The Tennessee chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has sued the Davidson County Election Commission as it seeks to use online signatures to boost its referendum efforts.(Photo: Getty Images)

24/7 Wall Street CEO Douglas McIntyre looks at the 10 states where people smoke the most marijuana.

A proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Nashville survived an unexpected roll-call first vote in the Metro Council Tuesday night.

The council voted 32-4, with one abstention, to advance a bill on the first of three readings that would lessen the penalty for people who knowingly possess or exchange a half-ounce of marijuana or less to a $50 civil penalty or 10 hours of community service.

Analysis - 72 percent support in February. 79 percent by August.

They're the poll results politicians dream of - but it's support for medical marijuana that's hauling in the big numbers.

Until this year, the last time New Zealanders were asked for their views on legalising cannabis for medical use was in 2006, when a TV3/TNS poll reported 63 percent support.

And though it still lags behind, personal possession for any kind of use was at 64 percent support in the New Zealand Drug Foundation-commissioned poll released yesterday- up from a 50-50 split in February, and a huge rise from the mid-30 percent range it has languished in since the 1990s.

A massive study published this month in the Journal of Drug Issues found that the proportion of marijuana users who smoke daily has rapidly grown, and that many of those frequent users are poor and lack a high-school diploma.

Examining a decade of federal surveys of drug use conducted between 2002 and 2013, study authors Steven Davenport and Jonathan Caulkins paint one of the clearest pictures yet of the demographics of current marijuana use in the U.S. They found that the profile of marijuana users is much closer to cigarette smokers than alcohol drinkers, and that a handful of users consume much of the marijuana used in the U.S.

The Cannabis Culture Lounge has everything a pothead might need to feel right at home: $3 marijuana buds, bongs for rent, bags of Skittles and Doritos for sale, and black leather couches where customers can recline in zoned-out contemplation in a pungent haze. Never mind that it is all technically prohibited by Canadian law.

Prime Minister John Key says decriminalising cannabis would send the wrong message to young people - and he isn't keen on holding a referendum on the issue.

A new poll shows almost 65 per cent of New Zealanders want personal possession of cannabis decriminalised or made legal.

There is even stronger support to let people use cannabis for pain relief - only 16 per cent of New Zealanders want that to be criminal.

Speaking at his post Cabinet press conference yesterday, Key said his view was changing the law would send the wrong message to younger people.

He did not back a referendum on the issue, and pointed to the recent outcry over shops selling "legal highs" or synthetic cannabis products, before the Government stepped in.

I have a bet, for just a Coca-Cola of course, that marijuana will be completely legal in the United States within 10 years. And the reason I am so keenly interested is because it is believed the climate and the soil of Tennessee are just perfect for raising a magnificent crop of ‘Ganja.’ Want me to go a step further: I want to grow it. Really, but I swear I don’t smoke it. Seriously it’s a great cash crop.

Growing (non-psychotic) hemp just became legal in Tennessee, which many believe is a step towards a different “weed.” Hemp is a cousin of “giggle weed,” don’t you see, and is used in so many things today it will boggle your mind.

Don’t be surprised to see a slew of television ads touting a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use during the weeks leading up to the general election in November.

A local political action committee, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, reserved more than $800,000 worth of advertising time slots across the major news stations in Las Vegas, according to recent Federal Communications Commission filings.

The ads are scheduled to start in early October and run until Election Day on Nov. 8 when Nevadans will vote on Question 2, which will decide whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults in the state.

The content of the ads hasn’t been finalized, according to coalition spokesman Joe Brezny.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Berlin to advocate for the legalization of cannabis on Saturday.

More than 4,000 people participated in what is known locally as the Hanfparade (hemp parade), according to local police.

Demonstrators are pushing for the legalization of the illicit drug as a natural resource, medicine and recreational drug.

Cannabis is currently illegal in Germany, except in rare instances for medical use.

Green Party politician Hans-Christian Stroebele was in attendance and tweeted: "Make hemp free."

The protest started at the capital's main train station and made its way towards Berlin's iconic town hall via the Health Ministry and the Reichstag.

Arizona residents will soon be voting yes or no on marijuana use.

The Arizona Secretary of State officially certified The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol's petition to legalize marijuana in Arizona, which means the measure will be placed on November's ballot as Proposition 205.

"It's exciting, it's a step forward, but it's not surprising," J.P. Holyoak said. "We did things the right way, we did things properly."

Those in favor of "Yes on 205" say it would allow adults 21 and older to possess limited amounts of marijuana and establish a system in which marijuana is regulated similarly to alcohol.

Controversy breaks out online over presidential daughter apparently hitting a joint, because of course it has

Today, I volunteered to write a story about an 18-year-old who may or may not have smoked pot – like, marijuana – at a recent concert.

This is a can’t-miss opportunity. Rare are the times in the media industry when you get a chance to cover something as groundbreaking and culturally transformative. Perhaps you’ve already heard about this sordid tale.

If not, it’s worth a recap: