On April 17, Pennsylvania became the latest state to pass medical marijuana legislation, which will take effect this month. And recently Ohio’s House of Representatives has passed a plan to permit medical marijuana in the state.

At odds over the prudence of legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts, people on both sides of the proposed ballot question agree with the idea of measuring marijuana usage now while it is still largely illicit.

"What we've seen happen in other states is that they don't have existing baseline data on recreational marijuana use and it becomes very difficult for both sides to have honest conversations about the effects and impacts," Rep. Hannah Kane, a Shrewsbury Republican who opposes legalization, told the News Service.

Massachusetts voters are split on whether their state should follow suit of states like Colorado, Washington, and Alaska—and legalize recreational marijuana.

According to a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll Saturday, 43 percent of likely Bay State voters said they would support a likely ballot initiative to legalize the sale of marijuana to anyone more than 21 years old, while 45.8 percent said they would oppose the measure.

 Despite what you've read in the news, marijuana legalization in Vermont isn't dead. Yes, the House defeated a Senate bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana use. But that setback hasn't derailed the movement. 

"Definitely the best is yet to come," Matt Simon - New England Political Director of the Marijuana Policy Project - told Civilized. "I hate losing but we're not losing. We're on the way to marijuana being legal across New England in the next two to three years."

Here's why Simon is so positive.

Last week, this column was pretty pessimistic. Apologies, but when a state in my own beloved Northeast decides to put the kibosh on a law that would reduce the number of prisoners in their jails in and increase the amount of tax dollars in its coffers, it grates at the nerves. New Hampshire did it, and Vermont did too, but to the East, Maine has given New England a new hope for legalization. 

A new chart from the Marijuana Business Daily show that America's four states with legal, recreational marijuana markets are going to have some company this fall - especially if the poll numbers in three key states hold up.

With the state’s top politicians joining forces to defeat a probable referendum legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Massachusetts, the discussion once again is centering on who is in favor of legalization and who is not. But that’s the wrong question. The real question is: If residents vote for legalization — and they probably will, given that medical marijuana was overwhelmingly approved in 2012 — what should the policy look like?

Instead of setting up for a bitter battle, opponents and proponents should work together to develop a marijuana policy that gives voters what they want while also limiting risk.

Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh are teaming up with other prominent Massachusetts politicians to form a ballot committee to fight against the legalization of recreational marijuana.

"As we face a substance addiction crisis of epic proportions, I oppose measures that make it easier to introduce young people to drug use," DeLeo said in a statement.

Americans are more supportive of marijuana legalization than ever before, and that support has led to 23 states passing medical marijuana laws and another four states legalizing recreational marijuana use. In November, voters in states including California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Nevada could weigh in on the issue too. With advocates ramping up their efforts to win support for marijuana legalization in these states, let's take a closer look.

A Winthrop lawyer and state Senate candidate who’s told local Democrats he’s opposed to legalizing marijuana until the state better educates kids on the “harmful effect of drugs” also served as a lawyer for a California-based cannabis cultivation company that once eyed the New England market.

Joseph Boncore — who’s running in Tuesday’s special primary for the seat once held by East Boston state Sen. Anthony Petruccelli — said he is against approving the recreational use of marijuana in Massachusetts, where advocates are pushing to get a ballot question before voters in November.