California pioneered the legalization of medical marijuana in 1996.

But since then the Golden State has had to toke in the shadow of states like Colorado and Washington, which have legalized recreational pot.

In 2010 a statewide ballot measure that would have made weed legal here even without a doctor's note was defeated.

Almost since then, anti-prohibitionists have been eyeing 2016 as a breakthrough year for California legalization. It's a presidential election year, when more voters turn out. 

A new gym in San Francisco plans to dispel stereotypes about pot smokers while teaching them how to use the drug to reach fitness goals.

Power Plant Fitness is in the final stages of securing a lease that will allow gym rats to experiment with marijuana while they put on muscle. Co-founder Jim McAlpine bills the venture as the world’s first cannabis-friendly gym.

“It won’t be a place to get high and just screw around. We are focused on the athletic side, not the cannabis side,” Mr. McAlpinetold Tech Insider Wednesday.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), a leading voice for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States, became the first sitting member of Congress in recent history to admit to medical marijuana use.

Rohrabacher, speaking to a group of cannabis activists on Tuesday on Capital Hill, said he has been an avid surfer for about three decades but had not been able to enjoy the sport for about a year and a half due to arthritis pain he’s developed in his shoulder. The pain became so severe that it has disrupted his sleep, the lawmaker said.

That is, until he tried medical marijuana.

The union, which represents truck drivers and warehouse workers, has joined with law enforcement groups in funding opposition to a proposed ballot initiative in November.

The California branch of the 1.4-million member Teamsters union says it is opposed to a proposed ballot initiative on legalizing recreational marijuana use, and has joined police and prison guard associations in donating to a lobby group devoted to defeating the proposal.

A couple things seem clear: The city of Los Angeles needs to fully legalize at least some of the pot shops in town. And people of California are probably going to legalize recreational marijuana come November.

Los Angeles marijuana interests are battling as we speak over just how this will all shake out. Many want to legalize delivery services and ensure that back-end businesses like cultivators don't exist in the shadows. But there's serious disagreement about how many pot shops should exist in L.A.The rest is up in the air.

Orange County cities need to get their acts together on medical marijuana and the potential legalization of recreational pot. So far, only Santa Ana has been trying to sensibly grapple with the situation. If other cities have any doubt about what needs to be done, they should look at all the billboards sprouting up about California marijuana like tall cannabis plants alongside county freeways.

ROUGHLY HALF OF the money raised to oppose a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in California is coming from police and prison guard groups, terrified that they might lose the revenue streams to which they have become so deeply addicted.

Drug war money has become a notable source of funding for law enforcement interests. Huge government grants and asset-seizure windfalls benefit police departments, while the constant supply of prisoners keeps the prison business booming.

The 55-and-older crowd is now the fastest-growing demographic of pot users in the country. Between 2013 and 2014, the number increased from 2.8 million to 4.3 million.

In California, where medical marijuana is legal, seniors are learning how to fill their prescriptions -- at a pot shop. They want to know the highs and the lows of marijuana use for the aches and pains of growing old, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

Eva Aguillara, 80, uses it to help with mobility.

"Every medication has a risk. I've made my choice," she said.

“Gardening is one of the single biggest acts of protest for consumerism.” – Dragonfly Earth Medicine

As the marijuana movement gains momentum nationwide, more stories in the media are drawing attention to the fact that our precious greens are in reality, not so green.

Dragonfly Earth Medicine (DEM) is here to set the standard for sustainability with their Pure Certification, and the standard is being set sky-high.

The war on marijuana continues even at mid-point of 2016 – the year that California voters will end the marijuana prohibition in the state. While California voters get set to vote to legalize the recreational use of pot, there are good signs and bad signs around the state as the Pot Wars continue.

Right now, a majority of Californians favor legalization.