state

California is on the verge of creating a legal market for marijuana worth more than $5 billion that will help make the state a destination for pot-loving tourists, according to a new state-sponsored economic study. But about 29% of all cannabis consumers may stay in the illegal market at...

I was speaking to a legislator this week readying himself for his vote on Florida's medical marijuana legislation when he posed an interesting question: How can we defend voting in favor of any medical marijuana legislation if in so doing we are essentially passing a state law that is prohibited...

Veterans groups are pushing the state Senate to pass legislation allowing medical marijuana to be used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. "I think it is time that we start taking care of the people that have PTSD," said Bob Becker, legislative chairman of the State Council of...

Gov. John Hickenlooper has sent a bill to the secretary of state without his signature, pointing out that one accidental word in the bill negatively impacts its original purpose. HB 17-1367 has to do with marijuana research authorization in Colorado. In a letter addressed to the Colorado...

The landscape has changed since Gov. John Kasich signed Ohio's medical marijuana law one year ago today. Details of the new, tightly-controlled program began rolling out in November. The state began accepting applications for 24 grow licenses on Monday, and other businesses are preparing to...

Columbus is rolling out the hemp carpet for medical marijuana. Cultivators who want to be among the 24 licensed marijuana growers that the state will approve under a new law allowing for medical cannabis cannot plant their facilities in jurisdictions that enact moratoriums. Columbus has no...

Just because a court finds you were legally growing marijuana plants doesn't mean you get those plants back after police have seized them. Local leukemia survivor Bob Crouse found that out the hard way. Recall from past reporting by the Independent that his case began in 2011, when cops...

Certain medical marijuana businesses, such as growing centers and transporters, will be allowed in Marshall when the state begins its licensing process at the end of the year. The City Council during its regular meeting Monday unanimously adopted an ordinance that permits four of the five...

Plenty of companies are angling to get in on the coming legalized pot bonanza. Some, however, are lobbying the state to carve off a piece just for them: cigarette wholesalers. The companies that track, deliver, and tax all the cigarettes sold in Massachusetts are seeking a similar monopoly on...

Now that it's legal in Washington state, a handful of farmers and the Colville tribe have submitted applications to grow industrial hemp. On Tuesday, Moses Lake will be the scene of a "first planting" demonstration of the non-drug cousin of marijuana. In the inaugural growing season, seven...

A state constitutional convention could become a pot party if a group of advocates fighting to legalize marijuana in New York get their way. The group Restrict & Regulate in NY State 2019 has formed a political action committee and is planning a public information campaign to convince New...

Cameras with infrared technology, dome lenses that can provide 360-degree views of a room and hard drives that can store weeks of footage were pitched recently to prospective entrepreneurs in Arkansas' medical marijuana industry. The extent of surveillance technology is limited only by what...

Colorado has the highest average elevation of any state, but it also has the lowest unemployment rate. While the national unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in May, the lowest since 2001, Colorado's jobless rate is the nation's lowest at 2.3 percent. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper...

Ohio is still more than a year away from fully launching the new state program that will oversee medical marijuana use in the state. But in the 12 months since lawmakers passed and Gov. John Kasich signed the legislation allowing the drug in Ohio, three state agencies and a new panel have...

Ohio officials are expecting a flood of applications for medical marijuana grower licenses. The Dayton Daily News reports applications for large medical marijuana cultivator licenses are due by the end of the month. Ohio will issue as many as 12 licenses for large-scale cultivators. Small-scale...

Native American tribal governments in Nevada will now be able to negotiate directly with the governor's office on marijuana, thanks to legislation passed Friday. Senate Bill 375, which opens the door for legal negotiations on the use and sale of medical marijuana on tribal lands, also allows...

During a gold rush, sell shovels. The green rush is on in Florida as would-be entrepreneurs look to cash in on the new medical marijuana industry, even though regulations are still being formulated by the state. For every would-be grower, there is an army selling cannabis oil delivery...

COLUMBUS Ohio is still more than a year away from fully launching the new state program that will oversee medical marijuana use in the state. But in the 12 months since lawmakers passed, and Gov. John Kasich signed the legislation allowing the drug in Ohio, three state agencies and a new...

California moved a step closer Thursday to becoming a "sanctuary state" where local and state police would not assist federal enforcement of marijuana laws. The state Assembly approved a bill Thursday barring state and local law enforcement officers, absent a court order, from helping federal...

California lawmakers voted to keep state and local police from helping enforce federal anti-marijuana laws that conflict with state law. The state Assembly voted Thursday to shield Californians complying with state cannabis regulations like those legally operating a shop selling pot from being...