A MAN caught twice growing cannabis at his home told police and a judge he was a freeman of the land not bound by common law.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard the Southsea home of Niall Dixon was raided by police who found 65 plants growing in 2013.

The court heard that during a second raid in January last year officers found two plants in a growing tent, one in his conservatory and some dried cannabis.

Prosecutor Nicholas Hall said Dixon had told police that through Magna Carta he was exercising ‘his right granted by god to consume any plants that he chose to do and therefore the inapplication to him of this legislation’.

The court heard Dixon, 43, used the cannabis in juice form for medical conditions he suffered, including anxiety.

A survey/chart study published in The Journal of Urology in February 2015 found that whole-plant cannabis use is associated with a decreased likelihood of developing bladder cancer.

What is Bladder Cancer?

Bladder cancer is caused by an overproliferation of abnormal cells of the bladder (an organ in the body that collects urine). Tumors can press on or block surrounding structures or spaces, causing dysfunction in normal body processes, and in later stages, cancerous cells can metastasize (i.e. invade distant organs), potentially causing extensive damage and, if uncontrolled, death.

The CEO of PhytoTech Medical, the first ASX listed medical marijuana company, has resigned.

Ross Smith’s departure comes less than two weeks since the company made its ASX debut, after which the share price soared.

However the share price has fallen back since. Phytotech shares were trading down 8.42% to $0.435 today.

His departure comes after a series of other company appointments, but also following some posts to his Facebook page.

France is no Amsterdam when it comes to marijuana laws, in fact it has some of the toughest possession statutes in Europe, but a first of its kind bill proposed this week could change that. The lawmaker behind the legislation tells The Local why marijuana should be legalized in France.

People smoking a joint in France face a maximum penalty of a year behind bars and a €3,750 fine for the first offence, yet 13.4 million French people admit to sparking up at least once in their life. Even France’s top cop, Interior Minister Manuel Vallls, said in a recent interview, he’d tried it “maybe once.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Key investors in a campaign to legalize marijuana use in Ohio include a former pro-basketball star, a pro-football player and a fashion designer.

ResponsibleOhio on Friday released the names of 11 key investors in its campaign to legalize marijuana for medical and personal use in Ohio. The investors, along with other supporters, are members of the investment groups that will own and operate the 10 marijuana grow sites to be specified in the group's proposed constitutional amendment.

"The campaign is honored to have such well-respected businesswomen and men, as well as patient advocates supporting our effort to offer a common-sense solution to Ohio's failed drug policies," Ian James, ResponsibleOhio's executive director, said in a press release.      

The marijuana industry is booming, and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down in the near future.

Medical marijuana users will be among the earliest users of bitcoin, according to bitcoin entrepreneur Peter Klamka. Klamka’s Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company, Bitcoin Brands, has placed a bitcoin ATM machine at one medical marijuana dispensary and is in the process of placing another two in the Grand Rapids area.

Klamka’s bitcoin ATM machine, made by Portland, Ore.-based Skyhook, provides the customer a QR code which they get scanned at the checkout counter by a clerk using a bitcoin payment tablet.

“The (payment) technology is like a gift card,”

Medical marijuana advocates in Maine are trying to spread the word about a recent study indicating the drug may slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The Gelassen family of Portland says it works.

Allen Gelassen is a pretty happy guy despite living with Alzheimer’s.

“I always have a problem (remembering) day-to-day,”said Gelassen, “But distance, some of it I can, some of it I can’t.”

The diagnosis came a few months ago, after the stroke that left him in a wheelchair. And with it, prescription painkillers; something that impacted his kids’ lives too.

“Groggy, depressed,” said his son, Benjamin Gelassen, “Which put that energy onto me.”