If elected president, Christie says he'd stomp out legal weed. As governor, he's already done just that.

Earlier this week, Reason's Jacob Sullum wrote about New Jersey Governor and GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie's pledge to enforce the federal ban on recreational marijuana, ignoring the will of the states that've legalized cannabis sales. 

The United States government has surprisingly allowed one of its most prominent drug warriors to admit that, despite more than 40 years of pot propaganda, marijuana does actually possess medicinal qualities.

In a column published last week by the Huffington Post, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, wrote that while many compounds of the cannabis plant are beginning to show evidence of a “range of uses in medicine,” cannabidiol, otherwise referred to as CBD, “appears to be a safe drug with no addictive side effects.” 

VAIL — Hawaii — where you can drop seeds on the sidewalk and they’ll grow legalized retail marijuana.

Rep. Della Au Belatti’s (D-Hawaii) bill passed in waning moments of this year’s Hawaii state Legislature allows eight retail marijuana shops in the entire state.

A dozen or so Hawaiian lawmakers were among 350 state legislators in Vail this week for the Council of State Governments West annual convention.

Along with everything else, they managed to squeeze in a field trip to Eagle County’s Green Mile, touring pot shops in Eagle-Vail.

Hawaii is starting small and they’ll see what happens.

“I admire the way Hawaii is baby-stepping into this,” said Bryan Treu, Eagle County attorney.

Another European country is about to begin the journey to cannabis legalization. Aodharn O Riordain,Minister for the National Drugs Strategy has been a breath of fresh air since he arrived in the job. He has been up front and honest with the public over drugs. On Wednesday there was a think tank with local and regional actors within the drug and alcohol field. The general consensus was that decriminalization is a good thing for society. There is no justification for jailing people for growing or using cannabis.

The comments came as part of an informational hearing called by members of the state Board of Equalization to figure out how to give banking services to the marijuana business so operators can pay taxes. Attendees included state officials, marijuana retailers and representatives of financial institutions.

TRENTON — As Gov. Chris Christie declares that legal marijuana would disappear if he were elected president, a new poll shows voters in his own state are becoming more open to the idea of legalizing pot.

A Farleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released Friday morning shows 49 percent of New Jersey voters favor legalizing marijuana for personal use — an eight-point increase from January. 

At the same time, 46 percent are opposed, which is a six-point drop from the group's last survey.

WE await with bated breath the announcement that the ruling People's National Party (PNP) Government and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have agreed to de-politicise the crime portfolio and to work jointly to combat this crippling disease.

What such an agreement will mean more than anything else is that Jamaica can, at last, be united in the fight against this scourge which has inflicted so much pain, sorrow and economic loss on our beautiful country. It will also bring home the legions of our compatriots who want to live and do business in their homeland but fear the untamed wrath of the gun.

One of the leading voices on marijuana policy reform wants to light up Rand Paul's foundering presidential campaign.

According to midyear filings released Friday by the Federal Election Commission, Marijuana Policy Project PAC donated to three entities supporting the Kentuckian's political ambitions: $5,000 to Rand Paul for America; $5,000 for his Senate reelection campaign; and $4,500 to Rand Paul Victory Fund, which the FEC report said supports his Senate campaign.

As Vancouver struggled to regulate its explosion of marijuana dispensaries, top provincial health officials considered how they could legalize the recreational use of the drug across British Columbia.

In a series of e-mails released through a Freedom of Information request, the health officials acknowledged there would likely be little progress toward legalization while the staunchly anti-drug Conservatives hold power in Ottawa, instead suggesting such a radical change would likely come about only if the Liberals win the fall election.

Nearly 200,000 people have signed a petition to legalise cannabis.  It’s not just a simple click of a mouse button, it requires email verification. It is an enormous event. It is only the tip of the iceberg of the millions in the UK that want to see our archaic and harmful laws on cannabis changed.

Petition: Make the production, sale and use of cannabis legal.