As the Liberal government gets to work on its campaign pledge to legalize marijuana, the former police chief of Toronto will be taking a lead role.

Last month, Bill Blair was named as one of two parliamentary secretaries to the minister of justice. Sources tell CBC News he's been assigned to handle the pot file. 

Blair's new role fits with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's attempts to frame the issue during the election campaign.

The Conservatives tried to use Trudeau's legalization stance to paint him as a lightweight or even dangerous, with last-minute ads in Punjabi and Chinese newspapers suggesting Trudeau supported selling marijuana to children.

In contrast, Trudeau pitched marijuana legalization as a way of protecting children and stopping criminals.

Will Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to legalize pot go up in smoke, or will he turn into an activist and try to convince other countries to liberalize their drug laws, as well? That’s the choice he faces, if he doesn’t want Canada to run afoul of its international obligations.

SASKATOON – The four employees of an unlicensed medical marijuana dispensary raided by police will face fewer charges in provincial court. All counts related to marijuana oils have been dropped, court heard Wednesday.The Saskatchewan Compassion Club was shut down by the Saskatoon Police Service Oct.

Drug squads in Vancouver and Victoria have discretion on whether to bust illegal marijuana dispensaries, but police boards in those cities should have clear policies on when and why they enforce the federal laws prohibiting such storefront pot sales, says B.C.’s municipal police watchdog.

Police Complaint Commissioner Stan Lowe said in letters to the chairs of both boards that police departments should craft criteria determining which risks to public safety merit raiding a dispensary and that forces should provide detailed explanations of what such a process looks like. The letters, obtained by The Globe and Mail, contain recommendations that are not binding, but Mr. Lowe’s suggestions come as police forces across Canada grapple with a burgeoning number of dispensaries.

Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana complicated by treaty obligations

The Liberal government will have to do substantial work on the international stage before it can follow through on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana, new documents suggest.

That work will have to include figuring out how Canada would comply with three international treaties to which the country is a party, all of which criminalize the possession and production of marijuana.

Trudeau's plan to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana is already proving a complicated and controversial undertaking on the domestic front, in part because it requires working with the provinces.

Dana Larsen poses for a photo at the launch of his book Cannabis in Canada: The Illustrated History.

Liberal MPs will soon be getting some interesting and fragrant mail.

Pot activist and former B.C. NDP leadership candidate Dana Larsen is sending a special package to the 184 politicians. The manila envelope contains his and illustrator Patrick Dowers’ new book Cannabis in Canada, the Illustrated History — as well as a gram (approx. $12-$15 worth) of medical-grade marijuana.

“It’s not legal to mail people weed ... but most of Canada’s marijuana laws are made to be broken, so that’s just another one,” said Larsen who added he is not worried about any legal backlash for the 6.5 ounces that will be sent out.

Touted as a wonder drug for the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain, medical marijuana use is exploding among Canada’s battle-scarred, fully insured, veterans and companies are rushing into the untapped market.

He has served in one capacity or another in seven conflicts, killed and captured countless enemy fighters and was a founding member of Canada’s top-secret counterterrorism unit, Joint Task Force 2.

But Kevin Whitenect, 48, is coming out of the shadows for his newest mission: that of “brand ambassador” for a Toronto-based medical marijuana company, CannaConnect.

It's been called "marijuana on steroids."

And it comes with a THC concentration far beyond anything a run-of-the-mill joint would offer.

With that potency, along with the dangers from its production, shatter is offering police and policy makers a new set of challenges, perhaps particularly as the federal government moves toward legalizing marijuana.

"It's the highly variable [tetrahydrocannabinol] concentration that you see where a lot of people get into dangers," says Matthew Young, a senior research and policy analyst at the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

By Alison McMahon

My mom was recently diagnosed with cancer for a second time and I happily helped her get a prescription for medical cannabis. Going through this with her made me realize there are a number of barriers to access. She found the process overwhelming and complicated. I believe she wouldn't have actually got a prescription if I hadn't been there to help her. So what exactly are the barriers?

1. Lack of information about how to get a prescription

When my mom found out she had cancer, she told her family doctor that she "wasn't doing this again without medical marijuana." The physician maintained a straight face and said nothing. Not particularly helpful.

This is the great indoors, the place where you can stand at the end of a long metal table, stare straight ahead to its opposite end some 75 metres away and you will be lost in a mighty greenness.

You will see thousands of familiar jagged-edged leaves reaching up to the lights inside Alberta’s largest grow-op. Seconds later, your mind taps into a stash of marijuana gag lines, from this facility being a “joint venture” to “your staff room must be well-stocked with Doritos.”