CANNABIS CULTURE – We now have a Prime Minister who has promised to legalize marijuana in Canada. But what will legalization look like?

Here are seven things the cannabis community wants to see happen before we consider prohibition to be truly over.

#7. Don’t increase penalties

In some of their campaign literature, the Liberals were promising to create “new, stronger laws, to punish more severely” people who sell cannabis to minors, or to anyone operating outside of their undefined new system.

Considering we already have Harper’s strict mandatory minimums for cannabis offences, we do not need to be punishing anyone “more severely” for anything related to cannabis.

The impending legalization of cannabis has sparked a formal effort in Manitoba to determine how marijuana ought to be regulated and sold.

In Monday’s throne speech, the Selinger government said Manitoba’s Liquor & Gaming Authority and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries "will be well positioned to regulate the sale and distribution of marijuana in a safe and socially responsible manner" once Justin Trudeau’s Liberals make it legal to light up.

On Dec. 3, when the Trudeau government issues its own throne speech, Canada’s provinces and territories expect to receive direction to help them plan for the not-so-distant future when consumers can buy a bag of weed on the up and up.

TORONTO:  Children exposed to marijuana in the womb show a significant improvement in their ability to track moving objects at age four, says a new study, warning that the results do not mean marijuana has a benefical effect on foetal development.

"We were surprised with this initial finding," said Ben Thompson, professor at University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

SMITHS FALLS, ON , Nov. 20, 2015 /CNW/ - Tweed Inc. ("Tweed"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy Growth" or "the Company") (CGC.V) has successfully renewed its license to produce and sell marijuana under Health Canada's Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR).

The renewed license, which is valid for 14 months until January 19, 2017 , allows Tweed to produce and sell up to 3,500 kg of dried marijuana. In addition, Health Canada has renewed Tweed's supplemental license to produce fresh marijuana and/or cannabis oil, over the same period.

Like a breath of fresh air, the Liberal party swept to power in Canada recently with a "sunny days" attitude. Under the leadership of Justin Trudeau, Generation X has taken power, promising open communication and a team approach with an agenda for change. 

One of the more potentially controversial policies promised by the Liberals is the legalization of marijuana. Whether we agree with it on not, Canada is likely to see marijuana openly available for sale within the next four years. 

Pot is about to get hot.

PROFIT’s first annual “State of the Entrepreneur Nation” survey revealed some key HR challenges for Canadian business owners around how you increase employee engagement in order to boost productivity. To maximize the return on your human-capital investment, you need to maximize employee productivity. The formula for doing so seems simple enough:

Employee Productivity = (Right People + Right Talents) x (Employee Engagement)

Nanaimo medical marijuana dispensaries will remain open, despite the threat of police enforcement.

Medical marijuana dispensaries have reached out to government for clarity on potential new regulations and help in the lead-up to a deadline to stop selling marijuana. But dispensaries have no plans to close, according to the new Nanaimo Cannabis Coalition.

“Our coalition has stated we will remain open … because people need their medicine,” said Matthew O’Donnell, coalition spokesman.

Led by Justin Trudeau, Canada's Liberal Party swept to a strong victory in Monday's elections.

While results were still being tallied Monday night, it looks as if the party has won enough seats to form a majority government by itself. The Liberals won 184 seats in the lower house of parliament. They only need 170 seats to form a majority in the 338-seat lower chamber.

The Liberal platform included, among other things, marijuana legalization:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is somewhat busy these days, but it would be interesting to get his take on Muse Entertainment’s excellent new feature-length documentary called Grass Fed about marijuana edibles. Featuring actor-comedian Mike Paterson, it will air on CBC’s Documentary Channel on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 9 pm.

Trudeau has ordered a major overhaul of Canada's criminal justice system that will put a new focus on restorative justice and hatch a priority plan to regulate and legalize pot. He said legalizing marijuana would fix a "failed system" and help "remove the criminal element" linked to the drug.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger says government liquor stores are the best place to sell marijuana if and when the federal government legalizes the drug.

Selinger says Manitoba Liquor Mart outlets have staff that are well-trained on the potential risks of alcohol, and he suggests they would be in the same position to provide advice about marijuana.

He says there would be no requirement for workers to consume the drug.

Selinger adds there would probably be some private involvement too.

Liquor is sold in private outlets in some rural Manitoba areas where there is no government store, and Selinger says he expects that model could be used for marijuana as well.