On Nov. 4, citizens in Alaska, Florida, Oregon and Washington, D.C., will cast their ballots on marijuana initiatives, and other states are also likely to consider legalization in upcoming elections. Colorado, the first state to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, is expected to take in $60 million to $70 million this year in taxes from legal pot sales, according to the Denver Business Journal. Cash-strapped states stand to collect millions if they legalize the drug.

St Lucian gov’t wants ganja issue debated at CARICOM level

Move quickly on marijuana tourism, group urges St Lucia govt

“You know that ordinarily a custodial sentence would be considered and might even be inevitable for this sort of offence but I would not be able to live with myself if I sent you to prison,” said Judge William Hart.

It would seem the justice system are having a change of Hart after a man was caught growing cannabis twice to treat his throat, damaged after undergoing radiation treatment.

This man was a humble 65 year old called Jonathan Yates, diagnosed for tongue cancer a few years back. He went on to go through dangerous radiation treatment for the cancer which left his throat badly damaged and in pain every day.

Addiction is blighting the lives of many classical musicians as they grapple with performance anxiety and antisocial hours, a cellist has said.

Rachael Lander features in a Channel 4 documentary that brings together classical musicians whose careers have been derailed by drug and drink problems.

The cellist, who was addicted to alcohol and prescription pills, said the problem was rife in the classical music world.

Lander, who began drinking to self-medicate her concert hall panic attacks, told Radio Times: "Addiction problems are widespread among classical musicians, for many reasons.

By Peter Reynolds

The last British politician to have the courage to follow the evidence on drugs policy and introduce radical reform was Margaret Thatcher.  Now Norman Baker isn't normally in the same category as Thatcher but they have both demonstrated courage in the face of opposition from their colleagues and widespread bigotry and ignorance in parliament and Whitehall.

Tory cabinet members in 1986 must have been spluttering into their claret and very large whiskies when they heard Margaret was insisting on introducing clean needle exchange for injecting drug users. She was absolutely right to do so and her action saved thousands of lives. Many other countries followed her lead and it slowed the spread of HIV dramatically.

ROSWELL, Ga.

Police say a potent new drug that looks like lip balm is exploding in popularity in metro Atlanta.

According to police there are several names for the drug including Honeycomb, Butter and Wax.

“It can be carried around in a bag, hidden in plain sight basically,” said Roswell Police Officer Zachary Frommer.

The drug is made from the oils of marijuana plants and has a very high concentration of THC.

“Joints you'd smoke could equal a dose of the wax,” said Frommer.

Roswell Police discovered 80 grams of Wax during a major drug bust at a home.