State lawmakers return to work Tuesday with more than 300 bills awaiting their action in the final four days of this year’s regular session.

The governor has called concurrent special sessions on healthcare and transportation that could go beyond Friday. But legislative leaders have said they want to wrap up action this week.

Outstanding issues include regulation of medical marijuana and electronic cigarettes, slashing gas use in the state and allowing physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill Californians.

Shawnee Anderson couldn’t stop crying. On the morning of Jan. 24 last year, she sat in the front seat of a red minivan parked outside her home in Napa, California, with her 11-month-old son in her lap. Roughly 20 minutes earlier, police had arrived at the one-story house, summoned by a neighbor who’d called to complain about a loud argument between Anderson and her boyfriend, Aaron Hillyer.

The couple explained that because they were low on sleep and stressed about Anderson’s first day back at work, a disagreement over who would change their child’s diaper had escalated. “This whole argument is ridiculous,” Anderson told the officers, shaking her head no when they asked if the fight had become physical.

• Dr. Gunjan Goel has been accused by the Medical Board of California
• Alleges she used marijuana 'daily, while at work and on call', according to court documents 
• Goel admitted to a state investigator she consumes marijuana sometimes on her days off 
• A University of California, San Diego representative said it is still currently being treated as just an accusation   

A University of California, San Diego neurosurgeon has been accused by the Medical Board of California of using marijuana while practicing medicine. 

Why do we use the term “marijuana” sparingly? The answer lies in the roots of the phrase, and our dedication to changing the perception of cannabis to one of wellness and healing

We prefer to use the word cannabis, because it is a respectful, scientific term that encompasses all the many different uses of the plant.

The word "marijuana" or “marihuana” is an emotional, pejorative term that has played a key role in creating the negative stigma that still tragically clings to this holistic, herbal medicine. Most cannabis users recognize the "M word" as offensive, once they learn its history.

More and more evidence is accumulating that denying medical cannabis to patients suffering from diseases likes multiple sclerosis should no longer be acceptable under any state’s law.

Patients have a right to safe, life-saving botanicals and they’re not waiting around for the federal government or recalcitrant states. They’re getting recommendations for cannabis in one of 23 medical marijuana states, and seeking out formulations like mouth sprays and CBD-rich edibles that specifically help with M.S. symptoms.

In today’s American cannabis culture that celebrates and idolizes youth in an industry with a historical demographic of young 20-something millennials, talking about marijuana and the inevitable mortality associated with end-of-life and palliative care issues may seem like a polar opposite. However, cannabis is far more than a party drug and a growing number of cannabis converts are discovering that marijuana is a unique and diverse plant and there is space for discussion of its properties along a broad spectrum of both recreational and medicinal topics.

LAS VEGAS -- Dr. Cindy Orser, the Chief Science Officer of DigiPath Labs, the cannabis testing subsidiary of DigiPath, Inc. (OTCQB: DIGP), was recently interviewed by United Patients Group about the lack of consistency in today's medical cannabis testing industry. In her talk with the online resource for medical cannabis information, she explained that the state-to-state variations in cannabis laws are hurting patients because their lack of uniform requirements makes standardization impossible. 

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A medical marijuana dispensary in South Los Angeles went up in flames early Tuesday morning following reports of an explosion at the building.

The fire erupted around 3:40 a.m. in the 6000 block of South Broadway. Approximately 100 Los Angeles City firefighters knocked down the fire around 4:20 a.m.

According to firefighters on scene, no one was inside the structure at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Fire officials said the flames were mostly confined to the second story of the business.

Arson investigators were called to the scene after witnesses told fire officials they heard an explosion prior to the fire.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.