Former Attorney General Eric Holder, in a newly released interview conducted after he left office, said he was in favor of reclassifying marijuana as something less than a Schedule I controlled substance comparable to heroin. This was hailed as encouraging news by marijuana enthusiasts who immediately asked why Mr. Holder didn’t push for this change when he was running the Justice Department.

Anchorage officials will mark off the minimum 500 feet between schools and pot shops by using walking distances, not a straight line, the Anchorage Assembly decided in a unanimous vote Tuesday night.

The decision means more potential properties will be available for pot businesses in Anchorage. The Assembly’s vote, a reversal from two weeks earlier, effectively loosens restrictions on where businesses will be allowed to open by in some cases shrinking the off-limits zone around schools and other restricted places.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults in the state.

The measure was approved Wednesday by a vote of 16-13. A final vote on the measure is expected Thursday.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill on a 4-3 vote on Monday after it had previously won approval in the Judiciary and Finance committees.

In a statement issued after the vote, Gov. Peter Shumlin called it "a big moment for Vermont."

He says 80,000 Vermonters admit to using marijuana on a monthly basis and it's clear the current system is broken.

The bill will now be considered by the House.

The Senate Liberals held an open caucus session on the legalization of marijuana, which featured presentations from Liberal MP Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice; Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police President Clive Weighill, representatives from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as well as lawyer and drug policy expert Eugene Oscapella.

According to the notice posted to the caucus website, “due to popular demand,” the event has already “reached capacity for public attendance,” but the audio will eventually be available online.

Off licences, fast food restaurants and abandoned buildings line Gratiot Street in north-east Detroit where the cannabis dispensary 420 Dank stands.

The store is not owner Kim Gaetano's first foray into the medical marijuana business. The mother of two ran legal marijuana shops in Colorado and Washington before moving to Detroit to be closer to family. 

Her shop sells cannabis flowers as well as edible products and has a 24-hour drive-through for patients who find it difficult to get out of their cars, especially in the harsh Michigan winter. 

But despite the store's success, Ms Gaetano and her nine employees may soon be out of business. 

The Australian government has passed new national laws to permit the use of medicinal cannabis by people with painful and chronic illnesses. The amendments to the Narcotic Drugs Act will allow cannabis to be legally grown for medicinal purposes without repercussion from the law. Here’s everything patients and potheads need to know.

BREAKING: This story has been updated (click here)

Injunction has allowed those who already held licences to continue growing marijuana until the Federal Court decision

VANCOUVER – A Federal Court judge is expected to release a decision today on whether medical marijuana patients have the right to grow their own cannabis.

The constitutional challenge was launched by four British Columbia residents who argued that legislation introduced by the previous Conservative government violated their charter rights.

There’s a political showdown brewing in Malaysia, and cannabis is at the center of it all.

This week, Dr. Nadiah Norudin, a leading member of the healthcare activist group I-Medik, spoke out against a proposal to decriminalize marijuana in Malaysia.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A push to legalize recreational marijuana in Rhode Island has won the support of a top lawmaker.

Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat, has signed on as co-sponsor of a bill to treat marijuana like alcohol by legalizing, regulating and taxing it.

“It is an important conversation to have,” Ruggerio said in a statement. “I have listened to the debate regarding legalization of marijuana over the years and watched the experience in states such as Colorado,” which legalized the commercial sale of the drug.

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – A familiar issue is making its way back to the ballot: marijuana legalization.

A recent Public Policy Poll shows 3 in 4 Ohioans want to legalize medical marijuana.

The Quinnipiac University poll before the November 2014 election showed 90 percent of Ohioans wanted medical marijuana legalized.

Even after ResponsibleOhio’s Issue 3 to legalize and monopolize marijuana failed, the latest numbers show support for medical use of the drug is still strong.

A new advocate group for the drug says its stepping in to give Ohioans want they want.