Three senators, two Democrats and a Republican, introduced a bill on Monday that would allow patients to use marijuana for medical purposes in states where it is legal, without fear of federal prosecution for violating narcotics laws.

The bill makes a number of important changes to federal marijuana policies — and it deserves to be passed by Congress and enacted into law. Though this legislation would not repeal the broad and destructive federal ban on marijuana, it is a big step in the right direction.

Canadian medical marijuana companies are buzzing with news that one of Canada’s leading investment banks, Jacob Securities, is walking a group of Australian investors through the local scene with a view to either bringing an established North American brand onto the ASX, or putting together a large buy-in of an established local player.

Jeff Maser, VP of Institutional Sales at Jacob, told Stockhouse this morning, “Yes, we’re introducing [an Australian investor group] to the MMJ companies.”

“Money from all over the world is coming to Toronto. [The city] has become a global leader in marijuana finance, even for marijuana companies operating outside Canada.”

The legalization of marijuana, particularly for medical use, has made it onto the agenda of this election, with most parties addressing the issue, and several adopting a more liberal position than they have in the past.

“It seems that someone – I don’t know who – has invested a great deal of money over the past two years in a campaign to promote marijuana in Israel,” says strategic consultant Itay Ben Horin, who has led many political campaigns in the past. Still, he says, “You still don’t see candidates for prime minister presenting that as part of their agenda.”

Most political parties have some position regarding marijuana use — with the exception of Likud, whose officials chose not to comment or respond to Haaretz’s query on the issue.

San Diego is continuing to crack down on dispensaries it deems illegal as the first licensed medical shop prepares to open in the city.

Officials have shut down 18 marijuana dispensaries this year, including one that tried to reopen multiple times in two weeks, according to news reports. About 250 unlicensed dispensaries have been shuttered since 2011.

The city attorney said she knows there are many unlicensed dispensaries in San Diego, and that she will seek monetary sanctions against those that are operating without a license or outside of zoning laws.

San Diego has struggled with illegal MMJ operations while trying to craft regulations governing the industry.

The Oregon city of Medford, where officials say residents have long grumbled about the odor of marijuana growing operations, is considering a regulation that would fine pot growers if their marijuana is too smelly, city officials said on Wednesday.

The city's legal staff has drafted an ordinance that would fine both medical and recreational marijuana growers whose operations are too malodorous up to $250 a day and would give the city power to seize plants if growers don’t come into compliance.

In addition to containing odors, marijuana growers would be required to keep their plants locked up and out of sight in Medford, a city of nearly 80,000 people in southern Oregon whose economy is at least partly based on conventional agriculture.

ANNA, Illinois. — A medical marijuana business in far southern Illinois intends to start construction this month of a 27,000-square-foot facility that would produce a first harvest in late fall.

Colorado marijuana companies: Denver’s United Cannabis envisions “Ganja Co-op” for Jamaica pot growers

Wellness Group Pharms’ managing partner Paul Montes (MAHN’-tis) of Elmhurst says backing from a Denver cannabis consulting company has been crucial to his operation near Anna, Illinois. Wellness Group Pharms is one of 18 companies awarded permits to grow marijuana in Illinois.

Military veterans would no longer be denied access to medical marijuana under sweeping new legislation before the Senate.

The medical marijuana legislation introduced Tuesday would lift the threat of federal prosecution from people who use it in states where it has been legalized.

The bipartisan Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States Act is backed by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and would partially legalize medical marijuana at the federal level, though it does not address recreational marijuana.

The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on several companies selling products advertised as containing cannabidiol (CBD), a compound in marijuana widely used without FDA approval to treat epilepsy and other conditions – and some medical pot activists are pleased to hear it.

In late February, the federal agency sent letters to seven companies that market CBD products to treat health conditions, five of them for humans and two for pets, warning their products are not “generally recognized as safe and effective“ and that the companies are engaging in illegal interstate commerce.

AmeriCann, Inc. (OTCQX Markets: ACAN), a company that designs, develops and owns advanced medical cannabis facilities, announced that it has expanded the scope of its partnership in Illinois. The Company’s partner, Wellness Group Pharms (WGP), recently received one of the eighteen highly coveted medical cannabis cultivation and processing licenses from the State of Illinois.

The amended agreement calls for AmeriCann to serve as the developer of a new facility to be called the Illinois Medical Cannabis Center (“IMCC”). WGP plans to utilize the IMCC facilities to cultivate, process and distribute medical cannabis to many of the state’s 52 newly licensed medical dispensaries.

A marijuana grower shows off his original grow kit and its accessories at his home on Dec. 8, 2014. (Aaron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post file)

Brighton residents who are growing marijuana in their homes need to ensure that their plants are at least two feet lower than the ceiling, according to one of the new indoor cultivation regulations adopted by City Council.

The state has regulations for home grows per Amendment 64, but Brighton officials localized those rules by imposing limits on grow room sizes, as well as additional safety requirements like not allowing the plants or storage material to reach the ceiling and risk fire hazards with grow lights.