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Unless you have been living under a rock for the last five years, then you know that there are now 8 states that have legalized cannabis for adult use. Colorado and Washington State legalized cannabis in 2012, Oregon, Alaska (and Washington D.C.) legalized cannabis in 2014, and Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, and California legalized cannabis in 2016. All of those states (and D.C.) legalized cannabis via the citizen initiative process. Going into 2017 it seemed like at least one state would legalize cannabis via legislative action, and Vermont was very close to doing so until its Governor vetoed a legalization bill...

A majority of voters in Michigan support legalizing recreational marijuana, according to a new poll. Results from a poll released by ClickOnDetroit on Tuesday show Michigan voters support the legalization of recreational marijuana by a margin of 56 percent to 38 percent, which the local station pointed out is a finding that has remained consistent in the state for the past two years. According to the publication, the only voters who are sharply opposed to the legalization of recreational marijuana are those over the age of 65.

WASHINGTON—Canadians will be barred from entering the United States for smoking marijuana legally, for working in Canada’s legal marijuana industry and for investing in legal Canadian marijuana companies, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection official says. Todd Owen, who spoke to the U.S. website Politico, said the U.S. does not plan to change its border policies to account for Canada’s marijuana legalization, which takes effect on Oct. 17. “We don’t recognize that as a legal business,” said Owen, executive assistant commissioner for the office of field operations. Owen’s comments corroborated anecdotal reports that have accumulated over the course of...

Since the election, there has been ample speculation about how Trump “happened.” Last week, Obama offered his hypothesis: resentment and paranoia on the right. He lamented the destruction of the Republican Party and the ensuing demise of America because of the divisiveness and bigotry propagated by the president and those who support him. It seems that most on the left agree with Obama’s view. Progressives purport that enthusiasm for Trump is bolstered by “white fragility”— an insecurity that white voices, once dominant, are now being drowned out by increasingly influential minority groups bolstered by demographic changes. Trump is their “white...

Musk calls the Guardian the world’s ‘most insufferable newspaper’, as two senior executives quit Tesla as market value falls 6% Tesla shares crashed 6% on Friday as two of its senior executives quit, just hours after the electric carmaker’s chief executive Elon Musk sparked concern by smoking marijuana on a live web show. The company’s head of accounting, Dave Morton, and head of human resources, Gaby Toledano, said they were leaving the company, which has been placed at the centre of a string of controversies by its maverick CEO. Morton, who joined the company just one month ago, said he...

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has smoked marijuana live on the web during a podcast with comedian Joe Rogan. Mr Rogan offered his guest the drug, which is legal in California, as the pair discussed tech innovation and the public's perception of Mr Musk. "I mean, it's legal, right?" asked the Tesla founder, before taking a drag on the joint. Last month, Mr Musk said he was not "on weed" when he tweeted about plans to make Tesla a private firm. The business leader made the comments in an interview with the New York Times. He also told the newspaper he...

Nine states and the District of Columbia have now legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Is this a good thing? (Medicinal use is legal in 29 states.) With loosening standards, it is no surprise that marijuana use is up across the board. Last year, 14% of Americans – one in seven – used pot. Laws actually do make a difference here, as 20% of Americans used pot where it is legal while only 12% used pot where it is against the law. The old saying is that “the law is a teacher,” and this serves as an example.

Call it a buzzkiller from BuzzFeed. On Wednesday, online news site BuzzFeed reported that the Trump Administration is engaged in a "secret war on weed." BuzzFeed stated that the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee told multiple federal agencies to submit "data demonstrating the most significant negative trends" about marijuana use. The goal appears to be to try to prevent further support for relaxing federal anti-marijuana laws. If the committee is successful in its efforts, companies with U.S. marijuana operations such as Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG), CannaRoyalty (NASDAQOTH:CNNRF), and Kush Bottles (NASDAQOTH:KSHB) could see their hopes of operating in a fully legal environment...

Smoking cannabis ages the brain by an average of 2.8 years, new research suggests. This is compared to four years in schizophrenia patients, according to the largest study of its kind. Brain ageing is defined as reduced blood flow through the organ. Excessive alcohol also ages the organ by 0.6 years, the research adds. Lead author Dr Daniel Amen, founder of Amen Clinics, said: 'The cannabis abuse finding was especially important, as our culture is starting to see marijuana as an innocuous substance. This study should give us pause about it.' Reduced brain blood flow has previously been linked to...

There is one chair in the room, and they sit him in it. He pulls out his wallet. He's looking for a number. A phone number, an address. That is why he is here. Fernando the lawyer. Fernando the drug trafficker. He's got a load of marijuana, and they want it.Fernando thinks he's in the company of friends. He thinks this man standing in front of him, this Lalo, is going to deliver the marijuana for him to New York. That's what the numbers are for. They are contacts. They are the people Lalo will call, the people who are...

The hunt is on for budtenders, cannabis cultivators, weed botanists and dozens of other new jobs that have sprouted with Florida’s nascent medical marijuana industry. With dispensaries scouting locations across the state and 147,000 people signed up to use the now-legalized drug, the developing industry is quickly trying to recruit thousands of workers to develop, grow and sell medical cannabis. Medical marijuana businesses say stoners need not apply. A passion for smoking weed is a liability, and a criminal record involving drugs will almost certainly disqualify most candidates. “We get hundreds of applications for every job opening we have,” said...

SEATTLE — Washington state’s penchant for getting high is trashing the place. Plastic “doob tubes” and small Mylar bags used to package pot are moldering in gutters, bleaching out in landfills and bobbing in waterways. Concentrated nutrients and fertilizers left over from cannabis growing operations are being dumped in public sewers and making their way past wastewater treatment plants into Puget Sound. And millions of pounds of weed harvest waste that could be composted are instead getting trucked to landfills. This, in a part of the country that prides itself on being environmentally friendly. “We’re seeing a lot of marijuana...

Yesterday I visited our local bookstore and was struck by the abundance of magazine covers promoting marijuana. Later my wife commented that she’s received two ads this week for cannabis products, something she’s never received before! What’s going on? In case you haven’t noticed or are simply distracted by the busyness of life, propaganda promoting marijuana and its legalization is bombarding us. Should we be concerned about something that is celebrated as a “harmless recreational” indulgence that progressive people should embrace excitedly? Recently our state newspaper ran a prominent piece by a young woman calling for weed to be legalized....

The maker of Corona and Modelo beers in October took a 9.9 percent stake in the Canadian cannabis company. The deal included the option for future investments, giving Constellation a first toehold in an industry the brewer said it expects to soon be legalized across the United States. Shares of Canopy Growth surged 23.2 percent in Wednesday trading, while Constellation's stock fell 8.9 percent. With this latest investment and the execution of some warrants, Constellation says its stake will become 38 percent of Canopy. Constellation also received an opportunity over the next three years to buy up to 139.7 million...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation's largest legal marijuana market is struggling. Illicit sales continue to thrive. A shaky supply chain has customers looking at barren shelves in some shops. There are testing problems. And a proposal to allow home marijuana deliveries in cities that have banned pot sales could lead to a courtroom fight. A Los Angeles hearing Tuesday provided a window into the state's emerging cannabis economy, in which early enthusiasm for broad legal sales has been followed by anxiety and frustration across a swath of the industry. The state's top marijuana regulator, Lori Ajax, said after the...

BISMARCK, N.D. - Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota have succeeded in getting the measure on the November ballot. Secretary of State Al Jaeger says proponents submitted more than enough valid petition signatures. Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana failed on a petition drive in 2016.

Lawmakers are poised to fully legalize hemp after a decades-long campaign, setting the stage for the resurgence of a once-common crop that disappeared during the war on drugs. The legalization provision, championed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and included in the Senate’s farm bill, would officially classify hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the federal controlled substances list. Lawmakers are also expected to advance the measure when they meet next month to draft the final, bicameral version of the legislation. Hemp landed on the list because it is, like marijuana, a form of the cannabis...

Do not be surprised if legal cigarettes made from ganja (cannabis) hit the streets soon. Major producers like Carreras are probing that and other cannabis possibilities, as increasing competition from illegally imported cigarettes continues to burn deeper into the profits of the legal trade. It is no secret that British American Tobacco (BAT), the parent company of Carrerras, has, like other major US tobacco dealers including Phillip Morris, been looking at the cannabis market and the possibility of producing mild cigarettes restricted by the legal content of the main cannabinoids — cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), although only THC is...

Disadvantaged workers in San Francisco could get training for jobs in the cannabis industry under a proposed government program that would require businesses to hire the graduates. The program, dubbed CityGrow, is modeled after CityBuild, an existing government program overseen by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, that provides training for disadvantaged residents to land jobs in the construction industry. Supervisor Ahsha Safai introduced the legislation last week for “advancing workforce equity.” He told the San Francisco Examiner Tuesday that the intent is “to make sure everyday San Franciscans are able to take advantage of these opportunities.” He noted...

Dry Leaf Medical Marijuana Available To Pennsylvanians Next Week HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - Medical marijuana in dry leaf and flower form will be available to registered patients in Pennsylvania for the first time, beginning next week. Gov. Tom Wolf's office said dry leaf cannabis will be available at about a dozen dispensaries starting Aug. 1. More dispensaries will offer the dry leaf and flower form over the coming weeks. The Health Department is expected to announce which dispensaries are carrying it sometime next week. The change was recommended by an advisory panel and accepted by Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine...