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Big Mo!

from Leafly

ARIZONA

Arizona's Court of Appeals has ruled that the scent of cannabis can no longer be used as probable cause for a search warrant due to the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. The ruling came as a result of a 2013 raid in South Tucson, when officers noticed a pungent smell coming from a row of warehouses. They obtained a search warrant and raided the warehouse with a SWAT team but found nothing. The smell persisted and they obtained a second search warrant. This time, they uncovered a sophisticated growing operation with 357 plants and 53 pounds of cannabis.

During the trial, it became clear that police protocol was to determine whether the activity in question was lawful only after serving the search warrant, thus making medical marijuana patients essentially second-class citizens in the eyes of the law.

ITALY

Italy just took the first few baby steps towards the legalization of cannabis. A cross-party committee of legislators known as the Intergrupo Parlamentare Cannabis Legale has agreed upon a drafted text of regulations for the growth, production, and sale of legalized recreational marijuana. The bill has already been signed by 218 members of Parliament, including members of the Greens, the Five Star Movement, and a surprisingly large number of lawmakers from Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party.

The draft would allow Italians to grow cannabis at home or as members of “cannabis clubs,” which would allow up to 50 people to cultivate it in a collective garden. It would also make cannabis state-controlled, and the government would regulate the sale of licenses for cultivation and distribution.

UNITED KINGDOM

A petition seeking for the legalization of cannabis in the United Kingdom has gained major traction, with over 150,000 signatures from citizens hoping for a policy change. Once the petition hit the 100,000 mark, it triggered an automatic debate in court. The House of Commons of the British Parliament is now required to take the petition into consideration, although there has not been a date for the debate. This comes on the heels of an announcement that a small town in northeastern England, Durham, will no longer be pursuing charges against small-scale growers or casual cannabis users due to dwindling enforcement resources.