Pennsylvania handed out licenses to 12 companies to grow marijuana for medicinal uses last week, and is expected to license producers and dispensaries soon. However, it could be tough for those businesses to get bank accounts.

Although Pennsylvania has legalized medical marijuana, it's still illegal at the federal level. That means all of the proceeds from growing, producing or selling it are illegal as far as the federal government is concerned.

That leaves banks that accept proceeds for such activity at risk of federal prosecution.

Backers of a marijuana legalization ballot initiative in Michigan say they have the financial and grassroots support necessary to put the question before voters in 2018.

An unsuccessful attempt in 2016 gathered roughly 350,000 signatures but did so outside of the required 180-day timeframe. MILegalize, the group behind the 2016 effort, is now working with the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project as part of a new group, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. They’re hoping to raise millions of dollars to pay signature-gatherers this time around and for what could be an expensive campaign leading up to the 2018 General Election, should the signatures get collected.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission has approved what may become the Island’s first facility for growing, testing and packaging medical marijuana.

Geoff Rose, owner of Patient Centric of Martha’s Vineyard, plans to share space in a 7,200-square-foot building on Dr. Fisher Road in West Tisbury. The building itself, planned by Big Sky Tents owner Jim Eddy, was approved by the commission in 2010 but has yet to be built.

During a public review this spring, residents raised concerns about increased traffic on Dr. Fisher Road, and the site’s proximity to the West Tisbury School 2,400 feet to the south. But the final plans on Thursday passed with little debate.

A handful of drugmakers are taking their first steps toward developing marijuana-based painkillers, alternatives to opioids that have led to widespread abuse and caused the U.S. health regulator to ask for a withdrawal of a popular drug this month.

The cannabis plant has been used for decades to manage pain and there are increasingly sophisticated marijuana products available across 29 U.S. states, as well as in the District of Columbia, where medical marijuana is legal.

There are no U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved painkillers derived from marijuana, but companies such as Axim Biotechnologies Inc, Nemus Bioscience Inc and Intec Pharma Ltd have drugs in various stages of development.

The biggest challenge for Justin Trudeau’s forthcoming legal recreational marijuana market is a shortage of pot, the finance minister of Canada’s most-populous province says.

Ontario’s Charles Sousa said a supply crunch was discussed during a meeting with provincial and federal counterparts this week. Canada is aiming to legalize recreational pot in the next 12 months, the first major economy to do so. One analyst said he’s concerned the government could use a supply shortage as an excuse to delay rolling out the program.

The city of Edmonton is looking at a zoning bylaw change that could pave the way for the establishment of cannabis lounges if they are allowed after marijuana is legalized in July 2018. 

In a report for city council, administration said these proposed amendments are a proactive step in getting ready for next year. 

"This new classification is intended to differentiate this use from other eating and drinking uses already defined in Zoning Bylaw 12800 (for example, bar and neighbourhood pubs)," city administration said in a report for next week's public hearing.

"Other jurisdictions, such as Denver, have found it necessary to provide places for tourists to consume cannabis — cannabis lounges would provide a land use classification to accommodate this activity."

News 3 has obtained a copy of Nevada’s Statement of Emergency and draft regulations to allow certain medical marijuana establishments to begin selling recreationally to adults 21 and older beginning on July 1.

The regulations detail limitations on the amount of THC that is allowed in edible products and sets requirements for child-proof packaging and labeling. The regulations also prohibit certain products that are “normally consumed by or found appealing to children, such as lollipops and gummy bears.”

Colorado’s cannabis industry has now helped give $420,000 in scholarships to 210 Pueblo County high school graduates. On June 20, the high school seniors each received $2,000 in cannabis tax-funded grants from the Pueblo County Scholarship Fund and the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative.

Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace told the Pueblo Chieftan that the dollar amount was a mere coincidence, not a reference to ’420’ cannabis slang. In February, estimates put the projected amount at $425,000.

The House approved a bill to revise Massachusetts’ recreational pot law in a 126-28 vote Wednesday evening. The bill makes several amendments to the Massachusetts pot law that voters approved at the ballot box in November, including changes in tax rate and local control over pot shops.

The House bill allows local government officials to ban marijuana shops from opening in town rather than allowing residents to decide through a referendum, as the current law calls for. Under the proposal, pot sales would be taxed at 28 percent instead of the 12 percent tax approved by voters.

Lawmakers in Vermont yesterday stopped short on a bill that would have legalized possession and sale of Marijuana. Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, a bill to decriminalize pot possession is headed to Governor Sununu, who says he’ll sign it.

And in Massachusetts, where recreational use of marijuana was approved by voters in November, lawmakers are pushing to raise taxes on marijuana and tighten regulations, for instance by requiring background checks for workers in the industry.

Matt Simon, New England Political Director for the Marijuana Policy Project, joined NHPR’s Peter Biello to discuss this current moment in marijuana policy.

NHPR's Peter Biello speaks with Matt Simon about the state of regional pot policy.