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Campbell River Mirror, 22 Jul 2016 - Two of the most well-known cannabis activists in the country were in town today to help a local dispensary in their fight to remain open. Marc and Jodie Emery each took the stage at Spirit Square this afternoon to profess their appreciation for what WeeMedical is undergoing right now - which they say is nothing short of police harassment - and to celebrate cannabis in all its forms.

Metro, 22 Jul 2016 - POT ADVOCATES TO PROTEST, BLOCK TRAFFIC If you're held up downtown, it could be due to a pot protest. A medical marijuana advocacy group calling itself Patients Lives Matter says it will block traffic in Ottawa and hold other peaceful protests until the federal government listens to its demands.

The Press Democrat, 22 Jul 2016 - Mendocino County voters can expect two competing marijuana tax initiatives on the November ballot, one proffered by county officials and one by cannabis cultivators. The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday a 2.5 percent business tax on gross sales from marijuana cultivation and dispensaries, along with a $2,500 annual fee on marijuana distributors, delivery services, nurseries and testing laboratories. That business tax could be raised in increments of 2.5 percent up to a maximum of 10 percent, whether on medicinal or recreational pot.

New York Times, 22 Jul 2016 - Eugene Monroe, a veteran offensive tackle who became the first active N.F.L. player to publicly ask the league to let players use medical marijuana, will retire after seven seasons. In recent years, many retired players have urged the league to lift the ban on the use of medical marijuana. In March, Monroe echoed those calls, saying that medical marijuana is safer and healthier than the prescription painkillers that teams routinely give players.

The Union, 21 Jul 2016 - Nevada County Supervisors have released a proposed interim marijuana cultivation ordinance in advance of Tuesday's meeting, when supervisors are scheduled to replace their own implemented ban with the new ordinance. Nevada County officials on Thursday released the interim marijuana grow ordinance that supervisors will vote on next week, a document calling for no residential grows, a maximum of 25 plants in approved zones and a fee structure calling for a per-day, per-plant fine.

Toronto Sun, 21 Jul 2016 - Drug Conviction Quashed A man who hid drugs in his rectum had his trafficking conviction overturned Wednesday because Sarnia police detained him for 43 hours waiting for him to defecate before taking him to a justice of the peace.

Toronto Sun, 21 Jul 2016 - A Toronto cop who, along with three fellow officers, is accused of planting drugs in a man's car in 2014 now faces new charges for his arrest of the same suspect a year earlier. Const. Benjamin Elliot first came under fire last fall during Nguyen Son Tran's trial when a judge accused him and colleagues Const. Jeffery Tout, Det.-Const. Fraser Douglas, and Const. Michael Taylor of lying under oath and planting evidence to justify an illegal vehicle search.

The Press Democrat, 14 Jul 2016 - With medicinal marijuana becoming more regulated and the possibility that California voters will legalize pot in November, Cloverdale is pursuing a local tax on cannabis-related businesses. A majority of Cloverdale voters would need to approve the tax, which the City Council is likely to place on the November ballot.

The Citizen, 13 Jul 2016 - Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie, pictured, has announced a plan he says is supported by his political party to rid gang-afflicted communities of drug dealers. On his Facebook account, he yesterday asked members of these communities to inbox him the addresses of drug houses and "lolly lounges" in their areas, because the PA needed to verify that they were, indeed, selling drugs.

The Freeman, 13 Jul 2016 - MANILA - Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday raised concern over the rising number of extrajudicial killings alongside the new administration's fight against drugs and crime. Robredo called on authorities to look into more than 100 reported cases of drug-related killings in less than a month. "If there is really culpability, then justice requires that appropriate cases be filed and that those proven to be accountable be punished," she said in a statement.

The Freeman, 13 Jul 2016 - MANILA - Malacanang gave the assurance that the police will not abuse its authority in the fight against drugs. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, in an ABS-CBN News report yesterday, said the PNP has been directed to operate "with regularity" and that due process be followed.

Sunstar Davao, 13 Jul 2016 - TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte - A total of 4,064 drug users, pushers, dependents and couriers came to the folds of the government as part of the intensive approach by both the local government and the Philippine National Police as it launched its Intensive Anti-Illegal Drugs Campaign last July 9, 2016. Authorities were overwhelmed with the number of individuals who submitted themselves for reform and rehabilitation but remain optimistic that more individuals will still surrender in the coming days.

Philippine Star, 13 Jul 2016 - After shaming the "narco generals," President Duterte will soon reveal the local officials involved in illegal drugs. Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno said the President is still validating the list of local officials involved in the illegal drug trade.

Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 Jul 2016 - A DAY after attending her first Cabinet meeting and getting an insider's view of the Duterte administration's war against illegal drugs and criminality, Vice President Leni Robredo blasted a "growing culture of vigilantism and violence," noting more than 100 cases of drug-related deaths in less than a month. In a statement yesterday, Robredo joined calls in the Senate and the House of Representatives for an investigation of what lawmakers said appeared to be extrajudicial executions in police operations implementing President Duterte's directive to crack down hard on the illegal drug trade. "While we are one with the fight against drugs, we are concerned with the growing culture of vigilantism and violence. We hope that the war is not done at the expense of the innocent and defenseless," she said. She said she supported Mr. Duterte's declaration "that the fight against drugs and crime must be done with an uncompromising exercise of the rule of law." "We encourage authorities concerned to look into these cases. If there is really culpability, then justice requires that appropriate cases be filed and that those proven to be accountable be punished," said Robredo, a former counsel at the Public Attorney's Office in her Naga City hometown. "Since the President is a lawyer and former prosecutor, we trust that he will do what is appropriate," she said. Malacanang has not released details of Monday's Cabinet meeting, but presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Robredo was briefed on the administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

Chicago Tribune, 13 Jul 2016 - After Dispensary Shootings, Industry Urges Bank Access LOS ANGELES - The recent killing of a marijuana store security guard in Colorado and the wounding of another guard in San Bernardino are the latest examples of the crime lure posed by cash-only pot dispensaries, industry observers say.

The Union, 12 Jul 2016 - New proposed rules for medical marijuana grows led to anger on Tuesday as some medicinal cannabis proponents said they couldn't support the new recommendations while urging supervisors to compromise. County officials, however, said they had to consider environmental concerns and secure four out of five supervisor votes on July 26 to pass interim grow rules and repeal the existing outdoor grow ban.