The other day, in a seaside cafe here, veteran cannabis journalist David Bienenstock gamely fielded my attempts to catch up on a subject I have failed to appreciate for far too long: the coming end of marijuana prohibition.

In six months, California will join Maine, Nevada and probably a few other states in deciding whether or not to legalize the large-scale commercial production of marijuana. Residents will be inundated with wild claims about the promises and pitfalls of these initiatives.

The federal War on Cannabis hit a road bump recently after a major victory in California’s Ninth Circuit Court last month. A Congressional amendment last year stated that the Department of Justice could not allocate funding in 2015 and 2016 to states with regulations on the use, distribution, and possession of medical marijuana.

Lynette Shaw succeeded in overturning a nineteen year old civil injunction, making it illegal for her to work in the cannabis industry, by using the Congressional amendment as the basis for her argument.

Anyone who knows me has seen the frequent debates I get into regarding drug legalization. I think I have heard pretty much every argument under the sun for or against legalization.

One of my favorite scaremongering factoids used by anti-marijuana legalization activists is the fact that today's marijuana is more potent than marijuana in the past. The talking point is usually tossed out as "this is not your parents' pot."

In the second 2016 GOP debate, Carly Fiorina parroted these concerns when discussing Jeb Bush's run-ins with marijuana in the past.

"And the marijuana that kids are smoking today is not the same as the marijuana that Jeb Bush smoked 40 years ago."

A compromise is being offered up in the debate about legalising cannabis in New Zealand.

It would involve the creation of special recreational cannabis clubs where people could take the drug in a controlled environment, with profits going back to the government.

It is an idea proposed by Massey University drug researcher Dr Chris Wilkins, who says it would bring benefits on a number of levels.

"What the club do, is people would just join the club and that would allow them to purchase cannabis how they like," Dr Wilkins told TVNZ's Breakfast today.

"It would be in a controlled structure in terms of the club and the club could only purchase cannabis from the government so there would be some control over the supply."

People smoke weed throughout the streets for legalization.

Thousands of Colombians flocked the streets of Bogota and Medellin smoking marijuana through fruit crafted smoke devices such as apple, watermelon and pineapple bongs to call for legalization of marijuana worldwide. Dubbed the “Global Marijuana March” protesters in Colombia believe that use of marijuana should be allowed both medically and for recreational use.

In Colombia the cannabis laws are very lenient and a person can be in possession of up to 22 grams for personal use without facing persecution but selling and transporting cannabis is only legal for scientific and medical purposes.

Cannabis consumers are turning to more discreet concentrates and oils.

Smoking pot will soon be as retro as smoking a cigar or enjoying a fine wine.

As the legal market for marijuana expands, product offerings have diversified from the standard dried flowers and cannabis-infused edible items like cookies and gummy bears to vaporizable oils and concentrates. They have become a major portion of legal marijuana sales, allowing consumers more potent and less overt forms of consumption. “Patients don’t want to be stigmatized or ostracized, they don’t want to be obvious,” says Rob Hunt, a general partner at cannabis-focused private-equity firm Tuatara Capital. “It’s important for people to have alternative forms of consumption, to consume in a way that’s anonymous.”

It all starts with a furtive joint in the schoolyard handed round among nervous giggles and coughs. Later, when these teenagers have become frequent users, they will tell you: “Cigarettes are much worse for you than marijuana. It’s straight from a plant so it’s more natural.”

Newcastle University have made drug test kits available to students, in a progressive, pioneering move towards safer, sense-based drug policy on campus.

Available for £3 as of today, the initiative arrives on the back of Students For Sensible Drug Policy Newcastle’s recent drug awareness week – which won the NUSU award for ‘best campaign’.

On April 20 (fittingly enough), Canadian Health Minister Jane Philpott announced that legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use would be introduced by spring 2017. Now the speculation on what the government's cannabis regulations will look like have finally begun.