The global tide concerning marijuana legalization is slowly turning. Amsterdam, with its famous coffeeshops where smoking cannabis is OK, was once the international city most associated with legally smoking marijuana. But more countries are passing legislation either decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana in some form. In fact, almost half the states in the United States have legalized marijuana somehow — with more likely to follow suit. 

On the I-5 interstate, just south of the Canadian border, Washington State Patrol has a problem with pot.

"It smells like marijuana in the car," Trooper Mallorie Baffa says as she shines her flashlight in the face of a 19-year-old man in a Lexus. He caught her attention by taking a wide turn.

Marijuana has been legal in Washington state for the past two-and-a-half years. But the young driver is under the age of 21 so there's zero-tolerance for any amount of the drug in his system. He could lose his licence and have a conviction on his record for the rest of his life.

"He was impaired," says Baffa. "He was under the influence of marijuana. To be impaired by a substance and to be behind the wheel of a car is not safe."

Privately held PharmaCielo Ltd. today announced that its Rionegro, Colombia based subsidiary, PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S. has submitted its formal application to Minsalud, Colombia’s Ministry of Health, and the Consejo Nacional de Estupefacientes (National Drugs Council) to become a licensed marijuana grower and processor of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts, with plans to file an additional license application for export in the near future.

Don Briere tells reporter Mike Hager that illegal pot dispensaries are a force for good, “drawing the money away from organized crime, who buy guns, heroin, cocaine and do human trafficking.” 

Researchers in Canada are to carry out a new study that will assess the potential benefits that medical cannabis can provide for arthritis patients.

Canada’s Arthritis Society is providing a three-year research grant to Dr Jason McDougall of Dalhousie University, a leading pain researcher, to investigate the drug’s impact on arthritis pain and disease management.

The needs of recreational cannabis users, and those who use it for medical purposes, are both legitimate and quite different.

I have some chocolates. They have certain properties. A while ago I was hit with a sudden, inexplicable, profoundly crushing sadness. Oh, well, sadness is normal, even welcome at times. 

But not like this. 

I didn’t want to call her; nothing she could do. I didn’t want to walk over to the hospital; I’ve seen Cuckoo’s Nest. But then I thought about depression and the uses of cannabis.

Half an hour and a sliver of chocolate later and I was flooded with wellness, the sort you get in spring, in the early afternoon, when the sun is warm and soft on your cheek. 

A quick note; I was not high.

While cannabis sales have risen across this country, under a cloud (no pun intended) of controversy, for various reasons, as legislation restricting its possession and use have fallen in some U.S. states. Alongside these legal changes, a niche design typology has, ahem, sprouted up: the high-design marijuana dispensary.

Increasingly vocal and committed advocacy for medical marijuana has made cannabis use a hot button topic. Yet, although the issue is increasingly gaining support, medical cannabis remains a stigmatized medicine. This stigma goes beyond the tired notion of couch potatoes raiding whatever may be available in the kitchen cabinet, and has actually affected how - and if - patients can obtain medical cannabis. Perhaps even more harmful though, is the effect the marijuana stigma has on the ability of scientists to conduct research into the medical benefits of the cannabis plant.

TORONTO, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - PharmaCielo Ltd. today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rionegro, Colombia based PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S. has submitted its formal application to the Ministry of Health and the National Drugs Council to become a licensed grower and processor of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts, with plans to file an additional license application for export in the near future.

This announcement comes after President Juan Manuel Santos signed regulatory Decree 2467, on December the 22nd, 2015, establishing a licensing framework for the cultivation, processing, research and development and exportation of cannabis derivatives for scientific and medical purposes. 

There are all kind of ways legalization will greatly benefit Canadian society - one of them being the increased tax revenues which can pay for important social programs and pubic education initiatives.

But the jury's out on just how much money will be made, and the potential impact it will have. The January Economic Insights report issued by CIBC World Markets gave the straight dope on what the tax revenue from recreational marijuana could, potentially, mean for Canada. It's not necessarily a game-changer, according to economist Avery Shenfeld, who predicts a high end of $5-billion in annual tax revenue.