Study calls for UK to follow lead of some US states and allow the sale of cannabis to over-18s in licensed retail stores

Legalising the sale of cannabis in specialist shops would generate £1bn a year in tax revenue and reduce the harm done to users and society, according to the most detailed plans ever drawn up for the liberalisation of UK drug laws.

The most comprehensive framework for how a regulated cannabis market could work in the UK has been published today by an independent panel of experts set up by the Liberal Democrats.

This groundbreaking report sets out how the legal production and supply of cannabis could work in the UK. It was established in the autumn by Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Norman Lamb MP. The expert panel was chaired by Steve Rolles, Senior Policy Analyst from Transform Drug Policy Foundation.

Click here to download a full copy of the report

The report proposes

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont lawmakers returning for the last quarter of their two-year legislative term face decisions on whether to legalize marijuana and online fantasy sports, as well as a push to give local residents more say in siting renewable energy projects.

Friday is the annual “crossover” deadline, when bills other than taxing and spending measures are expected to have cleared the committee process and be ready for debate on the floor of the House or Senate. That’s usually a sign that the end of the legislative session is less than eight weeks away.

A Hindu holy man in Kathmandu smokes a chillum, a traditional clay pipe, on March 6, the eve of a festival honoring the god Shiva.

Shiva is one chill deity.

He's one of the three major gods in the Hindu religion. And he has a penchant for pot.

"Shiva loves marijuana. So we come to share Shiva's prasad [offerings] with everyone else," explains a 60-year-old holy man who gives his name as Radhe Baba.

It's the eve of the festival of Shiva Ratri, or "The Night of Shiva" — March 7 this year. The celebration marks the day Shiva saved the universe from darkness and married the goddess Parvati.

Marijuana and mental health: A curious diagnosis

The National Institute of Health (NIH) issued a news release Friday about rising rates of “marijuana use disorder” in America. That’s right — not marijuana addiction but rather “marijuana use disorder.”

“Marijuana use disorder is common in the United States, is often associated with other substance use disorders, behavioral problems, and disability, and goes largely untreated,” the release reads.

With Prime Minister Trudeau elected, many had thought that marijuana would be decriminalized on a faster basis. The though comes from the fact that Trudeau thinks marijuana should be legal and the fact that he even smoked it at one time. His recent remarks concerning marijuana laws in Canada being still implementable implies that decriminalization is not yet an option even when marijuana legalization can take years.

RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) -- The Manufacturing of Industrial Hemp for commercial purposes was approved according to Virginia's Legislation Information System.

Governor Terry McAuliffe signed the bill after it passed the General Assembly 138 - 0.

This bill will allow farmers to legally manufacture industrial hemp products. The law will go into effect July 1, 2016 according to the Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition (VIHC).

Ladies, to celebrate International Women’s Day we wanted to explore how independent women, and the characters they’ve inspired, have been celebrated on the silver screen. Below are our top picks for some great flicks to get you in the mood for IWD. 

The Accused (1988)

When Sarah (Jodie Foster) fights back against the men who brutally gang-raped her, she must not only face the men she accuses, she must defend herself against society’s deeply embedded view that ‘she was asking for it.’

Viewing marijuana simply as a recreational drug to get you high is reductive.

A November 2015 ministerial briefing presentation, "Legalizing & Regulating Marijuana," was released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. Some conclusions and recommendations were withheld from release, but the document offers insight into how the new government will navigate the issue. A look at the nine areas cited by Health Canada:

Canadian marijuana usage rates -- 11 per cent of the population age 15 and older used marijuana in the past year, according to a 2013 survey. Use was highest among 20-24 year-olds at 26 per cent. The presentation characterizes this as "relatively low overall rates of usage" and points to evidence that use declines with age.