The question of legalising cannabis is due to be debated in the House of Commons, an open letter has been sent to all Berkshire MPs asking them to attend the debate and seriously consider the issue

An open letter asking for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis has been sent to all Berkshire MPs.

Jon Liebling, a medical cannabis patient and political director of the United Patients Alliance, has written the letter telling Berkshire MPs it is time to stop criminalising medical cannabis patients.

Mr Liebling's letter calls on all local MPs to attend the debate and support the views of an estimated one million medical cannabis users.

DENVER -- 20,000 marijuana plants, 700 pounds of dried weed and more than 30 guns, all found right out in the open.

“You see a group of people who are actually actively engaged, farming the marijuana. So that means there are tents, cookhouses. There are irrigation systems in place. There’s a lot of pesticides,” said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado John Walsh.

The busts started Aug. 19 and spanned the state of Colorado as listed below. Six of them took place through Thursday.

Pike National Forest, Aug. 19 in the Green Mountain Area in Jefferson County. Investigation is ongoing.

I always say that Texas is a tough place for marijuana reform. Unlike most other states that have voted to reform their marijuana laws, Texas does not have a citizens initiative process. In states like Oregon, where I live, citizens can gather a certain number of signatures, and put marijuana reform on the ballot. Texas does not provide its citizens that option.

MASON CITY | An advocacy organization presented its case Wednesday night for what it says are potential benefits for legalization of medical cannabis.

Dr. Steven Jenison, the former head of the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program, spoke to about 25 people at the Mason City Public Library on Wednesday evening.

Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis organized the forum, one of three it is holding around the state this week.

Some who attended spoke of a years-long struggle to help their children through painful and chronic medical problems with what they considered potentially harmful medications.

"We have seen her suffer and suffer," said Jacqueline Loats, 46, who spoke of her now college-age daughter who has battled Crohn's disease since childhood.

Justice Minister, Senator Mark Golding says the reform of Jamaica’s ganja laws has already seen arrests reduced by about 1,000 per month.

He says the authorities expect that 15,000 fewer ganja-related cases will be before the courts each year.

Senator Golding says this will significantly lessen the number of young men who are introduced into Jamaica’s criminal justice system.

The amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act, came into force earlier this year, with the primary goal of reducing the arrest and incarceration of young people for minor ganja offences.

Possession of less than two ounces of ganja and smoking of the weed in public are now non-arrestable infractions for which a ticket may be issued.

The Ottawa Police Service drug unit said it collected more than 200 kilograms of marijuana plants during its annual fall 2015 outdoor eradication project.

Police identified 15 locations across in various rural areas of the city and harvested 22 “patches” totalling 1,505 marijuana plants, which they say have a street value of more than $1.5 million. The plants were seized.  No suspect have been identified.

“The seizure of this quantity of marijuana represents a significant loss of illicit profits which finance a variety of criminal enterprises including gun smuggling, human trafficking and cocaine importation,” said acting staff sergeant Ian McDonell, of the Ottawa Police Service’s drug unit.

Those arrested with harder drugs have an easier time

A sophomore at an Ohio high school blames administrators and police for his friend’s suicide, claiming they verbally abused a group of students accused of smelling like marijuana at the annual homecoming dance.

Hayden Long, 16, was found dead Monday at his home in Geneva, Ohio, from an apparent suicide. According to his friend and classmate Hank Sigel, Long was part of a group of six honor students accosted by school officials at the dance on Saturday for “smelling like marijuana.”

Legalized cannabis in Canada could be a bigger industry than forestry.

Legalization could usher in new tax revenue streams in the billions, unprecedented job creation for a nascent industry, and reduced judicial costs for Canada’s overburdened justice system. The economic ripple effects are estimated to be in the tens of billions per year.

There are some who dismiss legalization as a fringe issue: not a big deal. It’s only hippies and potheads who care. The truth is that legalization of cannabis can have one of the broadest economic, taxation and job creation impacts of any new industry in our nation’s history.

Larimer County Sheriff's Office via the Fort Collins Coloradoan

Earlier this week, we posted about two illegal marijuana grows found on federal land. Ten foreign nationals were busted in separate operations.

Now, Mario Garcia and six others are in custody on charges related to an illegal grow of their own — one they allegedly built up on private land they took over and tried to hang onto via a complicated scam backed by threats and a pit bull.