“We were having dinner—my daughter, grandchild, and me,” says Ramona, a 67-year-old Mexican woman who is serving a sentence of four-and-a-half years in one of Mexico’s most dangerous prisons. “I was lying on the couch watching a soap opera … when I realized that there were several men inside the house yelling at me to hand over the drugs.”

The police, wearing masks, ransacked Ramona’s house and allegedly stole her personal belongings before hauling her off to the prosecutor’s office. They claimed they had witnessed her selling marijuana and crack cocaine to a man, though the man himself said he had never seen her before.

Colombia plans to legalise the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Mexico may soon enter an elite club composed of Holland, Portugal, Uruguay and Colorado, Oregon and Washington state: It’s on the verge of excluding marijuana from the destructive war on drugs. But will the United States stand in its way?

Nevada could soon become the 5th state to legalize recreational marijuana, after the state was named one of the most likely to legalize recreational marijuana in 2016.  

One year from now, local voters will take to the polls to cast their votes.

Robert Calkin is the CEO of Cannibus Career Institute, and has over 30 years experience in the marijuana industry.  He thinks Nevada could be the next state to legalize marijuana recreationally.

"Nevada has always been an expert in creating businesses that were difficult in creating business models for," says Calkin.

The 2016 recreational marijuana initiative is already on the ballot, meaning Nevada residents will vote on it one year from now.

Since the mid-twentieth century, global drug policy has been dominated by strict prohibition with the use of law enforcement to try and reduce the supply of illicit drugs.

This approach, which has come to be known as the ‘War on Drugs’, hasn’t worked.

Instead it has fuelled poverty and failed some of the poorest and most marginalised communities worldwide.

Read our full report: Casualties of War: How the War on Drugs is harming the world’s poorest

The War on Drugs…

More than 16,000 people have signed a petition demanding that the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) be fired for calling medical marijuana a "joke" last week.

"What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it's not," DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said during a press briefing on November 4. "We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine — that is a joke."

In a surprising move, Gov. Andrew M.

South Carolina could be among the next states to legalize medical marijuana in the coming year after a state Senate subcommittee passed an initial bill on Sept. 24 allowing qualified patients to possess limited amounts of the drug.

Several states have begun legalizing industrial hemp, with the federal government partially legalizing hemp production with the 2014 Farm Bill. West Virginia is one of many states that have worked toward legalizing hemp, with the following people and organizations playing important roles.

Nov 11, 2015 — So far, more than 15,000 people have signed the petition demanding that DEA head Chuck Rosenberg be fired for calling medical marijuana a "joke."

And guess what? The DEA is officially on notice now.

When a Washington Post reporter called the agency about our efforts, a spokesman was forced to defend his boss's outrageous comments:

"Acting Administrator Rosenberg indicated that marijuana should be subject to the same levels of approval and scrutiny as any other substance intended for use as a medicine," he said. "DEA supports efforts to research potential medical uses of marijuana."