Vice President of the Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine Dr. David Bearman lectured and held a book signing in an event titled “Why Medical Marijuana is Good For You & The Benefits of Changing Our Dysfunctional Drug Policy” Wednesday night at the MultiCultural Center.

Bearman focused on the history and politics of cannabis as well as contemporary medical studies of the drug. Bearman also held a Q&A session and signed copies of his most recent book, Drugs Are NOT the Devil’s Tools.  Bearman was a key founder of the Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic in 1970 and Director of Medical Services for the Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority (SBRHA) for 17 years.

Mexico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the green light to growing marijuana for recreational use in a landmark decision that could lead to legalization in a country with a bloody history of conflict with drug cartels.

Four people in the Mexican Society for Responsible and Tolerant Personal Use will now be permitted to grow and smoke their own marijuana.

Wednesday’s ruling covers only the four plaintiffs.

Leaders of the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska are considering land in western Iowa for growing marijuana.

The Sioux City Journal newspaper reports tribal members approved three referendums Tuesday giving the Tribal Council the authority to legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational use and to grow plants for industrial hemp.

Tribal Chairman Vernon Miller says a study will examine whether the business would make financial sense.

Miller says leaders will watch the performance of the Flandreau Santee Sioux's marijuana resort on its South Dakota reservation.

Miller says it's unclear whether the Omaha Tribe's casino, Blackbird Bend, could become a similar resort.

Miller says the tribe will ensure its efforts wouldn't violate federal or state laws.

Georgia doesn’t have the harshest marijuana laws in America, but they are far from friendly. If you get caught with more than 1 ounce of marijuana in Georgia, it’s a felony, punishable by up to ten years in jail and a $5,000 fine. There is another felony charge if the marijuana was possessed with intent to distribute (any amount), which also carries another penalty of up to ten years in jail and a $5,000 fine. I don’t know what the police are like in Georgia, but in most states law enforcement is quick to make the determination that there was intent to distribute, so I’d imagine often times those charges go together when people get caught.

The doctor portrayed in the upcoming football movie ''Concussion'' is on the board of a company looking for a marijuana-based treatment for head injuries.

Bennet Omalu was recently named to the scientific advisory board of Kannalife Sciences, which has been developing marijuana-based products to treat the effects of concussions.

Omalu conducted the autopsy on former Steelers center Mike Webster that led to the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. The concussion-related disease has been found in the brains of a number of former NFL players during autopsies.

Oh! Canada! Not only did our neighbors to the north elect a handsome, progressive, yoga-practicing Prime Minister, but they put into power a man who promises to legalize marijuana across the Great White North, from VanCity to Haligonia. The Liberal Party’s Justin Trudeau pledged during his campaign to legalize recreational cannabis use “right away,” and, unlike our legislative clusterfuck known as Congress, Canada’s parliament typically pays attention to the will of its people.

Although Election Day is about one year away, Californians are already talking about the potential legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use through the initiative process.

Next year, we are very likely to see at least one initiative proposal (and possibly several different measures) when we head to the ballot box.

But that statement is far more complicated than it first appears.

It is true — polls show that a majority of people support the concept of legalizing cannabis. But, as with most ballot initiatives, the details will determine the outcome.

And where there are details, there is complexity.

Details and complexity

US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill to the Senate today that proposes the legalisation of the recreational use of marijuana nationwide. “The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act” would entirely remove weed both from the Controlled Substances Act and from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “most dangerous drugs list”.

Sanders principal motivation for the move is the high numbers of Americans who have their career and social prospects destroyed by arbitrary convictions for offences related to marijuana. Speaking as George Mason University last week, Sanders explained, “Too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana uses. That’s wrong. That has got to change.”

Fishers, a rare forest mammal in the weasel family, are being poisoned by illegal marijuana farms in California. And the situation appears to be getting worse.

The Mexican Supreme Court opened the door to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, delivering a pointed challenge to the nation’s strict substance abuse laws and adding its weight to the growing debate in Latin America over the costs and consequences of the war against drugs.