fast enough, says 27-year-old David Murphy, a farmer in Nova Scotia who uses cannabis to treat his brain cancer.

In a letter to Trudeau, Murphy described a recent raid against a dispensary that he happened to witness and called on the prime minister to clarify Canada's drug policy so that patients aren't left without medicine in the event that law enforcement authorities shut down legal dispensaries. Currently, medical marijuana is legal in Canada, but raids continue to affect dispensaries across the country, CBC News reports.