The Cannabis Act has passed, a date is set for the introduction of legal recreational cannabis across the country: What comes next? Full drug legalization? Easy access to narcotics, psychotropic escapism, values corroded, families torn apart, Canada spinning into the abyss?

Remember this feeling; log these concerns. Because this is similar to how people felt nearly a century ago. Then the drug was alcohol and the worries were much more profound. Social decline, moral corruption, economic collapse, national disaster – these were the concerns that drove liquor prohibition, shaped post-prohibition regulation and provided a template for cannabis legalization.

As universities and colleges across Canada scramble to create policies ahead of legalized cannabis, two in London are taking a hard line against the drug by restricting its possession, or banning it outright, on campus.

Fanshawe College, one of Ontario’s largest community colleges, is banning marijuana — its use and consumption – from its campus, while Western University has adopted the same approach for its student residence buildings.

Schools are free to adopt the get-tough or zero-tolerance approach to what will become a legal substance in small amounts this fall, but some student groups and activists are raising the alarm, saying such crackdowns will only further stigmatize pot and lead to more problems for users.

According to some studies, CBD isn’t the only cannabinoid that can help sick children.

The results of two recent studies suggest that THC may be effective in treating epilepsy. The news comes amid numerous reports that another cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), may also be a viable treatment for seizure disorders. The work of medical researchers in Canada and Australia may indicate that cannabis medications with a combination of cannabinoidsmay be more effective at reducing seizures than CBD alone.

The Federal government has said it will not consider decriminalizing drugs other than marijuana despite the country’s major cities urging them to consider otherwise.

A report by Health Canada found that in 2017, close to 4,000 Canadians died from an apparent opioid overdose. There were 303 in Toronto alone. Montreal saw 140 opioid-related deaths in just a little over a year’s time.

To better prepare the workforce, a Canadian company will start teaching cannabis education courses for employers. A Canadian consulting company will soon be starting cannabiseducation for employers, according to a report from the CBC. The Alberta firm, Cannabis at Work, will offer courses to help employers navigate the Canadian legalization of cannabis.

The classes are designed to help companies understand how the law impacts employers that may have workers who use cannabis, either medicinally or recreationally. The courses are scheduled to begin next month at the University of Calgary.

William Caines doesn't have a criminal record. But he still dreads potential employers asking for a criminal record check.

He's one of 12 workers charged in raids on Saint John cannabis dispensaries in January. 

When the results reveal to potential bosses he has a court date coming up, "they're like, is this guy a pedophile, is this guy a killer, what is he?" said Caines.

"It's been really hard getting work."

Caines hopes that's going to change soon. 

When Canada officially launches its recreational marijuana market later this year, the federal government will provide the nation’s cannabis farmers with some of the same funding opportunities as other green thumb industrialists.

Earlier this month, agricultural ministers representing every level of government decided during their annual meeting in Vancouver that the companies producing cannabis plants for both the recreational and medicinal sector should qualify for a portion of the agricultural support offered to traditional farmers. Canada provides dozens of programs and partnerships intended to help the agricultural community stay innovative and prosperous.

The federal government says it is not interested in decriminalizing any drugs beyond marijuana, despite calls from Canada's two largest cities to consider the measure.

As the opioid epidemic washes over the country, Montreal and Toronto are urging the federal government to treat drug use as a public health issue, rather than a criminal one.

Montreal's public health department has just thrown its support behind a report released recently by Toronto's board of health which urges the federal government to decriminalize all drugs. A Health Canada report last month found that nearly 4,000 Canadians died from an apparent opioid overdose in 2017, including 303 opioid overdose-related deaths in Toronto.

Canada's legalization of cannabis this year wasn’t met with red envelope-like celebration by Chinese government officials. The Chinese government has long blamed the maple-blanketed country for its handling of tons of illegal cannabis imports. Those officials have a right to be somewhat perturbed, as roughly 20% of Canada’s total marijuana production ($1.2 billion worth) was sold illegally beyond the country's borders last year, a good portion believed to be China-bound.

A workplace safety company in Nova Scotia hopes the next couple of months will be big ones for it.

With the legalization of recreational marijuana coming to Canada on Oct. 17, the Sayle Group has been pushing its cannabis safety program to businesses ranging from IT firms to heavy industrial companies.

"We spent the latter part of last year and the early part of this year soft launching our online program," said company CEO Stephen Sayle. "The interest now since that time has really started to ramp up."

The Sayle Group only has seven employees and is based out of a small office in Bedford, N.S.