My friend Shona is a single mother who uses medical cannabis to treat her Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract that is incredibly painful. Now she's fighting to keep custody of her son after the state of Kansas took him from her because she is a medical marijuana patient in a state where it isn't legal.

It all started last month when her 10-year-old son spoke out in school about the benefits of medical marijuana, explaining that it had saved his mom's life. Officials at the school called police who then searched her house and found medical marijuana and cannabis oil. She hasn't been charged with a crime, but authorities took her son away and put him in protective state custody.

National Post readers respond to the question, “Should Canada’s electoral system be changed?”

Our strong system

• The last thing this country needs is electoral change such as proportional representation. Since Confederation, Canadians have been extremely fortunate to live under such a strong and robust electoral system. We don’t need a process whereby the Rhinoceros Party can influence the balance of power.
  Stephen Flanagan, Ottawa.

Electronic voting

ROGERS, N.D. — Tammy and John Sadek raise cattle on the green slopes above Lake Ashtabula. On their ranch, early summer days bring the hard work of cutting hay, a job their 20-year-old son, Andrew, used to help with.

"He was my right hand as far as getting chores done," John Sadek said. "He was a good worker. Real good."

It's this memory of a son, who planned to carry the tradition of a ranch kept in the family since the 1930s, that makes this time of year hard to bear, despite crisp prairie skies and sun glittering on the dark blue lake.

Police arrested eight people overnight Saturday in connection with a deadly shootout in an Albanian village known as a "cannabis kingdom" for its industrial-scale production of the drug.

On Wednesday more than 400 policemen, supported by army helicopters, surrounded the southern village of Lazarat where an armed group -- firing from machine guns and anti-tank rockets -- had entrenched itself.

Those arrested include two brothers suspected of being directly involved in the shooting, in which one police officer was killed and two others seriously wounded, police spokeswoman Enrjeta Camani told AFP.

Can I get busted before Wednesday?

In Linn County, the answer is an emphatic yes, and in Benton County, it depends on the case, said local prosecutors.

“If you do something illegal, our office will be prosecuting it,” said Linn County District Attorney Doug Marteeny, who said that represents the will of the voters. Marijuana cases active today also will continue to be prosecuted in Linn County, even after that behavior becomes legal July 1. Marteeny was unaware of any cases where only illegal marijuana behavior is being prosecuted, and that behavior will be legal on Wednesday.

It's being called the second immaculate conception.

Come Wednesday, adults 21 and older will legally be allowed to possess and use recreational marijuana in Oregon.

But complicating this new, hard-fought-for freedom is one niggling detail: Potential users must receive their marijuana as a gift or get it on the illegal black market because there are still no licensed retail stores in Oregon where law-abiding residents can buy it.

Simply put, residents can smoke and inhale pot, eat brownies baked with it or rub lotions containing the oils into their skin; there's just no legal way to purchase it.

Bill moves from Health Committee to Rules Committee. HARRISBURG - There was a little bit of movement, if you can call it that, on the medical marijuana bill in the state house.
 
The bill is now moving out of the Health Committee, and into the Rules Committee.
 
This comes after Representative Nick Miccarelli, R- Delaware County, tried to file a discharge resolution. A discharge resolution moves a bill out of committee and onto the floor to be considered for a vote.
 
That resolution had a number of cosponsors from both parties, but never was introduced because of the change of committee.
 
The bill could be considered this fall. 

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Legislature on Saturday passed a measure that that makes several changes to Washington state’s new recreational marijuana law, ranging from revising the market’s tax structure to zoning rules.

One of the main changes to the current system would be the elimination of the three-tier tax structure and its replacement with a single excise tax of 37 percent at the point of sale.

House Bill 2136 passed the Senate on a bipartisan 36-7 vote and now heads to the governor’s desk. The House passed the measure Friday on a 59-38 vote.

An amendment that passed Friday in the House removed language from the original bill that would have required local bans on licensed marijuana businesses to be approved by the jurisdiction’s voters.

An effort to legalize some forms of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania remains underway as lawmakers attempt to pass a state budget by June 30. There are 23 states and Washington, D.C., that have legalized medical marijuana.

While the movement on the issue last week in Harrisburg wasn't tectonic, below is all you need to know from a busy couple of days.

1 Senate Bill 3 is no longer in Rep. Matt Baker's hands

The Medical Cannabis Act was removed from the House Health Committee by a unanimous vote Friday.

Rep. Matt Baker, Health Committee chair, said he would not bring S.B. 3 to a vote.

The bill, which cleared the Senate by a 40-7 margin in May, is now in the House Rules Committee, which is chaired by House Majority Leader Dave Reed.

Mild stimulant used to be Maua’s most valuable export, bringing prosperity to all involved. A year since it was outlawed, the local economy has been devastated

In a quiet and unassuming town tucked away in a hilly part of eastern Kenya, the British home secretary Theresa May’s name is spoken with barely concealed anger. Since her role in the ban of the town’s most valuable export, she’s become a universally vilified figure.

For more than two decades, Maua enjoyed booming business propelled by the growth and sale of khat, known locally as miraa, a popular herb whose leaves and stems are chewed for the mild high they offer.