Key public figures are set to assemble at the Auckland Town Hall next week to host a public discussion on the impacts of cannabis laws in New Zealand communities.

The launch of the "Let's Start The Conversation" campaign - a national vehicle to create informed community discussion and debate around the impacts of current cannabis laws - kicks off on Monday, June 27th with a Town Hall Assembly in Auckland officially endorsed by Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the New Zealand Criminal Bar Association.

Could recreational marijuana use be legalized in Massachusetts?

Those who say “yes” plan to file more than 25,000 voter signatures with city and town clerks by a Wednesday deadline, thereby clearing one of the last hurdles to secure a spot for their proposal on the November ballot.

Only 10,792 certified signatures are required at this stage, but sponsors of ballot initiatives typically try to gather much more in case some signatures are disqualified for various reasons.

Supporters of other proposed ballot questions tell The Associated Press they also have collected enough signatures to easily exceed the threshold.

Pot’s staunchest opposing forces giving in to medical marijuana.

A legion of Congressional lawmakers, some of which have advocated against the reform of marijuana laws in the not so distant past, have joined forces in an effort to eliminate some of the restrictive barriers that have jammed up the cannabis plant for the past several decades by introducing legislation that would make it easier for the scientific and medical communities to study its therapeutic benefits.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) of Oregon, crowned “Congress’s top legal pot advocate,” by Rolling Stone, found an unlikely ally for his latest marijuana-related bill: Rep. Andy Harris (R) of Maryland. The conservative Republican introduced a provision that effectively blocked D.C. from loosening its pot laws, launching him to the center of the controversy about marijuana legalization as pot’s most vocal opponent.

Legal marijuana is giving Colorado a stinky conundrum. Visitors can buy the drug, but they can't use it in public. Or in a rental car. Or in most hotel rooms.

The result is something marijuana advocates and opponents feared — people toking up on sidewalks, in city parks and in alleys behind bars and restaurants — despite laws against doing so. And they're getting dinged with public marijuana consumption tickets.

From the capital city of Denver to mountain resorts like Aspen and Breckenridge, police wrote nearly 800 citations in for the new crime of public consumption in 2014, the first year recreational sales began.

Learn from Colorado's folly. Unless Arizona does something about medical marijuana, legalization won't produce promised revenues.

Forty percent of the taxes on marijuana would be directed to the Department of Education for construction, maintenance and operation costs, including compensation of K-12 teachers. Another 40 percent would be set aside for full-day kindergarten programs. And 20 percent would go to the Department of Health Services for unspecified uses. Revenue from the taxes could not flow into the state's general fund, which would allow it to be spent for other purposes.

A store displays two identical TVs: One costs $575, the other is on sale for $533. Which do you choose?

They say good fences make good neighbors. Then there's the fences that enclose the growing number of Josephine County's marijuana grow sites.

There are a lot of them. And they are often ugly, especially when topped by a couple feet of plastic.

Among those who are unhappy with the proliferation of Visqueen view blockers is Chris Locke, a Murphy landscape nursery owner who endures the sight of a neighbor's fenced marijuana grow.

Locke, co-owner of Murphy Country Nursery, says the fences are ruining Josephine County's rural landscape. They're tall and typically made of wood, or wood topped with plastic. Many are easy to spot.

Wednesday, a well-known cannabis extraction company, Care By Design was raided in Sonoma County. A company spokesperson insists the business was in the process of being permitted. The DEA and Santa Rosa police raided it just as the city was developing an ordinance which will allow some types of cannabis extraction. Law enforcement, however, seized assets and put one man in jail. According to the Press Democrat, Narcotics Sgt. Rich Celli of the Santa Rosa Police stated, “Many people believe the law is in flux — it’s not, don’t do it.”

Cannabis Liberation Rick Simpson, the godfather of cannabis oil, was one of the main guest speakers during the 8th annual Cannabis Liberation Day in Amsterdam. The Canadian cannabis oil producer is responsible for putting the medicinal value of cannabis oil on the worldwide map. Check out this Cannabis News Network report.

Liberal drug policies have spread across Europe. But some early adopters are slipping behind.

On a cobbled street lined with tourist shops in central Prague, a darkened storefront advertises cannabis-flavoured beer and absinthe ice cream. Inside, chocolate bars featuring Bob Marley’s face are for sale alongside “mushroom cookies” and glass bongs. Nothing stronger is on offer. But in a country where the possession of drugs is mostly tolerated, it is not hard to find the real stuff elsewhere: dealers loiter in the city’s main square, and barmen sell cannabis under the counter.