KINGSTON, Jamaica— Communications consultant Delano Seiveright says there is a need for a clear roadmap for the overarching development of the local ganja/cannabis industry.

“We need now a clear roadmap for its overarching development, further reforms, immediate enactment of a simple, efficient and transparent regulatory structure that favours traditional farmers, investors, new businesses, and increasing tax revenue, and the clearing away of bureaucratic obstacles and anti-ganja impulses by hostile forces,” says Seiveright.

Speaking at the the Re-Imagine Jamaica: Unlimited Possibilities A Brand Jamaica symposium at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona on Friday, he argued that Jamaica is ripe for an “amazing, mind-boggling economic windfall” from ganja.

PHOENIX — The smell of marijuana is no longer enough in Arizona for police to get a warrant and come busting down the door, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.

In a split decision, the judges acknowledged that the odor of the plant, whether fresh or freshly smoked, was enough to provide police with probable cause that a crime was taking place. And that provided the basis to go to a judge to seek permission to enter where the smell was coming from.

But Judge Peter Eckerstrom, writing for the majority, said that changed in 2010 when voters approved the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.

CLEVELAND – The race is on for supporters of legalized marijuana to get the issue on the Ohio ballot in November.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office announced Tuesday that the group behind the marijuana amendment, ResponsibleOhio, does not have enough valid signatures.

Of the 660,190 signatures submitted by ResponsibleOhio, only 276,082 were deemed valid by local boards of elections. That falls short of the required 305,591 valid signatures, or 10 percent of total votes for governor in the most recent election.

Petitioners now have 10 days, until July 30, to collect nearly 30,000 additional valid signatures.

Federal marijuana offenders may soon get their record cleared, a move that's already happened at the state level.

In a statement, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon said passage of the Clean Slate for Marijuana Offenses Act of 2015 would pave the way for individuals who have been federally charged with marijuana offenses to have those counts expunged from their records in the event that the conduct in question is allowable under state law, where applicable.

Depending on who you talk to, a shortfall of nearly 30,000 signatures on a marijuana legalization petition was due either to bad math or mistakes by elections officials.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office contends it counted every signature submitted on a marijuana legalization petition, but that ResponsibleOhio made a big math mistake, turning in 35,083 fewer signatures than it claimed for a total of 660,190.

Ian James, executive director of ResponsibleOhio, countered that his organization kept a digital record of all 695,273 signatures submitted and that elections officials in some of the 88 counties erred by failing to review and count all the names.

Despite a memo from the Department of Justice last October, the legal status of pot on tribal lands is still unclear.

In the foggy early morning hours of Wednesday, July 8, special agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration and state and local law enforcement descended on the Pit River Tribe’s XL Ranch and the Alturas Indian Rancheria in northeastern California, seizing 12,000 marijuana plants and 100 pounds of processed potfrom the two large-scale growing facilities.

Peter Decuypere, the founder of the I Love Techno rave, has written an open letter in which he calls for the legalisation of soft drugs. Mr Decuypere intervenes in the debate after police made massive seizures of drugs at the Dour music festival in Wallonia.

During checks at the Dour festival 1,300 ecstasy pills, 690 lsd trips and nearly 3 kilos of cannabis were seized. Belgian police are planning similar operations at next weekend's Tomorrowland music festival.

The festival organiser says that a repressive attitude encourages risky behaviour with regard to drugs. Mr Decuypere believes that a repressive approach means that people do drugs in secret and that prevents all controls. In this way it's also more difficult to help people when things go pear-shaped.

Washington's voters legalized recreational marijuana the same day that Colorado's did, but so far that state has been far behind Colorado in creating the infrastructure for the new industry.

Far behind in most ways, that is: Last week the Colorado Board of Health again rejected adding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to the list of conditions for which medical marijuana can be prescribed, but Washington will be approving PTSD on July 24.

A police chief in the North East of England has effectively given weed smokers the go-ahead to grow plants for their own use. Ron Hogg, Durham's Police and Crime Commissioner, says that local cannabis users will only be targeted if they grow for commercial gain or if they smoke it in a "blatant" way.

Durham Police has said it will only go after people growing and using cannabis if there is a complaint - or if they are being 'blatant'

Cleveland Police will continue to “operate within the law as it exists” when it comes to dealing with drug crime - despite plans by a neighbouring force to stop actively pursuing low-key cannabis users.

Ex-deputy chief constable of Cleveland - and current Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Durham - Ron Hogg wants to see users of the class B drug in County Durham and Darlington entered onto a course.

He views that as a means of dealing with their habit rather than being arrested.

The Labour PCC's comments have since sparked a major debate on the issue - which is being seen as a step towards decriminalisation.