The City of Victoria is considering rules for its illegal cannabis dispensaries that would be more permissive than Vancouver’s landmark bylaw, permitting the sale of controversial “edibles” and allowing pot shops to be located closer to schools.

Medical marijuana advocates in the provincial capital praised the draft rules for the city’s 32 existing dispensaries, which will be voted on by council later this week. The new proposal comes as officials in Vancouver began cracking down on dispensaries, handing out tickets to nearly two dozen shops over the weekend.

It might go down as the most expensive bong hit in history. Last Thursday night, Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil tumbled in the NFL draft right after a video appeared on his Twitter feed showing him smoking from a gas mask pipe. Tunsil went from a potential No. 1 pick to the No. 13 slot, when he was selected by the Miami Dolphins — potentially losing more than $8 million over the course of his rookie contract and at least $7.3 million in guaranteed payments.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner came under fire Monday as the doctors, nurses and patients on a state panel that recommends whether to expand Illinois' medical marijuana test program complained their suggestions are routinely ignored.

The Medical Cannabis Advisory Board suggested that 10 previously recommended ailments receive approval, as well two new ones: Type 1 diabetes and panic disorder.

Californians: you may want enjoy those cozy, smoke-wreathed Netflix nights on the couch while you can. With the Sunshine State poised for a November vote on legalizing recreational cannabis, a new bill could make it illegal for renters to smoke marijuana in their own homes.

"Secondhand smoke, regardless of whether it's smoke from tobacco or marijuana, is especially problematic in multiunit apartments and condos because the smoke easily travels the windows, doors and other ventilation systems," said Jim Wood, the state assemblyman who introduced the bill. "It's a nuisance that tenants should not have to live with."

Cannabis legalization challenges a lot of the norms we have held to be true. It has been considered an illegal drug for decades and hasn't been allowed in the workplace.

Legalization of medical cannabis has been the first challenge for employers and legal recreational use brings up many more questions.

The thing that's unique about cannabis is it has both medical and recreational uses. This means there have to be two sets of rules in the workplace – accommodating medical use and restricting recreational usage.

We have established in past articles that employers have a duty to accommodate medical cannabis in the workplace when a patient has a valid prescription.

Recreational consumers will have different rules than medical ones

Still, some are worried that the economics of the program are still not practical.

After almost two years at public health, the final draft of rules and regulations for medical marijuana is on its way to the legislature but even though the draft is in final form, some of the key arguments made during the first draft still remain.

The rules and regulations for medical marijuana are in final draft form. One of the key arguments against the first draft of the rules and regs was the fee structure. Some worry that the high application fee, which was lowered from $35,000 in the first draft to 5,000 in the final draft form, will make it difficult for small businesses and farmers to get licenses. That argument still remains.

The process of legalizing pot for recreational use isn't expected to start until next year, but medical marijuana is already a hit in Calgary.

A local clinic that works exclusively in cannabis has about 5,500 patients.

"I do this because I believe that cannabis is a safer alternative to many of the medications that I have prescribed over the course of my career," said Dr. Stephanie Mason, the medical doctor at Natural Health Services. 

Mason, a psychiatrist with 30 years of experience, made the full-time switch to the world of medical marijuana last fall. 

Who are the patients?

Motivated by love and desperation, an area mother is fighting an uphill battle to treat her daughter’s chronic illness with a special cannabis oil.

The establishment, predictably, is against her: the doctors aren’t keen; the child-welfare authorities aren’t amused; her ex-husband, the child’s father, called the cops.

Still, she soldiers on, with the dedication a mother feels deepest, determined to alleviate her child’s chronic respiratory condition.

“I’m trying my damndest to help my daughter and to fight for other parents who just want to help their kids,” she told the Citizen. “Nothing else has ever worked.”

Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he’s open to the idea of medical cannabis oil being produced in Iowa, but he’s still focused on limiting “unintended consequences."

“If it’s just limited to the oil, that might be something that could be looked at,” he said. “I’ll keep an open mind. But again, there’s a lot different ideas and a lot of different proposals out there, and nothing reached a consensus point during this last session.”

Perhaps the single biggest argument against cannabis use, voiced by marijuana critics the world over, is that which suggests insufficient research has been carried out to reach any real conclusions about its ‘supposed’ benefits. Unfortunately, this is also an absolute crock…not to put too fine a point on it.