The Swiss public could have another chance to decide if cannabis consumption should be legalized after the group Legalize It launched a popular initiative to that effect last week.

Cannabis is illegal in Switzerland though the law was relaxed in 2013. Instead of facing criminal proceedings, adults caught with ten grams or less of pot can be subjected to a 100-franc spot fine, though that is enforced to varying degrees across the country. 

After legalization, Trudeau will introduce a 'process' to 'make things fairer' for those with pot convictions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that when his late brother Michel was charged with pot possession, his father's resources, legal network and connections helped make the charge "go away," and that he will introduce a "process" to help other Canadians with pot-related charges after recreational marijuana becomes legal.

It remains to be seen what Attorney General Jeff Sessions will or won't do with regard to enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug. However, several efforts are quietly under way to change those laws.

At least a dozen bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress over the past three months that relate to marijuana. Several of them could have significant ramifications for marijuana stocks if they are ultimately passed. Here are three that could have especially big impacts.

Now, I’ve never been a ‘stoner’, but I can’t help but notice that, following the example set by US states such as California and Colorado, Canada has decided to legalise marijuana for recreational use. I think it’s time Britain followed suit.

Fields of cannabis could soon be carpeting the Borders countryside if ambitious new plans get off the ground.

But not because an international drugs cartel is expanding into Scotland – it’s down to a young entrepreneur and his green design and manufacturing business.

Sam Whitten grew up in the village of Broughton in Peeblesshire and studied product design at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The 25-year-old has recently started his own firm making handcrafted luxury sunglasses and fashion accessories. He plans to move into jewellery, clothing and even sustainable architecture in the next couple of years.

And it’s all made out of cannabis, or hemp – industrial-grade, which won’t get you high.

Continuing to ban pot shops with marijuana legalization on the horizon just helps organized crime, Kelowna city council will hear next week.

A would-be retailer of the drug says Kelowna will “suffer the consequences” if it moves forward with a plan to explicitly prevent the sale of marijuana in local shops.

“To keep cannabis out of the hands of children, and the profits out of the hands of criminals, regulating access to cannabis should be a high priority,” says information given to the city by Mark Conlin, on behalf of a firm called Starbuds.

“The status quo is no longer an option,” the company’s material states. “Choosing to do nothing means your community continues to suffer the consequences.”

As California gears up for the implementation of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana use, state regulators are trying to figure out how the new industry will impact the energy supply.

In February, the California Public Utilities Commission held a workshop to assess the potential energy impacts of widespread legal pot growth.

Panelists consisting of utility representatives, cannabis growers and regulators mulled over ways to make cultivation more energy efficient, according to CPUC officials.

“The fast growth in the cannabis industry presents a challenge and an opportunity to ensure that the choices made by the cannabis industry reflect California’s climate goals,” said CPUC President Michael Picker.

A winery and another property owner in Yamhill County, Oregon, filed a lawsuit to prevent a neighbor from growing marijuana on their farmland. The suit seeks an injunction from a judge due to the odor that can associated with cannabis cultivation, and the susceptibility of the wine grapes to be possibly altered in some manner by those odoriferous emanations. The owners also asked the county to reverse their approval of a marijuana processing facility on the Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zoned land.

In both West Virginia and Ohio, it’s official: Breaking the law is not against the law — at least when marijuana is involved.

Both states have legislation making use of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, legal for health care purposes. West Virginia’s measure was just signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice. Ohio’s has been in effect for some time, but state officials are still working out the details.

But possession of marijuana in any form is illegal under federal law. That puts our states, in concert with 26 others that have “legalized” medicinal marijuana, in the position of advocating behavior that is criminal by federal statute.

The Trump administration recently warned about the potential for marijuana to lead to other drug use, but candidates for New Jersey governor are considering embracing efforts to authorize recreational use in the state.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly's recent comment that marijuana is a possibly dangerous gateway drug comes after Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he is "definitely not a fan'' of expanded use.

Nonetheless, New Jersey's Democratic-controlled Legislature plans to move forward with legislation and lawmakers hope Republican Gov. Chris Christie's successor will sign it.

Christie, who is term-limited, has opposed any expansion of marijuana legalization. His term ends in January.