What if Big Marijuana behaves like Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco?

With marijuana legalization now voter-approved in four states, a new major industry is beginning to form around selling legal pot for profit. But as more states consider whether to take on legalization, the rising industry has become the main target for opponents of legal pot.

"If we're not careful, the marijuana industry could quickly become the next Big Tobacco," warns the website for Grass Is Not Greener, a campaign launched by the anti-legalization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).

There is a lot of chatter happening at City Hall this month about medicinal-marijuana dispensaries. A public hearing that began June 10 reconvenes on Monday (June 22), when speaker number 173 will take the microphone at a meeting beginning at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, a group called Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada (SAM Canada) has emerged as a vocal opponent to the city’s proposed regulatory framework for the over-the-counter sale of cannabis. Pamela McColl, a Vancouver-based member of the national group’s advisory council, told the Straight her organization is more than just talk.

Increasing numbers of Belgian teenagers are seeking help for cannabis use, De Standaard reported on Monday.

If you happened to read a guest editorial in Tuesday's Arizona Republic by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk you might have come away believing that marijuana use killed 62 kids in Arizona in 2013.

Polk has no real proof of that, of course, hedging her bets with the word "associated." It's good work. But all her essay proves is that Polk wants to be like … me.

The Yavapai prosecutor is serving as vice chairwoman of Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, and is doing everything she can to make the case against marijuana legalization. She's not making that argument in a hall of justice, however, but in the court of public opinion, where (as I well know) a bland set of facts can be made palatable with a heaping helping of spiced baloney.

According to a recent report from Europe's drug monitoring agency – the EMCDDA – the amount of Britons aged 15 to 34 using cannabis has almost halved in little more than a decade.

The statistics show that in 2000, almost 20% of the country's young adults were using marijuana whereas the most recent figures, from 2013, indicate that this has dropped to just above 10%.

When first embarking on this research, the question was simple: has Britain fallen out of love with cannabis? The answer, however, was not so clear.

DES MOINES — Maria La France and Sally Graer say they are exhausted and frustrated, and highly critical of state lawmakers who oppose expanding Iowa’s medical cannabis program.

La France, Graer and other advocates for legalized medical cannabis oil spoke to reporters on June 3 at the Iowa Capitol as they made one final plea to state lawmakers this legislative session.

Joined by fellow advocates with the grassroots Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis Coalition, La France and Graer said they are exasperated with state lawmakers who refuse to consider expanding Iowa’s narrow medical cannabis law to allow for the treatment of patients with a variety of diseases like epilepsy, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Earlier this week, the Colorado Supreme Court handed down a ruling that one attorney says “may serve as a roadmap” for other courts—and employers—navigating the gray areas surrounding medical marijuana laws.

On Monday, the state high court’s 6-0 decision in Coats v. Dish Network determined that an organization can terminate an employee for using medical marijuana, even if said marijuana use occurs while off-duty.

Representatives of Regulate Rhode Island will be joined by legislative supporters at a news conference Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET in front of the Rhode Island State House to call on House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello (D-Cranston) and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed (D-Newport) to support the bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol and allow House and Senate members to vote on it before the session ends this month.

Immediately following the news conference, the group will deliver nearly 500 postcards to Speaker Mattiello’s office. Each postcard is signed by one of his constituents and urges the speaker to support the bill.

Using chemicals to control bugs or mold is common among commercial cannabis growers. But with no federal oversight, experts are concerned growers may be using dangerous pesticides.

The marijuana industry has a pesticide problem. Many commercial cannabis growers use chemicals to control bugs and mold. But the plant's legal status is unresolved.

The grow room at Medical MJ Supply in Fort Collins, Colo., has all the trappings of a modern marijuana cultivation facility: glowing yellow lights, plastic irrigation tubes, and rows of knee-high cannabis plants.

"We're seeing a crop that's probably in it third or fourth week," says Nick Dice, the owner.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Alex White Plume thought his decade-long wait to produce industrial hemp on a South Dakota Indian reservation was ending when the federal government softened its stance on marijuana enforcement and lawmakers expanded the development of hemp under certain circumstances.

But federal prosecutors in South Dakota refuse to lift an injunction against White Plume that prevents the enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Nation from growing the crop.

“One thing that really hurts my feelings is to get treated as minorities,” White Plume told The Associated Press. “We have always been here. We have superior standing.”