City Sessions Denver, the country’s leader in educational cannabis tours, is announcing boutique bus tours for the summer of 2017 that introduce guests to the burgeoning cannabis culture in the Denver area.

“The cannabis industry is rife with stigma and misinterpretation and City Sessions aims to educate, inform, and entertain in both customized and weekly scheduled boutique bus tours,” says Goldie Solodar, Founder of City Sessions.

Ideal for those who are new to cannabis culture, regular consumers, and those who are simply curious about the lifestyle, the half-day weekly tours give guests a behind-the-scenes look at Denver’s world of cannabis.

The tarmac at the Auto City Speedway in Clio might not have ever witnessed such a slow-moving pace as it did on Saturday.

And that smell burning on the racetracks?

Certainly wasn’t gasoline.

It was smoke that filled the air as visitors to the fourth Midwest Cannabis Cup sparked up and sampled different strains of medical marijuana at the dozens of vendor tents, organized by High Times magazine.

The Nevada Tax Commission is expected to take one more step toward the start of recreational marijuana sales in Nevada.

While Gov. Brian Sandoval has already signed onto the emergency regulations for the labeling and packaging of marijuana, the Tax Commission is expected to formally adopt the regulations Monday at its meeting.

On July 1, any adult 21 and older will be able to walk into one of 37 approved dispensaries in Southern Nevada and buy up to an ounce of marijuana.

“We’re just kind of playing the game as the rules change, to be honest with you,” said Lissa Lawatsch of Las Vegas Releaf.

So far, it’s been a rollercoaster of regulations.

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.”

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.

Why haven’t we legalised marijuana already? It’s a question brought to mind after reading Fairfax crime writer John Sylvester’s recent report on Melbourne as, in the words of assistant commissioner (crime) Steve Fontana, “the engine room of the country’s cannabis industry”.

Sylvester takes the reader behind the scenes of the old-style anti-pot crusade being waged by Fontana and his men, as “detectives from the Drug Taskforce […hit] crop houses at a record rate”.

Squint a little and it could be Chicago in the 1930s, with prohibition-enforcing lawmen pledging to take down the syndicates.