After prohibiting medical marijuana for more than two decades, the Southern California town of La Mesa has recently become the site of an unexpected cannabis boom.

In November, the San Diego suburb passed a ballot initiative, Measure U, allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivation centers, and manufacturing sites within city limits. In doing so, it lifted a ban that had been in place since the passage of California’s first statewide medical cannabis law in 1996. La Mesa (pop. 57,065) became the third city in San Diego County to welcome cannabis businesses. (Well, technically it tied for second—Lemon Grove, La Mesa’s neighbor to the south, also legalized dispensaries on Nov. 8.)

Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Attorney General, had some typically harsh words about marijuana today, at a time when legal pot supporters in Massachusetts and elsewhere are on high alert over how the new government will treat the drug.

In prepared remarks for a speech to law enforcement in Richmond today, he outlined his stance on marijuana use, which he has long opposed, saying that “dependency” on it is “only slightly less awful” than heroin.

The two Georgia lawmakers behind two different medical cannabis expansion plans say they’re in talks, as the annual legislative session reaches its closing days.

As long as a month ago, some lawmakers predicted some kind of showdown or compromise over the two bills.

Even though it's part of a federal agency, the TSA doesn't really care about your pot.

Marijuana is legal now in eight states and medical marijuana is legal in 28. That’s a lot of places where at least some people can possess the demon weed. But what if you’re in one of those places and you want to fly elsewhere? If pot is legal, can I take it on the plane?

Well, that depends.

Majority believe if legalized, it should be limited to adults and come with a sales tax.

As Canadians await an expected bill on the legalization of marijuana, a new poll shows the country sharply divided on the issue. 

Fifty-one per cent of Canadians said they were in favour of legalization in the online survey by NRG Research Group, compared to 33 per cent who said they were in opposition, and 14 per cent who neither support nor oppose the measure.The poll, conducted between Feb. 23 and 27 with 1,000 respondents, showed support for legalization was highest in Manitoba (59 per cent) and British Columbia (57 per cent) and lowest in Quebec (37 per cent).

A business that is well used to risk sees greater opportunities ahead.

THESE are high times for America’s marijuana-industrial complex. More than half the country’s states have legalised medical cannabis, often rather loosely defined. Eight have voted to legalise the drug for recreational purposes. The industry was worth about $6bn last year, a figure that is likely to rise sharply in 2018 when recreational sales begin in California.

Businesses that hope to sell legal marijuana in Edmonton should expect to pay higher city fees, Coun. Dave Loken said Tuesday.

"We're going to be stuck with a lot of the enforcement," Loken said as council's executive committee discussed a report from administration designed to help the city prepare for the coming legalization of marijuana.

The federal Liberal government has pledged to legalize and regulate marijuana during its current term in office.

"The more they define the rules as we get closer to legalization, the clearer the impacts will be on municipalities," Mayor Don Iveson said.

​"They'll raise all the tax revenue from this new taxable substance and once again municipalities will have to do all the hard work."

Seattle has long been synonymous with coffee, and nowadays the city with a distinctive coffee culture is crafting a burgeoning reputation for cannabis culture. What might happen when you combine the two, coffeeshop and cannabis? Sounds like a great idea, right? Like it was meant to be?

In assessing the true potential of this endeavor, where else could we begin than with the elder statesman of not only the cannabis coffeeshop industry, but also cannabis legalization: the Netherlands. We’ll take a look at the context in which cannabis coffeeshops emerged and the changes they have undergone over time. What valuable lessons can be learned from the Dutch cannabis experience, and how might they apply in the context of the United States?

Farmers in Jamaica are struggling to engage with the nation’s new medical marijuana (or ‘ganja’) scheme, according to a new study.

The findings of the study, conducted by a student at Writtle University College, have been shared in a press release from the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Study author Simon Jones reveals that, out of the over 180,000 registered farmers growing traditional crops in Jamaica, only 25 applications for ganja cultivation have been made. High licensing fees and other financial and infrastructural burdens have been cited as the main impediments to farmers.

A Georgia city wants to reduce the penalties for people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

Temple wants to reduce the fine from a thousand dollars to $75 for anyone with less than an ounce of pot with no jail time.

WATCH: Hear in their own words what city officials have to say about the proposed change in the law

The city said it is because a lot of college kids drive through the city.

“What I have the power to do is introduce amendments to an already existing ordinance that limits the punishment for less than an ounce of marijuana within the city of Temple,” said Council Member Penny Ransom.