Parliament will debate the legalisation of cannabis today, following an online campaign led by a university student.

James Owen, who studies at Aberystwyth University, has argued that legalising the class B drug could benefit the UK economy by bringing in an extra £900 million a year in tax.

It will be the first time since 2004 that the issue of legalising the production, sale and use of the drug will be debated in Westminster.

Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, who has previously worked with cannabis law reform campaigners, will lead the debate.

But campaigners are not hopeful the petition will have any great impact, as a swift Government response online was quick to insist there would be no change to the law.

The Washington State Patrol has a warning for drivers: it’s now illegal to have an open container of marijuana in the passenger compartments of vehicles.

The new pot-in-cars law is modeled on Washington’s longstanding open container law for alcohol. Just like you can’t drive down the road with an open beer, no longer can you legally drive with an open container of marijuana or marijuana infused products.

Trooper Mark Hodgson said even a closed Ziploc bag is a violation.

“If you can open that bag and get into it and then reseal it, that’s not going to meet the requirement,” he said.

We've been reporting about the marijuana policies of presidential candidates, some of whom would like to turn back the clock on legal recreational sales in Colorado and a handful of other states.

But there are plenty of reasons to let Colorado's experiment go forward.

Millions of them, in fact.

In the three years since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, the state has seen an economic boom, with marijuana sales bringing in $700 million in 2014 and the state expecting to collect $94 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales in 2016.

While the legalization of marijuana has had a positive impact on the state’s economy, the state’s largest city is facing a housing crisis, as steeply rising home prices are pricing out much of the city’s population.

The New Republic does a deep dive into the issue and its causes, which is more than just people moving to the state to express their freedom.

From the New Republic:

Amoeba Music is a staple record store that originated in Berkeley, California and expanded to locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. As the music industry turned digital, it’s remained one of the few brick and mortar locations in the country that still holds some cultural significance as a community hub. Still, there’s really no competing with the almighty force of iTunes — and now Apple Music — and Amoeba is struggling to stay afloat as well by incorporating a new product into their inventory: marijuana.

Ghana, a small nation nestled between the Ivory Coast and Togo, offers a thriving nightlife and delicious, delirious drinks, but you have to know where to go. Luckily, I was visiting my American friend and her Ghanaian husband, who is a prominent member of the Ga tribe, in the capital city of Accra. He knew the town like a priest knows the Bible, and I was promised a fun night out.

Little did I know how it would end.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The “Marijuana Don”, Michael Straumietis, will soon appear on the number one TV show of the number one network in Europe, RTL's “Explosiv” with Hans Werner Huebner. The audience is expected to weigh in at least 25-50 million viewers throughout Europe.

The internet—including breaking news on TMZ, Business Insider, Tech Insider, Daily Mail UK—is calling Straumietis the “Dan Bilzerian of weed”, thanks to the recent explosion of followers on his Instagram feed, @marijuanadon.

A new group at the University of Washington School of Law will spend the 2015-16 academic year studying existing and emerging markets for marijuana, to assist and inform the state as it prepares to blend current medical and recreational markets for cannabis.

It’s called the Cannabis Law and Policy Project, and is overseen by law professor Sean O’Connor and funded by an $185,000 grant through the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.

ith 23 days left for Ohio voters to make up their minds on legalizing marijuana, there are a lot of complicated issues to consider.

State Issue 3 on the ballot Nov. 3 would amend the Ohio Constitution to allow adults 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana and get a permit to grow four flowering plants and keep 8 ounces of homegrown pot.

It also would allow anyone of any age to use marijuana for medical reasons — with a certificate from a licensed Ohio physician.

Donald Morse looked at a former coffee shop in Oregon City when he was planning to open his medical marijuana dispensary. The rent was $3,500 and Clackamas County officials had at the time placed a moratorium on the sale of medical marijuana inside county limits.

Morse passed, deciding he'd rather have a more stable business location.

A year later, he noticed the spot was on the market again. For the rights to the lease and a medical marijuana retail license, the seller wanted $1.2 million. The price sounded absurdly high.