OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Washington state House moved forward Friday on an effort to reconcile the state's medical and recreational marijuana markets.

The chamber first passed a Senate measure addressing the medical side before moving on to a House bill dealing with the recreational law. Because the Senate bill was amended in the House, it will head back to the full Senate for a final concurrence vote, while the House bill will go next to a Senate committee for consideration.

Senate Bill 5052 passed on a bipartisan 60-36 vote after a long debate over several amendments, including over whether patients should have to sign up on a registry.

Canadians buying legal marijuana have a much slimmer selection than their American counterparts. That’s because Health Canada-licensed producers are allowed to sell only dried cannabis through the mail to registered patients and must stay away from “edibles” or other forms of the drug that are regulated south of the border.

However, like medicinal and recreational pot sold in Washington State, Canada’s 17 licensed producers offer dozens of strains of dried leaves that help patients treat a range symptoms. Canadian producers must also display the potency of the batch’s tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) content, as enforced under the federal Ministry of Health’s current Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.

A marijuana institute in Natick is trying to attract a new crop of students by offering them scholarship funds to cover a portion of their tuition fees.

From now until April 20 — or 4/20 — any new students who enroll at the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis will not only qualify for a $420 scholarship, they will also be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a full ride at the marijuana-centric learning center.

The initial deposit to take classes at the school is also being scaled back, from $700 to $420, in celebration of the number that bears symbolic meaning for marijuana users. The usual total cost of the program is $1,500.

The Uber of medical cannabis delivery has arrived, and the venerable accelerator Y Combinator has given its rubber stamp of approval. Meadow, a San Francisco-based startup, allows card-holding medical marijuana patients to browse different types of cannabis from nearby dispensaries and place an order, and within an hour the goods will be delivered to the patient's door.

If you don't have a medical marijuana card, you can schedule an in-home consultation with one of the doctors Meadow has partnered with and get a recommendation to use medical cannabis.

A Gatineau-based company is the newest player in Canada's medical marijuana market. Hydropothecary is licensed to grow the plants; now it's hoping within weeks to get the green light from Health Canada to start selling it. The facility is on an 80-acre farm along the Outaouais River in Gatineau.  For decades, the owner of the farm in rural Gatineau has been growing potted plants on his 80-acre farm.  Now, Louis Gagnon is focusing just on "pot". Gagnon has teamed up with two brothers-in-law, Sébastien St-Louis and Adam Miron.  Their company Hydropothecary has purchased his land to build a massive 35-thousand square foot greenhouse for medical marijuana.

Stephen Haner, 61, of Lewes, uses marijuana to help manager his multiple sclerosis. Opening of the state's only medical marijuana dispensary was delayed until June from this month.(Photo: JENNIFER CORBETT/THE NEWS JOURNAL )Buy Photo

Two-hundred Delawareans authorized to use marijuana for medical reasons now must wait until June before they're able to legally buy the drug.

Delaware's only dispensary, First State Compassion Center, near Wilmington, was scheduled to open this month. But construction delays pushed off the opening until June, says Mark Lally, the center's president.

The latest delay is relatively minor, partly caused by electrical issues and the complications of growing marijuana from seed, Lally said.

The popular explanation for medical marijuana dispensaries that have popped up in states from Washington to New York is that marijuana is a wonder drug — treating not just nausea and lack of appetite, but also pain, anxiety, epileptic seizures, and the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia.

The federal government refuses to allow people to use it, proponents say. 

The story, however, isn’t quite so simple.

AURORA, COLORADO -- Sweet Leaf, a marijuana store in this Denver suburb, doesn't look like much from, the outside. Windows are blocked. A sign on the door announces that only people 21 and older can come in.

Inside, visitors are greeted with crisp, white walls splashed with cheery magenta polka dots. Jay Z provides the soundtrack. The shop hums from the time it opens at 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. when employees turn away customers still waiting to get in. On a recent afternoon, each of the dozen or so chairs in the waiting room was taken.

Sweet Leaf is a chain of five marijuana shops in the Denver area. The company includes a large scale marijuana grow operation and a mix of recreational and medical marijuana outlets.

TALLAHASSEE — Citing frustration with delays in getting non-euphoric cannabis to patients, a Florida Senate panel Thursday pushed forward a revised attempt to create a regulatory framework for the pot industry, but did not include changes sought by black farmers who complain they would be shut out of the industry.

The bill, approved by the Senate Rules Committee and headed to the Senate floor, would quadruple the number of state-approved businesses that could participate from five to 20.

One of those potential players is Sarasota County-based AltMed LLC.

DENVER (AP) - A court decision upholding the conviction of a Colorado doctor who recommended marijuana could have major implications for how the state treats physicians who frequently suggest the drug.

The Colorado Court of Appeals maintained the conviction of Dr. Joseph Robert Montante, who was sentenced to a month in jail for recommending pot without first conducting the exams required by law.

Montante challenged his conviction and Colorado’s guidelines for determining when doctors have a “bona fide doctor-patient relationship” and aren’t just writing pot recommendations to anyone who asks.