There's a growing push to smoke out old possession laws all across South Florida. Miami-Dade County was the first to propose just ticketing people who have pot and next week commissioners will vote on the measure.

"I think the whole idea of just arresting or giving any type of reprimand for possession of something that grows from the earth is B.S.," said Leonard Mack, 31, who studies law at Barry University. He knows about the issue first-hand. His criminal record is stained with one count of possession of cannabis.

"It was in my car on the passenger seat and even though I have participated in the use of cannabis, that particular night, that didn't belong to me, that belonged to a friend of mine," Mack said.

This month marks 14 years since Portugal decriminalized the purchase, possession and use of all drugs – even cocaine and heroin. As Californians consider joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C., in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, Portugal’s experience is instructive in setting realistic expectations and assuaging fears surrounding legalization.

Portugal saw a significant increase in drug use and abuse following the 1974 overthrow of its nearly 50-year authoritarian military dictatorship, as Portuguese returned from the country’s overseas colonies.

The Prince District JFO Drug Unit recovered 1,250 marijuana plants from a Travellers Rest field recently. Police believe the plant seeds were unintentionally sown there.

Little did one East Prince farmer know that while he or she was planting this year’s crop, something of a more illegal nature was also being sown.

The Prince District JFO Drug Unit has made one of the largest marijuana plant seizures in the province’s history on Friday; recovering 1,250 marijuana plants from a field in Travellers Rest.

RCMP said the plants were interspersed with a legal commercial crop and consisted of both male and female plants.

DENVER, JULY 22, 2015 /Weed Wire/ — Millions of Americans now have access to medical marijuana, but most don’t use it because of stigma and lack of education. Cannabis isn’t just for sick people; it can help you sleep, improve your sex life, get rid of headaches and back pain, and boost your creativity according to reality television star Dr. Michele.

Dr. Michele Noonan Ross plans to educate both patients and doctors with her new book Vitamin Weed: Get Healthy, Not High, a revolutionary 4­step plan to reversing endocannabinoid deficiency and restoring balance to your body. 10% of book sales will be donated to the Endocannabinoid Deficiency Foundation to directly fund cannabinoid research.

Whether you realize it or not, the perception of marijuana is changing at an extremely rapid pace.

The drug, which is still classified as schedule 1 by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, meaning it is illicit and has no medically beneficial qualities, has gained both the public's favor and that of quite a few legislators. As it now stands, 23 states plus Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes ranging from glaucoma to terminal cancers. In addition, four states (Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington), along with Washington, D.C., have legalized the recreational use of the drug.

An new app that claims to reveal whether you are too stoned to drive has been released.

Just like drink driving, drug driving is illegal in many US states and the UK - but often only if there's a certain amount of the substance detected in your system.

In some US states, confusion has arisen as a result of the decriminalisation of cannabis use.

But the new My Canary app, currently only available for iPhone, claims to help drivers make an informed decision before getting behind the wheel.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a report on the death of a college student in March 2014 who ate a marijuana-laced cookie.

“According to the police report, the decedent had been marijuana-naïve, with no known history of alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, or mental illness”, the CDC report says. Investigators say he and three friends drove to Denver over spring break.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon television anchor has turned into a marijuana activist after being fired for testing positive for the drug.

Cyd Maurer, a morning weekend anchor at Eugene's ABC affiliate KEZI-TV, said she was fired in May after getting into a minor accident while on assignment. In a video posted online, Maurer said that after the accident she was forced to take a drug test per company policy and failed it.

Maurer, 25, said she was completely sober at work and had used the marijuana several days before. Studies show marijuana, unlike alcohol, can be detected in some people for days after use — or even weeks, in case of frequent users.