The Iowa Senate voted Wednesday to pass a bill that would legalize medical marijuana for ailing Iowans, although the proposal faces strong resistance in the Republican-controlled House.

The vote was approved 26-19 with five lawmakers excused from voting. The 26 votes represented the fewest number of votes required for a bill to be passed under the Iowa Constitution.

"Sick and suffering Iowans are asking for our help," said Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, the bill's floor manager. He said the proposal would create a safe, legal, affordable, effective and highly regulated way for Iowans and their families to access medicines made from cannabis.

LADYBUD: Where did you study and get certified in massage therapy?

The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested a 43-year-old peasant farmer of Sinazongwe district for unlawful cultivation of fresh cannabis weighing over three tonnes.

DEC Public Relations Officer Theresa Katongo said Leonard Mansanga, 43, a peasant farmer of Mulonga-Munene village in Sinazongwe district has been arrested for unlawful cultivation of fresh cannabis plants weighing 3.9 tonnes.

Ms. Katongo disclosed the development to ZANIS in a press statement in Lusaka today.

She said the commission has also arrested Christine Lufupa, 63, a peasant farmer of Mitec area in Solwezi district for unlawful cultivation of fresh cannabis plants weighing 110 kilogrammes (kg).

She explained that the cannabis was intercropped with maize.

Marijuana legalizers are winning the battle for hearts and minds.

That's one takeaway from a new Pew Research Center survey on public attitudes toward marijuana legalization. The survey found that 53 percent of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal, consistent with what other major studies have shown.

Millions of Americans rushed to finish their taxes in the hours just before the midnight deadline Wednesday. But for business-owners in the cannabis industry, a years-long tax battle is far from over.

Supporters of legal marijuana cited tax revenue as big factor in pushing through laws that have allowed medical marijuana sales in 23 states and recreational pot in four. But the businesses that grow and sell marijuana in those states are also staring at a steep federal tax bill, especially when compared with businesses in other industries.

Last week I hosted an open debate about substance misuse. It proved so popular we spent the evening adding chairs at the back of the room. In the midst of an election focused on austerity, inequality and our housing crisis, why is it that so many people still feel so strongly about drugs?

The panel and I agreed that:

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Legislature has approved an overhaul of the state’s medical marijuana market, sending to Gov. Jay Inslee a bill seeking to eliminate unregulated dispensary sales now that the state’s recreational market is in place.

The Senate on Tuesday concurred with changes made to the bill in the House last week, and then voted 41-8 to pass it out of the chamber and on to the governor for his expected signature.

Among its many provisions, Senate Bill 5052, would create a database of patients.

Many in the House floor session were unclear of whether HB 123 would receive enough support to pass, all the way up until the vote.

A fundamental bill for establishing regulations over marijuana in Alaska passed the House today.  The bipartisan vote is a step towards the Alcoholic Beverages Control Board creating a permit structure for all components of a full legal market.

Barrow Democrat Benjamin Nageak told colleagues during a House floor session there are some basic reasons marijuana needs its own regulatory board.

“I mean jeez, every time I see high people I go over, because I want to laugh,” Nageak said, illiciting chuckles from around the chamber. “I think we need to have a separate board to have, ya know, happy versus versus unhappy people.”

MPs value the views of constituents and expert opinion more highly than evidence from randomised controlled trials, a new survey has found. However, the majority of the 104 Labour and Conservative MPs from the previous parliament who were questioned support the idea of using randomised controlled trials to evaluate policies and don’t believe they are too expensive.

Jakarta, GIVnews.com – The National Narcotics Agency in Indonesia (BNN), together with the national police force, had arrested a syndicate of five people who were suspected of selling marijuana ‘brownies’ online. One of the alleged was a 38-year-old man identified as IR.

According to the Deputy Head of the BNN Deddy Fauzi Elhakim, as reported by the Jakarta Globe, BNN has also requested the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to close down the website that has been used to sell the marijuana brownies online. This action was taken since BNN does not have the authority to block the website while the Ministry is authorized to do so.