The world's governments used to agree on tackling the use of cocaine, cannabis and other narcotics. Policies, such as locking up dealers, traffickers and even users, were underpinned by global treaties from the 1960s onwards as the US led a war on drugs.

That system is crumbling as ever-more Western nations, from Portugal to the United States, rewrite rules on whether cannabis and other drugs should be available to sufferers of multiple sclerosis and other maladies, decriminalised or even legalised, so that people can use them for recreation.

Florida-based BiotrackTHC has been selected to implement Hawaii's first medical marijuana seed-to-sale tracking system, the state health department confirmed Wednesday.

Terminally ill former trade unions boss Helen Kelly wants a referendum on whether cannabis should be legalised, and says she is talking to MPs about making it happen.

Kelly, who has lung cancer, has been taking cannabis oil sourced from the black market to relieve her pain and believes it is "absolutely ludicrous" New Zealand's laws have forced her to do so.

"If we can have a referendum on the New Zealand flag, then we can have a referendum on this issue," she said on Saturday.

A Shrewsbury man who was jailed for being part of a conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis in Telford has been ordered to pay back £10,000 – despite making £60,000 from his crimes.

Kreshnik Gecaj, who was said to be part of a wider conspiracy to grow cannabis in the county, had been a “gardener” at a property used to produce cannabis and had rented another house in a false name for the same purpose.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing yesterday at Shrewsbury Crown Court, heard that he had benefited by £60,000 for his part in the crime. But he was told to pay back £10,000 following a discussion over his assets.

OTTAWA — Former Toronto police Chief Bill Blair will help lead the Liberal efforts to legalize marijuana.

Blair, who made the leap from policing to politics last year, has been tapped to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make good on an election pledge to reform current marijuana laws, which the Liberals argue don't work because too many Canadians wind up with a criminal record for possessing only small amounts of the drug.

OTTAWA -- Some members of the marijuana movement are concerned about the government's decision to make Toronto's former police chief a point man on legalizing pot, activist and former Liberal hopeful Jodie Emery said Friday.

Liberal MP Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody-Wilson Raybould, has been tapped to take a leading role on the file, working closely with the departments of Justice, Public Safety and Health.

"The minister of justice and her colleagues are confident that parliamentary secretary Blair's experience and background in public safety will be a great asset to the government's work to ensure a careful and thoughtful approach to the legalization and regulation of marijuana," said Justice spokesman Andrew Gowing.

OTTAWA—MP Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief now leading the Trudeau government’s marijuana legalization project, says provincial liquor stores may be the most reasonable place from which to control legal cannabis sales because of the ability to restrict youth access to the drug.

Blair, as parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, has been asked to craft the government’s policy, working with a three-member cabinet team and a federal-provincial-territorial task force that hasn’t yet been struck, the justice minister’s office said.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin wants to make his state the first to legalize marijuana through the legislature instead of a ballot initiative.

In his State of the State address on Thursday, the Democratic governor said that he wanted to “get marijuana legalization done right” by legislating a step-by-step process of legalization rather than taking the less-controlled route of a public referendum. “To do it right, we must do it deliberately, cautiously, step by step, and not all in one leap as we legislate the lessons learned from the states that went before us,” he said.

It's not a new topic, but it's getting a new push.

Two bills are expected to be introduced this legislative session -- one that would legalize medical marijuana and another legalizing recreational use of the drug.

"I would love to get a vote on the floor this year either in the senate or the house," explained former US Congressman Mike Ward.

A plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker to legalize recreational use of marijuana in California is on the path to the November ballot, potentially bringing more than $1bn a year in tax revenue, according to legislative analysts.

The proposal, which would allow for the retail sale of marijuana to adults aged 21 and older, is one of the most highly anticipated initiatives, in no small part because California is the country’s largest economy and the eighth largest in the world.