Canada has a major bummer on its hands: a marijuana shortage. The country's pot smokers, who have long been psyched about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to legalize weed nationwide next year, are now facing a painful paucity of the stinky, combustible herb. Vancouver-based Lift, a marijuana media platform in Vancouver, estimates Canada's cannabis industry has enough funding to boost production to between 400,000 and 500,000 kilograms a year. But Lift CEO Matei Olaru told The Post the demand for pot is expected to reach 655,000 kilograms during the first year alone of across-the-board legalization. [continues 149 words]
Lawmakers, education lobbyists, and other groups rallied here on Tuesday to call for the repeal of a law that denies federal financial aid to students who have been convicted of drug offenses. They rejected as inadequate a compromise measure, proposed by the author of the original law, that would soften but not eliminate the ban. This month, a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees postsecondary education is expected to introduce a bill that would deny financial aid only to those who are convicted of drug violations while in college, not to those who were convicted before they enrolled. Rep. Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican who sponsored the original law, is pushing for that change because he says he never intended to deny aid to those who are seeking to "redeem" themselves by going to college. [continues 512 words]
