Asset forfeiture is a serious concern for cannabis businesses across the United States. The government has the authority to seize assets involved in the manufacture, importation, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance, such as marijuana, and in the past decades it has not shied away from using this power. What’s more, property seized by the government under suspicion of criminal activity does not have to be returned even if a conviction is never obtained. For cannabis business owners, this can mean losing their homes and cars. But even investors and landlords involved in cannabis businesses are subject to risk.

On any given day in the United States, at least 137,000 men and women sit behind bars on simple drug possession charges, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch.

Nearly two-thirds of them are in local jails. According to the report, most of these jailed inmates have not been convicted of any crime: They're sitting in a cell, awaiting a day in court which may be months or even years off, because they can't afford to post bail.

"It's been 45 years since the war on drugs was declared and it hasn't been a success," lead author Tess Borden of the Human Rights Watch said in an interview. "Rates of drug use are not down. Drug dependency has not stopped. Every 25 seconds we're arresting someone for drug use."

A Nova Scotia safety group is scrambling to get ready for the expected legalization of marijuana.

Injury-Free Nova Scotia is holding public meetings this month to discuss cannabis safety and how sales of it should be controlled, said Shirley Burdock, executive director of Injury-Free Nova Scotia, a group advocating for policy change around alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.

“There’s no need to argue ‘should we have it, should we not’ — it’s coming,” Burdock said.

“We’ve got to make sure that people understand, first of all, this is not the marijuana that we grew up with. It’s not the Cheech and Chong stuff. A lot of us, that’s how we understood it from the movies of the day.”

Hemp would grow better than manuka on the rolling hills of Taranaki, a councillor says.

New Plymouth District Councillor Murray Chong was one of the 130 people in Taranaki to put his name on a national petition calling for Parliament to legalise marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"Venture Taranaki suggest manuka should be a bigger industry here, but what about hemp?" he said. "I think it would go really well here."

The petition was launched in March by Rose Renton, whose son was the first person in New Zealand to be treated with imported medical marijuana drug Elixinol.

The petition was signed by more than 17,000 people throughout New Zealand and presented to Labour MP Damien O'Connor on Wednesday.

The 5th Annual Marijuana Business Conference & Expo will be hosted at The Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada next month; however, according to a memo sent to Caesar employees (Caesar’s owns The Rio), individuals caught possessing cannabis will be turned over to Metro Las Vegas Police.

The memo, which was shared by Denver, Colorado-based Hoban Law Group, reads in part:

In an historic moment in the Legislative Assembly on Monday afternoon, all members of the parliament backed the government’s amendment to the drugs law to pave the way for the use medicinal cannabis oil. Premier Alden McLaughlin, who is also the health minister, presented the bill on Friday but the debate began this afternoon, and in a show of unity all of the legislators backed the change. There are still hurdles ahead for those suffering from conditions where the oil may help with pain or even offer a cure, as sourcing it could still prove difficult.

WikiLeaks has arguably been the most important thing that has happened to elections, if not the veneer of democracy, in quite a long time. We’ve been able to see the true side of politicians and bureaucrats like never before.

In Hillary Clinton, we see a figure beholden to Wall St., working diligently to advance the influence of financial corporations over government policy and taxpayer money. Her mega-donor list is a who’s who of megabanks that also happened to benefit from the TARP government bailout.

When Carey S. Clark sent out a public letter last month expressing her support for Maine’s cannabis legalization initiative, she received a lot of supportive responses. She also heard from a few critics. One nurse told her “you should be ashamed of yourself.” Others questioned her professional standing and her employment. Clark is a highly respected nurse, researcher, and associate professor of nursing at the University of Maine. She responded to her critics “with kindness,” she said, and encouraged them to further explore the issue.

It was a typical response from a medical professional with 22 years of experience, who has been working intensively around cannabis issues for the last two years.

A long conversation with the renowned travel guide on his campaign to legalize marijuana.

Rick Steves is better known to living rooms across the United States for his tranquil guides to Europe. However, in his free time from his professional job, Steves has another passionate pursuit: Legalizing marijuana.

The 60-year-old travel writer, TV personality—and occasional pot smoker—has been a longtime advocate of drug policy reform in the United States, to the chagrin of some of his show’s viewers.

Some time after next spring, Canadians will be able to legally buy marijuana for use purely for pleasure.

How will it be sold? That hasn’t been decided, and there’s a lot at stake for the potential players: a CIBC report earlier this year estimated the size of the national recreational cannabis market at up to $10 billion.

Everybody from existing licenced growers to public-sector unions, who would add members if provincial liquor store networks also sold pot, has weighed in. Revenue-hungry governments are hoping for the anticipated $5 billion in pot taxes.