TALLASSEE, Fla. (NSF) - Florida health officials are holding to a deadline next month for the state's first medical marijuana businesses to seek permission to begin growing non-euphoric cannabis, even with hearings in license challenges stacked up through mid-summer.

Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said Monday that five dispensing organizations --- selected by a three-member panel last year to grow, process and distribute low-THC marijuana --- must submit requests for cultivation authorization by Feb. 7, the first deadline in a process more than a year behind schedule due to previous legal wrangling.

Referendum welcomed by Cannabis Party

A move towards holding a referendum about cannabis at the next election is welcomed by the Cannabis Party.

Former CTU president Helen Kelly launched the referendum campaign after she was forced to obtain cannabis oil illegally to treat her cancer.

However, Family First's Bob McCoskrie has claimed the move will be used a back-door to recreational use.

"Mr McCoskrie's blind fear is misguided as recreational use would be treated as a separate issue to medical cannabis in any referendum," party leader Julian Crawford said.

"Family First needs to clarify whether they support the democratic referendum process and whether they think sick and dying people should have access to medical cannabis."

Members of a Massachusetts Senate panel plan to visit Colorado next week to learn more about that state’s experience with the legalized use of recreational marijuana.

The Senate Special Committee on Marijuana was created last year in response to a likely 2016 ballot question that — if approved by voters — would allow pot to be used recreationally in Massachusetts.

A draft itinerary for the four-day trip starting Monday includes meetings and discussions with Colorado state regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials.

The California cannabis industry was abuzz following the last-minute passage of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) that was passed by the California Assembly at the very end of the legislative session. Marijuana entrepreneurs were scrambling to read the MMRSA and have been digesting the implications since. Governor Jerry Brown signed the regulatory bill into law last fall and the New Year starts the implementation process that will be coming into focus over the coming months.

The surge in the number of synthetic cannabis being seized by the Turkish Cypriot police is a concern, according to media reports on Monday.

The drug – and especially the brand ‘Bonsai’ – is said to be highly addictive and is known to cause mental disorders, severe hallucinations, violent behaviour, and even heart attacks.

Figures for 2014 showed that around five kilos of ‘Bonsai’ were apprehended in the north, whilst the figure nearly doubled in 2015. Five people are said to have died after overdosing on the synthetic cannabis which is often termed spice.

Due to its low selling price and extreme high, the drug has become popular amongst youths, particularly in Turkey.

Supporters of legal marijuana hope to spur action on an issue they say has broad support in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Cannabis Coalition met Sunday night in Nashville to gear up for the upcoming legislative session.

The activist group said 76 percent of Tennesseans support medical marijuana.

They hope increased awareness will lead to voting on the issue.

The coalition said the positive news from states that have legalized marijuana could help raise awareness here in Tennessee.

"The data that's coming out of Colorado is incredibly promising," said Tennessee Cannabis Coalition founder Cecily Friday-Shamim.

The BMG will facilitate access to Medical-cannabis for the chronically ill. A bill to bring the necessary changes in narcotics law and other regulations is on the way.

A former high-ranking colleague and friend of MP Bill Blair, the Liberal government’s point man on marijuana legalization, will lobby the ex-Toronto police chief in hopes of ensuring a tightly controlled system in which only licensed firms are allowed to grow the lucrative drug.

Kim Derry, a deputy chief of the Toronto Police Service under Mr. Blair, is a promoter of marijuana facility THC Meds Ontario Inc., along with George Smitherman, a former Ontario Liberal deputy premier. Mr. Blair, put in charge of the marijuana file last week, will play a key role in determining who gets to grow the product once it is legalized.

Washington, DC – As local activists campaigned to pass marijuana legalization in 2014, proponents of the ballot initiative claimed there was no truth to the theory that marijuana is a “gateway drug.” While that may be true, a new study sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation released Monday morning has shown that marijuana legalization is a “gateway reform,” which may lead supporters to stronger legislation, such as public financing of elections or paid family leave.

In an interview conducted with the Toronto Star soon after he was named the Trudeau government’s point man on the proposed legalization of marijuana, Liberal M.P. Bill Blair was asked the obvious question and provided a succinct, straight up reply.

No. He had never smoked weed and in fact had never consumed any illegal drug, despite having had plenty of opportunities to do so over the course of his previous career.