More than half of MPs want to see the legalisation of medical marijuana, a survey has found.

The polling, which follows parliamentary debates on the issue, found that 58 per cent of MPs backed the use of cannabis for people battling health conditions.

Those supporting the move include Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister, and Dr Dan Poulter, a former health minister and Tory MP. 

The Democratic Party just got a little more 420-friendly.

The Democratic Party on Saturday announced that it was endorsing a "reasoned pathway to future legalization," Slate reported.

Supporters hailed the move as a big win for Sen. Bernie Sanders

Around 10,000 years ago prehistoric humans began using cannabis, a new research study has found, and not just in one small corner of the globe.

You might remember the smoking Joe Camel from magazine ads and the chesterfield-touting Joe Canadian from beer ads, but there's a chance you'll never meet Joe Marijuana.

As the Liberal government prepares to introduce legislation next spring to legalize cannabis, it has asked a nine-member task force to look at what restrictions should be in place when it comes to marketing marijuana.

"Since marketing, advertising and promotion of marijuana would only serve to 'normalize' it in society and encourage and increase usage, it has been proposed that these should be strictly limited so as to dampen widespread use and reduce associated harms," reads the government's discussion paper on the issue.

A Portland pot dispensary has earned the distinction of becoming the first marijuana business to become part of a fraud investigation since Oregon voted for legalization. Cannacea has closed down shop amid the fraud scandal after it was learned that Oregon never issued a medical dispensary license to the business in the first place.

Tisha Siler, the founder of Cannacea, brought her medical marijuana-based business to Oregon in 2014 after she received what she thought was a letter welcoming her to open up shop in Oregon. Medical marijuana dispensary licenses can be hard to acquire, and Siler, a grower from California, believed she was one of the few to make the cut.

Add Medicare Savings to the List …

This website has been unflinching over the years in its support of legalizing marijuana – both medically and recreationally (here in South Carolina and beyond).

Our main argument?  Legalizing marijuana (and other drugs) is a liberty issue.  As long as you aren’t imposing on the liberties of others, government has no businesses telling you what you can or cannot do in the privacy of your own home.

Let alone busting down the door and shooting you …

The recent killing of a marijuana store security guard in Colorado and the wounding of another guard in San Bernardino are the latest examples of the crime lure posed by cash-only pot dispensaries, industry observers say.

But while those armed robbery attempts and a pot store shootout in Walnut Park in Los Angeles County were unfolding last month, Democratic-sponsored legislation that could have led to more dispensaries offering plastic and electronic payments in lieu of cash was blocked by House Republicans.

Pronouncements from no less than President Duterte encouraged a lawmaker to refile a bill that would pave the way for the legalized medical use of marijuana.

Isabela 1st district Rep. Rodolfo Albano III has refiled the proposed ”Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act,” as embodied in House Bill (HB) No. 180.

Meantime, a panel of health experts was recently formed and is now checking the health benefits of cannabis or marijuana.

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial said that there are already experts looking into the supposed health benefits of marijuana.

As a primary care and addiction medicine physician, I never thought I’d be suggesting marijuana use to my patients, given its unknown potential for physical, emotional, social and developmental harm. However, the opiate overdose epidemic has radically shifted my thinking.

The June 26 Sun-News editorial about legalizing cannabis for tax revenue missed a critical benefit: the possibility of fewer overdose deaths.

Since prescription pain pill overdoses exceed those of both heroin and cocaine combined, at about 40 daily (and over 14,000 yearly), this is no small point. Gun homicides and car crashes kill fewer. The crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s killed 800 to 2,400 yearly, according to the Government Accountability Office.

This is going to be a transformative year for the United States. Not only are we set to vote in a new president for the first time in eight years this November, but we could also see the most rapid expansion of marijuana ever, with eight states now set to vote on recreational or medical cannabis initiatives or amendments this fall.

What's at stake

The expansion of the cannabis industry was initially put in motion 20 years ago when California approved a compassionate use law for medical marijuana. Today, half of all U.S. states have approved a medical marijuana law. The two most recent approvals came from Pennsylvania and Ohio, which used the legislative process to pass medical cannabis laws.