As the federal government for the first time threatened police action against some B.C. marijuana dispensaries this week, pot’s prominence in the October federal election is only increasing, says a B.C. criminologist.

SFU professor Neil Boyd believes B.C.’s booming pot dispensary sector is currently competing with Health Canada’s “bizarre” medical marijuana regime and street dealers, in a confusing market roiled by political and legal crosswinds.

“If we get a Liberal or NDP government, we will get something more rational,” Boyd said.

“The medical-versus-recreational-usage debate needs to be thought through. What we have now is bizarre. You have a medical system that is mail-order delivery, and it doesn’t make any sense.”

After activists last week pulled a Denver marijuana initiative from the November ballot, other pro-legalization activists have lashed out at what they see as backpedaling by their like-minded colleagues.

If the initiative had passed (and it looked like it might), it would have allowed limited social marijuana use in businesses such as art galleries and bars.

You've likely heard that regulating cannabis markets will lead to more stoned drivers on the road. Although the evidence in support of this claim is weak, it's repeated time and time again. So we thought we would ask members of law enforcement from Washington State, where cannabis markets were legalized and regulated under Initiative 502 in November 2012, what they think of this claim.

When Chavie Lieber, a writer in New York, was traveling over a recent weekend, she and her husband lent their apartment to a friend’s brother. Upon return, “There were three fat joints rolled for us on the coffee table,” Lieber told me, “with a scribbled note that read: ‘Thanks for letting us stay.’ ”

After moving to a new home in Connecticut, Liza, a marketing executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity, received a small satchel of weed as a housewarming gift from friends, making for “a really mellow” evening in her new home. “I will always appreciate a bottle of wine, but weed is king,” Liza said. “It’s expensive, hard to get, and weed these days is so customized, meaning someone bought Bubba Kush versus Purple Haze, for instance, keeping your tastes in mind.”

Cannabis aka marijuana prohibition is entering its 78th year in the United States. But attitudes toward the plant are changing. Compared to 1968 when only 12% of the population supported legalizing marijuana, today the majority supports legalization. 

Earlier this year I was very surprised to read that spa and wellness authority Spa Finder had listed "Cannabis: New spa and wellness connections" as their number two trend for 2015. 

To gain insight on what is causing the momentum, I decided to talk to Sandra Hinchliffe, author of The Cannabis Spa at Home. How to Make Marijuana-Infused Lotions, Massage Oils, Ointments, Bath Salts, Spa Nosh, and More.

It's clean and certainly green and now New Zealand's only cannabis museum is opening its doors for overnight guests.

Whakamana, the Dunedin-based cannabis museum, is now listing its guestroom on AirBnB.

"Awesome queen bed with reading lamps, a bit of closet space, plenty of electricity outlets and a few houseplants," the promotional blurb on the accommodation website says.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Supporters of medical marijuana in Missouri have hired a prominent political consultant to help with a campaign to put a proposal on the 2016 ballot.

New Approach Missouri’s new consultant Jack Cardetti met this week with marijuana advocates at an event at Busch Stadium.

Cardetti worked on Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon and Secretary of State Jason Kander’s campaigns.

Cardetti says New Approach Missouri plans to hire people to collect enough voter signatures to get the medical marijuana proposal on next year’s ballot.

Medical and recreational marijuana proposals failed in 2012 and 2014 to collect enough signatures.

Hemp, what a wonderful thing on a sunny day, or any other day for that matter. It’s not out of the ordinary for hemp to be utilized to re-invent or even add an extra health kick to some of our most beloved and popular foods. As a matter of fact, from hemp butter to hemp oil and evenhemp hearts used for salads – we are increasingly seeing hemp as a healthy staple in our kitchens. So it’s not surprising to learn that farmers from Southern Italy presented a twist on Italy’s most famous export, pasta, by introducing hemp spaghetti at a food festival in London recently.

Cape Town - A tip-off led to the discovery of a fully equipped hydroponic dagga laboratory in Table View in Cape Town on Friday.

Police spokesperson Constable Noloyiso Rwexana in a statement said officers attached to the Cape Town K9 Unit responded to information of suspected illegal activity at a house in Sunningdale.

"Police went to the address in Glen Eagle Road where they uncovered a fully equipped hydroponic dagga laboratory in various rooms in the house," she said.

"Dagga plants of different sizes, lights, fans and other equipment valued at a substantial amount were confiscated."

As a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London, I study the impact of drug use on the brain. Like many scientists studying these issues, the results I detect in my lab have direct implications on how we can better equip ourselves as a society to deal with drugs.