TRENTON, N.J. -- With a nod to Whoopi Goldberg, lawmakers in New Jersey announced legislation that would loosen the state's strict medical marijuana law to allow women to get pot-based products to ease menstrual cramps.

Will the next president continue the federal government's increasingly mellow approach to marijuana? Or restart the drug war?

Lori Ajax has two years to set up California’s first system to license, regulate and tax medical marijuana. Gov. Jerry Brown recently appointed the Republican to become the first chief of the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation.

California will need extensive regulatory oversight for cultivation, distribution and sales for pot intended for both social and medical use if voters approve recreational use of marijuana this year, according to a leading public policy group.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday convened a hearing of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control to investigate whether the Justice Department has been derelict in its enforcement duties on marijuana.

HARTFORD – There won't be a vote on legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Connecticut this year but that didn't stop supporters and opponents from speaking out at an informational hearing at the Capitol Tuesday.

MADISON, WI (KTRK) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders says he wants to decriminalize marijuana.

"Does anybody trust anybody that's high to do anything?" the MSNBC host wonders.

John Hudak isn’t a politician, a legalization advocate, or a cannabis entrepreneur. He walks unrecognized through industry conferences. But in the past six months, he’s quietly become one of the most influential voices on national cannabis policy.