With cannabis legalization on the horizon next year, the federal government must make it easier to study the potential medical benefits of the drug and evaluate how ending prohibition might affect society, according to an open letter to politicians from dozens of the country’s leading academics and public-health researchers who study the drug.

“Under widespread global prohibition, cannabis research has been limited by the criminalization and stigmatization of cannabis use and users, leading to substantial gaps in knowledge around the harms and benefits of both medical and non-medical cannabis,” reads a letter sent Monday to federal lawmakers on the letterhead of the BC Centre on Substance Use, an organization funded by the provincial government to study drugs.

A decree issued by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto yesterday confirmed that Mexico has legalized cannabis for medicinal use after overwhelming support from Mexico’s Lower House of Congress.

An illegal pot shop on Bank Street recently had a sale on peanut butter cookies. The cannabis-laced sweets  were $5, a third of the regular price of $15.

“For this price, you can’t go wrong,” said a customer snapping up 10 of them. “Might as well stock up.”

The store had traditional dried weed for sale in glass jars, but half the display cases were filled with cookies, gummy candies shaped like teddy bears, tea, cannabis concentrates and vape pens loaded with cannabis oil.

It’s a reflection of a broad shift among marijuana users away from smoking.

In cannabis cutting-edge Colorado, dried weed makes up a steadily shrinking proportion of sales. And edible products like chocolate bars, candy and lemonade are taking a growing bite out of the market.

A big issue involving medical marijuana has emerged in the past year: Many people prefer using marijuana for their condition rather than opioids.

Former NFL and NBA players have come forward to say that both leagues should allow players to at least try marijuana for pain management, given the known issues with opioid use and the ongoing overdose epidemic.

Numerous studies are underway around the world to learn of the potential health benefits of using marijuana, including for pain management.

The federal government is preparing a backup plan that would see it regulate the distribution and taxation of legal marijuana in provinces that are not ready in time for Ottawa’s July, 2018, deadline.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau outlined the plan Monday following a two-day meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts. Some provinces are expressing concern with the federal government’s deadline for legalization, given that important details, such as how the products will be taxed, have yet to be worked out.

Speaking with reporters, Mr. Morneau said a backup plan will be in place that would see Ottawa regulate a legal cannabis market based on mail delivery in provinces that have not yet established a regime to regulate sales at the retail level.

Florida health officials have laid out a new process to implement the voter-approved constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana, as they attempt to meet deadlines included in the November ballot measure.

The latest proposed rule came as the Department of Health awaits Gov. Rick Scott’s signature of a medical-marijuana bill adopted by lawmakers during a special session this month. That bill addressed major issues, such as how many companies will receive marijuana licenses and how many retail outlets they can run.

Lawmakers on Monday formally sent the bill (SB 8-A) to Scott, who has said he will sign it into law.

Taxation isn't the only factor in the quest to undercut black market prices.

Provincial finance ministers are getting a clear message from the federal government this week: Keep taxes on legal marijuana sales consistently low across Canada, or risk undercutting the government's goal of ending black market cannabis sales.

But provincial governments may find that enticing consumers to buy legal marijuana over illicit weed will take more than just tweaking tax rates. The question of how provinces allow marijuana to be sold could also play an important role in pricing.

Where there’s smoke, there’s a benefits claim.

Turns out that’s the case with a new Ontario Public Sector Employees Union policy that will see its members covered for medical marijuana.

The new policy, announced Friday by OPSEU president Warren “Smokey” Thomas, will see union employees who have a doctor’s prescription reimbursed for a valid medical marijuana prescription.

“There are benefits to medical cannabis,” Thomas said. “We’ve been working with the (insurance) carrier that we have, SSQ, and it took a bit...so for certain illnesses it’s a hell of a lot better than every day drugs.”

The Trudeau government is set on legalizing marijuana by the summer of 2018. While they will enjoy the political payoff of appearing progressive on this matter, all of the associated problems and the logistics of doing so will fall on the shoulders of the provincial governments and their civic counterparts.

I suggest the Manitoba provincial government draw lessons from the last time an illegal substance was legalized following Prohibition in the late 1920s, as well as from the current public health efforts to eliminate tobacco use in Canada as a means to guide their policy on marijuana.

All this time we’ve been wondering who the pro marijuana voice of reason in the Trump’s circle would be. With so many in Trump’s campaign that are clearly prohibitionist, the chances of any real supporters seemed slimmer than ever.

Then, six months into Trump’s presidency, an incredibly stunning development has breathed new life into the hopes of marijuana supporters around the country.