Bernie Sanders has called for federal government to remove marijuana from the list of outlawed drugs — opening the way for states that wish to legalize the drug to do so. 

The Democratic presidential hopeful said it was time to “to remove the federal prohibition on marijuana” in a speech at George Mason University on Wednesday, where thousands of college students gathered to hear him speak. 

Mr Sanders was also careful not to ignore racial justice issues, and used this speech as an opportunity to call out racial bias in criminal justice related to drug sentencing. 

TOMS RIVER — A man who admitted to growing 17 cannabis plants in the Pine Barrens in 2012 was convicted Thursday of maintaining a drug manufacturing facility, the most serious charge against him.

After nearly six hours of deliberations, the jury returned a guilty verdict on two of the four counts filed against Jon Peditto, 54, of Mays Landing.

Along with the mainting a drug facility charge, Peditto was found guilty of possession of more than 50 grams of marijuana. The jury, however, returned a not guilty verdict on two counts of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

Prosecutors said Peditto faces a minimum of 10 years in state prison.

CHICAGO (AP) - The road to legal medical marijuana in Illinois began more than a decade ago, when proponents first began pushing legislation in Springfield. After many defeats, a law establishing a pilot program was approved in 2013.

Here are key dates since the law was passed:

Aug. 1, 2013: Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signs the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act, making Illinois the 21st state allowing marijuana for medical use. The law authorizes a four-year pilot program that expires at the end of 2017.

July 15, 2014: A legislative committee approves the program’s rules for patients, growers and retailers. Public comments from patients, entrepreneurs and city officials helped shape the rules.

Local marijuana policy reform activists, including a former Dallas police official, will gather Saturday for an advocacy training event at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in Dallas. Details of the event are available at http://www.texasmarijuanapolicy.org/training-dallas.

The event, hosted by Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, is the second in a series of events being held around the state as part of an effort to inject the marijuana policy debate into 2016 state legislative races. Regional events are also scheduled for Corpus Christi on November 7, East Texas on December 5, and Houston on December 12. The first event was held earlier this month in San Antonio.

Bob Eschino, Founder and President of Colorado-based Medically Correct LLC, which owns high quality, hand-crafted infused edibles maker Incredibles, shared a lot of insight in a recent interview with Daily Dab TV:

• After an eighteen-month effort, the company could enter California by year-end
• Incredibles should also soon be in Arizona and Nevada
• The company manufactures its own extraction machine and has sold 35 externally ($20K price tag)
• The company is moving into the smokable side of the market, creating its own concentrates and offering its own pen

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York state will require physicians to complete an educational course before they can authorize medical marijuana for patients - an unusual mandate not applied to other new drugs or seen in other states with medical marijuana programs.

State officials say the 4½-hour, $250-online course will inform doctors about a complex drug treatment not covered in medical school. But while the investment of time and money is modest, some patient advocates worry the inconvenience could discourage physicians from participating, ultimately limiting patient access.

ATLANTA -- The men and women who fight illegal drugs for a living say that if Georgia is going to allow the in-state growth of medical cannabis, the state needs to keep a lid on it.

"We do oppose all cultivation" of cannabis, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, president of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, said at a state hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Sheriffs had also opposed the new law this year that allows some Georgians to possess a kind of liquid medicine derived from cannabis.

xt week, Ohio voters will cast ballots on the Responsible Ohio marijuana legalization initiative. If it passes, the initiative will be historic not only for removing the prohibition against recreational marijuana use in the Buckeye State, but also for advancing the control of corporate interests over what was once an entirely grassroots movement to legalize pot.

Plenty of things are assumed to be best buds with marijuana: sugary snacks, laser light shows, week-long guitar solos and, of course, video games.

But what exactly causes players to devote hours at a time to Candy Crush, World of Warcraft or The Witcher 3? What makes video games different when it comes to grabbing and holding our attention?

At the risk of dating myself, one of my preferred Broadway plays is “South Pacific” and “Bali Hai” is a song in the show. Bali Hai is an island out in the range upon which many fantastic things can and actually do happen in the show. However naturally it is found to be a fantasy and the truth of World War II eventually intrudes upon the story.

Investing in marijuana public companies is like traveling to Bali Hai. We can all see it in the distance and no doubt there are potentially some wonderful things there, however with the exception of the late-2013 to early-2014 bubble, from which fortunes were made, there has actually been little continual progress in producing a genuinely public business sector Version 2.0.