TENNESSEE (December 17, 2015)- Michael Brooks is a resident of a small town in Tennessee where any form of cannabis use is illegal, including medical marijuana, found a cure for his life-threatening hepatitis c by using cannabis oil. Michael learned that he had hepatitis c several years ago after suffering physical issues to the point of being unable to participate in his two young sons lives most days. At one point Brooks was bleeding from his eyes due to acquired hemophilia as a result of hepatitis c. Michael was taking all of the traditional pharmaceuticals he could in hopes of finding some relief to no avail. Michael shared, “I have been known to smoke cannabis, but had never heard of cannabis oil”.

A deputy U.S. marshal from Florida has admitted robbing marijuana dealers at gunpoint in Yuba City.

Clorenzo Griffin, 38, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Sacramento to conspiring to commit a robbery. As part of his plea agreement, Griffin admitted that he planned, financed and participated in the robbery, according to a U.S. attorney’s office news release. He also stated in the plea agreement that he was a deputy U.S. marshal.

Griffin’s co-conspirators, Andre Jamison, 40, and Rodney Rackley, 24, both of Miami, previously entered guilty pleas in the case. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller last week sentenced Jamison to seven years and three months in prison. On Wednesday, she sentenced Rackley to six years in prison.

RELAXING laws on minor drugs offences would allow courts to spend more time on the prosecution of higher-level crimes according to a Dorking barrister.

Rio Pahlavanpour, who lives in Dorking and prosecutes cases at Redhill Magistrates' Court, believes more progressive drugs laws would give courts the time to focus on more serious cases such as domestic violence.

Mr Pahlavanpour suggests that following the example set by many US states and has put his concerns in a letter to Mole Valley MP Sir Paul Beresford.

Recreational use of cannabis is legal in four US states and medical use in 23 states.

Tucked deep inside the 1,603-page federal spending measure is a provision that effectively ends the federal government's prohibition on medical marijuana and signals a major shift in drug policy.

The bill's passage over the weekend marks the first time Congress has approved nationally significant legislation backed by legalization advocates. It brings almost to a close two decades of tension between the states and Washington over medical use of marijuana.

Under the provision, states where medical pot is legal would no longer need to worry about federal drug agents raiding retail operations. Agents would be prohibited from doing so.

In a brief filed with the Court on Wednesday night, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli argues in part that the case is not properly before the Court.

The case highlights the tension between a state -- Colorado -- that has chosen to legalize marijuana, and others, such as Nebraska and Oklahoma, who say they are having difficulties protecting their borders from the increased flow of the drug.

Last spring, the Supreme Court asked for the administration's views as the justices decide whether to take up the case.

As in 2014, the omnibus spending pill includes pro-pot and anti-pot amendments.

As expected, this year's omnibus spending bill extends a provision that bars the Justice Department (which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration) from interfering with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws. The bill also includes a rider aimed at preventing federal interference with the cultivation of commercial hemp in states that allow it. At the same time, the bill renews the congressional ban on commercial marijuana regulation in Washington, D.C.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City’s mayor is introducing a national initiative in congress to legalize cannabis-based medical treatments in the entire country.

Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera says the initiative would not legalize production or distribution of medical marijuana in Mexico, rather give Mexicans access to medicinal products manufactured outside the country.

He said Wednesday the initiative is a matter of public health and aimed to allow patients access to proven remedies that are legal in other countries for various illnesses and ailments.

Mancera said if morphine-based medicines are legal, cannabis-based medicines should be as well.

Creating a working template that will please the majority of Canadians requires compromise and pragmatism, not idealism and absolutes.

As the Canadian government begins to move towards implementing a regulated, commercial, adult cannabis market, the argument of what this system should look like has people from all sides of the argument seeking to stake their claim. 

Members of Congress this morning unveiled the 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill, legislation that is responsible for funding the federal government through the 2016 fiscal year.  While stand alone marijuana related bills rarely gain traction in Congress, the annual omnibus appropriations bill has become a tool for federal lawmakers to pass marijuana related language into annual spending guidelines. 

In last week’s Legislative Round Up, we covered five distinct marijuana provisions that lawmakers sought to include in the final draft of the 2016 spending bill. 

By Naser Pajaziti

Ministry of Health in FYR Macedonia has drafted a bill on the legalization of the use of cannabis for medical purposes. According to this ministry, this bill is expected to be enacted in February 2016.

Based on the bill, cannabis will be produced and used only in FYROM and will only be produced by legal persons.

Minister of Health, Nikola Todorov said that once this bill is approved by the government, public debates will take place to hear proposals or criticism by stakeholders.

So far 13 EU countries have allowed the use of cannabis for medical purposes.