This photo provided Friday, Aug. 7, 2015 by New York Police Department shows packets of synthetic marijuana seized after a search warrant was served at a newsstand in Brooklyn, N.Y. Image: New York Police Department/Associated Press By Marcus Gilmer2015-09-17 04:27:55 UTC

Calling it "a scourge on our society," authorities in New York City have cracked down on synthetic marijuana, announcing on Wednesday the indictment of 10 suspects connected to a distribution ring that touches all five of the city's boroughs.

The federally funded Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area is nothing if not predictable.

The organization has spent recent years on a jihad against marijuana, regularly rolling out reports suggesting that legalization is rapidly destroying the fabric of society in Colorado by way of statistics that critics have long seen as scientifically suspect and manipulated to achieve a political agenda.

Ohio's marijuana legalization ballot issue earned a few laughs Tuesday on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

In a four-minute segment on the show, Colbert mentioned smoking buckeyes, Willie Nelson, Columbus-based Wendy's, and Buddie, the mascot Issue 3 supporters created to pitch their plan to college-aged voters.

"For the first time in history, Ohio could legally be round on both ends and high in the middle," Colbert said to open the segment.

Colbert joked that Ohio, unlike Colorado and Oregon, is not known for its marijuana use.

"That's America's heartland where folks are supposed to get high on elbow grease, huff the can-do spirit and freebase a buckeye," Colbert said.

A 56-year-old man in Larnaca was using the empty pool of a tourist complex as a hiding place for marijuana plants.

Police were tipped about the plants and had kept the pool under surveillance. The 56-year-old was arrested Wednesday afternoon as he went to tender the plants.

The plants were confiscated and the man was set to appear before a Larnaca Magistrate on Thursday.

Elsewhere, a 33-year-old was also arrested when his car was stopped for a routine check and police found 3 grams of cannabis resin.

Kentucky senator Rand Paul put more traditional conservatives on the defensive during the CNN GOP presidential candidates’ debate on Wednesday night, framing a fierce defence of cannabis use and states’ rights.

“There is at least one prominent example of someone who’s said they’ve smoked [weed] in high school,” Paul said. “I would like to see more rehabilitation and less incarceration.”

“But the bottom line is … we say we support the 10th amendment until we start talking about this.” He also said the war on drugs had led to “a racial outcome”.

On Sept. 20, cities in Canada and the U.S. will hold the first Psilocybin Mushroom Day, as psychedelic drugs shed their ’60s stigma and researchers test their possible health benefits.

It clocked in at $70 million last fiscal year alone.

Pot is a boon for tax revenues in Colorado, outpacing revenue from alcohol taxes in the fiscal year ending on June 30.

Colorado collected almost $70 million in marijuana taxes during that time, nearly double the $42 million collected from alcohol taxes. The state had a tax holiday for marijuana on Wednesday, an event that was welcomed by consumers and producers alike.

Real pot versus fake pot—can you spot the difference? bk

Over the past couple of months, newspapers and TV stations across the United States have been running with horror stories about K2, spice, and others kinds of “synthetic marijuana.” A recent article in the New York Times, for example, described a few blocks in East Harlem where “joints” were selling for a dollar, users were either passing out or twitching uncontrollably, and cops and ambulances idled, waiting to pick up casualties for the emergency room.

Marijuana consumers were taking advantage of a tax holiday in Colorado on Wednesday, with some lining up early for doorbuster-style deals.

A quirk in state law led Colorado to suspend most taxes on recreational pot for one day, including a 10 percent sales tax on pot and a 15 percent excise tax on marijuana growers.

At The Grass Station near downtown Denver, a dozen shoppers were in line before doors opened.

"Lower prices are always better," said Benjamin DelCarpio of Centennial, who was rewarded for standing in line with a 50 percent off coupon.

DENVER (AP) -- The latest on Colorado's marijuana tax holiday caused by a quirk in the law (all times local):

Shoppers aren't the only ones benefiting from Colorado's one-day suspension of most taxes on pot. Marijuana growers also are getting a hefty tax break.

One owner and grower saved $45,000 in taxes before 10 a.m. Wednesday. Tim Cullen of the Colorado Harvest Co. says he transferred a month's worth of inventory, or about 150 pounds of marijuana.

Colorado charges consumers an extra 10 percent sales tax on pot. Growers pay an additional 15 percent excise tax on wholesale weed, or about $300 a pound.

Colorado is waiving both those taxes for one day only Wednesday because of an accounting error when the taxes were first approved.