In November, voters in as many as 12 states will see a marijuana legalization initiative on their ballots. Marijuana is already legal for recreational use in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Washington, D.C. Another 25 states have legalized medical marijuana. The era of marijuana prohibition is rapidly coming to a close.

Unfortunately, lawmakers lack easy answers to tough questions facing the marijuana industry. Legalization presents challenges on a number of fronts, including distribution, taxation, consumption, security and public health.

The transparency of New York’s Medical Marijuana Program has been questioned by many New Yorkers, but on Aug. 19, 2016, the New York State Depart of Health released a two-year report on the state’s Medical Medical Use of Marijuana Under the Compassionate Care Act, as confirmed by a staff member with the NYS Medical Marijuana Program.

On June 15, 2016, the report’s data was obtained from the NYSDOH’s Medical Marijuana Data Management System and the Prescription Monitoring Program Registry.

Alleges Israel’s medicinal pot is misrepresented and contaminated.

A medical marijuana patient whose license to grow his own cannabis was revoked in 2013, has filed a lawsuit against Israel’s health ministry for providing him with plants tainted by dangerous pesticides which are illegal for human consumption.

“Patient R” is one of only a dozen Israelis who have been issued permits to grow his own plants, and is the only patient involved in the lawsuit.

The DEA schedules substances, chemicals and drugs into 5 classified categories. Between Schedule 1 to 5 the level of potential for abuse gets more likely as the number goes down, so Schedule 1 is listed as the most dangerous for the public and Schedule 5 the least. A schedule 1 drug has been identified by the government as a substance with no potential for medicinal use and a high potential for abuse. Aside from cannabis schedule I also includes ecstasy, peyote and heroin. This DEA scheduling makes cannabis highly illegal to carry without the proper permits and also bars any scientific research on the medicinal value of the plant.

I know you’ve been distracted/disgusted/gobsmacked by the presidential campaign all summer.

But history, polling and common sense tell us that California’s electoral votes already belong to Hillary Clinton (sorry, Donald Trump fans). So stop wasting time worrying about that, Golden State types, and turn your attention to the doorstop of a ballot that you’ll be facing when you vote Nov. 8.

This year, 17 measures qualified for the statewide ballot. There is something for everyone to get worked up about: prescription drug prices, the minimum wage, background checks for ammunition purchases, plastic bags, the death penalty — and something I really wish I didn’t have to think about, mandatory condoms for porn shoots.

It’s illegal to mail marijuana ‒ but some postal workers could use a reminder. The acting manager of two post offices in Washington, DC and two underlings have been arrested for accepting the money and using the mail service as a pot distribution center.

Deenvaughn Rowe, the acting manager of the Lamond Riggs and River Terrace post offices in Northeast DC, and letter carriers Kendra Brantley and Alicia Norman have been charged with bribery and distribution of a controlled substance, according to an indictment filed in federal court on Thursday.

A Helena judge has rejected an advocacy group's request to delay enforcement of restrictions on Montana's medical marijuana industry.

District Judge James Reynolds on Wednesday denied the Montana Cannabis Industry Association's request to stay a state Supreme Court order implementing the restrictions on Aug. 31.

The group on its website urges medical marijuana supporters to now focus on passing a ballot initiative that would roll back the restrictions.

After Aug. 31, medical marijuana providers will be barred from selling the drug to more than three patients. The state Supreme Court earlier this year upheld that provision of a 2011 state law passed after the Montana Cannabis Industry Association sued to block it.

From romantic comedies showing otherwise responsible adults taking a hit off of a joint at dinner parties to stories of "green doctors" handing out medical marijuana cards with a wink and a nod, it can sometimes seem like the battle of public opinion over marijuana is long over. Yet the drug remains illegal in the United States. 

This was supposed to be the year of Pot-Palooza, when five states are set to hold ballot initiatives that would make marijuana legal for recreational users. If all passed, it would bring the number of states offering pot for sale to nine, following similar measures that passed in Colorado and Washington in 2012 and in Alaska and Oregon in 2014.

A new report released by the Drug Policy Alliance Thursday reveals that nearly 500,000 people have been arrested on charges related to marijuana in the last decade. Nearly 9,000 felony arrests related to weed were made in 2015 alone in California, according to the report. Most disturbingly, the report found that black and Latino people are much more likely to be arrested for marijuana in California.