U.S. border protection has barred a young Canadian woman from crossing the border after cannabidiol (CBD) oil was found in her backpack — a non-psychoactive product of the cannabis plant she uses to treat the painful side effects of scoliosis.

The woman, who has asked not to be identified by CBC News pending the outcome of an application for reentry, is the latest Canadian to face border troubles after Canada legalized cannabis last year.

Thousands of Canadians have been denied entry to the U.S. simply for admitting they've smoked a joint once in their lives. Others have been banned from entering the country for life for carrying cannabis products to the border — a punishment that this unsuspecting CBD oil user could now face as well, according to immigration experts.

A numbered company with the same Toronto address as the illegal cannabis dispensary CAFE, which has repeatedly been shut down by city officials and police, was a winner in Ontario's latest cannabis store lottery. 

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced 42 lottery winners — 4,800 people or companies had expressed interest in opening a legal pot shop — that will now have the chance to open a legal store on Wednesday. The full list is at the bottom of this story.

Among the winners was 11180673 Canada Inc., based at 104 Harbord St., where one of CAFE's location is based. 

CannTrust Holdings Inc. (TRST.TO 3.58%), the Canadian pot company that’s plunged more than half this year after it breached regulations, said Ontario’s cannabis wholesaler is returning its products.

The Ontario Cannabis Store, the government corporation in charge of wholesale distribution to licensed retailers and operator of the province’s online store, has elected to return all or substantially all of CannTrust products because they are “non-conforming.” The products are valued at about $2.9 million, CannTrust said in a statement Monday.

Health Canada hasn’t ordered a recall of any products, according to CannTrust.

Americans support legalizing marijuana in record numbers. A Hill-HarrisX survey released in April found that a whopping 84% of respondents support the legalization of pot. Half were in favor only for legalizing medical cannabis, with the other half supportive of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana as well.

With this widespread support, you might assume that U.S. marijuana legalization is a shoo-in. Think again.

By my rough calculations, the odds of marijuana being legalized in the U.S. within the next few years is less than 1 in 300. That's right: The chances that you would flip a coin and have it land on heads eight times in a row are much better than the country legalizing pot anytime soon.

Canadians with simple cannabis possession convictions will be eligible for record suspensions, but advocates and experts say it won't be so easy.

Bill C-93 came into force this month, and allows people to get fast-tracked record suspensions at no cost. A record suspension prevents a criminal record or pardon from appearing in the National Repository of Criminal Records.

The legislation waives the previous $631 application fee and ends the application wait period of up to 10 years. 

"What it doesn't get rid of, is the lead-up costs," said Samantha McAleese, a PhD candidate in sociology at Carleton University who researches recent changes to Canada's pardon system.

Whether you're ready for it or not, it's election season in America. For the next 15 months we'll be hearing political ads and debates, and reading columns concerning which political candidates give our city, county, state, or country the best chance to thrive.

But what's particularly interesting about the 2020 elections is that, for the first time ever, there's likely to be a real focus and debate on cannabis reform.

Only one cannabis-impaired driving charge has been laid in Calgary since legalization last October, according to police.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) believes that number will go up with more officer training and as roadside screening devices advance in technology, but one of the city's top impaired driving defence lawyers says he's not so sure that will be the case.

"There's no charges, there's no wave of cannabis impaired drivers, there's just a big nothing so far," says Tim Foster, whose firm gets about 30 impaired driving cases every month with almost all being alcohol-related.

It's always been illegal to drive while high, so Foster says he wasn't expecting an influx of charges after legalization.

The Trudeau government has finally introduced a bill which allows Canadians to receive free no-wait pardons for previous simple possession or cannabis charges by applying through a website.

The Justice Minister Lametti estimates there are upwards of 250,000 Canadians with some form of cannabis possession convictions.

“Instead of waiting five years and paying a parole board $631, applicants will no longer have to wait a single minute and will not owe the parole board a single cent,” said Federal Justice Minister David Lametti.

A belief that Ontario’s lottery system is ‘unfair’ to dispensaries looking to enter the legal market is why illegal dispensaries stay open despite legal ramifications, says cannabis lawyer.

Last week, after 18 people were arrested in connection with the Café chain of cannabis dispensaries across Toronto, police blocked the entrances with cement blocks.

The barricades did not stop sales, however, as marijuana transactions were conducted one by one on the street outside.

Suddenly, the U.S. Senate is willing to talk about pot.

Rather unexpectedly, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing on cannabis banking Tuesday. This marks the first time the Republican-controlled Senate has agreed to examine the so-called SAFE Act, which would allow banks to offer services to pot companies in compliance with state law.