After Justin Trudeau’s emphatic election win and the Liberal’s clear campaign position on marijuana, many are convinced legalization is coming soon. However,  the way in which this plant –both a medicine and a social drug – will be grown and sold is not clear. As a scientist who has studied cannabis since 1999, and as the founder of Anandia Labs (a Vancouver-based start-up focused on cannabis genetics), I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the plant and it uses. Here I offer my thoughts on the path to cannabis legalization in Canada.

A Big Tent Policy

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — New Jersey lawmakers will consider the possibility Monday of legalizing recreational marijuana use in the state.

The state Senate is holding a judiciary hearing on the hot-button issue, WCBS 880’s Levon Putney reported.

Lawmakers are closely studying Colorado, Oregon and Washington, where pot use has been legalized.

Some of the big question marks center on tax dollars, business growth, security and whether banks would participate.

Canada is officially on the road to legalization. In a letter outlining her responsibilities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to begin the process of legalizing and regulating cannabis in Canada.

The letter to Wilson-Raybould (pictured above with Trudeau) reads, "I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory, and Cabinet processes to deliver on your top priorities."

Is the idea of medical marijuana providing benefits to patients a "joke"? According to DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg it is.

Marijuana legalization has witnessed explosive expansion over the past decade, but November has been a pretty tumultuous month for the illicit drug thus far.

THE MICHIGAN STATE POLICE Forensic Science Division finds itself embroiled in scandal as newly released emails paint a picture of a crime lab in turmoil over how to classify marijuana. Attorneys and medical marijuana advocates accuse Michigan prosecutors of pressuring the state’s crime lab to falsely classify the origins of THC found in hash oils and marijuana edibles as “origin unknown.”

MANILA, Philippines – A group pushing for the legalization of marijuana for medical use has called for the inclusion of the controversial issue in presidential debates.

Kimmi del Prado, Philippine Cannabis Compassion Society founder, said they want to know the stand of the presidential candidates on the issue.

“We need to ask the presidential aspirants whether or not they are for the legalization of medical cannabis in the Philippines,” she said.

Del Prado expressed belief that the 16th Congress would not be able to pass House Bill 4477 or the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act.

But the group is not losing hope the proposed measure will be approved by the next Congress.

The Florida Supreme Court is canceling a Dec. 8 hearing scheduled to consider a measure to legalize medical marijuana.

The court announced the decision Friday. The move comes a few days after Attorney General Pam Bondi said she will not ask the court to block the latest medical marijuana amendment.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the ballot initiative. Justices must decide whether or not the amendment is misleading and whether it complies with single-subject requirements.

Supporters tried to pass a similar amendment during the 2014 election. That ballot measure failed because it did not meet the 60-percent threshold needed to pass.

LIMA, Peru — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is expected to issue a decree legalizing the cultivation, commercialization and research of medical marijuana.

He said he will sign the new measure into law this week, marking a bold departure both for his center right administration and for Colombia, a staunch longtime ally of Washington in the war on drugs.

“It has already been scientifically proven that marijuana has many medicinal attributes,” Santos told the BBC.

THE MICHIGAN STATE POLICE Forensic Science Division finds itself embroiled in scandal as newly released emails paint a picture of a crime lab in turmoil over how to classify marijuana. Attorneys and medical marijuana advocates accuse Michigan prosecutors of pressuring the state’s crime lab to falsely classify the origins of THC found in hash oils and marijuana edibles as “origin unknown.”