Looks like someone other than myself votes "No" on this November's likely ballot issue seeking a constitutional amendment legalizing the personal use and growth of marijuana in Ohio. This "No" voter is Uncle Sam in the embodiment of the Internal Revenue Service. Let me explain.

Marijuana is still classified on federal drug schedules as a "Schedule I" controlled substance. Thus, under federal law, the sale of marijuana remains illegal. A recent newspaper article highlighted a story that a famous boy band star and other luminaries may invest in a pot-growing center to be located in Hudson.

Pot investors, try this one on for size:

Elgin will take a serious look at decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana after city council members said Saturday they were amenable to the idea.

Councilwoman Tish Powell is proposing handling such cases under the city's administrative adjudication process, which means people would not get arrested but instead get a ticket and have to pay a fine.

The current punishment for misdemeanor marijuana possession is too harsh, Councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger said during a special committee of the whole meeting Saturday. "We're just being proactive with what's changing in America, and what's changing in our community."

Sandy is banning medical marijuana shops even though voters narrowly approved allowing recreational use last year.

It's an admitted stall tactic that's making a would-be pot shop owner irate.

"I don't take no very well," said Matt Naegeli. "It's disheartening and it makes one question the democratic process."

Naegeli first tried to open up a medical marijuana dispensary in March of last year, but the city of Sandy had banned it saying that allowing it would violate the Controlled Substances Act.

On Tuesday, a day before Naegeli's lawsuit was set to be decided, the city overturned the ban, but then used a new state law to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

"So it was a gamble, so this was a strategic move," said Mayor Bill King.

A new study from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work identified an interesting trend in marijuana usage and disapproval of the drug among young adults.

In Miami-Dade County, officers may issue a civil citation for minor pot possession. A Palm Beach County commissioner is pushing for a similar change. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)

A wave of sanity is sweeping South Florida and it concerns, of all things, marijuana.

Miami-Dade County commissioners, supported by police, got things rolling on June 30 by giving law-enforcement officials the option of issuing $100 citations for possessing small amounts of pot, instead of charging people with a crime.

The city of Miami Beach, and Broward and Monroe counties are considering doing the same.

And Palm Beach County commissioners are looking into it, too.

D.C. officials have ordered shut a Northeast convenience store they said was selling synthetic marijuana, marking the first time the city has used new authority to crack down on businesses found selling the drugs.

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs confirmed Thursday that Bladensburg Market Dollar Plus, located at 1109 Bladensburg Road, was ordered to cease all business operations for 96 hours beginning Monday afternoon.

MOORPARK, Calif. - Three men were arrested Wednesday in connection with cultivating marijuana, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

A monthlong investigation was launched into Michael Eastman, 29, of Moorpark, after a deputy responded to a call for service at a residence on Saddlebow Road in a Bell Canyon gated community and the deputy noticed indicators that the home was being used to cultivate marijuana, authorities said.

Some of the marijuana plants seized in Erath County Friday(Photo: Erath County Sheriff's Office)

ERATH COUNTY — Roughly 10,000 marijuana plants were seized in southern Erath County Friday in what state troopers are calling one of the largest drug busts in recent memory.

Police said the estimated value of the marijuana is in excess of $60 million.

The entire grow operation took place outdoors over several pieces of land south of Stephenville, police said. A photo from the Erath County Sheriff's Office shows some of the plants indoors at an undisclosed evidence storage unit.

A medical marijuana shop in Winnipeg could be forced to close its doors, but a Winnipeg city councillor says that’s the wrong approach.

Your Medical Marijuana Headquarters opened on July 1.

Owner Glenn Price said police have been in this week warning him and his customers that they could face arrest. Winnipeg police won’t comment but say an investigation is ongoing.

The federal government said stores like this are breaking the law.

But Vancouver is regulating them and Coun. Ross Eadie said Winnipeg should do the same.

Eadie, the Mynarksi representative, said it’s high time the city govern these shops because there is no zoning rule or bylaw precluding them from operating.

On Friday, July 17 agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Highway Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Texas Army National Guard, Investigators with the Mineral Wells Police Department, and the Palo Pinto and Erath County Sheriff’s Office seized approximately 10,000 marijuana plants being cultivated on the South end of Erath County.

The seizure was a result of the Domestic Marijuana Eradication program and shows the great working relations and corporation that law enforcement in this area possess.