Tens of thousands of cannabis related convictions in the state of California could potentially be erased thanks to a bill that was approved Wednesday by the state Legislature. The bill now just needs Governor Jerry Brown’s signature.

The bill was introduced by Democratic Assemblyman, Rob Banta. It orders eligible cases between 1975 and 2016 to be identified by the Department of Justice and to send the results to the appropriate prosecutor, reports BakersfieldNow. The bill passed 22-8 with bipartisan support. When Proposition 64 was passed in 2016, in addition to allowing adult-use, recreational cannabis, various marijuana-related crimes were also eliminated.

The 2018 elections are less than three months away and cannabis policy reform is heavy on the radar for at least four states. North Dakota, Michigan, Utah and Missouri voters will have the chance to approve or reject various cannabis initiatives that have succeeded in getting on this year’s ballot.

“Those ballot initiatives, combined with the Vermont Legislature’s passage of a non-commercial legalization bill in January, Oklahoma’s passage of a medical marijuana ballot initiative in June, and the potential for New Jersey to become the first state to legalize adult-use sales and production through a state legislature, could make 2018 of the biggest years for cannabis reform yet,” writes Kris Kane in an article published by Forbes earlier this week.

A petition drive to get recreational cannabis on an Oklahoma ballot didn’t receive the required number of signatures, announced Secretary of State, James Williamson on Monday.

Green the Vote, an organization in Oklahoma whose sole purpose is to legalize cannabis in the state, was only able to collect 102,814 signatures of the 123,725 valid signatures necessary to get recreational marijuana on the ballot.

The organization’s other petition which would amend the state constitution to authorize medical cannabis failed to reach the minimum number of signatures with only 95,176 submitted.

The results are in and it should be no surprise that millennials are enjoying and seeing the benefits of cannabis.

Results from a Gallup poll published earlier this week found that nearly one in four American between the ages of 18 and 29 say they “regularly” or “occasionally” consume cannabis.

The results are based on phone interviews taken between July 1 and July 11 of 1,033 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.

A poll conducted earlier this week found overwhelming support in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis in North Dakota.

The poll, conducted through Polco, asked “Should North Dakota legalize recreational marijuana?” following confirmation on August 13 by Secretary of State, Al Jaeger, that enough signatures were received for the measure to be placed on the November election ballot.

Across all age groups and political parties, the poll found that North Dakotans are overwhelmingly on board with legalizing recreational cannabis. Of the 237 North Dakotans who answered the poll, 79.3 percent support the measure with only 20.7 percent opposed.

A group of cities in California have objected to a proposed change in state laws that would allow unchecked home cannabis deliveries in communities that have banned local marijuana sales.

The League of California Cities, a group of California city officials who work to influence policy within their communities, wrote a letter to state regulators voicing their objection.

The letter, dated July 27 but just released on Monday, said the new proposal would unleash “cannabis delivery anywhere in the state, regardless of conflicting local regulations or bans”.

The United Nations (UN) has launched an in-depth review into the classification of cannabis and whether re-classification is necessary under international drug treaties. This is the first time that the organization has considered rescheduling the plant.

The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) also recently announced that CBD doesn’t warrant being regulated under international agreements as it has been shown over and over again to have medical benefits for a variety of illnesses and ailments.  

The way cannabis will be sold througout Canada will vary province to province, but for Calgarians, it may be as easy as heading to the nearest grocery store.

Eleven Calgary Co-op locations, including a gas station have received approval to sell cannabis, according to Global News.

Seven Real Canadian Superstores and one Real Canadian Liquor Store also received approval. Both chain locations have said previously that they intend to sell cannabis.

Of the 187 applications received in April, 155 decisions have been made as of Thursday, August 9. There have been 83 locations approved to sell cannabis with 11 applications still pending.

Three Second Cup locations are approved and will be a part of the National Access Cannabis network of dispensaries.

Figures from a Statistics Canada survey were released Thursday and showed that one in seven Canadians have admitted to driving while high.

The statistics were released as part of the National Cannabis Survey which Stats Canada is carrying out prior to legalization set to take place across the country later this year to measure the social and economic impacts of legal cannabis.  

The survey also found that 1.5 million Canadians admitted to being a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who had consumed cannabis within the previous two hours.

The number is triple that of Canadians who drive after consuming alcohol within the two hours prior to driving a vehicle.

Ohio has 38 more physicians that are certified to recommend cannabis to patients.

There are currently 222 physicians in Ohio with active certificates who can recommend medical cannabis to patients with one of 21 different medical conditions, but this is still not enough to treat the estimated 200,000 patients that experts believe will need access.

State regulators believe that physicians will sign on to be certified as the medical cannabis program grows in the state.

Patients can find certified physicians in a database on Cleveland.com. the database is updated monthly as doctors are approved and certified by the medical board.