The West Virginia Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would permit marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes in West Virginia.

Senate Bill 386, sponsored by Sen. Richard Ojeda, D-Logan, would create the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Commission, a group of lawyers, medical professionals, members of the public, and agricultural officials who would oversee regulation of medical marijuana in the state.

Rusty Williams, of the Nitro area, immediately burst into tears when he saw the bill had passed, 28-6.

“I’ve not felt this good since the day my oncologist said that I was in remission,” he said.

When the federal Liberals set a Canada Day 2018 deadline for marijuana legalization last weekend, they erected a new landmark in our country’s history. I do not refer to the proposed changes to the law; you would, after all, have to be crazy to take a Liberal promise of this kind to the bank. But whether or not the Liberals make their Cannabis Day target, its mere creation is bound to change the way we talk about pot.

Legalization is a reality now, something that has a birthday. Old canards, theories, and dreads are destined to get a last airing before we become preoccupied with concrete policy specifics — and then, when the unthinkable actually happens, we shall start having arguments based on actual data.

Opposite a bleak government building in suburban Ottawa, Canada, a barebones “cannabis clinic” – with just a cash register, jeweller’s scales and a glass counter – is doing a brisk trade. “Pirate! Muslim! Gangster! Yes! We all smoke!” shouts one teen as he high-fives the owner, Rohmi. He pockets his pungent bag and bounces out, giggling.

On the wall, there’s a menu listing today’s special: moonrocks – buds rolled in cannabis oil then dipped in powdered hash at C$40 (£24) a gram. There are cans of Canna Cola; potent, weed-laced gummy bears; a mound of gooey hashish smelling of dark chocolate, hops and pine resin.

Walk into Brett Vapnik's medicinal marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles and the pungent aroma of pot is good and strong.

All day long, hundreds of people file in and out -- a sign of the strength of the pot industry, despite big question marks posed by the new administration of President Donald Trump.

For now Vapnik, who also has a small pot garden in his store, just sells marijuana for medicinal purposes: from the plant itself, with varying degrees of potency, to beauty products and even chocolate and cookies, all laced with herb.

But next year he expects sales to triple, as the most populous US state is slated to legalize sales and consumption of marijuana for recreational purposes.

The Calgary Police Service wants more information and more funding for drug impairment recognition training for front-line officers before marijuana becomes legal in Canada.

At a meeting of the Calgary police commission this week, CPS outlined the steps the service is taking following the announcement this week that the Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalize pot by July 1, 2018.

Sgt. Richard Butler, who heads the force's alcohol and drug recognition unit, warned the legalization of the drug in other jurisdictions has been accompanied by a rise in collision rates and costs associated with policing drug-impaired drivers.

The Georgia General Assembly is on the cusp of expanding access to medical cannabis.

The House voted 167-4 Tuesday to pass a bill that would add six new diagnoses to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis oil, including autism, AIDS, Tourette's syndrome, and Alzheimer's disease. However, many of the diagnoses will be restricted to when the condition is severe or in the end-stage.

Additionally, anyone in a hospice program, regardless of diagnosis, will be allowed access to marijuana oil that's low on THC, the chemical responsible for the marijuana high.

Ottawa’s plan to legalize marijuana by next year could hit serious roadblocks across the country, as provinces and territories are expected to have different approaches to solving complicated policy issues such as where to sell cannabis and how much to tax the drug.

The government signalled this weekend it expects to roll out legislation before April 20 – a day cannabis is celebrated across the globe – and that the recreational use of the drug would reportedly be legalized by July 1, 2018.

Village Cannabis Dispensary and Canadian Green both targeted.

Police raided two pot shops in Toronto Tuesday evening.

One of the raids was at the former Cannabis Culture at 461 Church Street, now called Village Cannabis Dispensary.

The other raid was at Canadian Green at Bloor Street West and Landsowne Avenue, said Constable David Hopkinson of the Toronto Police Service.Hopkinson did not provide any information about how much marijuana was seized. He said charges are pending and investigations are still open.

A standoff between the Ministry of Health minister and a lobbyist of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has forced the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) to defend its research methodology which provided data suggesting increase ganja use among adolescents since possession of two ounces or less is no longer a criminal offence.

Yesterday, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton responded sharply to criticisms from CLA Director Delano Seiveright that the ministry and some of its officials were the biggest humbug to efforts of the CLA to advance ganja decriminalisation efforts in Jamaica. The NCDA provided data to the MOH for The Sunday Gleaner story titled 'Ganja babies'.