Witnessing the incredible output of Colombian drug makers is a highlight of the Netflix series Narcos. It boggles the mind trying to fathom how much cocaine Pablo Escobar and rival crews carried across American borders. And when it comes to drugs America has long provided a captive and willing market... be they pharmaceuticals or illicit substances. 

Eyeing a June 30 deadline to get a bill to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk, the Massachusetts Senate on Friday released a proposal that attempts to come closer to the recreational marijuana law voters approved in November.

Through a ballot question, voters broadly legalized usage of recreational marijuana by adults ages 21 and over. But state lawmakers, who mostly opposed the ballot question, repeatedly said they planned to make changes if it passed.

The Senate proposal keeps in place voter referendums, rather than handing over control over pot bans to the governing entities of cities and towns as the House version does.

"Keeping the voters' voice is important," Patricia Jehlen, the Senate chair of the Legislature's Marijuana Policy Committee, told MassLive.com.

The federal government’s top attorney wants the freedom to prosecute states — such as Iowa — with medical marijuana programs, according to a letter made public last week.

But Iowa officials insist the state’s newly expanded program, which now includes the opportunity for two businesses to grow and sell medical cannabis, will remain safe from federal scrutiny.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on May 1 wrote a letter to congressional leaders opposing a mechanism in the federal budget that prohibits the Department of Justice from using its resources to prosecute states that establish medical marijuana laws.

A task force consisting of state senators and representatives will soon take a harder look at issues around medical marijuana in Tennessee.

Lt. Governor Randy McNally and speaker Beth Harwell are responsible for appointing lawmakers to the task force. McNally expects those appointments to be made in July.

Rep. Jeremy Faison introduced a bill for medical marijuana in February. He's optimistic that this joint task force will help both educate the general public on the science of medical marijuana as well as educate lawmakers on the extent of the support to medical marijuana in Tennessee.

Roger Stone, a close confidant of President Donald Trump, is on a mission to convince Trump to legalize marijuana through a new lobbying group.

Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf isn’t happy with a letter that surfaced this week from Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

In a triumph for sanity and compassion, British Columbia has declared mandatory minimum prison sentences for cannabis producers to be unconstitutional.

The unwitting engine of this development: Keith Steven Elliott, a man in the southern B.C. city of Kelowna, who spent two years working a $20-an-hour job trimming homegrown cannabis destined for resale on the black market. When the grow-op was busted in 2013, Elliott found himself charged under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which mandates a six-month minimum prison sentence for anyone caught producing between six and 200 plants for the purpose of trafficking. (The grow-op employing Elliott held 195 plants.)

Nevada voters legalized recreational marijuana in November, and officials are trying to put rules in place to start selling it on July 1.

It would be the shortest turnaround from legalization to the launch of sales in any of the other seven states and District of Columbia where recreational pot is legal. Regulations are complicated and typically lengthy to enact around a drug still banned by the U.S. government.

But Nevada's quick timeline faces a major hurdle: A legal battle between the state and the powerful liquor lobby over who can distribute the drug to retailers.

Here's a look at the obstacles to recreational pot in Nevada and what could happen next:

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WHAT'S THE RUSH?

Colorado law enforcement and marijuana growers will have to make some adjustments regarding marijuana growing in the state over the next six months, as two new laws aimed at reducing illegal marijuana cultivation and dealing will take effect.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed two bills last week aimed directly at cutting down on high plant limits and reducing the flow of Colorado pot to other states—something law enforcement agencies say has become an increasing problem in recent years.

Cannabis production in Spain has grown significantly in recent years with more than 300,000 plants seized in 2015 according to the latest European Drug Report from the EU drugs agency.

The last few years has not only seen an increase in drugs imported across the Medeterranian, but also in home grown production. eizures of cannabis plants grew by 40% in 2015.

The Spanish police took 379.846 plants out of the market in 2015, an amount only surpassed by those in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, according to new data released by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction