TORONTO – It's being touted as the next new miracle ingredient for everything from pet treats to anti-aging face creams and elixirs that can help an athlete's aching body recover faster.

CALGARY – Sundial Growers Inc. has acquired a collection of over 100 cannabis cultivars, which the company will genetically map using a Mitacs Accelerate grant that was awarded to University of Lethbridge professors Igor Kovalchuk and Olga Kovalchuk.

Carbon dioxideSixteen elements are considered essential for proper growth of cannabis and these are the same as for other crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and lettuce. Out of these sixteen elements, carbon is at the top of the list and is required in large amounts. The carbon is taken from the air as carbon dioxide.

As legal marijuana sales continue to explode (it's estimated to quadruple in the U.S. between 2016 and 2021), growers face mounting challenges along with enticing profits. Complaints about cannabis odour have jumped in some areas by as much as 87 per cent since growing became legal. In Denver alone, 30 per cent of all municipal odour complaints are now cannabis-related.

The federal government is providing support to the country's hemp growers with the announcement of a $330,000 investment to the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance.

Physical evidence of cannabis consumption dates back farther than 2000 BC. The practice of Cannabis for medical and psychoactive activities are well-documented among First Nations communities and pre-colonial settlements.

At the heart of southwestern Ontario, one crop producer has mastered the art of aquaponics, where healthy tilapia fish are grown alongside premium quality cannabis.  

Until recently, the craft of growing cannabis has mostly been an underground trade, where the development of growing techniques is largely a private, trial-and-error process. As legalization spreads and cannabis becomes further normalized, cultivators are asking the question: when will cannabis farming be treated like farming?

One of the challenges cannabis growers face is a lack of rigorous, academic studies investigating the various aspects of their business. Lighting is an important example, since it is typically the highest single capital expenditure for indoor and advanced-greenhouse growing facilities.

Goldleaf Pharm, a subsidiary of FIGR Cannabis Inc., has completed the purchase of a 20-acre property adjacent to its facility in Simcoe, Ont., where it expects to build a greenhouse production facility.

Medical cannabis firm Aleafia Health Inc has completed the acquisition of a modern, fully automated 160,000-sq.-ft. greenhouse in the Niagara Region, the company announced.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. — The place pot put on the map, weed capital of Canada, the little town that marijuana saved — folks in Smiths Falls have many ways of describing their community's transformation, but all of them stick to a common theme.

Jimmy's Cannabis will be opening its doors to the public for the first time on Oct. 17 — but it's still not clear whether there will be any pot products on its shelves.

VANCOUVER - Medical marijuana producer Sun Pharm Investments Ltd. is moving to create Zenabis Global Inc., a publicly-traded company with growing operations in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and eventually in Nova Scotia.

The federal government says it will spend $4.1 million on three cannabis-related public education campaigns aimed at youth in Toronto.

Canadian cannabis producer TerrAscend said on Tuesday that it will explore opportunities in the United States where it has identified acquisition prospects in states where cannabis has been legalized.

Ontario's attorney general says the province will launch a public awareness campaign when recreational cannabis is legalized to promote social responsibility and highlight the dangers of using the drug.

VANCOUVER - Canadian hemp producer Wahupta Ventures has acquired Victoria, B.C.-based Curran Technologies (CTI) for $2 million.

OTTAWA – Health Canada has announced the federal government’s approach to cost recovery fees that intend to regulate the cannabis industry.

Winnipeg, Man.-based medical cannabis producer Bonify, has teamed up with the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (MBLL) to sell medical marijuana.

Canopy Growth Corporation’s Spectrum Cannabis branch is partnering with the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) to develop and implement a pilot study aimed at using medical marijuana to treat pain and cognitive function in seniors.

Ontario's decision to not cap the number of privately-operated cannabis shops has been welcomed by industry players, but market share restrictions on licensed producers and the lack of clarity on where marijuana stores can be located may pose headwinds for the sector.

EDMONTON – Aurora Cannabis Inc. capped a busy year by seeing its revenues more than triple to $19.1 million in the fourth quarter.

On Oct. 17th cannabis retail stores across Canada will open their doors for the first time to Canadian adults. The past few months have seen licensed producers pushing to exponentially increase their growing capacity to meet anticipated demand in both the recreational and medical cannabis markets.

A new report from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce predicted that sales of legal cannabis will hit $6.5 billion by 2020, surpassing even liquor sales in the country.  

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.