Detroit's crackdown on marijuana storefront shops could lead to about 150 fewer shops than existed in the city at the height of the industry, Mayor Mike Duggan said.

Teams of city inspectors and police officers have begun visiting stores to enforce Detroit's new medical marijuana ordinances, which took effect March 1.

"There is room in this town for probably 50 or 60 medical marijuana dispensaries spaced legitimately, and they have to be in industrial or high commercial areas," Duggan said in an interview. "They can't be in residential areas."

There were not many surprises in the premier’s Budget Statement delivered in the Legislative Assembly on Monday morning but the PPM leader announced two unexpected and unrelated items that will be welcomed by many. Alden McLaughlin said that all civil servants will receive a 2.2% one-off bonus payment in their June pay packets based on annual salaries, in addition to the pay reviews that are coming up this year. And in another surprise announcement, he revealed that government would soon begin importing cannabis oil to allow doctors to prescribe it as a medicine for certain diseases.

The Director of Public Prosecution’s call for public input on a caution policy covering simple possession of cannabis has elicited a “pleasing” range of responses thus far.

However, Larry Mussenden told The Royal Gazette he did not see the move as “crowdsourcing — or a vote, either”, on a legal shift with profound implication for police as well as the public.

“We have to strike a balance. A caution policy has to be understood by the public, young and old,” he said. “The Commissioner of Police and his officers must be able to administer it efficiently and effectively.”

The DPP’s decision to solicit views for a fresh look at police cautions, as a possible alternative to convictions, was announced on May 19, and it continues until June 10.

Legalising cannabis production would have benefits for public health and human rights, according to a study commissioned by Dutch local authorities.

The 27 municipalities are among a group campaigning for a change in the law that would allow them to regulate the growing and wholesale of weed plants. The government has rejected such calls for years, arguing that it would breach international treaties designed to restrict the illegal drug trade.

Sen. Nick Scutari is about to try marijuana for the first time.

He's a lawyer, and he swears he's never done it before. But as the author of a bill that would legalize marijuana sales in New Jersey, he feels a weighty responsibility to investigate.

So he's heading to Colorado, where marijuana has been legal since 2014, on a mission.

"I probably should figure out what it does to you," says Scutari (D-Union). "I'm going to do a little reconnaissance."

Let's wish him luck. May he find a good pizza joint to complement his research. And may he succeed in bringing some common sense to New Jersey's hard-line marijuana policies.

Who was the first U.S. president to smoke marijuana in office? Some argue that President George Washington grew marijuana on Mount Vernon for his own personal, medical use. But the honor of America's first commander-in-chief to use cannabis medicinally may actually belong to John F. Kennedy - who was born 99 years ago today.

When it comes to history, there are a lot of things that get left out of textbooks for various reasons – and even through multiple World History and American History classes, I can’t recall a single bit of information about cannabis prior to the Reefer Madness Era. Perhaps there was a quick mention of things made of hemp, but no real background on the plant, how its uses were discovered or how it made it made its way pretty much all over the world.

A day after Toronto Police swept through the city’s marijuana retailers, arresting around 90 people and seizing hundreds of kilograms of drugs, Chief Mark Saunders faced pointed questions from a crowd of protesters over the police’s decision to crack down on the trade.

At a tense press conference on Friday, Chief Saunders said the operation, named Project Claudia, was not an attack on the lawful marijuana use, and that it had been prompted by complaints from residents and by police concerns over the health of those who purchase marijuana at dispensaries.

This month, Oakland's City Council unanimously approved a program giving people with former marijuana convictions a leg-up when it comes to entering Oakland's growing legal cannabis industry—a move the City Council sees as a step towards reparations for the drug wars that, in part, led to a boom in America's prison population since the 1970s and targeted people of color.

Good news out of Illinois. See the alert I received late yesterday below:

Rep. Lou Lang announced today that key lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner have agreed to support a bill that would extend the medical cannabis pilot program until July 2020. But time is short — the bill must receive both a vote in the House and a concurring vote in the Senate before the end of the session, currently set for Tuesday, May 31.

Please click here to send an email message to your representative and senator and ask for their support of SB 10 before time runs out.