It's an issue that divides society - to smoke or not to smoke.

Throughout the world, a number of countries are slowing changing their laws around medicinal and recreational cannabis use. New Zealand's laws have stayed relatively the same for some time, with the exception of cannabis based products now being approved for use, but still tightly controlled.

So, which countries are leading the way in this area, and where can you use it either for fun, or for well-being?

Here in New Zealand, cannabis remains illegal to possess, and illegal to grow.

Medicinal use is tightly controlled but can be granted by the Ministry of Health.

Across the ditch it's a similar story.

The legal cannabis market is hotboxed with THC-infused candies, calming and energizing beverages and other products that, without the marijuana injection, would seem a lot like the stuff of mainstream packaged goods. But when companies the growing industry need fusty old data, there's no industry analysis group -- like the IRI or NPD Group -- to reference, for example, how cannabis-enhanced chocolate confectionery brands measure up in particular markets.

That's where a new firm like BDS Analytics come in. When Dixie Elixirs, known for its tart candies and fruity THC-laced drinks, aimed to develop a new product line that took advantage of gaps in the market, it looked to the subscription research data firm.

According to a new poll by SurveyMonkey and BudTrader.com, a medical marijuana marketplace, 87 percent of 152 NFL players support the use of medical marijuana in states where it's already legal. CBSN's Reena Ninan has the story.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) oversees the medical marijuana cardholder registry for patients and regulates medical marijuana dispensaries, processors and grow sites.

Their role includes administering the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act by overseeing the registration, database, tracking and reporting requirements for patients, growers, processors and dispensaries.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program is part of the Center for Health Protection.

The Cannabis Topicals Panel during this past weekend’s Cannabis Health Summit featured founders from a few of the industry’s most respected topical manufacturers.

Specifically, we got to hear from:

• Didi Davis – Sweet Releaf
• Maya Elisabeth – Whoopi & Maya
• Dahlia Mertens – Mary’s Medicinals

Most people are still quite new to cannabis topicals and have a lot of important questions. And so we really appreciated this deep-dive curiosity conversation with some of the top experts in the field.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has been ordered to return more than $100,000 seized from a medical marijuana businessman and his family, 15 months after drug agents raided the company and didn’t charge anyone with a crime.

Superior Court Judge Tamila E. Ipema issued the order late Friday, almost six weeks after lawyers representing San Diego businessman James Slatic argued that the money must be returned.

“Investigations have been ongoing since January 2016 and there is no indication … that criminal charges are going to be filed in this case in the near future,” the judge wrote.

According to Ellen Brown, “the health benefits of cannabis are now well established. It is a cheap, natural alternative effective for a broad range of conditions, and the non-psychoactive form known as hemp has thousands of industrial uses. At one time, cannabis was one of the world’s most important crops. 

There have been no recorded deaths from cannabis overdose in the US, compared to about 30,000 deaths annually from alcohol abuse (not counting auto accidents), and 100,000 deaths annually from prescription drugs taken as directed. Yet cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance (“a deadly dangerous drug with no medical use and high potential for abuse”), illegal to be sold or grown in the US.”

The co-founder of the Portland-based cannabis research organization Habu Health will speak at this week's Cultivation Classic.

When Dr. Adie Poe looks at a cannabis plant, she doesn't see what most people see. What she sees are hundreds of bioactive molecules with the potential to create infinite experiences in the human body.

A global leader in opioid and cannabis research, Dr. Poe has studied the neuroscience of opioid/cannabinoid interactions for more than a decade, beginning with her undergraduate and graduate studies at Washington State University in both Pullman and Vancouver. Her work is consistently funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has received numerous awards in search of treatments for debilitating diseases such as chronic pain. 

Terpenes represent the aromatic building blocks of our natural world. They exist in virtually any plant that contains a fragrance, which also happens to include cannabis. It would seem natural that the pursuit of preserving the terpenes that exist within our favorite plant profiles would also translate into the cannabis extract industry. After all, cannabis has been known to carry over a hundred known terpenes that are largely responsible for creating our favorite strain flavor profiles.

The Legislature, Gov. Charlie Baker and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg continue to play a game of cat-and-mouse when it comes to marijuana regulation.

On Nov. 8, 2016, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot law legalizing possession and use of marijuana, and authorizing a retail pot industry. But 183 days later, the question of who will be in charge over overseeing the marijuana industry remains up in the air.

In December, the Legislature and Baker delayed implementation of that law by six months, passing a statute that left Goldberg in charge of regulation while pushing back from March 1 to Sept. 1 the deadline for her appointments to the Cannabis Control Commission created under the ballot law.