Millionaire investor Kevin O’Leary says he sees “spectacular returns” from the legalization of marijuana, but won’t invest because his lawyers have advised him not to do so.

O’Leary told CTV News Channel he’s been researching legal marijuana industry for three years, and recently considered partnering with a hydroponics facility in Vermont but “just can’t take the risk.”

TAMPA, Fla., Oct 22, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In a historic week for the North American cannabis industry, Canada elected Justin Trudeau as prime minister after his repeated campaign promises to legalize adult-use cannabis in the country—good news for 

Florida’s Supreme Court has set a December 8th hearing date to consider a measure that would legalize medical marijuana.

The court on Wednesday ordered oral arguments on the proposed amendment. The high court must decide whether or not the amendment is misleading and whether it complies with single-subject requirements.

Supporters of the measure tried to pass a similar amendment during the 2014 election. That ballot measure failed because it did not meet the 60-percent threshold needed to pass.

Backers of medical marijuana will need to collect more than 683,000 signatures by next February in order to go before voters in 2016. State records show that People United for Medical Marijuana has already turned in more than 286,000 valid signatures.

Besides the big question of who will be president, marijuana legalization may be the most hotly debated issue in Florida going into the 2016 election cycle. United for Care is working to get a medical marijuana measure onto the November ballot, while two other groups are looking to get recreational weed legalized. Each of these proposals would amend the state constitution. To make it onto the ballot, each measure needs 683,149 verified signatures by February 1. Last week, United for Care was the furthest along, at 38 percent of this goal.

MOUNT DORA — Four Lake County companies are among 28 in the state vying to grow cannabis in Florida’s medical marijuana program.

The Florida Department of Health will award one company from each of the five regions of the state — central, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest — a license to grow and dispense medical marijuana. A decision is expected this fall.

The local companies that submitted applications in July were Treadwell Nursery, 25548 County Road 44A, Sorrento; McCrory’s Sunny Hill Nursery, 3515 La Place Court, Eustis; DeLeon’s Bromeliads Inc., 4055 Britt Road, Mount Dora; and Spring Oaks Greenhouse Inc., 17323 Lake St., Umatilla.

Company:

BioTrackTHC.

Headquarters: Fort Lauderdale.

Business: Develops and sells seed-to-sale marijuana inventory tracking software for government regulatory agencies and authorized marijuana businesses.

Years in business: Six years in the marijuana space.

Management team: Steven Siegel, founder and chairman emeritus; T.J. Ferraro, founder and chief software architect; Patrick Vo, chief executive officer; Dr. Moe Afaneh, chief operating officer; Efrain Vega, chief financial officer.

Super-majorities of voters believe that medical cannabis should be legal, and most men additionally support legalizing marijuana for all adults, according to the results of a Quinnipiac University Swing State poll.

Pollsters gauged support for marijuana law reform in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Florida voters backed legalizing cannabis therapy by a margin of 87 percent to 12 percent. A majority of male voters (57 percent) also supported broader legalization, while only 49 percent of women agreed.

Last year I declared Florida attorney John Morgan to be ‘Philanthropist of the Year.’ The award seemed fitting considering how much of his own money John Morgan put up for the 2014 Florida medical marijuana campaign. The last number I heard was that he donated between 4-8 million dollars for the campaign, which was just two percentage points away from passing. John Morgan is back at it again for the 2016 cycle. He recently announced that he would donate 9 dollars to the campaign for every 1 dollar donated by someone else. You donate $10, he chips in $90. You donate $100, he throws in $900.

Majorities of voters supported the legalization of marijuana for personal use in Ohio and Florida, while Pennsylvania voters were split on the question.

ResponsibleOhio, the political action committee behind Ohio’s Issue 3, which would pave the way for legal marijuana use, praised the news, saying this is indicative proof that legalization is the proper course for Ohio. “That’s because men are more likely than women to support legalization of marijuana for recreational use”.

A majority of Florida voters support legalizing recreational marijuana use in the state, according to a Quinnipiac University swing-state poll released Thursday. The survey found 51 percent of Florida voters supported legalizing personal use of marijuana, while 45 percent were against.