Florida’s first legal harvest of marijuana is stored in multiple vacuum-packed, 441-gram bags in a freezer on the outskirts of Tallahassee.

Each is the result of months of careful growing, monitoring, coaxing, and finally cultivating, scores of plants in a hidden farm overseen by horticulturalists and protected by armed guards.

This is one of two production facilities operated by Surterra Therapeutics, the first of six companies to win state approval to grow and harvest medical marijuana for the seriously ill and dying.

It is part pharmaceutical production facility, part grow house. Its operators say it is just the start of new business they hope will bring high-quality, and formerly unavailable, medicine to patients who need it the most.

With interest in topics like “marijuana” and “cannabis” hitting all-time high levels according to Google Trends, nine states in the U.S. will vote on marijuana measures in the world’s most important general election Nov. 8, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.

Voters in California, Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona, and Arkansas will definitely be casting a ballot to affect cannabis policy in their state. Voters in Missouri, Montana, and North Dakota have submitted signatures to place marijuana proposals on the ballot, while Oklahoma has cleared to circulate a last-minute measure.

Move over edibles, lotions and tincture potions — there’s an entire new realm of cannabis-infused products hitting the shelves of dispensaries and recreational shops as marijuana moves even further into the mainstream.

What was once almost always smoked is now also available to mix in with your morning smoothie, gargle as a mouthwash, or even insert into your, ahem, lady parts. The science of extracting THC to make the base oil used in many of these products is a fairly standard practice, which begs the question, “What can’t we infuse?”

Last week, I wrote about how the new medical marijuana system created under the Cannabis Patient Protection Act (SB 5052) shut out many of Washington State's medical marijuana dispensaries. The law required that dispensaries obtain a recreational license to continue operation, but a loophole in the application process created a black market for dispensary employee pay stubs, allowing new actors to game the system. I also mentioned that the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) blindsided applicants by announcing a cap of 222 new licenses late in the application process.

Maryland legalized medical marijuana all the way back in April of 2014, albeit with a glaring issue in the legislation.

Medical marijuana dispensaries can now legally open in Hawaii, but not one is ready to do so.

The state Department of Health said none of the state's eight dispensaries was approved to open by July 15, the first day they were allowed by law.

One big hurdle is the state hasn't certified a lab to test the dispensaries' products.

"On the dispensary front, they're all doing their best to open their doors with as diverse a product line to serve all of the many needs of the patients and all the qualifying conditions that are out there," said Chris Garth, executive director of the Hawaii Dispensary Alliance. "Until those products can be tested in a clinical capacity, no dispensary will be able to open their doors, no matter how perfect their product is."

Recently, two researchers took a look at states with legal medical marijuana and found something that could really mess with Big Pharma.

A lawyer representing four dispensaries named in the latest City of Vancouver injunction applications says they plan to fight back.

Robert Laurie says Vancity Weeds, MMJ Canada, Red Med, and the Limelife dispensary will force the city to take them to court.

“My clients are really just wanting to remain open until there is some degree of certainty, and until that comes they’re going to remain open in defiance in the face of the law as a form of civil disobedience,” says Laurie.

All four dispensaries feel like their being unfairly muscled out of the market, according to Laurie, who says “the strategy by the city seems really an elimination strategy as opposed to a regulation policy.”

Medlab is all set to give cannabis Australia human trials a boost as it has launched a $5.36 million equity raising. The cash will be mainly used for accelerating a medicinal cannabis human trial program at a leading Australian oncology research hospital. The marijuana-based pain management therapy will combine two cannabis compounds THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

Medlab’s shares last traded at 42 cents, way ahead of the year low of 16 cents. The 1-for-9 rights issue is at 30 cents a share, writes Business Insider Australia.

Amid continuing controversy over the full legalization of marijuana, Governor Raimondo has signed a law allowing the use of medical marijuana to treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

The signing of the bills championed by Sen. Stephen Archambault, D-Smithfield, and Rep. Scott Slater, D-Providence, marked a victory for veterans groups who lobbied hard this year, and last, for the inclusion of PTSD as one of the “debilitating medical conditions” eligible for medical-marijuana use.