Charles Lynch was running a legal medical marijuana dispensary in California — but that didn't stop the feds from raiding his store in 2007, throwing him in jail, and later placing him on home arrest, rendering him unable to find work and, as a result, leading to the loss of his home.

"I have no work and no money," Lynch, 52, told the New York Times's Erik Eckholm, "and I'm depending on others to survive."

Hillary Clinton's approach to marijuana legalization can best be described as a cautious, leave-it-to-the-states strategy similar to that of the Obama administration. But her wary approach to the issue puts her at slight odds with most voters, even more of her Democratic base, and even most voters in some key swing states, all of whom flat-out support legalization.

Polish marijuana laws are harsh, arguably the harshest in all of Europe. For simple posession of any amount you can go to prison for up to 3 years. If the amount you are caught with is „considerable” (a term not defined by the law, always left for the consideration of the judge), the sentence can be raised to 10 years. Transport and trafficking within the EU is a serious crime penalized with 3 to 15 years in jail.

Michigan voters legalized healthcare marijuana in 2010 but legislators nevertheless struggle to agree on terms for licensing and regulating healthcare marijuana dispensaries.

Watching police and policymakers contend with shifting public attitudes toward marijuana would be downright comical if the lives and liberty of so lots of persons weren't hanging in the balance.

The velocity of that shift has been breathtaking. As not too long ago as Bill Clinton's tenure as president, every single state in the union prohibited the sale of marijuana for any purpose. Currently, 32 states (and the District of Columbia) permit medical doctors to prescribe it for a wide assortment of health-related troubles.

Nearly 80 years since the United States effectively declared marijuana an illegal drug, support for legalization is spreading like a weed.

In the past three years, voters in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have voted to allow the recreational use of pot.

This year, Ohio voters will likely be asked to join the cannabis cavalcade.

That proposal, generated by a group calling itself ResponsibleOhio, is well into the signature-gathering process. Given its resources, estimated at more than $40 million, gathering signatures will likely not be its hardest task.

The ResponsibleOhio plan would allow adults 21 and older to possess an ounce of pot and grow up to four plants.

WICHITA -- A Wichita city council member is suggesting a change in state law after the Attorney General's recent action against the vote to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for first time offenders.

Councilwoman Janet Miller recommends the state legislature changes its law to say petitioners can't file for a city ordinance that conflicts with state law.

"It does not say that now, so we didn't have any choice," she said.

The Marijuana Reform Initiative went through two petition drives, got enough signatures to get their issue on the April ballot, and Wichitans voted it in. Janet Miller said both the city and activist group followed state law.

The roundtable debated the use of cannabis legally for health purposes. 

Opening the debate, the Deputy Minister of Social Development, Mrs Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, said the conversatin was long overdue.

“We have called this roundtable to open up a debate on cannabis in line with the Constitution of the country which calls for open dialogue and citizenry participation in decision making.  This is the beginning of a lengthy dialogue through which we hope to take all South Africans along when the country’s final position on the use of cannabis is determined,” said Bogopane-Zulu.

On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down after her son was taken from her by the State of Kansas. The ordeal started when police and counselors at her 11-year-old son’s school conducted a drug education class. Her son, who had previously lived in Colorado for a period of time, disagreed with some of the anti-pot points that were being made by school officials. “My son says different things like my ‘Mom calls it cannabis and not marijuana.’ He let them know how educated he was on the facts,” said Banda in an exclusive interview with BenSwann.com.

WICHITA, Kan. — A Wichita man is set to spend 12 years in federal prison for trafficking marijuana.

Jeremy Harris, 33, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He admitted in the plea that he obtained and distributed 12,000 pounds of marijuana in Kansas from 2011 to 2013.

In August of 2013, investigators seized 35 steel containers containing more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana near Augusta. One of Harris' co-conspirators later admitted driving from El Paso, Texas to Wichita more than 15 times, each time transporting more than 150 pounds of marijuana. He and at least one other conspirator were responsible for transporting marijuana to Kansas, then taking bulk cash to Texas and Mexico for payment.

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