Over 32 kilograms of ganja worth nearly Rs three lakh, brought to Kochi by train ahead of the festive season were seized in two separate incidents.

In the first incident, the police seized a total of 10.25 kilo ganja from the Edapally railway station premises on Tuesday night. Idukki native Manoj Thomas (43) and Jijo John (28), from Kottayam, were arrested.

The duo, acting as local distributors of the contraband, was trapped by cops outside the railway station following a tip-off. The substance was carried in a sack after being packed in polythene bags.

The accused confessed that they used to buy ganja in bulk from places like Murshidabad and Visakhapatnam. There are pending drug cases against the accused in Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki police stations.

In more ways than one, Donald Trump is an unusual presidential candidate. Many people have tried to write off his unorthodox presidential campaign, but polling numbers seem to indicate that Trump has staying power, as he leads among GOP primary voters nationally and in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have both issued guidance intending to ease concerns that the federal government would target banks working with marijuana businesses with the goal of “enhancing the availability of financial services for marijuana businesses.” DOJ guidance has proved helpful in providing guidance for marijuana businesses to operate within specific state boundaries; however, the financial services industry remains uncertain about opening its doors to the marijuana industry.

The United States has reached a turning point in its epidemic of mass incarceration. A consensus is growing across the country -- from the White House and both aisles of Congress to cities and states of all sizes -- that enough is enough. The nation is finally engaged in a frank discussion of how to get out of this mess.

The momentum is heartening but not nearly enough. We've only scratched the surface -- feel-good rhetoric, a few dozen pardons -- while leaving the larger, unjust, racist system intact.

A new report counters many of the PM’s campaign trail claims about marijuana policy

The scourge of marijuana looms large in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s world, and in his campaign rhetoric. There are the ubiquitous Conservative Party’s “just not ready” attack ads that target Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize and regulate pot. And in the run-up to the election call, Health Canada spent $1.5 million in public funds to rerun its broadcast and Internet spots warning of the dangers of prescription drug and marijuana abuse. While Health Canada’s ads mesh perfectly with Conservative policy, they failed to get an endorsement from the Canadian Medical Association, which deemed the campaign “a political football on Canada’s marijuana policy.”

INKATHA Freedom Party (IFP) wants Parliament’s health committee to scrap the Medical Innovation Bill’s proposals to legalise the commercial use of marijuana and focus the bill solely on its medical applications, it has emerged.

It is a private member’s bill, and was the brainchild of late IFP MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, who died of cancer last year.

It proposes legalising dagga for medical, commercial and industrial purposes, and says that a medical practitioner working at a pilot health centre should be allowed to administer unproven treatments without fear of litigation.

IFP MP Narend Singh said on Wednesday the bill should focus solely on the medical use of marijuana.

Marijuana prohibition is entering its 78th year. Colorado’s marijuana law went into effect at the beginning of last year in the wake of changing attitudes. Compared to 1969, when only 12% supported legalizing pot, today a majority of Americans support legalizing recreational use of the drug.

According to multiple reports out of Ohio, the ResponsibleOhio marijuana legalization initiative is going to make the ballot in 2015. ResponsibleOhio fell short of the required signatures by the original deadline, but Ohio law permits a 10 extension for one last push. Responsible Ohio needed 29,509 valid signatures in order to make the ballot, and turned in 95,572 at the end of ten day period. In most cases it would have just been assumed that the signature amount would have been enough, but due to a record low signature validation rate for marijuana legalization signature gathering efforts, no one was certain. The campaign needed a roughly 31% validation rate, and appears to have made that goal.

Alaska voters approved recreational marijuana legalization and regulation during the 2014 Election. Alaska joined Oregon and Washington D.C. who also voted to legalize in 2014, and Colorado and Washington who voted to legalize in 2012. The proposed rules that will govern the recreational marijuana industry in Alaska were released yesterday. Below are some of the provisions found in the proposal, via Alaska Dispatch News:

NEW ULM — A man who was charged with three felonies for growing marijuana for his own medical use pleaded guilty to one count of possession of marijuana and will face no jail time and the conviction will be removed from his record when he completes probation.

Jon Hansen II, 33, was charged in February of 2014 after New Ulm Police, based on a tip, searched his home and found three ounces of marijuana and several plants being grown for Hansen’s personal use to treat his depression and anxiety.

One of Hansen's attorneys, Calvin P. Johnson of Mankato, said in a press release that Hansen is lobbying state lawmakers to remove marijuana as a Schedule I substance.