Commercial horticultural crops have basically two stages of growth. The vegetative growth phase is where roots, shoots and branches are produced. This growth is needed for the plant to establish itself and have enough leaf area to carry out adequate photosynthesis.

When executives at Bonify were approached about a year ago on an initiative to introduce a voluntary standards and certification program for premium quality cannabis products, they immediately warmed up to the idea.

While cannabis has no shortage of pests and diseases to challenge producers working within Health Canada’s guidelines, none has been more front and center than powdery mildew, which has dominated industry news both in terms of contamination of end-product by the mildew itself or illegal fungicides used to treat it.

TruTag Technologies, a brand security solutions company, announced a partnership with Tag-it Tech, a Seattle, Washington-based technology firm, last week.The alliance couples TruTag’s “edible barcode” technology platform with Tag-it Tech’s blockchain-based tracking system. In a press release, TruTag said the two companies will work together to bring safety, security and traceability to the North American cannabis market.The illicit trade and unauthorized diversion of legal marijuana products is jeopardizing consumer safety and costing states hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.The combined platform offers regulators and producers visibility, auditability and a means of safeguarding the cannabis supply chain.“Blockchain innovation offers producers, regulators and dispensers a novel means of information-sharing in the supply chain,” said Paul Schutt, CEO and co-founder of Tag-it Tech.“However, blockchain systems still require a secure link between the physical and digital world, and TruTag’s micro-taggant technology is perfect in this respect – providing a covert means of directly tagging cannabis products and their edible derivatives.”  Michael Bartholomeusz, Chief Executive Officer of TruTag Technologies said, “Tag-it Tech brings technological innovation, sector experience and a shared vision for creating a trusted supply chain.”

WINNIPEG – A Toronto-based pot producer is taking over the former Maple Leaf Foods meat plant in Winnipeg.

VANCOUVER – Licensed marijuana producers in Canada are throwing out thousands of kilograms of plant waste each year in what some of them say is a missed opportunity to find other uses for the byproduct.

It is definitely an understatement to say that cannabis production and processing is on the rise in Canada. Alongside this increased interest comes the development and dissemination of many myths surrounding its cultivation. (Mainly borne out of people thinking they have secret recipes to grow bigger buds with strong THC, CBD and turpentine contents.)

Similar to other industries, how cannabis is produced and processed has evolved over time — and it will only continue to evolve as new companies join the elite group of licence producers in Canada that already exists.

It is often assumed in the cannabis industry that greenhouse production, rather than indoor production, will become the norm, especially since costs can be substantially reduced by using the “free power of the sun.”

Oct. 31, 2017 - I hear from clients daily, “these pesticides are just not working like they used to.” It is true, pesticides are not working as well any more. Even when the pesticides were working well, not all the pests were killed despite good coverage and dead bugs on the leaves.

Sept. 29, 2016, Vineland Station, Ont. – As the cannabis industry continues to gain legal status around the world, more and more cannabis growers are learning about commercial scale horticultural production techniques, and of course, that means greenhouse growing.

It’s down to the wire. Licensed producers have sweated and debated over their branding strategies, in some cases for years, and are now putting their finishing touches on both their product and their overall company launches. There are now about 100 LPs in Canada, and none among them wants to be lost in the sea of products about to hit the Canadian market.

Doug Ford's new conservative Ontario government is creating renewed optimism in the cannabis industry particularly on the prospects of increased private business participation in one of the fastest growing industry in Canada.

VICTORIA – Canada is about to enter a new gold rush with many dreaming of striking it rich in the marijuana industry, says former British Columbia premier Mike Harcourt, who has staked his own claim in a medicinal marijuana company.

Anticipating the large amount of licence applications it will continue to in light of cannabis legalization, the federal government is pushing for a tiered licensing structure to allow for scale-based licensing, according to Eric Costen, director general of the federal government's Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat.

VANCOUVER – As marijuana farmers in Oregon say a flood of supply is killing their businesses less than three years after recreational cannabis was legalized, economists say it's a warning to Canada.

JUNEAU, Alaska – When Danielle Schumacher attended her first convention of marijuana activists about 15 years ago, she could count on one hand all the women in a room of older men.

EVIO Inc., an American cannabis testing, research and development company for the regulated cannabis industry, has bought a 50% stake in Keystone Labs Inc., less than a month after launching EVIO Canada, to oversee northern operations.

Canadians are ready for legal cannabis, but is Canada?It’s a question that’s been hitting headlines for over a year, and sceptics see the push-back from the senate and the Trudeau government’s ambiguity on a set legalizationdate as cause for concern.

Grow Opportunity Magazine takes a private tour through Green Relief's cannabis facility. Here, CEO Warren Bravo explains his unique aquaponics process and its positive impact on the environment.

Grow Opportunity caught up with Lisa Campbell, a cannabis activist, to discuss opportunities for women entrepreneurs and professionals in the cannabis industry. She was the guest speaker at a recent Women Grow Toronto networking event.

TD Bank would consider participating in cannabis sector financing after recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada later this year, said its chief executive.

Innovation distilled into its simplest meaning is creating new things. From fire pits and sharp stones to quantum computing and nuclear fusion, innovators create value for themselves and their users.

If there was one word to describe the Canadian cannabis industry in 2017, it would be explosive.

This past November, accounting giant Ernst & Young (EY) released a 12-page report focusing on the opportunities for Canadian licensed producers (LPs) of cannabis. Conversely, in that very same report, it noted that an uncertain operating landscape also exists, thus presenting enormous challenges for LPs.

Meaghan Seagrave – Executive Director of BioNBIf the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that there is tremendous opportunity for the biomass industry in Canada, specifically in Atlantic Canada. In thinking of Atlantic Canada, thoughts of our hospitality, friendliness, seafood, and bitterly cold winters might spring to mind. But, with these sweeping winds comes opportunity for growth in biomass-based industries, especially those that have been traditionally under-realized. 

One can’t blame Canadian cannabis entrepreneurs and investors for feeling a bit motion sick from turbulence, while waiting to see where different layers of government will land on key policies. Unfortunately, you can’t completely blame Ottawa for the hurry up and wait antics. Canadians are simply experiencing legalization through a “parliamentary” process, rather than through an electoral ballot process, like in the U.S.

Not a day goes by without the topic of cannabis making headlines across Canada.

September 2017 – Nothing evokes passionate debate in the cannabis community like the threat of big business taking over. The arguments against big marijuana fill the Internet. The heartfelt plea to preserve small farms is echoed throughout the U.S., Canada and Jamaica.

Our recent webinar outlining the emerging business opportunities related to the move to legalize large-scale marijuana cultivation drew considerable interest.

A new era in medical marijuana production dawned in April of this year, and it hasn’t taken long for the horticulture industry to take note.