Calyx Wellness Centre’s Roger B. measures out some RockStar Indica marijauna on Wednesday. Exploring the “grey area” of medical marijuana dispensaries A Toronto mother of three has opened up a medical marijuana shop on Parkdale’s main strip on Queen Street West and a passer-by wouldn’t even know it. Nestled between a...

Alberta liquor stores contemplating pot sales Even before Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci jokingly suggested retail pot sales go to liquor stores last week — which he quickly retracted — the Alberta Liquor Store Association says it was asking its members about the idea. “We started the conversation back...

CLEAR LAKE, CA – AUGUST 7, 2014: Marijuana plants grow on a residential property in a vegetable garden in Lake County on August 7, 2014 in Clear Lake, California. Lake County just passed strict growing laws recently. But, activists are putting a new initiative on the ballot to allow marijuana farming. (Photo by Gina...

British Columbians are taking a keen interest in a petition that asks for the Canadian government to fully repeal the prohibition of marijuana. Of 12,549 signatures gathered so far, residents of B.C. account for 5,133 of them. That’s 41 percent, whereas B.C. accounts for roughly 13 percent of the country’s...

Growing a thriving business requires branching out to find new contacts, including partners to work with and customers to sell to. Networking is key to making this possible. Attending hundreds of events and exchanging countless business cards may lead to a few fortuitous connections, but networking with a plan will...

A look into the future of industrial hemp Unsustainable Alberta resources beware: there is a new kid on the block. Jesse Pollack and Angel Gan from the environmental technology program at SAIT discussed their ongoing sustainability project in an interview on Feb. 25. They are looking at hemp, a tall, green and stalky...

A cannabis plant is shown in southwest Quebec on Oct. 8, 2013. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press) TORONTO – You won’t find brightly coloured bongs or bubble gum-flavoured rolling papers displayed against the backdrop of exposed brick and modern, industrial-style furnishings at Tokyo Smoke. Instead, the shop –...

Canada’s “gray market” dispensaries – storefronts that illegally sell medical marijuana – have been in the news a lot over the last year, from stories of RCMP crackdowns to cities like Vancouver licensing local operations in defiance of federal laws. But few stories offer an overview of the nuts and bolts of the...

In my years as an entrepreneur, author and business advisor, I have seen others fail and had countless failures of my own. I have stayed up endless late nights working on a new project, only to rip it apart and start all over again. I’ve heard “no” more times than I can count. But through all of the trials and...

Are Toronto and Vancouver in the midst of a pot-shop bubble? (The Globe and Mail) More of Vancouver’s illegal cannabis dispensaries are expanding their operations to Toronto, eyeing a larger market with zero regulations, especially with new bylaws on the West Coast threatening to disrupt their...