Texas lawmakers have begun a multi-pronged attempt to reshape marijuana rules in the Lone Star State in the wake of voters passing pro-pot initiatives in several states across the country as a result of last week’s election.

At least six marijuana-related proposals have been laid out since Monday when state lawmakers officially became able to file bills to be considered during the 2017 legislative session, The Texas Tribune reported this week.

Days after voters in four states agreed to legalize marijuana for recreational use, Texans may likely decide soon if they want to follow suit and reshape drugs laws of their own.

Benjamin Franklin said that taxes, like death, are one of life’s few certainties. But due to a glitch in the technical language of California’s successful marijuana legalization initiative, the state’s pot smokers may prove him wrong.

Just a few yards from the Salem city line, a customer strolled into the Herbal Remedies cannabis shop, and put his nose into two jars with pot strains on promotion: Black Licorice and Berry Funk. He drew in the aroma appreciatively, like a wine connoisseur savoring the smell of a fine cabernet sauvignon.

On shelves were other brands, such as Obama Kush, Space Candy and Blueberry Northern Light.

The shop, though, seems to be doomed at least for recreational sales.

It is in one of three dozen locales in Oregon where voters on Election Night prohibited marijuana businesses, according to a list compiled by Rob Bovett, legal counsel for the of Association of Oregon Counties. Voters in another two dozen towns and counties decided to allow these businesses.

It looks like Canada is well on its way to legalizing marijuana. Our federal government has voiced its support for legalizing the drug, and changes to the Criminal Code are expected by next spring.

But it's not all fun and games.

Before marijuana is legalized, a number of serious concerns will need to be addressed. This will involve participation from both our federal and provincial governments. After all, most of the practical responsibilities associated with adapting to its presence will fall into the hands of our provincial governments. These will include responsibilities such as the sale and distribution the drug, as well as the regulation of highways and roadways.

More than half the states–28, to be exact–including Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota as of the Nov. 8 election, and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for certain medical conditions.

And yet, the Drug Enforcement Administration still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, defined by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act as a drug that has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use (emphasis is mine) in the United States. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

A number of cities and towns are exploring ways to limit or even snuff out marijuana shops in their communities, less than a week after voters legalized the drug for recreational use in Massachusetts.

Some local officials worry that a profusion of marijuana stores will turn quaint New England downtowns into drug havens. Others are concerned the shops will crowd along the New Hampshire state line, luring unwanted out-of-state customers and clogging the streets with impaired drivers.

“I’m dead set against it,” said Mayor Stephen N. Zanni of Methuen, who wants to ban marijuana retailers from opening in his city, where 52 percent of local voters opposed the ballot question. “I don’t think it’s an appropriate fit here for our community.”

Cannibis clubs fall into legal limbo in Spain.

Authorities in Spain closed down a cannabis club in Barcelona that sold marijuana candy and other similar products to more than 16,000 people, many of them tourists, police said on Tuesday.

They arrested five managers of the club, which opened in 2013 in the centre of the popular Mediterranean seaside city, the Guardia Civil police force said in a statement.

These types of clubs often fall into legal limbo in Spain, where trafficking marijuana is illegal but consuming it is not.

In the legal grey area users have created clubs to grow cannabis plants to share, which are accepted by Spanish authorities as long as the marijuana is only for use among members and not for profit.

Campaigners who oppose Maine's move toward legalized marijuana are entering their final full day of collecting signatures to force a recount.

The No on 1 campaign needs to collect 100 signatures by 5 p.m. on Wednesday to bring about the recount. A spokeswoman for the Maine Department of the Secretary of State says a recount would likely take several weeks.

Mainers voted to legalize recreational marijuana on Nov. 8. The vote was decided by a fraction of a percentage point, and opponents of legalization said last week that they would pursue a recount.

Those caught supplying marijuana risk being handed a 14-year prison sentence in the UK.

The UK’s underground medical marijuana scene, where dealers give away tens of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis in order to offer relief to those in physical pain, has been exposed in a new documentary.

Millions of people across can gain access to medical marijuana to treat the pain of chronic and fatal diseases. 

Drugs are a public health issue, and should be legalised with Doctors at the heart of the debate according to the British Medical Journal.

In a series of articles published today, the BMJ argue that ‘the war on drugs has failed,’ and claim that prohibitive drug laws have done nothing to reduce addiction or organised crime.

The BMJ’s editorial highlights a number of areas where ‘the war on drugs’ has actually caused public health problems, as opposed to remedying them: