MPs debated the legalisation of the production, sale and use of cannabis today.

It came after an online petition drew 220,000 signatures, making it the third most popular petition on Parliament's website.

The debate was led by Labour MP Paul Flynn, who explained why he thinks criminalisation of the drug has failed in an exclusive article for the Mirror.

And there were spirited speeches from Green MP Caroline Lucas and Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb.

Here's a recap of how the debate unfolded.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government’s principal agency for cancer research and training. Recently, it updated its site to posts the known benefits of marijuana. The federal government admits to the below benefits, yet will not institute national medical marijuana laws to promote the research and use of this proven medicine. Obviously, the question arises who is stopping a serious push in Congress to do what obviously needs to be done in the public’s best interest.

Benefits acknowledged by the federal government resulting from marijuana use:

Antitumor activity

A group of federal politicians say national uniform legislation is needed so that states can amend their own laws and allow access to medicinal marijuana.

A woman whose son lost his battle with cancer earlier this year has pleaded for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to support laws to create a national framework that would pave the way for terminally ill patients and others to access medicinal marijuana.

Lucy Haslam, who has long been at the forefront of a campaign to legalise medicinal cannabis, on Monday joined a cross-party group of senators and MPs in Canberra to push for laws that would have provided her son Daniel relief from the debilitating nausea he had been suffering as a result of chemotherapy.

Detroit Councilman George Cushingberry Jr. wants to loosen certain aspects of proposed regulations for the city's medical marijuana dispensaries.

Nearly eight years after Michigan voters overwhelmingly concluded that marijuana should be available to patients whose doctors prescribe it, state lawmakers are finally addressing some of the most egregious defects in Michigan's Medical Marihuana Act.

Nearly 20 years after California passed medical marijuana, Gov. Brown sets statewide industry regulations

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a trio of bills into law Friday that create a system of oversight for the growth, manufacture and sale of medical marijuana in the state.

The new regulations come nearly 20 years after the state passed medical marijuana laws in 1996 – California was the first state to pass such laws.

CANNABIS should be legalised, according to thousands of Scots.

More than 220,000 people in the UK have signed a petition calling on the Government to legalise the drug, sparking a parliamentary debate.

And Record analysis has shown that Glasgow has the highest percentage of people in the UK supporting the move.

A total of 564 people from Glasgow Central have signed the petition. Close behind is Glasgow North, where one person in every 172 has put their name to it.

A total of 22,620 Scots are backing the petition.

Free-thinking Brighton wants to legalise cannabis more than anywhere else in Britain, Mirror Online can reveal.

Nearly 1,000 people in the Green Party's only seat backed a landmark petition which will be debated in Parliament tomorrow.

Today Labour MP Paul Flynn, who is leading the debate, says the war on drugs has failed in a piece for Mirror Online.

Meanwhile the Mirror's data unit analysed the publicly-given addresses of the 220,000 people who have signed the petition - which claims legalisation could raise £900m a year.

Internal government report claims that legalising cannabis could swell the nation's coffers by as much as £800 million every year

A MAN who has been "busted" by police for possession of cannabis has lobbied Berkshire MPs to legalise the drug for medicinal use.

Jonathan Liebling, 48, from Shinfield, who consumes a quarter ounce of cannabis per week to control anxiety and depression, has written an open letter to MPs in his capacity as political director of United Patients Alliance.

He said: "It's currently in schedule one of the misuse of drugs act, that means it's illegal for doctors to recommend it. If they [the government] moved it to schedule two - which they could do at any time - doctors could then recommend it and we could apply for an import licence from Europe. I would hope that something alone those lines could be done within the next 12 months."

SAN FRANCISCO — Nearly two decades after California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, the state finally is planning to regulate the vast, unruly industry the voter-approved move spawned.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed a package of bills that create a licensing and oversight framework for the growing and selling of medical marijuana and pot-infused products.

Here are the basics on the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, how it might affect the existing landscape for medical marijuana and what happens next.
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