Medical pot activists had said the founder of well-funded marijuana group ResponsibleOhio sabotaged their efforts.

COLUMBUS -- Citing a technicality, a state board dismissed a complaint that the founder of marijuana-legalization group ResponsibleOhio sabotaged the efforts of grassroots activists to put a medical-marijuana question before Ohio voters.

Nevada’s medical marijuana law prevents the outdoor growth of marijuana due to security concerns.  The law – which mandates that cannabis plants must not be visible to the general public for security reasons – is also creating an extra headache and increasing the bottom line for the state’s growers.  The ever-present desert sun is now an option off the table.

A single 100,000 square foot facility can require up to 5 megawatts of electricity to fuel its growing operations for a year – or enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.  That is also about 5% of the entire capacity of a state-based substation.  Even covering an entire warehouse roof with solar cells is not enough to offset the energy drain created by such facilities.

Cancer-sufferer Paul Lawrence says he survives crippling daily pain with medical marijuana, including a breakfast marijuana smoothie, joints and hash oil throughout the day.

The 52-year-old from Wollongong underwent a world-first operation in 2010 to remove a chordoma, a rare spinal tumour, the size of a football.

At the time he was given just months to live and told there was a high likelihood he would die during surgery.

The operation required removing three vertebra and rebuilding his spine with ribs, a leg bone and more than 55 pieces of titanium.

"That's why I'm always going to be in pain, because people think my back's sore all the time," Mr Lawrence said.

"My back isn't sore all the time. I can permanently feel all the structures in me.

Buildings that once housed thousands of juvenile offenders in rural Perth may soon have scores of new tenants kept under lock and key: marijuana plants.

Empire State Health Solutions officially announced Thursday its plans to locate a medical marijuana production facility in the small Fulton County town at the Tryon Technology Park, formerly a juvenile detention center. Those plans are contingent on the company winning one of five licenses to grow and distribute the drug that the state will dole out later this summer.

The company's top officials are hoping a science-first focus will be a major selling point that helps the Capital Region score a facility they say has the potential for upward of 100 jobs when it's fully operational.

High priced cancer drugs get rushed approvals despite poor trial methodology and little effect on the longevity of patients, cautions Dr. Joel Lexchin, a physician and researcher at the School of Health Policy and Management in the Faculty of Health.

“Patients and their doctors should demand that regulators require pharma companies to provide clear evidence of clinical effectiveness of the drugs, resulting from rigorous methodology,” suggests Lexchin. “Drug agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA) don’t actually look at whether people live longer.”

A striking feature of the rollout of the state-legalized retail sales of marijuana has been the tremendous popularity of edible marijuana products. Marijuana brownies have long been a staple of cannabis coffee shops in the Netherlands, but the new products are quite different. They are skillfully produced and packaged to closely mimic popular candies and other sweets. These products can now be purchased legally in four states; retail stores are operating in Colorado and Washington State, and voters recently approved retail sales in Alaska and Oregon.

In the absence of federal leadership on the issue, B.C. municipalities are lobbying for authority to regulate marijuana dispensaries. That is not all they should be pushing for.

If marijuana is to be available for sale in B.C., as it is in Vancouver, a system needs to be put in place to ensure sellers and buyers pay taxation.

Because of the ad hoc nature of developments relating to pot sales here, this crucial aspect of the enterprise appears to be falling through the cracks.

Lower Mainland municipalities want a national debate on the pot dispensaries, and recently submitted a resolution on the topic to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, holding a convention in June.

DiFi voted for medical marijuana for veterans

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment today to stop the federal government from preventing Veterans Administration doctors from prescribing medical marijuana for American veterans. The Daily Caller reports:

Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley forwarded the amendment for inclusion in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Specifically, if passed by Congress, the bipartisan amendment would disallow the VA from spending funds to enforce a prohibition against physicians filling out medical marijuana recommendation forms in states where the drug is legal.

The Illinois legislature joined the movement to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot, passing a measure Thursday that would bar arrest for the offense.

Carrying small amounts of marijuana would result in a fine instead of an arrest under a measure approved Thursday by the Illinois Senate.

Low-level cannabis possession would go from a crime with fines up to $2,500 and up to a year in a jail to penalties likened to a traffic ticket: no court time and a fine of up to $125 for those caught with 15 grams or less, which is the equivalent of about 25 cigarette-size joints.

After recently admitting that he is re-examining his stance on marijuana legalization, Glenn Beck on Wednesday brought in two experts — one in favor of legalization and one opposed — to discuss the issue. After a three-hour talk, Beck said the question of which drugs are legal should be left to each state. Beck also said he would be open to abolishing the Food and Drug Administration.

“I would open it up to all drugs [potentially being legalized],” Beck said. “Let the people decide. The closer to the people, the better. And you will be surprised at how responsible people are.”