Floridians overwhelmingly made access to medical marijuana a constitutional right. Now, the state's so-called Office of Compassionate Use, and some lawmakers, want to make it onerous to obtain cannabis. It's disappointing, but not surprising, given Tallahassee's resistance to medical marijuana.

Two competing bills are circulating in the Florida Senate. We favor the proposal by Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, largely because it would break the monopoly the state gave seven companies after a non-euphoric strain of cannabis was legalized in 2014.

In response to Gov. Hickenlooper’s recent visit to speak with California legislators in Sacramento, Calif., in advance of legalization of adult-use cannabis, The Cannabis Business Alliance (CBA)  has released a statement. The advocate for cannabis business owners is calling on states like California and other emerging markets to reach out to those who have been involved in Colorado's cannabis industry for insight on what works best when it comes to regulation and child safety.

US Border Patrol agents in Arizona have dismantled a “catapult system” allegedly used to transport at least 47 pounds of marijuana over a border fence from Mexico into the United States.

The homemade catapult was discovered on February 10 within the Mexico side of a border fence near the Douglas Port of Entry in Tucson, Arizona, after US Border Patrol “agents noticed several people on the south side quickly retreating from the fence as they approached,” US Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday.

President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have yet to directly address the issue of cannabis legalization and the state-federal schism, which has led to all kinds of rumors flying about.

One rumor, floated on a cannabis blog recently, held that Press Secretary Sean Spicer told a reporter named “Rebecka Brian” that the Trump administration is “unlikely” to go after legalized states.

MassRoots reporter Tom Angell looked into the quote and found nothing to it. Angell reached out directly to Spicer and received a succinct reply: “I have no clue where that came from.”

So what’s the real story? Where does Sessions stand on cannabis?

Medical marijuana producers oppose federal task force's calls for plain packaging and bans on advertising.

Garfield Mahood has spent 30 years fighting for the Canadian government to require plain packaging for cigarettes.

So, the long-time non-smokers' rights activist says he doesn't have much faith in the government's ability to regulate and restrict the marketing of marijuana.

"They identified tobacco products as a cause of disease back in the 1950s," said Mahood, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud. "They've never been able to bring this epidemic
close to a conclusion.

"What would give you faith that health departments are going to effectively regulate any health problems related to these other drugs?"

The Turnbull Government is taking further action to enable the safe and legal distribution of medicinal cannabis products for adults and children suffering from painful and chronic conditions.

We recognise that access to medicinal cannabis is of vital importance to many Australians. But we must ensure this is done in a way that is safe and responsible.

To help achieve this, we have established and appointed members to the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis - which will provide expert advice to government.

I am pleased to announce that Professor James Angus AO has agreed to Chair the Advisory Council and Emeritus Professor Anne Tonkin has agreed to be Deputy Chair. They will be joined by some of Australia's top medical professionals.

Want to know what Governor Hickenlooper hates the most about legal pot in Colorado? Just eavesdrop on him like we did on Tuesday afternoon.

He's in California, testifying in front of the state Senate. California has to figure out how to rollout retail weed in 2018, and the Governor told them not to be stupid.

Agency now admits weed doesn’t cause cancer or psychosis.

Although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has all but refused to consider the cannabis plant as having any medicinal application within the confines of the Controlled Substances Act, the nation’s leading drug sniffing hounds recently eliminated some misinformation about the potential dangers of the herb from the its website.

Budding scholars, rejoice.

Commissioners in Pueblo County, Colorado, on Monday signed off on what they’re calling the “world’s first cannabis-funded scholarship.”

The fund of approximately $475,000 will be available for high school students in Pueblo County who wish to attend Pueblo Community College or Colorado State University-Pueblo in fall 2017.

Of that funding, about $425,000 comes from cannabis excise tax revenue, which is a one-time county-level tax on all marijuana grown in Pueblo County. A state government-run scholarship program makes up the remaining $49,664.