NAN MACKENZIE meets a respectable grandma who smokes a joint every night before bed and calls for the legalisation of medical marijuana and the decriminalising of cannabis use.

All across the United States, tens of millions are getting ready to decide both the immediate and long-term future of cannabis legislation. Quite the contrary to the picture in the United Kingdom, lawmakers are putting it all in the hands of the people…as opposed to just making their minds up for them. Well, they are in nine US states, anyway, where both medical and recreational cannabis laws could be overhauled massively by the end of the year.

Carl Sagan was famous for intoning about “billions and billions” when describing how many stars, galaxies and planets existed in the cosmos. That mantra should be chanted by anyone trying to understand marijuana use and policy in the United States. In the aggregate, Americans report smoking pot about 4 billion days a year (totaling up all the days each individual reported pot use for that year). But under the assumptions that some people understate their marijuana use on government surveys and that some users smoke more than once a day, the true annual total of use episodes could easily exceed 10 billion.

British Columbians are split on how recreational marijuana should be sold once it’s legal, but stand-alone shops like the dispensaries that line Vancouver’s streets are the most popular option, according to a new poll.

The latest survey from Insights West suggests 38 per cent of people in this province would prefer to see pot-specific stores, beating out weed sales in pharmacies (23 per cent) or liquor stores (24 per cent).

That’s welcome news to Sunny Bhayana, co-director of The Herb Co. on Main Street, one of the few licensed shops in Vancouver. He believes the dispensary system could have a potent effect on the country’s economy.

Billionaire and tech entrepreneur tells New West summit attendees marijuana should be decriminalized worldwide.

Renowned billionaire and tech entrepreneur Richard Branson told a room full of cannabis advocates he was simply in the mood to "take a spliff or two," and much of the world is ready to legally take some tokes, too.

"Why not?" the Virgin Group founder asked a crowd of about 1,000 people Saturday during the second annual New West Summit conference, "The Future of Cannabis, Now," in downtown San Francisco. 

Renowned billionaire and tech entrepreneur Richard Branson told a room full of cannabis advocates he was simply in the mood to "take a spliff or two," and much of the world is ready to legally take some tokes, too.

"Why not?" the Virgin Group founder asked a crowd of about 1,000 people Saturday during the second annual New West Summit conference, "The Future of Cannabis, Now," in downtown San Francisco.

Speaking via Skype, Branson, an unapologetic cannabis supporter, said he's spent the past five years serving on the Global Commission on Drug Policy along with former United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan and 15 former world leaders calling not only for the controversial decriminalization of drugs, but also for its legalization worldwide.

New government regulations will allow highly-controlled and ministry-sanctioned cannabis production in selected provinces for medical and scientific purposes

Turkey has legalised cannabis production in 19 provinces in order to crackdown on illegal production, according to new regulations by The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.

Published in the Official Gazette in late September, "Hemp Cultivation and Control of Regulations" will allow highly-controlled and ministry-sanctioned cannabis production in the selected provinces for medical and scientific purposes.

Under the regulations, growers must obtain permission from the government allowing them to grow the plant for a three-year-period, Turkish newspaper The Hurriyet reports.

A new Wikileaks e-mail leak shows how presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was prepared to respond to certain marijuana-related questions in the most recent debate, including her position on whether banks should be allowed to do business with marijuana companies. The e-mails were part of a hack of John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chair.

One of the e-mails states:

“If pressed: what about marijuana banking restrictions – should we let marijuana businesses access banking services?

"Pot packaged like candy. Up to 20 times stronger than it once was. Marketed to kids. Sold next to schools in nearly 2,000 pot shops across Florida. No medical standards. No pharmacists. No prescriptions. And no way to stop it unless you vote no on Amendment 2."

Florida election ads often stand out, when they bleed over into the media market in south Alabama. There just seems to be something a little more colorful about political battles in the Sunshine State. But even in that context a current TV commercial is eye-catching.

After more than a decade of confusion at Canada's airports, the country's air transport security authority is now providing guidance to passengers travelling with prescription cannabis.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority website, updated yesterday, now tells people travelling with prescription pot to be prepared to show medical documentation and that screening officers are obliged to call police to verify the paperwork. That is, unless the airport doesn't have officers on site.