American political leaders around the country are searching for a policy response to the widespread abuse of opioid painkillers.

But progressives don’t want to replicate the mistakes of the war-on-drugs’ punitive approaches to drug use and addiction.

Now, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) is using her influence and popularity to push for a solution that both underscores and addresses the injustices of the war on drugs over the past several decades.

The prohibition of cannabis will surely be consigned to the history books, just like the prohibition of alcohol.

Tim Farron MP, the leader of the Liberal Democrats party is the first party political leader to publicly call for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational users.

“The War on Drugs is Over”

The Virginia Senate passed a bill that will allow the production and manufacturing of two different marijuana oils for patients with epilepsy. It's called the Medical Marijuana Program Improvement bill.    

Last year, two bills gave epilepsy patients a defense if found in possession of cannabis oils. But, the law provided no way for patients to actually obtain the oils without breaking federal and state laws.

That's where this latest bill would change things.

Boulder County is studying the county's Land Use Code to see whether it adequately addresses concerns about people cultivating marijuana plants and making pot-infused items in their own homes.

Colorado voters' legalizations of medical and recreational marijuana have "presented numerous land use challenges as the new laws have been implemented," county officials said in a news release.

They said Boulder County has tried to have its current Land Use Code contain "sensible regulations to address the impacts while allowing the various associated uses" of marijuana in unincorporated areas.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon U.S. Attorney's Office says an Ashland man was sentenced to two years in prison for laundering the money he made from selling marijuana.       

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken sentenced 35-year-old Jonathan Robert Quaccia last week. She also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release once he's out.       

Prosecutors say between 2012 and 2014, Quaccia shipped marijuana from California to New York and Georgia for sale. Money from those sales was deposited in bank accounts held by Oregon residents.       

Those residents were recruited by Quaccia and co-defendant Matthew Correa. They would withdraw the funds and give the money to Correa who would pass it on to Quaccia. 

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced its opposition to SB73, Sen. Mark Madsen’s bill legalizing medical marijuana, it cited concern about “unintended consequences.”

Madsen responded by amending the bill to eliminate whatever uncertainty it originally contained. He crafted a sharply defined law to end the chronic suffering of thousands of Utahns — without opioids.

Tim Farron MP, the leader of the Liberal Democrats party is the first party political leader to publicly call for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational users.

“The War on Drugs is Over”

Following the example set by a growing number of States in America, the recreational use of cannabis is following on from the successful legalization of cannabis for medical use.

New findings suggest the link between the use of marijuana and mental illness may not be as prevalent as first thought.

THE ISSUE OF MEDICAL marijuana goes beyond the legal landscape and has a larger social impact.

This is the view of attorney at law Maria Phillips, who was weighing in on a recent request by lawyer Douglas Trotman to the Ministry of Health to have a one-year prescription for marijuana, which was written by a doctor in Canada, filled in Barbados.

The drug is for his wife Kathy-Anne Trotman for palliative care after she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer last year.

The use of marijuana is illegal in Barbados, and Phillips cautioned that there were social implications in implementing legislation that would seek to change this.

Sick or just looking for a good time, marijuana is not the answer in Idaho.

Utah is in the middle of a legislative debate on whether to legalize some forms of medical marijuana. Recreational pot use is legal in Oregon and Washington. Medical marijuana is legal in Montana and Nevada. Cannabidoil to treat seizures is legal in Wyoming and legislation to decriminalize pot possession is being considered in that state.

Here in Idaho, the resolve to keep marijuana illegal remains steadfast.

Under current Idaho law, an individual charged with possession of up to an ounce of marijuana faces a year in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. More than three ounces is a felony punishable with up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.