The Federal Government has ordered an urgent review after a licence was granted to grow a commercial crop of marijuana on Australian soil.

The AusCann group announced plans to cultivate the drug on Norfolk Island and export medicinal cannabis to Canada, where doctors can grant approval for patients to purchase cannabis from licensed producers.

AusCann have been granted a growers licence by the parliament of Norfolk Island. Last year, a similar licence was vetoed by the Federal Government.

Norfolk Island is a self-governing territory more than 1000km from the Australian mainland.

It has a population of just over 2000 and covers an area of 34 square kilometres.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that he supports the decriminalization of marijuana possession and the legalization of medical marijuana, and suggested that he's also open to considering further reforms when it comes to recreational marijuana.

Take a journey through time in the US from the 1600s when hemp production was encouraged through to the 1930s when the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created, and the ensuing period of Reefer Madness, up until 1996 and legalized medical marijuana in California.

• At its party congress in Berlin, the majority of FDP members are in favor of the legalization of cannabis, under strict conditions.
• The drug should continue to be sold under strict conditions as stimulant in selected stores under license to adults.
• The FDP is participating with its foray to a growing debate about hashish and marijuana.

62 percent for legalization
The list of advocates who want to release the illegal drug cannabis is longer. According to the Greens, the FDP will now release hashish-smoking. At its party conference in Berlin, the Liberals voted on Sunday with just under 62 percent for the legalization of cannabis under strict conditions.

Hobart's Museum of Old and New Art has defended its promotion of an idea to medicate children with marijuana in a bid to improve Tasmania's education outcomes.

MONA creative director Leigh Carmichael described an idea from teaching artist Leon Ewing to supply marijuana to students in a controlled and moderated manner as "brave and creative".

"We don't necessarily agree with this idea, but we love that it's brave and creative, and in order for seismic change, we'll need to think big and be open to provocative ideas," Mr Carmichael said on Tuesday.

For three days in June, MONA will - as part of its annual winter event Dark Mofo - host a festival of ideas on how to improve education levels in Tasmania, which are among Australia's poorest.

The scientist and award-winning author on keeping kids safe--and why he says the police are a bigger concern for his sons than drugs

The Drug Policy Alliance, the nation’s most influential organization working to end the war on drugs and its resulting mass incarceration and criminalization, initiated the “Telephone Townhall” series last year to increase public understanding about the myths about drugs that drove the explosion of laws and sentencing schemes that cemented the United States as the world’s largest incarcerator.

A point of contention for many reformists is a comparison between cannabis and alcohol - an unnecessary comparison festering with hypocritical undertones and prejudice. It's contentious because arguing for cannabis' safety over alcohol is sanctimonious at best, and collapses under the weight of its own piety when debating outside of medicinal remit. 

The emergence of CISTA (the Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol political party) has resurfaced an ugly truth: comparing the safety of cannabis with other substances will always lead back to the undeniable truth that abstinence from all recreational drugs is the safest and healthiest option - which really shouldn't be the point. 

Federal officials say they’ve uncovered an alleged marijuana smuggling ring that involved three baggage handlers working at Oakland International Airport. Because airport workers can go behind the scenes where others can’t, investigators say the baggage handlers used their security badges to access off-limits areas and get pot from one point to another.

According to a criminal complaint, the workers were part of a group of people charged in an alleged conspiracy to ferry marijuana around the country, reports CBS San Francisco, dating back to July 2012.

The Tories say pot must stay illegal. They're also laying groundwork for legalization.

On marijuana, Conservatives are 'traveling both sides of the fence.' Photo: Cannabis Culture, Creative Commons licensed.

ST. CROIX - The office of Sen. Terrence Nelson is seeking input from the public on proposed medical marijuana legislation.

Nelson, who is sponsoring the legislation, said at a press conference Tuesday that he intends to call it the Medicinal Cannabis Patient Care Act.

"You are invited to have input. We are inviting inclusion here. You are not excluded from this process," he said.

The plan is for the office to have the draft legislation completed and submitted to the Legislature's legal counsel by the end of the month, he said. The legislature's legal counsel then has up to 45 days after that to complete the bill and get it back to the sponsor.

Then, it gets assigned to a committee and goes through the committee process.