B.C. Senator Larry Campbell says prime minister-delegate Justin Trudeau should give it a year to 18 months before legalizing marijuana — to make sure it is done right.  

Trudeau promised to legalize marijuana across Canada 'right away', but hasn't committed to a timeline for legalization. 

Campbell — the former mayor of Vancouver — said there needs to be communication across all three levels of government for the proper roll-out of pot legalization. 

The Santee Sioux tribe is wasting no time harnessing the lucrative cannabis market after the U.S. Justice Department said last December it would no longer go after possession or sale of the plant on Native American lands.

The tribe, located in South Dakota, is currently converting a bowling alley into a cannabis “smoking lounge,” which is expected to bring $2 million a month in revenue. The grand opening is set for New Year’s Eve.

“Tribal President Tony Reider envisions a hotspot with a stage for performers, a dance floor, a bar, restaurant, smoking lounge and marijuana dispensary.”

Denver marijuana retailers no longer have to post bonds guaranteeing they’ll pay their taxes, a regulation that some in the industry say had become a fatal hindrance.

Denver City Council this week voted unanimously to scrub the surety bond requirement from the city’s marijuana code.

Pot shops, both medical and recreational, were among a handful of businesses, including pawn brokers and parking lot operators, that had to obtain a surety bond to operate in the city.

The bonds are intended to help ensure that the city can collect sales and use tax revenue from businesses that may not have a storefront or a lot of fixed assets. Typically, if a business defaults on its tax bills, the city can seize and sell its assets to cover the missed payments.

SEATTLE – Seattle city officials say 56 of 120 medical marijuana dispensaries have voluntarily closed since mid-September.

The city's Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) department handles the enforcement.

"We're trying to get you to be in compliance and if you can't get on the legal path, you just need to close," said William Edwards, who is the department's Director of Enforcement.

The FAS said it sent letter to all non-Initiative-502 marijuana businesses in August, informing them of the city's new ordinance.

Some of the city's criteria includes paying all applicable taxes, possessing a Seattle business license before 2013, and applying to the state cannabis board for a license.

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Not in my neighborhood, that is what many central Phoenix residents are saying to a medical marijuana dispensary that wants to set up shop in Phoenix.

Some residents are opposed to a dispensary opening up in the heart of Phoenix near 32nd Street and Shea. There's a high school less than a mile away, homes, and a park about a 1/4 mile away. It meets the city's spacing requirements by a few hundred feet, but neighbors are still saying the business belongs somewhere else.

"I'm afraid for the kids because it's close to here, and they have access to those kinds of places, I don't agree with that," said Maria Haiele.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has asked a federal judge in Denver to dismiss a lawsuit by a credit union asking a judge to force its hand and charter a bank for marijuana businesses, saying that would be "criminal."

"Even transporting or transmitting funds known to have been derived from the distribution of marijuana is illegal," said a motion filed Wednesday by the Federal Reserve in U.S. District Court in Denver.

The motion came in a lawsuit filed by Fourth Corner Credit Union, which was set up last year to serve Colorado's $700-million-a-year marijuana industry. It can't open without clearance from the Federal Reserve.

The government's motion says it does not intend to accept a penny connected to the sale of pot because the drug remains illegal under federal law.

Three men were found shot to death Tuesday in the Rail Road Flat area of Calaveras County, California, where they had allegedly been trespassing on a property containing dozens of marijuana plants.

Deputies responded to a call of shots fired at around 9 am Tuesday morning, where they found the bodies of the three men, according to local ABC affiliate ABC10. Investigators believe the three victims were trying to steal marijuana plants located on the property.

Canada's major marijuana producers are bracing for big changes, with a pro-pot parliament waiting in the wings.

During his campaign, prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau said legalizing the recreational use of marijuana would be a top priority.

But Christopher Enns, who runs a Halifax medical marijuana shop, isn't sure the anticipated new laws will change much for him.

He's licensed as a designated grower, but technically only allowed to supply one or two people. His shop has been raided by police twice.

And while he said he hopes his customers will eventually feel less stigmatized under the new Liberal government, as a small supplier, he's also feeling a little left out.