The Epilepsy Association of Western Australia and a Perth-based medical marijuana company are rejoicing at the federal government's decision to introduce a national scheme to legalise medicinal cannabis by licensing growers.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said on Wednesday the government had drafted legislation to establish a single scheme for growers of medical cannabis in all states and territories, which would be introduced in Parliament's first sitting fortnight next year.

The Rastafarian Movement in Sierra Leone yesterday presented a position paper to the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), urging the 80-man body chaired by retired Justice Edmond Cowan to decriminalize the use of marijuana in the country.

Popular broadcaster and a member of the movement, Theophilous Sahr Gbenda, who acted as their spokesman during the presentation, said part of their position paper includes the inclusion of their religious persuasion as one of the official religions in the Country and the decriminalisation of marijuana because of its economic benefit to the government and people of Sierra Leone.

The Government is to bring legislation to protect growers of new varieties of ganja plants as it seeks to step up intellectual property protection of producers.

Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Anthony Hylton, says the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Agriculture are in the process of developing the new legislation.

Hylton says the legislation will complement the developments in the cannabis industry.

He says the law will facilitate and encourage innovation in the growing of new plant varieties as well as the registration of the rights of ganja growers and farmers.

According to the minister, the move will bring about a new area of intellectual property protection in Jamaica.

LAS CRUCES - A Deming man is suing the U.S. Border Patrol, alleging agents are failing to adhere to a new rule that allow him to carry medical marijuana without risking federal charges.

Raymundo Marrufo, who participates in New Mexico's medical marijuana program, filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court seeking an injunction against the U.S. Border Patrol in connection with questions the agency poses to travelers at border checkpoints.

Hoisting and waving handmade signs reading “Decrim 4 Athens,” “We want decrim,” “We are not criminals” and “Stop the war on a plant,” about two dozen advocates of local marijuana decriminalization stepped up their efforts Tuesday evening in front of City Hall in downtown Athens, holding a demonstration in advance of the regular monthly meeting of the Athens-Clarke County mayor and commission.

The Border Patrol forces a medical marijuana patient to break a law every time he passes a checkpoint, the man claims in Federal Court.

The only choice he has, Raymundo Marrufo says, is whether to violate a state law or a federal one.

Marrufo suffers from PTSD and has been prescribed medical marijuana under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, New Mexico's medical marijuana program. To get his medicine, Marrufo must drive past a permanent Border Patrol checkpoint. There, a Border Patrolman asks him: "Do you have any illegal drugs?"

The times are changing: will the government be able to keep up?

Cities coast to coast are seeing cannabis vapour lounges, dispensaries, and advocacy agencies entering the market, some operating in a legal grey zone.

A result of slowly changing cannabis laws, combined with a less-than-meaningful enforcement regime, have to come to suggested these new entrepreneurial activities have received less than tacit approval.

“I opened in 2000; it’s a 15 year old clientele,” said Abi Roach who owns HotBox Cafe in Toronto, the longest operating vapour lounge in North America. “The laws are changing finally, I feel pretty good, like everything we fought and worked for … is now coming to fruition.”

Medical marijuana advocates in North Dakota can move forward with plans to place a referendum on the 2016 ballot that would legalize cannabis for medical purposes. Secretary of State Al Jaeger approved the advocacy group's petition, enabling them to start collecting the necessary signatures of support, reported news station KVLY.

The Minnesota Health Department is set to announce whether it will expand the legal use of medical marijuana to cover people with intractable pain.

The department's top leaders were due to announce their decision Wednesday after several meetings around the state to gather public input.

Medical marijuana's use was restricted to just a handful of conditions when legislators approved it. That disappointed supporters of the drug and has held down enrollment, leading to higher costs for those using it.

A decision on wehther to add chronic pain had been legally required by Jan. 1.

The family of a young Russell County woman facing up to ten years in prison after using marijuana to treat seizures while pregnant has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for her criminal defense.

Katie Darovitz shared her story with ProPublica and Al.com earlier this year. The 25-year-old suffers from epilepsy so severe that she can't drive safely or hold a job. When she found out she was pregnant, she went off her anti-epilepsy drugs – which have been linked to birth defects – and began using marijuana to prevent seizures.