iN

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government is planning to end its ban on homegrown recreational cannabis — a move that would leave Quebec as the only province with such a restriction.

VANCOUVER - The head of a B.C. cannabis growers group says the City of Vancouver's choice to discourage instead of sanction a marijuana celebration over the weekend was a costly "missed opportunity."

SEATTLE (AP) — Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts.

A Penticton cannabis retailer will be opening its consumption patio this weekend and the owner says it'll be the perfect spot for customers to safely enjoy a toke.

BERLIN (AP) — You can get drunk at Bavaria's world-famous Oktoberfest, but don't get high.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A convicted California con artist has pleaded guilty in another scam, admitting that he swindled investors out of more than $18 million by concocting phoney cannabis businesses shortly after being released from prison in a prior criminal case, federal prosecutors said.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The now-aging hippies who took over a derelict naval base in Copenhagen more than 50 years ago and turned it into a freewheeling community known as Christiania want to boot out criminals who control the community's lucrative market for hashish by ripping up the cobblestoned street where it openly changes hands.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York's cannabis industry was unsettled this week by a judge's ruling that appeared to strike down all regulations governing recreational marijuana in the state. But a key portion of the order turned out to be a mistake.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court issued rulings this week allowing the state's voters to decide whether to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational use of marijuana, rejecting the state attorney general's arguments that the measures should be kept off the November ballot.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed into law a bill that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs, ending a first-in-the-nation experiment with decriminalization that was hobbled by implementation issues.

BERLIN (AP) — Austria will step up police checks near its border with Germany after its neighbour legalized the possession of limited amounts of cannabis for recreational use, the country's top security official said Tuesday.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — John Sinclair, a poet, music producer and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him, has died. He was 82.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Marijuana campaigners in Germany lit celebratory joints on Monday as the country legalized possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use - a step that hasn't ended the debate over the drug.

Midway RCMP raided a clandestine laboratory for producing a cannabis concentrate in Beaverdell this week.

Two young people who were diagnosed with cannabis-induced psychosis are supporting an expert panel's recommendation that Health Canada establish a standard dose for cannabis, saying it would help nudge people toward safer consumption.

BERLIN (AP) — The German government's plan to liberalize rules on cannabis cleared its final parliamentary hurdle Friday, paving the way for the possession of limited amounts of marijuana to be decriminalized on April 1.

A group convened by the federal government to study the legislation that made cannabis legal is recommending the country review one of the industry's biggest gripes: excise taxes charged to pot producers.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Language put in the main budget bill by the Kentucky Senate would set conditions to unlock funding to oversee the state's medical cannabis program, which is scheduled to take effect at the start of 2025.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will evaluate its troubled recreational marijuana licensing program after lawsuits and bureaucratic stumbles severely hampered the legal market and allowed black-market sellers to flourish, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered Monday.

A Kelowna dispensary has been caught selling cannabis products to a minor.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The inhabitants of Copenhagen's freewheeling Christiania neighbourhood plan to dig up the aptly named Pusher Street, in their latest attempt to stop illegal hashish sales which have led to deadly gang turf wars and sometimes violent confrontations with the police.

CALGARY - High Tide Inc. says it has signed a deal to acquire premium cannabis brand Queen of Bud's intellectual property.

NEW YORK (AP) — The biopic “Bob Marley: One Love” has been a box-office hit in the United States and several other countries. The film, starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, is focused on the Rastafari legend’s story during the making of his 1977 album “Exodus” while leading up to a momentous concert in his native Jamaica.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — For more than half a century, Ohio was one of the most important states to watch during presidential election years, a place where both parties competed vigorously for support from voters who were often genuinely undecided.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rats have gotten into confiscated pot at New Orleans' aging police headquarters, munching the evidence as the building is taken over by mold and cockroaches, said the city's police chief.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey plans to announce this week that she's following the lead of President Joe Biden and issuing pardons to those convicted of simple possession of cannabis at the state level, her office said Monday.

WHITEHALL, Ohio (AP) — Two Ohio lawmakers are looking to ease a looming financial burden on law enforcement agencies in their state that will have to replace marijuana-sniffing dogs after voters approved a plan last year to legalize recreational marijuana use.

A dispensary in Penticton is getting ready to open a cannabis patio, which could be the first in the Okanagan and Kamloops, following a new regulation that allows pot smoking anywhere tobacco smoking is permitted.

A Kamloops cannabis store was fined after selling to a minor.

The BC government now allows cannabis smoking or vaping on the same outdoor patios cigarette smoking is allowed.

BANGKOK (AP) — Two years after Thailand made pot legal, the country appears set to crack down on its freewheeling drug market with a ban on “recreational” use.

A Moscow court on Wednesday remanded a German citizen into custody after his arrest over possession of cannabis gummies and accusations of smuggling drugs, Russian state news agency Tass said.

KINGFISHER, Okla. (AP) — A man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing four workers at an Oklahoma marijuana farm in 2022.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - Canopy Growth Corp. reported a net loss of $216.8 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $264.4 million a year earlier.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. bolstered its international presence Thursday with a deal to buy the 90 per cent of Australian medical cannabis company MedReleaf Australia it didn't already own.

Money is pouring into the fledgling psychedelic medicine industry, with dozens of startup companies vying to be among the first to sell mind-expanding drugs for depression, addiction and other mental health conditions.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A pair of California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill on Tuesday to allow people 21 and older to consume psychedelic mushrooms under professional supervision as part of an agenda to tackle the state's mental health and substance use crises.

Cannabis use may increase the risk of developing a new anxiety disorder or worsen existing anxiety, a large Ontario study suggests.

EDMONTON - Aurora Cannabis Inc. has announced a plan to consolidate its shares on a one-for-10 basis.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — The six men found dead at a remote dirt crossroads in the Southern California desert last week were likely shot to death in a dispute over marijuana, sheriff's officials said Monday as they announced the arrests of five men suspected in the violence.

Some workers in the Okanagan cannabis industry say that dozens of weed products are frequently taken off the market unfairly.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measure amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis.

MADISON, Wis . (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans appear to be at an impasse over a proposal to legalize medical marijuana.

OTTAWA - An annual survey from Health Canada shows 73% of respondents are buying their cannabis from legal sources.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Having state-run dispensaries for medical marijuana in Wisconsin as proposed by Assembly Republicans is a “nonstarter” in the Senate, but there's still the possibility of reaching a compromise that could pass, the Senate GOP leader said this week.

The head of Tilray Brands Inc. says he's aiming to make the pot company a top beverage firm, in part by pouring resources into revitalizing a number of alcohol brands his business recently bought from Anheuser-Busch Cos.

Roadside testing kits for cannabis impaired drivers have been approved for use in Canada, but have a mixed reception and limited use in B.C.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Two men charged with murder in the death of an Oakland police officer who was shot while answering a burglary report at a marijuana business appeared in court last week but didn't enter pleas.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Access to medical marijuana in Kentucky should expand to include a longer list of severe health conditions, Gov. Andy Beshear said this week in advocating a change that would make hundreds of thousands more people eligible for treatment when the program begins next year.

A BC renter who was forced to move after his landlord took issue with his medical cannabis use has lost his human rights complaint.

Two Kelowna RCMP raids left the doors of a magic mushroom shop shuttered, but its owners haven't given up.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s parliament voted Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana, after the war with Russia left thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder that many believe could be eased by the drug.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans plan to unveil a proposal soon to legalize medical marijuana in the state and could vote on it sometime in 2024, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.

Albertans will soon see pot shops selling cannabis at some festivals and trade shows.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - Canopy Growth Corp. says it has sold its This Works skin care and wellness brand to a U.K. investment firm.

BREDA, Netherlands (AP) — A paradox at the heart of the Netherlands' permissive pot policy went up in smoke Friday in two Dutch cities as “coffeeshops” began selling the country's first legally cultivated cannabis as part of an experiment to regulate the trade.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - Canopy Growth Corp. says a consolidation of its shares on a one-for-10 basis is expected to become effective on Friday.

South Dakota officials will no longer deny applications for personalized license plates based on whether the plate's message is deemed to be “offensive to good taste and decency," following the state's admission that the language is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - Canopy Growth Corp. says the aggregate gross proceeds from selling off its sports drink business total $30.4 million.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A commercial bus driver who pulled over on a Connecticut highway and passed out with 38 passengers aboard after eating THC-infused gummies has been granted a probation program that could result in criminal charges being dismissed.

Boo Williams wakes up each morning not knowing how the pain will hit. It could be debilitating headaches that make it impossible to get out of bed. Sometimes the pain shoots down his neck. Through all of it, he's angry.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - Canopy Growth Corp. says an Ontario court has approved the sale of its BioSteel sports drink business in a pair of deals.

A 27-year-old woman suffered a fatal asthma attack last year in what health and workplace safety officials said was the U.S. cannabis industry’s first reported occupational asthma death.

NEW YORK (AP) — Asking for privacy, hip-hop legend and longtime marijuana enthusiast Snoop Dogg says he's going to stop smoking — though he didn't specify exactly what that might mean.

EDMONTON - Aurora Cannabis Inc. says it earned $256,000 in the second quarter, up from a loss a year earlier of $45.5 million.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - Canopy Growth Corp. says its net loss for the second quarter was $324.8 million, compared with $305.8 million a year earlier.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law.

Kelowna's downtown psilocybin mushroom dispensary isn't dissuaded by police raids at similar stores in Vancouver.

TORONTO - Shares of Organigram Holdings Inc. rose 30 per cent after it says BAT signed a deal to increase its stake in the cannabis company by investing $124.6 million.

Law enforcement officials came across a staggering find after being tipped off about possible drug-dealing: dozens of dog-food-size bags of psychedelic mushrooms worth an estimated $8.5 million at a home in rural Connecticut.

OTTAWA - Three British Columbia men who allegedly tried to smuggle marijuana into the United States in hollowed-out logs almost 20 years ago are facing extradition again, and Canada's highest court will not intervene.

A new poll on legal cannabis shows most British Columbians are in favour of drug testing in the workplace and pardons for pre-legalization possession convictions.

A Vancouver "compassion club" that had been funded by the British Columbia government has been raided by police on allegations of drug trafficking.

When Miguel Martin first visited Bevo Agtech Inc.’s Langley, B.C., greenhouse, he saw potential bursting from every corner.

TORONTO - When Canada legalized recreational cannabis in 2018, there were still many unknown implications for health care, industry and the country at large. So the government made a promise: after three years, it would review the law to ensure its policies worked.

When Abi Roach thinks about the 20 years she spent fighting for Canada to legalize cannabis, she says pot legislation is like a clenched fist.

RAVENA, N.Y. (AP) — New York officials launched legal recreational marijuana sales by promising many of the first retail licenses to people with past drug convictions, hoping to give people harmed by the war on drugs a chance to succeed before competitors crowded in.

RCMP in Merritt have unplugged an illegal basement cannabis grow operation.

OTTAWA - A review of the federal legislation that paved the way for the legal recreational use and sale of cannabis says companies in the legal market report struggling to realize profits and maintain financial viability.

The cannabis company Tilray expanded its position in the craft brew industry, completing the acquisition of eight beer brands from Anheuser-Busch that it had announced over the summer.

LEAMINGTON, Ont. - Tilray Brands Inc. reported a loss of US$55.9 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of US$65.8 million a year earlier as its net revenue rose 15 per cent.

VANCOUVER - Megan McLaren thought her future career was in law enforcement, but her path radically shifted thanks in part to psychedelic drug therapy, she says.

EDMONTON - Shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc. were down more than 10 per cent after the cannabis company announced plans to raise $33.8 million in a share offering.

WASHINGTON - Canadian cannabis companies and their investors cheered a Senate committee's decision Wednesday to push forward with measures designed to ease federal financing restrictions on their U.S. counterparts.

A BC judge tossed out a claim from 14 cannabis stores which claimed the province's inability to control unlicensed shops on First Nation reservation lands was hurting their business.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. owes a slew of top-ranking sports teams and leagues millions of dollars.

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. - A small eastern Ontario town that was once known as the province's chocolate capital is preparing for the sweet return of Hershey's.

The psychedelic drug MDMA can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers reported in a new study published Thursday.

A group of health-care workers and patients have turned to Federal Court in an effort to overturn Health Canada's rejection of their request to use a restricted psychedelic drug for professional training.

Tired of its sports drink business weighing on its books, Canopy Growth Corp. is making moves to shed the division.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Copenhagen’s mayor has urged foreigners not to buy weed in the city's Christiania neighbourhood where a 30-year-old man was shot and killed and four others injured two weeks ago due to gang turf wars fighting over the marijuana trade in the area.

OTTAWA - The RCMP is looking at easing a policy that requires front-line officers and many other employees to refrain from recreational cannabis use for four weeks before duty.

TORONTO - Embattled Canadian cannabis stocks jumped this week on the hope that the U.S. may ease restrictions on the substance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders hailed it this week as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s become a stink at the U.S. Open: a pungent marijuana smell that wafted over an outer court, clouded the concentration of one of the world’s top players and left the impression there’s no place left to escape the unofficial scent of the city.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Cannabis company Atlantic Cultivation has acquired the insolvent Tantalus Labs brand.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The government of the Bahamas has unveiled several bills aimed at legalizing marijuana for medical and religious purposes, joining other Caribbean nations that have taken similar steps.

Cannabis company Tilray Brands Inc. is taking on full ownership of the pot drinks company it ran with Molson Coors Canada.

RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) — The Red Lake Nation in northwestern Minnesota, which opened the state's first recreational marijuana store this month, now plans to roll out a mobile dispensary.