New York’s medical cannabis program made a major announcement, Minnesota patients are pinching pennies to get their medicine, the governor of Wyoming is looking at legalization, and if you’re a Canadian patient, your wallet might be getting a break soon. Here’s what’s happening in the cannabis world – are you informed?

U.S. Cannabis Updates

COLORADO

Two groups will file petitions for ballot measures Wednesday that would legalize marijuana for recreational adult use in Massachusetts, likely setting the stage for a fierce battle at the November 2016 ballot box.

But there’s another slow-burning conflict.

Glenn Price, the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary on Main Street, has been arrested, along with his wife and a patient who was using the dispensary.

"[We were] sweeping, turning lights on, and all of a sudden we were bombarded with SWAT and cops," said Chantelle Barkley, an employee at the shop. "I got asked if I worked there, then I got told to sit down."

William Bell, the caretaker for the business, was cleaning a bong when police came in. 

Glenn Price the owner of a Main Street medical marijuana dispensary was arrested Monday morning. (Holly Caruk/CBC)

He said as Price was ushered to the back room and arrested he asked Bell to get in touch with the media.

In national polls, Republicans are still the biggest opponents of marijuana legalization, but that picture is rapidly changing in Vermont and elsewhere.

Vermont Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning is one of the state’s strongest proponents of legalization. The Republican from Caledonia has written opinion letters to local newspapers arguing that legalization will ensure safer pot products and give the state an economic boost. He is a member of a Senate committee that has been hearing testimony and crafting legislation to legalize recreational pot. The committee is scheduled to file the bill in January when the Legislature reconvenes.

When is a choice not really a choice? It could be argued that the latest proposal from the government aimed at people who have problems with drugs and alcohol is not a choice but an ultimatum – accept help for your problem or lose your right to welfare benefits.

The Canadian government intends to further restrict the consumption of Salvia divinorum, better known as salvia and its preparations, derivatives.
 
Minister Rona Ambrose announced Saturday its intention to implement additional measures to "protect young Canadians from dangerous drugs" list that now joins salvia.
 
Health Canada is working since 2011 to register the plant, mainly used for its hallucinogenic effects, on its list of controlled substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. So far, salvia was considered a natural product not approved.
 

August 3rd, 2015 (ICR News) A controversial medical marijuana bill is amongst 54 bills and initiatives that are scheduled to be read and debated in the extraordinary session of the Legislative Assembly, which begins on Monday and will continue through the month of August.

The bill seeks to legalize and regulate marijuana-derived medicines and medical treatments, including tablets, suppositories, ointments, sprays, patches, and injections amongst others.  The smoking of marijuana however would remain off-limits.

Supporters of the bill say that such treatments could benefit patients with diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and a range of other afflictions.

Support and Opposition

Toni-Marie Matich's eldest daughter suffers from intractable epilepsy - a seizure disorder that cannot be controlled with conventional medicine. It led the Hawkes Bay mother-of-five to found United in Compassion (UIC), which advocates for New Zealand-based research into the therapeutic effects of cannabis-based medicines. The paediatrician caring for her daughter just happens to be the Children's Commissioner, Russell Wills.

And that's led to the unlikely but powerful alliance of Wills and UIC, teaming up with NZ Drug Foundation, to campaign for broader access to medicinal cannabis. It's raised the prospect that it could soon become as readily available as morphine.

DURHAM’S Police and Crime Commissioner has confirmed he will not be signing a petition to legalise cannabis as activists declare war on prohibition.

PCC Ron Hogg made international headlines last week after telling The Northern Echo that Durham Police would no longer proactively target cannabis users.

In the days following the contentious announcement, cannabis campaigners launched a petition asking the government to legalise the class-B drug.

The petition now has more than 180,000 signatures, surpassing the 100,000 needed to have the matter debated in Parliament.

As pro-legalisation activists across the world celebrate, the man at the centre of the heated debate firmly confirmed he will not be adding his name to the list.

The new government wants to marry the cutting edge with the conservative

When Uruguay became the first country to legalise cannabis two years ago under the leadership of the eccentric former guerrilla, José “Pepe” Mujica, the world took notice of this tiny republic that was once just another province of what is today Argentina.