The director of the Virginia chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said she is remaining optimistic in spite of scant political will in the statehouse for the cause.

The Republican-led House Courts of Justice this week tabled various marijuana-related proposals, including one to decriminalize it. But Virginia NORML Director Pam Novy, of Culpeper, said that would not set back the state’s marijuana reform movement.

NEARLY a century after America fleetingly banned alcohol, Prohibition seems like a charming absurdity. The rise of moonshine and speakeasies before the Great Depression seems more like Hollywood than history. But Prohibition was no joke for the working classes, writes Lisa McGirr in “The War on Alcohol”, a focused and thought-provoking book.

When the 18th Amendment banning the sale of alcohol was passed in 1919, it was targeted at the saloons where men gathered after work for beer and conversation. “I believe that alcoholism threatens the destruction of the white race,” said Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University. Such sentiments were common among the reformers.

Psychoactive substances bill may lead to lack of clarity over whether or not suspects are breaking the law, says Durham PCC Ron Hogg

Police could face extra expense and confusion as a result of discrepancies in the laws banning the possession of drugs that will emerge once the psychoactive substances bill comes into force, a police and crime commissioner has warned.

Ron Hogg, police and crime commissioner for Durham, said he found it bizarre that the new law to ban the trade in any substances that have a psychoactive effect will not also make possession an offence, and that this could cause problems for investigating officers.

Marijuana advocates hoping for a substantial shift in federal marijuana policy in the last year of the Obama administration are likely to be disappointed.

At a briefing Friday, White House press secretary John Earnest said any progress on marijuana reform would need to come through Congress. President Obama had signaled his position a day earlier at the House Democratic retreat in Baltimore, saying marijuana reform is not on his list of end-of-term priorities, according to Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).

A bill that would legalize marijuana and allow for regulated marijuana commerce is advancing.  Senate Bill 137  passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-1 vote.

The bill allows for marijuana to be sold in stores, but bans home cultivation. Only licensed commercial grows in safe, secure locations will be allowed.

[image:1 align:left]The Judiciary Committee vote to advance the measure came a day after six state physicians' groups came out against the bill, citing what they called the ill effects of marijuana.

As her lead in the polls continues to dwindle, Hillary Clinton is trying her best to appeal to young voters, who favor her main opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton goes to ridiculous lengths in her attempts to woo young people into supporting her campaign: she’s whipped and nae-naed on Ellen, dubbed herself Chillary Clinton, and even asked college students to describe how they felt about their student debt “in three emojis or less.”

Although it seems that she’ll do anything to get their votes, there’s one thing Hillary Clinton won’t do: champion the issues that young voters care about.

On Wednesday, it only took five minutes for the District of Columbia’s Judiciary Committee to be overpowered by the vote of the Chairman, Phil Mendelson (D), to move forward a bill to permanently ban the social use of cannabis in the District.

This means B21-0701, the “Marijuana Decriminalization Possession Clarification Amendment Act of 2016” will be scheduled for a second reading at another legislative meeting, as outlined in the legislation process on DCNA.org.

The D.C. Judiciary Committee voted to table the measure (3 – 2) but with the ‘yes’ vote from the Chairman of the Full Committee who was sitting in for Councilmember LaRuby May (D-Ward 8), the vote tipped in favor of passing the bill.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is calling for a collective Caribbean approach regarding the trade and other benefits of marijuana cultivation in the region.

“We have to have the studies. That is why I advocated the Caribbean marijuana commission. In the changing global context of marijuana use, Caribbean economists and other relevant professionals, including those in the pharmaceutical industry, ought to be ahead of the curve in conducting relevant research, not rehearsing traversed territory,” Gonsalves said in an address to the launch of the 40th anniversary celebrations at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The federal Liberals' plan to legalize recreational marijuana is officially underway. Canada’s new minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould (MP for Vancouver Granville) received instructions to make it happen last November. And on January 8, Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau appointed former Toronto police chief Bill Blair to head those efforts.

But Trudeau has said the process should begin with consultation with the provinces. And so it will likely be several years before legal cannabis is a reality.

Mexican lawmakers this week launched a national debate on a topic that officials around the world have been struggling to address: marijuana legalization.

Over the next three weeks, the Mexican Congress is holding a series of public hearings (link in Spanish) on whether and how to regulate marijuana. The discussions will range from nitty-gritty—how should marijuana’s potency be classified?—to broad issues such as the effects of marijuana prohibition on public safety.