Nine of the ten largest cities in Wisconsin have established local ordinances decriminalizing minor marijuana possession offenses.

The fines range from just $50 (in Milwaukee) up to $1,000 (in Green Bay). Most citywide ordinances do not enforce criminal sanctions unless the quantity of marijuana possessed exceeds 25 grams.

One of the ordinances imposes a maximum fine of only $100 for anyone found in the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana. Another amended local law makes possession of up to five grams of marijuana punishable by no more than a $100 fine.

Portland, Oregon is home to one of the best marijuana scenes on the planet, and it’s getting better everyday. There are so many marijuana stores in Portland right now that you can almost drive down any busy street and see multiple marijuana stores. Oregon has always been home to amazing marijuana growers, and now many of those growers are taking their harvests to PDX stores to sell them to the masses. Portland’s City Commissioner Dan Saltzman wants to create a ‘green light district’ in Portland to concentrate marijuana outlets. Per Willamette Week:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a couple of grillings about drugs this week.

First, CKNW Radio's John McComb sparred with the Conservative candidate on marijuana and the party’s tough-on-crime positions that include mandatory minimum sentences for people caught growing pot plants.

The following day, Harper faced questions about former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, his brother, Doug, and their family’s public support for the Conservatives.

In September Toledo, Ohio voters approved a marijuana decriminalization measure by a very wide margin. Even before the vote occurred, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine made it very clear that he would sue the City of Toledo if the measure passed. Mr. DeWine made good on that threat last week when he filed the lawsuit. So much for democracy, right? Per Cleveland.Com:

DeWine asked the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas to invalidate several portions of Toledo’s “Sensible Marihuana Ordinance” approved by voters last month because they contradict Ohio law.

An addiction psychiatrist has said smoking marijuana does not necessarily cause addiction to other drugs later in life, contradicting the common theory it is a 'gateway drug'.

Dr Kevin Hill, a director at McLean psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard University was answering questions about marijuana on Reddit, when he shared his opinion.

Brennan Linsley/AP

In a national health survey, 10% of high schoolers reported smoking marijuana at least once in the last 30 days.

High schoolers now report using marijuana more than cigarettes or cigars, according to a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Oct. 15. 

In 1997, 21% of high schoolers said they had smoked a cigarette or cigar on one or more days in the last 30 days. By 2013 (the newest data available), only 7% said they had, representing a remarkable 64% decrease. 

Get ready for some corny “peace pipe” jokes because Native American tribes are jumping on the weed wagon.

OK, so the Declaration of Independence was not, as urban myth would have it, written on hemp (the said document was written on parchment). But 239 years later, this ultra-versatile super seed is finally gaining traction as a food ingredient in the United States, according to the world’s largest hemp foods manufacturer.

It’s been a long time coming, says Mike Fata, CEO of Canadian firm Manitoba Harvest, which was instrumental in securing a change in the law such that it became legal to grow industrial hemp for commercial use in Canada in 1998, and now sells hemp food products in 8,000 stores in North America from Sprouts to Kroger and Costco.

Kingston, Jamaica -- The University of the West Indies, Mona (UWI) made history this past July by establishing itself as the world's premier institution for the research and development of marijuana and its use in the field of medicine. This was made possible through a partnership with CITIVA, LLC, which is a medical research company specializing in safe and effective cannabinoid products. 

State of the industrial hemp/cannabis seed markets are chaos.

Hemp seedgrain cultivation supports the entire Canadian hemp industry.