The parallels between the injustices felt by the British during the Blitz and the persecution of cannabis smokers on 4/20 are plentiful, if a comparison is not too bold to propose. 

Acclaimed British author of Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell, wrote many pieces on the topics of war, oppression, poverty, social injustice and inequalities throughout his life. The most poignant example of his social commentary must be the opening of his essayEngland, Your England, which he penned whilst German bombers were flying overhead during the Blitz in 1941. 

As Americans celebrate 4/20, pot culture's answer to Octoberfest, I'm getting pelted with questions about the growing legalization movement. What's the new pot like? What are you telling your kids? Right. I get those questions. But mainly I hear this one: Why is legalization happening now? 

Until recently, I cited two factors. First, the emergence of the Internet offered widespread access to scientific studies and counter-narratives that debunked the government's Reefer Madness line. Second, medical marijuana served as a 20-year pilot project that calmed the fears of a worried nation. Dispensaries opened, weed was openly sold, and the pillars of civilization did not crumble. 

The annual 4/20 pot-smoking rally, which drew crowds of up to 25,000 to the plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Monday resulted in 64 people being treated in hospital, including teenagers, said health officials.

All the patients were treated at St. Paul's, making for a very busy night in the downtown hospital.

"64 people in the emergency department is a large number, in an already busy emergency department," said Dave Lefebvre, a spokesperson for Providence Health Care.

April 20, widely known in marijuana culture as "4/20," is a day when thousands of people gather for "smoke-ins" in cities across North America.

CHEYENNE - Voters could decide next year whether medical marijuana will be legal in Wyoming.

Activists have filed paperwork with the state which, if approved, would let them begin a signature-gathering campaign to get an initiative on the 2016 general election ballot to legalize medical marijuana.

The Wyoming chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is sponsoring the citizen-led effort.

The group submitted its initiative application to the secretary of state's office on Monday, which was also 4/20 - the unofficial national holiday for marijuana enthusiasts and supporters.

The 13-page application is essentially the group's proposal in the form of a legislative bill.

A majority of Americans support the legalization of recreational marijuana, according to a new poll from CBS News -- and it's the highest percentage in support since the news organization began asking the question in 1979.

Just in time for 4/20, the annual marijuana holiday, CBS News released a poll showing 53 percent of Americans are in favor of marijuana legalization.

Minister of Justice Mark Golding (right) and Courtney Betty (left), president and CEO of Timeless Herbal Care, jointly plant a ganja seedling at yesterday's launch for the symbolic planting of the first legal marijuana plant at the Lecture Theatre Two, Faculty of Medical Sciences Teaching and Research Complex. Overseeing the activities are (at back, from left) Jamaica Labour Party representative Delano Seiveright, Richard 'Dicky' Crawford and herbalist Basil Hylton.

Ahead of being granted a licence to cultivate marijuana for research purposes, the University of the West Indies (UWI) is set to establish an institute to coordinate research efforts on medicinal and commercial products of marijuana.

At a Society for Human Resource Management conference in Washington DC last month, a session on drug testing in the workplace was so heavily attended that organizers had to switch rooms to accommodate the audience. Even then, it was standing room only. And the hour set aside for the talk wasn’t enough: outside the hall, employment attorney James Reidy, the presenter, answered questions for 40 minutes afterward.