A report to be published later today is to recommend that medicinal cannabis be made available to patients with specified medical conditions.

It is among a number of recommendations contained in the Cannabis for Medical Use report, which is to be published by Minister for Health Simon Harris.

The report makes eight recommendations and was compiled by the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

It states that cannabis has potential therapeutic benefits, but there is a need for robust evidence to be generated through clinical research in patients.

Col Antonio Medica is a state-approved drug baron. At the dauntingly named Military Pharmaceutical Plant in Florence, the colonel grows 100kg (220lb) of cannabis a year.

The crop itself is guarded in the depths of the plant by a series of locked doors. All visitors must wear protective clothing and face masks. 

Just inside a final heavy door, a line of tape on the ground warns visitors not to go in any further. Beyond the line, several dozen rows of cannabis plants are flanked by lamps and fans. 

Italy's logic is simple: in this country, medical marijuana is legal. It is prescribed for pain relief to patients with cancer or multiple sclerosis. 

The Globe and Mail reports that police chiefs in Canada have rebuffed certain recommendations in a federal paper on cannabis legalisation.

“Hold off on home grows” is the main point that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) are advocating, as the Canadian government makes preparations for cannabis legalisation in the coming months:

Peru's government says it will present to the opposition-dominated legislature a plan to legalize the medical use of marijuana "for the treatment of serious and terminal illnesses."

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's administration said Wednesday the plan was developed after police raided a house in a Lima neighborhood where a group of parents grew marijuana to make oil for treating their children suffering from epilepsy and other diseases.

Hundreds of Texans try to convince lawmakers to recalibrate marijuana laws

Hundreds of Texans lobbied lawmakers for marijuana policy reform on Wednesday at the State Capitol.

"It's not your 'stoners.'  You're looking at seniors, you're looking at people who are coming in with medical conditions," said Dawn Brooks with Texas NORML.

Last session, Governor Abbott signed off on a law that allows the limited use of cannabis oil which was a pretty big deal.  But only those with intractable epilepsy can take advantage of it.

The Governor made it clear he wasn't on board for much more leeway than that.

State officials plan to move quickly with a task force for regulating recreational marijuana, the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee heard Wednesday.

The first steps will be putting temporary regulations in place by July to allow medical marijuana establishments to sell recreational marijuana. By the end of the year, permanent regulations are to be in place.

In the world of state government, that is a fast-tracked process for completing regulations. It can take a year or so for that to happen.

“The idea is that we would get going pretty quickly,” said Deonne Contine, executive director of the Nevada Department of Taxation.

During the Obama administration, eight states, plus the District of Columbia, legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. Dozens more passed laws regarding marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Obama's DOJ generally agreed to a hands off policy regarding states that have voted to legalize recreational marijuana. With the new administration, there is considerable stress about whether or not these policies will still be in place. This is true both for medical marijuana patients as well as for people whose livelihoods are in the cannabis industry.

The state Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would make it legal to use a marijuana extract to treat seizures.

The measure legalizes possession of cannabidiol oil with a doctor's certification. The chamber adopted the bill on a 31-1 vote Wednesday. Republican Sen. Duey Stroebel was the only senator to vote against it.

Parents of children who suffer from seizures say cannabidiol oil, which doesn't produce a high, can ease symptoms.

Democratic Sen. Chris Larson argued the bill doesn't go far enough, pointing out that importing the oil into Wisconsin would remain illegal. He tried to amend the bill to allow production of the oil in the state but Republicans refused to revise the measure.

The bill goes next to the Assembly.

Pot smokers and non smokers alike will agree that the current system of marijuana prohibition simply doesn’t work.

It doesn’t stop people from smoking, it wastes a monumental amount of resources, it makes criminals rich and it stops marijuana from being properly regulated.

Their mandate is simple: