A New Zealand police officer is arguing for the decriminalisation of cannabis, saying the punishment does not fit the crime.

The frontline officer shared his opinion in a September "I Am Keen" column for Police Association Magazine Police News, where officers have the opportunity to anonymously voice their views on police operations.

"People who are stoned are generally quite jovial and the last thing they want to do is fight me," he says.

"That is a very simple reason for me to not treat cannabis possession with the same enforcement enthusiasm I once did."

Faye spends about £250 a month making her own capsules and creams.

Cannabis should be legalised for medical use, a cross-party group of MPs has said, but there are thousands of people already using the Class B drug for this purpose.

"I am seriously considering emigrating to Australia, Jamaica or the US," says Faye Jones.

The 32-year-old PA from Wokingham jumps every time there's a knock at the door and tiptoes around neighbours who might call the police.

Her crime? Five years ago, Faye was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and after suffering from the side effects of prescribed drugs, she now uses cannabis to ease her pain, nausea and inflammation. 

Voters in Maine and a handful of other states are deciding whether to legalize recreational marijuana this November. One thing that could swing the vote is the possibility of millions of dollars in tax revenue from retail marijuana sales. Colorado was the first state in the country to roll out a tax scheme for legal marijuana in 2013, after recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012. So how are voters in Colorado spending the cash, and what should Maine voters expect?

Despite government budgets in European countries being stretched to the limit, newly released data show that Germany and Austria have continued to spend billions of euros annually on cannabis prohibition.

The German federal government is plowing €5.2 billion to €6.1 billion each year into repressive anti-drug measures, with the lion’s share focused on cannabis, according to data released by the country’s Left party. Charges for selling or growing cannabis make up nearly three-quarters of all registered drug offenses in the country of 80 million residents.

Regulations include 200 metres separating dispensaries from each other, and schools.

After months of discussion, tough regulations are coming into effect for operators of Victoria’s 38 marijuana dispensaries.

City council voted last night to move ahead with the new Medical Cannabis Business License Bylaw.

That means that as of October first, all storefront marijuana retailers have to apply for a business license, and eventually, rezoning.

At last night’s public meeting, speakers made their case for:

“I’m really proud of the fact to be from a city that is thinking of this.”

“Just want thank council for being very progressive towards policy going forward.”

During almost five years on the beat, patrolling some of the roughest parts of London, Mike Abbott arrested dozens of people for drug offences. 

As a young recruit he picked up people carrying cannabis on the street in areas such as Brixton, and later participated in undercover operations against major suppliers.

‘The stench of hash was becoming more prevalent,’ he says. ‘My job was to uphold the law and cannabis, like other drugs, was illegal.’

Ex-Met Police officer Mike Abbott runs one of the most successful medical marijuana firms in the United States, Columbia Care

Modifications to the Canada Pension Plan? A piddly 47 responses. Enter on probably the most inspirational Canadians? About 12,000 folks weighed in.

However public on-line session about legalizing marijuana netted 30,000 responses, proving pot stokes the passions of the Canadian public. (Although not fairly as partaking as the subject of prostitution, which drew 31,172 responses.)

A overwhelming majority of the pot submissions — 29,000 or so — have been responses to an internet survey.

Canada will push the United States to change a border policy that has banned Canadians who admit to having used marijuana from travel to the United States, given Canada’s plans to legalize pot, a government spokesman said on Friday.

The case of a Canadian man barred from U.S. travel because he admitted to having smoked pot recreationally has sparked a debate about U.S. border agents using a federal law against marijuana use, even though pot use is legal in several states and soon to be legal in Canada.

“We obviously need to intensify our discussions with our border authorities in the United States, including the Department of Homeland Security,” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp late on Thursday.

Cannabis regulation comes in different forms throughout the world. We showcase Portugal, Netherlands, and Colorado in their approach to cannabis regulation.

Drug possession, use, and distribution are under different regulations throughout the world. Most of the countries make a difference when it comes to so-called soft and hard drugs. Hard drugs are loosely defined as drugs with an unacceptable degree of addictiveness (physical addiction) and/or physical harm.

Cannabis falls under the domain of soft drugs, as there is minimal physical harm even when used irresponsibly and the addiction caused in heavy users is still only psychological. As such cannabis regulations in the world are usually less harsh than those for let’s say heroin or cocaine.

Just two years ago, pot lobbyist Michael Collins was a pariah on Capitol Hill.

Marijuana reform was too much of a risk.

Lawmakers wouldn't meet with him.

Not anymore.

"I've got offices reaching out to me," said Collins, deputy director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit group that supports the legalization of marijuana. "It's definitely a big change."

Marijuana-related legislation was on a fast track to nowhere until 2014. That was the year Republicans and Democrats alike approved a measure that kept federal authorities from interfering in states that allowed marijuana use for medical purposes.

Since then, both houses of Congress have seen a flood of similar proposals.