MADISON -- A burning van that briefly entertained spectators attending a concert at Breese Stevens Field on Friday night was owned by an Alabama man who told Madison firefighters he had invested $100,000 into customizing the cab for his business.

The business is Weed World Candies, which sells marijana-flavored lollipops.

The burned-out 1999 Chevy Express van appeared to be a total loss and was the target of many amateur photographers outside the Avett Brothers concert. It was bright green, and was apparently part of a fleet of vehicles that travel the country selling marijuana-flavored candy and baked goods.

Locally-grown medicinal cannabis will be legalised in Victoria, under a controversial State Government move to ease the suffering of people with serious medical conditions.

In an Australian first, the Andrews Government plans to embark on a state-based cannabis cultivation trial, based on the recommendations of a report by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.

But the move will need the support of the Federal Government, which is a signatory to an international convention on narcotic drugs.

Growing marijuana is one of the biggest possibilities for success for any average person, today. Marijuana is by far the most valuable crop, pound for pound, that is possible to grow, and especially for anyone who loves the plant themselves, getting rich growing a plant you love is a no-brainer, and something that is feasible for just about anyone. No surprise, then, that numerous people all over the country, and even the world, are turning towards the newly legalized states for the entrepreneurial promise they hold.

The leader of one of the nation’s largest metropolitan chambers of commerce is urging local businesses to come out against a ballot issue that would legalize both medical and recreational marijuana.

But legal experts and proponents of Issue 3 say employers need not fear if marijuana is legalized in Ohio.

On Nov. 3, Ohio residents will be asked to vote on both Issue 3 and Issue 2, the Ohio Initiated Monopolies Amendment put on by lawmakers in response to ResponsibleOhio’s campaign to legalize marijuana here. Issue 3, or the Marijuana Legalization Initiative, would create 10 facilities with exclusive rights to commercially grow the drug.

Genifer Murray, founder and President of CannLabs and a pioneer in Colorado’s cannabis industry, has been forced out of the company, which had previously described her as a “well-respected voice and advocate for safety and best practices in the marijuana industry .” CannLabs, which began trading in 2014 on the OTC with the symbol “CANL” following a reverse-merger,  traded earlier this week to an all-time low of $0.30 per share.

Marijuana regulation in Arizona could assist K-12 funding

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is collecting signatures to tax sales of marijuana to fund public education and the Arizona Dept. of Health Services.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, sponsored by a national advocacy group called the Marijuana Policy Project, wants to “sensibly” tax the retail sales of recreational marijuana in Arizona. According to the campaign website, regulatemarijuanainarizona.org, the campaign will raise millions and the majority of the tax revenue will go toward funding public education in Arizona.

Oregon started allowing limited recreational marijuana sales this past week (October 1st), and since then my Facebook feed has been inundated with pictures of people visiting dispensaries, working at dispensaries, and promoting dispensaries. Every time I log in to Facebook lately it puts a smile on my face to see the state that I was born and raised in allowing the marijuana industry to operate out in the open, instead of in the shadows like it had been for so long.

ALBION, Ill. (AP) — A skunky aroma fills the room in which hundreds of lush marijuana plants grow, some nearly ready for harvest. Grower Ashley Thompson, a former high school agriculture teacher in this rural part of southeastern Illinois, takes the scent of weed home with her.

She doesn't mind. It's the fragrance of money and jobs.

"My family says I smell," said Thompson, who quit the classroom to work for Ataraxia, one of a handful of cultivation centers in Illinois, which is one of 23 states with medical marijuana. "I can't tell though."

The three young men climbing into the pickup truck close to the Oregon border cheerfully acknowledged they were about to break federal law. But they won’t be doing it for much longer.

Anthony, Daniel and Chris bustled out of a marijuana shop in Vancouver, Washington, clutching bags of weed as they headed home a short drive over the bridge to Portland, Oregon.

Crossing state lines with drugs is a federal offence but that has not discouraged the steady stream of customers from Portland taking advantage of Washington’s legalisation of recreational marijuana sales last year.

But starting on Thursday, Oregon joins Washington in permitting the sale of marijuana for recreational use to anyone over the age of 21.

ALBION, Ill. (AP) – It’s harvest time in southeastern Illinois. And in one city that means not just corn, but medical marijuana.

The Associated Press recently gained an exclusive look at Illinois’ first legal marijuana crop, and the new farmland ritual beginning amid the cornfields surrounding the historic town of Albion.

A company called Ataraxia is harvesting medical marijuana that will soon be sold in dispensaries around the state.

Ataraxia is the first center to make it to the finish line after running a gantlet of state requirements.