D.C. police on Monday were forced to return a man’s stash of marijuana that was confiscated during his arrest, D.C. Council member Yvette Alexander said.

Ms. Alexander, a Democrat, told WAMU public radio that a resident walked into the Sixth District police station on Monday and asked an officer on duty to return his seized property.

“He walked in to recover his property from a recent arrest,” she said. “He walked in and said, ‘I want my property back and want to make sure I get my weed back.’ “

A high-profile Paraguayan senator has called for marijuana decriminalization in the landlocked South American country, in a bid to “put an end to the drug-traffickers’ business.”+

Senator Blas Llano, chair of the National Congress, made the proposal in the southern Paraguayan town of San Juan Bautista during a camp for the youth wing of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, one of the country’s principal opposition parties.+

As long as the narcotic remains illegal, “marijuana trafficking will continue to be a discussion topic,” he told camp attendees over the weekend.+

This is not the first time that a Paraguayan congressmen has proposed drug-law reform. However, Llano is the most senior political figure yet in the country to back legalization.+

Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) filed a bill Monday to legalize marijuana in Texas.

If passed, HB 2165 would repeal offenses related to possessing, selling and growing marijuana in Texas. The bill retracts all mentions of the word “marihuana” mentioned in the current provisions of the law.

In a statement, Simpson said, “God did not make a mistake when he made marijuana.” According to Simpson, the government should not have a role in marijuana regulation.

The United Nations has renewed its warnings to Uruguay and the US states of Colorado and Washington that their cannabis legalisation policies fail to comply with international drug treaties.

The annual report from the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board, which is responsible for policing the drug treaties, said it would send a high-level mission to Uruguay, which became the first country to legalise the production, distribution, sale and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes.

The UN drug experts said they would also continue their dialogue with the US government over the commercial sale and distribution of cannabis in Colorado and Washington state.

DENVER — The City and County of Denver made a motion to set a limit to the number of marijuana plants being grown in a non-residential zone on Tuesday.

The proposed change will allow no more than 36 marijuana plants to be grown in a non-residential area, with the exception of licensed marijuana cultivation facilities, according to Dan Rowland, Denver’s representative for marijuana policy.

This change will not affect the 12-plant limit already in place for residential dwelling units.

“After careful consideration, we have concluded that this is a necessary change to protect the health and safety of Denver residents,” said Ashley Kilroy, the city’s executive director of Marijuana Policy.

Washington, DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier seems fairly enthusiastic about marijuana legalization in the District, even decrying the past system of prohibition and how it tarnished community relations with police.

Lanier told the American News Women's Club last Wednesday, according to the Daily Beast, "All those [marijuana] arrests do is make people hate us." She added, "Marijuana smokers are not going to attack and kill a cop. They just want to get a bag of chips and relax. Alcohol is a much bigger problem."

Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, on Jan. 11, 2011, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Yesterday was Texas Independence Day. It was fitting that Rep. David Simpson used the occasion to file a sweeping bill (HB 2165) that would end marijuana prohibition in Texas. I posted an item yesterday about his “Christian case for drug law reform.” Little did I know that this Longview Republican had put a radical pot bill in the hopper.

“This man is a guru,” says journalist Uki Goñi, “He's the head of state that refuses to dress in the pomp and ride in a limousine."

Mujica never occupied the presidential palace, he has never driven around in chauffeured limousines, rather, the 79-year-old head of state continues to live in his own country house 20 minutes outside of the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and continues to drive around in his old, beat-up Volkswagen Beetle.

Doctors should manage a tightly regulated, compassionate regime for the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia, a leading public health organisation has told an ACT inquiry. 

The Public Health Association has labelled state and territory governments, including the ACT, "out of step with the attitudes and behaviour of much of the general public and professional opinion" on the use of cannabis to treat some illness. 

A position statement incorporated into the organisation's submission to the Legislative Assembly inquiry considering the use of cannabis for medical purposes says the fact the drug is already widely used illegally means a regulated system is unlikely to lead to more illicit drug taking in the community. 

When Eric Holder steps down as attorney general, he'll leave behind a legacy on more than just civil rights issues. For advocates of recreational marijuana use, Holder was a progressive leader who played a key role in the early days of legalization at the state level.

"He has established a foundation that other attorney generals will build on," Dr. Malik Burnett, the policy manager at the Drug Policy Alliance told CBS News during a marijuana expo in Washington, D.C. that took place over the weekend. "He's been progressive on marijuana issues, as progressive as an AG who has to uphold the federal ban on marijuana can be."