DES MOINES — Maria La France and Sally Graer say they are exhausted and frustrated, and highly critical of state lawmakers who oppose expanding Iowa’s medical cannabis program.

La France, Graer and other advocates for legalized medical cannabis oil spoke to reporters on June 3 at the Iowa Capitol as they made one final plea to state lawmakers this legislative session.

Joined by fellow advocates with the grassroots Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis Coalition, La France and Graer said they are exasperated with state lawmakers who refuse to consider expanding Iowa’s narrow medical cannabis law to allow for the treatment of patients with a variety of diseases like epilepsy, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Here’s a look at what is happening in Ohio government and politics:

Ohio lawmakers want to block a proposed marijuana monopoly and other monopolies from being written into the Constitution.

“The plan rolled out Tuesday was backed by top legislative leaders, but critics said that it may go too far in trying to derail the fast-moving marijuana plan engineered by ResponsibleOhio,” Dispatch reporter Alan Johnson writes.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) opposed the campaign to legalize marijuana in his state. But in a recent interview with CNN's Cristina Alesci, Hickenlooper seems to have warmed up to legalization after seeing its successful first year in Colorado, which was one of the first two states to legalize pot through a ballot initiative in 2012.

FLANDREAU, SD - The Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian Reservation has legalized the sale and use of marijuana on tribal land.

Last Thursday, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe Executive Committee became the first reservation in the state to legalize marijuana.

Plans call for one facility where marijuana will be grown, and another place to buy and use the drug for medicinal and recreational use for those over 21.

Those under 21 could use medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. It's a controversial issue for the reservation, and the community of Flandreau.

Tribal President Anthony Reider says The Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian tribe is used to stepping forward and taking a stance on controversial issues.

The Ministry of Justice has scheduled a town hall meeting aimed at raising awareness of the amendments made to the Dangerous Drugs Act, often referred to as 'the Ganja Law' at the St Luke's Anglican Church Hall in Cross Roads, Kingston, tomorrow evening.

The ministry said that the meeting will seek to address misconceptions held by the public about the law relating to the possession of ganja and will provide an opportunity for questions on the controversial subject.

Topics to be discussed include the possession of ganja, use of ganja as a sacrament and cultivation for personal and medicinal/therapeutic use.

This last election, a group of activists calling themselves New Approach Oregon wrote an initiative called Measure 91. Following the dictates of the Oregon Constitution, they got state approval for their marijuana legalization language, collected enough signatures, placed it on the ballot, and won with 56 percent of the statewide vote. Oregon passed marijuana legalization with the greatest level of support of any of the four states that have legalized so far.

But this past weekend it was announced that the legislature will radically alter that statewide legalization in such a way that half the state of Oregon will still prohibit marijuana.

The Harper government is quickly becoming its own satire of the mouldy propaganda that portrayed marijuana as the road to mental illness, crime and unemployment.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose, for example, said last week she was shocked and "outraged" after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled medical-marijuana users can consume the product in a variety of ways, not just through smoking.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose stands in the House of Commons during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

My Turn: More youth deaths are linked to marijuana than alcohol or methamphetamine.

Marijuana is an addictive and hazardous drug. But lately, some have taken to proclaiming that "marijuana is safer than alcohol," a message that is not only wrong but dangerous.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, in a study that examines all deaths in Arizona of children under the age of 18, a disturbing number of child deaths resulted from substance use. It was linked to the deaths of 128 of Arizona's children in 2013.

Guess which substance was the most prevalent? Not alcohol, not methamphetamine (although they were close seconds), but marijuana. In 2013, marijuana use was associated with the tragic and needless deaths of 62 children in Arizona.

As she approached the Finney County Sheriff’s Office Monday, Shona Banda, the local medicinal marijuana advocate who gained national attention after the state took custody of her son, was surrounded by supporters, including Jennifer Winn, the Republican candidate who challenged Gov. Sam Brownback in last August’s primary.

Banda, accompanied by her attorney Sarah Swain and several others, turned herself in at the Law Enforcement Center at 2 p.m. Monday. Several local media outlets gathered outside along with other supporters.

Sometime after 3.00pm, tomorrow, Wednesday, 17th June 2015, Baroness Molly Meacher will ask a question in the House of Lords on the re-scheduling of cannabis to permit it to be prescribed by doctors for medicinal use.  Watch it here on Parliament TV.