CANNABIS LEGALIZATION WILL BE A PROCESS – Don’t think everything will magically change on October 17th. It will only be the beginning of a long process of sorting out a lot of issues. “The road to legalizing recreational cannabis is going to be a long one. There’s going to certainly be twists and turns the road from now to Oct. 17 and beyond.” After all, we’re moving from a firmly established and extensive black market network.

​ Half of Canadians say that they don’t think their province, or its laws, are ready for marijuana legalization on Oct. 17, according to a study by the Angus Reid Institute. ​

Source: Canadians skeptical law enforcement agencies are ready for cannabis | Canadian Lawyer Mag

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM – Not what any of us were hoping for. We’re all in agreement on that.

In a rare show of solidarity, federal, and some provincial, Crowns are joining with defence counsel and law groups to challenge the efficacy of major Criminal Code reforms proposed by Ottawa that prosecutors warn will not fix — and could exacerbate — delays in the nation’s overburdened and backlogged criminal trial courts.

Source: Crowns add their voices to chorus of opposition to key criminal justice reforms proposed in Bill C-75 – The Lawyer’s Daily

RANDOMLY DRUG TESTING STUDENTS – A school district in Clark County, Indiana, will soon be randomly drug testing students who want to participate in extracurricular activities like sports, band, and driving to school. I suspect it may not achieve the intended result of discouraging “students from bringing drugs to school” as much as discourage “students who want to participate in extracurricular activities.”

A school district in Clark County, Indiana, will soon be randomly drug testing students who want to participate in extracurricular activities like sports, band, and driving to school.

Source: School District to Begin Randomly Drug Testing Students

THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO SCAN SOCIAL MEDIA TO SEE IF YOU SMOKE WEED – The initiative will look for self-reported usage patterns (how much, what kind, and where) and activities such as buying and selling weed. The government will also be scanning social media for “criminal activities associated with cannabis use”—driving under the influence, for example. The initiative will also capture metadata, such as self-reported location and demographics, but according to the tender the data “must exclude individual unique identifiers.”

The data will allegedly be anonymous, and the government will also look into activity on dark web markets.

Source: The Canadian Government Is Going to Scan Social Media to See If You Smoke Pot

This is such a sad incident of a mental health issue being dealt with by the criminal justice system by punishment rather than the ability to actually deal with people’s needs. This man does not understand the reality of the charges against him. He doesn’t belong where he was shoved aside to.

Don Evans says his son, who had the intellect of a 7-year-old, was suicidal and should have been monitored more closely.

Source: ‘This never should have happened,’ says father of Burnside jail inmate who died | CBC News