Political

New Jersey voters will decide next year whether to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use.

Super-majorities in the state Senate and Assembly on Monday approved putting on the November 2020 ballot a question that if approved would make cannabis use legal in the Garden State for anyone over age 21.

In the Senate, it was passed by 24-16, exactly the number of votes required to constitute a three-fifths super-majority. The Assembly voted 49-23 with one abstention.

Cannabis is illegal in Germany, but each state has different regulations on how much is allowed for personal possession. The drug commissioner wants that to change.

Germany's drug commissioner on Tuesday called for a nationwide standard for the amount of cannabis allowed for personal possession.

Daniela Ludwig told the Funke Media Group that it is "difficult" when each German state has different regulations.  

GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- When it comes to legalizing the use of marijuana in Wisconsin, many state lawmakers would describe the process as an uphill battle.

"We are truly an island. You got Illinois not only doing medical but recreational, you got Michigan doing recreational and Minnesota's medical marijuana," said Democratic Senator Dave Hansen.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Unrelenting pain in her hips and weeks of insomnia left Nelly Valbuena desperate for relief from her metastatic breast cancer.

The university professor found freedom from her disease’s cruel side effects in an unexpected remedy: CBD, a compound extracted from the cannabis plant.

Now Valbuena is pushing Ecuador’s government to put into effect recently passed legislation permitting medicinal use of cannabis products so others like her suffering from agonizing illnesses can have new options for pain relief.

Two Republican lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday that would legalize medical marijuana in the state, an indication GOP lawmakers are warming to a proposal that has for years failed to become a reality in Wisconsin.

But the bill from Rep. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, and Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, which would create a regulatory framework for medical marijuana, already faces stiff opposition from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau.

After months of delay, those with past marijuana offenses are again close to having their convictions cleared.

The latest expungement bill, A5981, will go before both houses for of the Legislature for a vote Monday, as the state Assembly Appropriates Committee cleared the bill on Thursday. If passed, Gov. Phil Murphy would need to sign the bill for it to become law.

This year has been momentous for cannabis reform, from the Illinois General Assembly becoming the first state legislature to pass a bill to regulate cannabis like alcohol to the U.S. House of Representatives passing the SAFE Banking Act and forging ahead with the MORE Act. 

It’s important to celebrate these victories, but with the end of 2019 comes the beginning of 2020, which is already shaping up to be the biggest year ever for marijuana-policy reform. 

The 2017 law restricting cannabis licenses could be responsible for halting the 'green rush' in the Sunshine State

Florida's Supreme Court is considering an appeals court decision that would increase access to licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.

The decision would eliminate conservative requirements that force dispensaries to also own the means of production.

This week Brazil approved cannabis guidelines in order to establish a legalised environment for the sale and consumption of cannabis for medical use.

In the announcement by ANVISA, the National Agency for Health Surveillance of Brazil, a new class of medical cannabis products will be prescribed by doctors and sold through pharmacies, enabling safe and legal patient access.

If you listen carefully, you will hear the sound of a crooked foundation known as marijuana prohibition starting to crumble in the United States. It has been more than eight decades since the federal government outlawed the cannabis plant nationwide, and yet, here we are finally standing on its lawn with torches in hand waiting for a day of reckoning.