When the Democratic National Convention comes to town next week, the city will be abuzz with activity at a time when marijuana activists find themselves making political progress much quicker than they’d imagined they ever could.

So, it only makes sense that several DNC events will have a marijuana sensibility to them, none more visually compelling as activists and supporters’ plans to march a 51-foot joint from City Hall to the Wells Fargo Center.

Before we get to the litany of events planned, let’s talk a bit about what goes into not only making a 51-foot joint, but how to transport such a thing the near-length of South Broad Street.

Cities and towns should get a piece of the $5 billion in expected revenue once marijuana is legalized in Canada, say municipal leaders around Ontario.

Making sure municipalities get their share of the cash will be a focus of several talks in Windsor next month when members of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario gather for their annual conference.

Towns and cities deserve to have more funding, considering they carry the load when it comes to policing and social services, explained Gary McNamara, Tecumseh Mayor and AMO president. 

New challenges

Legalizing marijuana will only add new challenges for municipalities, McNamara told CBC News.

Amid continuing controversy over the full legalization of marijuana, Governor Raimondo has signed a law allowing the use of medical marijuana to treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

The signing of the bills championed by Sen. Stephen Archambault, D-Smithfield, and Rep. Scott Slater, D-Providence, marked a victory for veterans groups who lobbied hard this year, and last, for the inclusion of PTSD as one of the “debilitating medical conditions” eligible for medical-marijuana use. 

As the opioid epidemic continues to plague the Ohio Valley with addiction and death, the search for safer methods of pain management has become increasingly urgent.

Advocates for medical marijuana have recently made inroads in the area with growing scientific evidence that the substance currently considered of no medical value by the federal government might be a tool to wean those suffering from chronic pain off of more dangerous drugs.

It would cost North Dakota's Health Department more than $3.5-million a year and a small army of workers to regulate medical marijuana if the issue appears on the November ballot and voters approve it, according to an analysis by the agency.

The analysis was released last week, a few hours after Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple called a special session of the North Dakota Legislature to address a $310-million shortfall to the state treasury, which may require cuts to the Health Department and other agencies.

Rilie Ray Morgan, a Fargo financial planner who is heading the effort to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, called the estimates "overblown" and an attempt to derail the effort in a budget-challenged state, a charge the agency denies.

Drugged driving is a growing problem, police fear.

As pot dispensaries become more prevalent in Ottawa, there is growing concern about people driving while high.

In May, Canada’s leading drive-safe group held a series of meetings with new members of Parliament to discuss what it calls the need to implement better roadside testing technology, before legislation to legalize marijuana is passed.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving appealed to the government to do away with current drug-recognition evaluations, and implement “drug wipe” roadside saliva tests, similar to the Breathalyzer tests that detect alcohol, to tell on the spot whether a person is impaired by drugs.

James Graham Wilson’s brilliant history of how Reagan and Gorbachev engaged to end the Cold War, The Triumph of Improvisation, begins with this story. 

Late at night Reagan and his campaign manager Lee Atwater were descending into Chicago’s O’Hare Airport near the end of his ultimately triumphant 1980 Presidential campaign. The following exchange took place. (It is worth remembering that Reagan was 69 at the time).

Atwater: “Ron — why exactly are you doing this?”

Reagan: “I want to bring an end to the Cold War.”

Atwater: “How are you going to to that?”

Reagan: “I don’t know, but there has got to be a way.”

The future Hall of Famer admits to smoking marijuana during his playing career.

During Randy Moss' NFL career, in which he caught 982 passes for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns, he openly admitted to smoking marijuana. So, it should come as no surprise to hear Moss, who hasn't played since the 2012 season, rail against the league's marijuana policy.

When speaking with Monday Morning Quarterback's Kalyn Kahler, Moss was asked if the NFL should remove marijuana from its list of banned substances. He replied, "I think the NFL just needs to loosen up the rules and let everybody live."

The “discussion” paper about legalizing marijuana is out from the Liberal government.

When I first heard of the “legalization” task force, I envisioned Order-of-Canada quality people touring the country, listening to Canadians, acknowledging the terrible prohibition mistakes of the past, and pledging to find a new way forward past prohibition into the era—it's 2016, after all!—of autonomous adult choice in the matter of cannabis and our bodies.

I saw legalization as this: the government stops a failed policy of marijuana prohibition because it has needlessly given over two million Canadians criminal records since 1964.

Donald Trump has reportedly chosen Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) to be his vice presidential running mate. And that’s bad news for the socially liberal.

Who is Mike Pence? For one, he is the beleaguered Indiana Governor who, thanks to Trump’s choice, won’t have to endure a hard fought political battle this election year in the state where his popularity is waning.

The congressman is so conservative, he votes against his own party, having opposed No Child Left Behind and the George W Bush-led Medicare prescription drug expansion. He is also close to the libertarian Koch brothers.