Statewide, I-502 companies see $256M in sales; $67M in taxes

All told, the legal recreational marijuana business has made more than $265 million statewide since business began opening in June and July last year. From that, the state has raised $67 million in excise taxes.

For the most part, which parts of the state are seeing the most sales seems to mirror population. King, Spokane and Clark counties see some of the largest shares of sales on the retail sale and processing sides of the industry.

Eastern Washington, however, has seen the most sales on the production end, with Benton, Chelan and Spokane counties contributing the most to the $5.4 million in total sales recorded in that sector.

Lex is a drug-sniffing police dog. His owner trained Lex by giving him a treat every time he alerted, whether or not Lex was right. Is that a good way to train drug-sniffing dogs? Maybe not for innocent people who get stripped searched when they are falsely identified as drug carriers, but it's great for police departments that use the dogs to enrich themselves with civil asset forfeitures.

Radley Balko of the Washington Post writes about how Federal Courts are making matters ever worse.

Cambridge biomedical innovator, GW Pharmaceuticals, has won fast track designation from the US FDA for a potential treatment for babies deprived of oxygen during childbirth – a problem that can lead to brain damage and death.

NASDAQ-quoted GW has received FDA support for a proprietary intravenous form of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, or NHIE.

The European Medicines Agency has granted orphan designation for the same product to treat perinatal asphyxia, an alternate term that describes the same condition as NHIE, for which GW has already received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA.

There are currently no approved medicines in Europe or the US specifically indicated for NHIE or perinatal asphyxia.

Florida marijuana activists have launched a voter initiative called “Regulate Florida,” which would amend the Florida constitution to legalize and regulate adult use of marijuana in the Sunshine State.

If the Regulate Florida measure makes it on to the November 2016 ballot, Florida voters could face two decisions about the future use of marijuana: one to legalize medical use and another to legalize adult use. The Florida Legislature would be in charge of taxation in either case.

The Town of Framingham received letters from six applicants to open a medical marijuana dispensary in town.

Selectmen in July approved a process to evaluate and rank the proposals.

Framingham Selectmen have indicated they will support at least one, maybe more, applicants with a letter of support.

Town Manager Bob Halpin said the Town of Framingham received requested of support from six applicants.

They are:

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed into law a measure allowing steep civil fines against marijuana farms that damage the environment by dumping wastewater and chemicals, removing trees and killing wild animals.

The measure, one of 16 bills signed by the governor Friday, is meant to expand the powers of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife at a time when illegal marijuana operations are expanding significantly.

Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) introduced the measure based on concern that since California voters approved medical marijuana use in 1996, the number of illegal growing operations in state parklands and forests has increased.

Of all the puzzling policies that the United States holds when it comes to marijuana, the Drug Enforcement Agency's classification of it as a "Schedule I" drug may be the most curious of all. The Schedule I label places it in a class of drugs considered to have the highest potential for abuse. It means the government has determined that it is devoid of medical value. It has ensured marijuana's role as one of the central targets of the war on drugs. It signifies that, in the eyes of the law, marijuana is as dangerous as heroin.

But recently the DEA made an admission that chips away at marijuana's position among the most strictly regulated drugs in the country. 

The National Council of State Legislatures passed a resolution yesterday urging the federal government to amend the Controlled Substances Act and to refrain from interfering with state laws permitting the legal production and use of cannabis.

The National Council of State Legislatures is a bipartisan, non-governmental organization founded in 1975 to unite members of legislature’s from around the United States. The council works to improve the quality and effectiveness of state legislatures, promote innovative policy and communication among state legislatures, and to magnify their voice in the federal system.

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The Alaska Cannabis Club, owned by a former TV reporter turned pot supporter, was raided on Friday by the Anchorage Police Department -- the second local marijuana company to be hit in two days by APD officers.

The numbers are looking good for ResponsibleOhio, the group behind the move to place a marijuana-legalization amendment on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot.

Ohio’s two largest counties -- Cuyahoga and Franklin -- completed, or nearly completed, their verification of petition signatures today. The numbers suggest the pro-pot measure is headed to a vote in its second go-around in which it submitted about 95,000 more signatures.

Frankin County election officials have certified 4,582 signatures, or nearly 51 percent of those turned in, with only a few more petition forms to examine.

In Cuyahoga County, officials today certified 4,399 valid signatures, or 40 percent of the 11,008 submitted.