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At the head of the table are Ljubica Kostovic and Josh Lyon, the instructors of the evening, who are running seminars not only in Toronto to educate cannabis users, but currently in Calgary with more planned in other cities. Included in the $5 fee for the seminar are “burn kits,” which include rolling papers and a portable grater for the buds and a “Higher Learning” booklet, which are distributed free to the public in all Tokyo Smoke shops.

“One of the reasons why we’re doing these Higher Learning seminars is because there’s a lot to know about the plant, what it can do and the potential experiences,” said Lyon, the vice-president of marketing of Hiku, Tokyo Smoke’s parent company.

“We are trying to ensure that Canadians are confident when legalization comes around. They understand what questions they should be asking. Government, public businesses, private businesses — we want a safe movement.”

Photo by Jenny Yuen/Toronto Sun

As it currently stands, Canada has 250,000 registered medicinal marijuana patients. Health Canada governs the producers who are licensed to grow and cannabis and patients must have a prescription first to access their cannabis, which is sent through the mail.

“If you see anything brick and mortar, that is not legal, even if they make you show a membership card or do a dance, or whatever you have to do to get in,” said Lyon. “Still not legal.”

In 2018, Canada will be the first G20 country to have legalized recreational cannabis. In fact, many users are transitioning out of calling it “marijuana,” opting for the more scientific-based “cannabis” as the mainstream term.