LOCAL groups have exchanged views on cannabis laws ahead of next month's parliamentary debate over whether the drug should be legalised.

Ashford's Tory MP Damian Green says he is not yet persuaded of the need to change legislation.

He told the Herald: "Cannabis is not recognised in its raw form to have any medical purposes. It is a harmful drug.

"Our current laws draw on the best evidence, and it is worth noting that official advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs confirms that cannabis can cause significant health issues.

Joy Davies, the Liberal Party candidate in the B.C. riding of South Surrey-White Rock, has resigned after pro-pot comments she made on Facebook came to light during the federal election campaign.

Her resignation, announced by the party on Thursday afternoon, comes after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said Davies's promotion of the merits of marijuana does not reflect official party policy or his personal beliefs.

In 2013, Davies commented on Facebook that marijuana reduces family violence and that growing it in a home poses no harm to children. She also wrote that the Canadian Cancer Society is "another outlet for big pharma."

After activists last week pulled a Denver marijuana initiative from the November ballot, other pro-legalization activists have lashed out at what they see as backpedaling by their like-minded colleagues.

If the initiative had passed (and it looked like it might), it would have allowed limited social marijuana use in businesses such as art galleries and bars.

LANSING– Clarity about the support enjoyed by Michigan’s dueling legalization of marijuana ballot proposals was gained via a new poll released on September 8.

The Poll, conducted by Public Sector Consulting (PSC) and Michigan Radio, yielded an overall 55.7% Support for legalizing the adult use of marijuana in Michigan, with 40.2% Opposed and 4.2% Unsure. The poll involved 600 registered Michigan voters who identified themselves as Very Likely to vote in the 2016 Presidential elections.

A couple who grew marijuana ‘by the book’ and informed the tax office about their income have been found guilty of running an illegal plantation and given three month suspended jail sentences on appeal, news agency ANP reports on Wednesday. The middle-aged couple come from Bierum in Groningen province and have been arrested several times for marijuana production. They say that using legal electricity, paying tax and having no criminal connections show that marijuana can be grown without problems. The Netherlands turns a blind eye to the consumption of small amounts of marijuana sold through licenced coffee shops but production remains illegal.

Norman Lamb spoke last night in Newbury at a panel discussion on drugs misuse and our current drug laws.

Norman said that he has thought through the “drugs danger” and whether it should receive a criminal response or a health response. He said he has concluded that there should be a health response. He alluded to John Stuart Mill’s ‘self-regarding acts’, where the state shouldn’t interfere and ‘other-regarding acts’ where some state intervention may be justified. He said that it is wrong to criminalise those suffering mental ill health who resort to drugs because of their condition. It is “ridiculous”, Norman asserted, that we still put people in prison for personal drugs use.

Warming to his theme, Norman declared:

It's one of the oldest questions of law of all time: stoners to the left of us, squares to the right - but MPs will be debating whether to legalise the production, sale and use of cannabis in Parliament in a month's time.

The move comes after an e-petition, started by student James Owen, reached over 200,000 signatures. Renowned pro-Cannabis MP Paul Flynn, who represents Labour in Newport West and has campaigned for reform for over 25 years, will lead the debate in Westminster Hall on 12 October.

Just days before Friday’s deadline to pass legislation in this session, something weird is going down in Sacramento with legislation that could — after two decades — bring structure and regulation to the medical marijuana industry. And it may have to do with who gets the credit.

For the first time cops, labor, weed growers and cities are uniting behind the same medical pot policy. Gov. Jerry Brown — no fan of the devil’s herb — has his office engaged in forging Assembly and Senate versions of the bill into a single policy that’s to his liking.

I heard that Oregon cities and counties are passing commercial marijuana bans, and others are passing oppressive rules. Is Portland safe?

YES, IT LOOKS good. Oregon law allows cities and counties to ban commercial cannabis activity only in certain circumstances. For example, if a county opposed Measure 91 (the legalization initiative) by 55 percent or more, the county or any of its cities can prohibit most commercial marijuana activity. If less than 55 percent opposed the measure, any proposed ban would go to a local vote.

The legalization of medical and recreational cannabis has received a lot of attention over the past few years, but what most people don’t know is that it may have been industrial hemp that triggered prohibition in the first place. Let's dive into this cannabis "conspiracy theory" to see if it holds weight.

Hemp's Glory Days in History