Laws governing medical research into the effects of cannabis on patients could be relaxed, a Home Office minister has signalled.

Mike Penning told MPs the Government would not support an e-petition calling for the legalisation of the production, sale and use of cannabis - which gathered 223,169 signatures.

But the Conservative frontbencher said there is a need to "look carefully" at the impact of certain parts of legislation on research.

The marijuana debate in Ohio is garnering more attention after Ohio’s Attorney General Mike DeWine’s trip to Colorado.

DeWine said he took a three-day trip to Colorado about two weeks ago to speak with people directly affected by the legalization of marijuana in the state.

DeWine said he spoke with Colorado’s attorney general, the chief of Denver police and several doctors.

DeWine said he doesn’t want the current problems in Colorado to make their way to Ohio.

"The perceived risk is down and the availability of marijuana is dramatically up, and the end result is going to be younger children will be trying marijuana and more children will be using marijuana," DeWine said.

This afternoon, a handful of MPs will gather in Westminster Hall to debate cannabis policy. It's like sending a policeman out to fight an invading army. We are witnessing a policy failure of epic proportions, and the debate parliament holds – one it has been forced to hold by public petition – will be conducted with a handful of MPs in a legislative attic.

State Rep. Mike Regan (R-York/Cumberland) reassured the public recently that the House medical cannabis task force recommendations on legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania steer clear of anything having to do with legalizing recreational use of the drug. 

"Our report makes it clear that legalized medical cannabis would only be allowed in the form of pills, oils and vaporization and not through smoking or 'edible' form," Regan said. "There is nothing involved in this report that would legalize a recreational usage," 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)– Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has returned to the state after a recent business trip to Colorado.  DeWine says he went to Colorado to learn about the consequences of marijuana legalization and how to implement the law if amendment three passes.

DeWine says law enforcement officers, medical professionals, and educators all told him the same thing.  He says, “The message was really clear. And that message was you guys are crazy if you bring this to Ohio. You guys are just crazy.”

Laws governing medical research into the effects of cannabis on patients could be relaxed, a Home Office minister has signalled.

Mike Penning told MPs the Government would not support an e-petition calling for the legalisation of the production, sale and use of cannabis – which gathered 223,169 signatures.

But the Conservative frontbencher said there is a need to ‘look carefully’ at the impact of certain parts of legislation on research.

He added there should not be anything in law which prevents research into improving the quality of people’s lives, noting he would work with other government departments to see how that can be done.

The Silence of the Lambs

You wouldn’t know it by reading the news or by viewing the webpages of major marijuana reform and medical marijuana groups, and if you did, some would offer no endorsement. But tomorrow, we are just three weeks away from residents of Ohio voting whether marijuana shall be legal for all adults to possess, use, cultivate, and process.

MPs rounded on a Tory Justice Minister today, accusing him of ignoring evidence thatcannabis should be legalised.

Labour and Green MPs slammed Justice Minister Mike Penning, as he gave a withering dismissal to calls for the drug to be legalised - even for medicinal purposes.

And Lib Dem Health spokesman Norman Lamb spoke of the "hipocrisy" of ministers criminalising thousands of young people when, he claimed, "probably 50% of the government have tried cannabis."

The Liberal Democrats have set up an independent panel of experts to establish how a legalised market for cannabis could work in the United Kingdom.

It comes ahead of a debate in Parliament on legalisation of the production, sale and use of cannabis, which is the result of a petition to parliament with 221,019 signatures.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman Norman Lamb wants the panel to look at evidence from Colorado, Washington State and Uruguay, where cannabis has been legalised and to make recommendations for the party to consider in the spring.

Early evidence from Colorado indicates:

Amanda Amsdill, left, listens as lawyer Matt Newburg, left, speaks with her parents, Debra and Jim Amsdill, during a preliminary examination in 2013. The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled the Amsdills must stand trial on charges ranging from conducting a criminal enterprise to conspiracy to deliver or manufacture marijuana.(Photo: MELISSA WAWZYSKO/TIMES HERALD)

The owners and some employees of Blue Water Compassion Center facilities in St. Clair, Sanilac and Tuscola counties will proceed to trial in January on charges ranging from conducting a criminal enterprise to conspiracy to deliver or manufacture marijuana.