Discussion of marijuana in the public space has come a long way since Bill Clinton famously claimed he didn't inhale in 1992. We've even come quite a way since Barack Obama said he definitely inhaled because, "That was the whole point," before saying in the same breath that he'd made a lot of mistakes in his youth. The moment that Rand Paul, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the CARERS Act in the U.S. Senate, marijuana and its legal status was catapulted from a state to a national stage. In fact, Paul's widely publicized campaign for president -- including fundraising during the National Cannabis Industry Association conference in Denver -- is one of the many factors that will make marijuana legalization a front-and-center issue in the 2016 Presidential race.

The country's most populous state could be on the right path toward full marijuana legalization in 2016 after a major report, spearheaded by the state's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and released Wednesday, has attempted to lay the groundwork for implementing adult recreational pot sales. 

While the report, titled the "Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy," neither endorses nor opposes legalizing pot in California, it signals that lawmakers consider marijuana legalization a shoo-in with voters next year, and they're willing to start preparing now for when that day comes. 

The Home Affairs Committee conducts a short inquiry into ‘psychoactive substances’.

Following plans announced in the Queen’s Speech to ban a new generation of psychoactive drugs, the Home Affairs Committee will hold a short inquiry into the new laws. The inquiry will look at: 

A CANNABIS dealer who gave up the drug for Ramadan has brought shame on this family, a court has heard.

Police were originally called to Notts Gardens in Uplands, Swansea, following reports of an altercation involving Moumin Ali and another man.

When officers arrived they found 24-year-old Ali in the passenger seat of a car with his dad at the wheel — and a strong smell cannabis in the air.

Swansea Crown Court heard a search found cannabis in Ali's pocket and under the car seat he had been sitting in. A subsequent search of the family home on Notts Garden found another 29 grams of the drug in a carrier bag.

A crime tsar who stopped prosecuting small-scale cannabis growers has been accused of ‘abusing his position’ after pictures emerged of him with pro-legalisation campaigners.

Ron Hogg, the police and crime commissioner for County Durham, sparked a furious backlash as he last night admitted letting off cannabis users with a warning or caution, ‘almost one a day’.

The 63-year-old announced on Tuesday that his force was ‘not prioritising people who have a small number of cannabis plants for their own use’ and they would ‘most likely’ receive a caution.

Mr Hogg, the former deputy chief constable of Durham Police, says he believes small-scale users should be offered help to recover, and he supports legalisation of the drug for medical purposes.

Attitudes in Washington may be shifting in favor of easing marijuana restrictions as health and business benefits become more apparent, but there are still major legislative obstacles ahead.

Three bills that have been introduced to U.S. Congress this year—two with bipartisan support—would pave the way for a more accepting federal environment for cannabis.

“With so many libertarian Republicans and states-rights conservatives, there has been more support from Republicans,” Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project said. “…They’re in favor of letting states set their own polices.”

SAN FRANCISCO — A blue-ribbon panel says curtailing the illegal marijuana market in California should be the primary goal of legalizing the drug’s recreational use in the state, and not developing another tax source.

In a 93-page report released Wednesday, the panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom presents a wide range of choices and competing interests involved as advocates work to bring a recreational use initiative to voters next year.

Chief among the issues will be to determine how to structure licenses that growers and others in the industry will need. The panel indicated it wants that done in a way that both allows existing small suppliers to participate as well as leading to legitimate jobs without creating an unwieldy system.

MIAMI -

A former Miami-Dade police detective has become the 21st person sent to prison in the federal takedown of a major marijuana trafficking organization.

A federal judge Tuesday sentenced Roderick Silva, 46, to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting a conspiracy with the intent to distribute marijuana.

Under a plea agreement, Silva admitted tipping off members of the Santiesteban gang about impending police raids, how to avoid police and locations of rival gang marijuana grow houses in exchange for cash.

Most members of the gang are serving lengthy prison sentences. Ringleader Derrick Santiesteban was sentenced to life behind bars.

A panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes to guide the debate on the legalization of marijuana in California with an emphasis on limiting children’s access to cannabis, reducing illegal activity and tightly regulating the drug's growth and sales. 

In a report released Wednesday, the group lays out 58 recommendations and goals for implementing general legalization -- an issue expected to go before voters next year.

The document offers broad principles --“protecting California’s youth” -- as well as nitty-gritty suggestions for collecting data and limiting advertising.