The Mexican Supreme Court opened the door to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, delivering a pointed challenge to the nation’s strict substance abuse laws and adding its weight to the growing debate in Latin America over the costs and consequences of the war against drugs.

DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg on Wednesday rejected the notion that smoking marijuana is "medicine," calling the premise a "joke."

"What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal -- because it's not," Rosenberg said in a briefing to reporters. "We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine -- that is a joke."

As more and more states experiment with loosening marijuana laws, Rosenberg said that people shouldn't conflate the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana with medicinal marijuana.

Legal weed may not be a reality in Ohio just yet, but the national prospects for legalization are bright

US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has introduced a bill to the Senate today that proposes the legalisation of the recreational use of marijuana nationwide. “The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act” would entirely remove weed both from the Controlled Substances Act and from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “most dangerous drugs list”.

Sanders principal motivation for the move is the high numbers of Americans who have their career and social prospects destroyed by arbitrary convictions for offences related to marijuana. Speaking as George Mason University last week, Sanders explained, “Too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana uses. That’s wrong. That has got to change.”

The Mexican Supreme Court opened the door to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, delivering a pointed challenge to the nation’s strict substance abuse laws and adding its weight to the growing debate in Latin America over the costs and consequences of the war against drugs.

Advocates eye 2016 after voters decisively rejected Issue 3 which would have handed control of a legal cannabis industry to a small group of millionaires

Marijuana legalization advocates in Ohio are turning their attention to 2016, after voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational use in the Buckeye State – a measure critics said would have enshrined an oligopoly in the state constitution.

Issue 3, as the proposal was known to Ohioans, lost in a landslide at the ballot box Tuesday, an embarrassing defeat for backers of the campaign, who poured over $20m into the race. About 65% of Ohians opposed the initiative, and 35% voted in favor.

Legal pot has become "a sport for the wealthy."

New Approach South Dakota is collecting signatures for a proposal to make medical marijuana legal.

The initiative would appear on the 2016 ballot if supporters can collect enough signatures by Nov. 9.

If the proposal appears on the 2016 ballot and is approved by the voters, it would:

• Legalize the medical use of marijuana for patients with a medical practitioner’s certification and one of several listed conditions, including cancer, AIDS/HIV, seizure disorders, PTSD, and severe pain.

• Allow patients and their caregivers to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis and grow six plants.

• Create a licensing system to provide patients with safe access to medical cannabis, allow businesses to process, dispense and test medical cannabis products.

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau will unveil a cabinet filled with new faces, casting aside some experienced Liberals and some star candidates in his first move as prime minister on Wednesday. 

New MPs such as Toronto Centre’s Bill Morneau and Markham-Stouffville’s Jane Philpott will become new cabinet ministers, while star candidates such as retired Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie and Toronto MP Adam Vaughan didn’t make the cut.

Voters in Keego Harbor made marijuana legal for adults. It was among many key proposals that passed in Tuesday's election across metro Detroit.

The marijuana proposals -- legalizing the "usage, possession and transfer" of an ounce or less of cannabis by anyone 21 or older, and only within a private non-public space such as a house -- passed with 260 votes, or 55%, with 210 voters opposed, or 45%.

• Wayne County voting results

• Oakland County voting results