An alert store manager, watching his employees close shop via a live video feed, sent two armed robbers straight into the arms of the Seattle police Sunday night. The incident happened around 10:30 p.m. at the Have a Heart cannabis store in North Seattle’s sleepy Greenwood neighborhood. As employees were closing up for the night, two masked gunmen held the store’s security guard at gunpoint and forced their way into the store. The gunmen then used zip ties to restrain the two female employees before raiding the safe. 

As the cannabis legalization movement continues to grow, so does public education about the long-demonized pot plant. There is an increased understanding of marijuana as being less of a dangerous drug (though the U.S. government still stubbornly classifies  it as such) and more of a potentially beneficial medicinal herb .

All eyes in the marijuana industry are on South Dakota following the news last week that the state's top prosecutor would bring felony charges against a pair of consultants who helped a Native American tribe grow marijuana.

While federal raids have taken place across the country as tribes enter into marijuana and hemp growing operations, industry officials think South Dakota is the first state to bring charges against a pair of marijuana consultants who helped the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe cultivate its crop.

Millions more Americans now admit to toking up than just three years before.

That conclusion is based on a new Gallup survey, which found the number of Americans admitting to current marijuana use has nearly doubled in just three years. In 2013, 7 percent of US adults responding to Gallup admitted to smoking marijuana. This year, 13 percent did.

As Christopher Ingraham at the Washington Post pointed out, that 13 percent amounts to more than 33 million Americans — more than the population of Texas.

Conference puts spotlight on biotech, science in industry.

An 8-year-old girl and a panel of former professional athletes were among those speaking on the final day of the first medical marijuana conference ever held at the San Diego Convention Center. 

Unlike other marijuana-related events, such as the Hempcon and the Cannabis Cup, there was no weed or products containing its psychoactive component, THC, at the two-day Southern California Cannabis Conference and Expo. With 210 booths, panels of speakers and up to 3,000 attendees per day, the expo’s focus was more biotech than bongs, more science than stoners, organizers and participants said.

Amy Margolis is setting up her own weed-focused law practice after leaving Emerge Law Group.

A prominent cannabis lawyer has left one of Oregon's biggest marijuana law firms.

Amy Margolis has left Emerge Law Group, a Portland firm that has played a key role in shaping the state's recreational cannabis policy.

Margolis tells WW she has set up her own weed-focused law firm, Margolis Legal, in Portland after leaving  Emerge.

"There's no bad reason," says Margolis. "I've been practicing on my own for a long time. I was ready to engage with clients in a new way."

Le Herbe – the premium brand behind lines of cannabis green tea, iced coffee and water – has expanded its ready-to-drink range with the launch of new cannabis cocktail mixers.

The new range of beverages will feature local organic ingredients combined with sun-grown cannabis, distributed in in legalised states across the US. Le Herbe cannabis cocktail mixers can be simply poured on the rocks, served as shooters and shots, or mixed with spirits for the perfect cocktail, the brand said.

How far would you go to help a loved one in your life?

That is the question being asked by members of Oklahomans for Health.

For someone who is suffering from the pain of lupus, or for someone who is dying from cancer, members of Oklahomans for Health say to get medical marijuana legislation on the ballot in November.

To find the closest location to sign a petition putting the legalization of  medical marijuana on the ballot, go to the map at oklahomansforhealth.com. A list of businesses is provided that have petitions to sign. Less than 72 hours is left to sign the petition.

The pharmacological strategy for the treatment of schizophrenia has not changed in the six decades since chlorpromazine was introduced in 1952. Although several newer agents have recently gained approval, the mechanism of action of antipsychotics is still largely based on normalising dopaminergic neurotransmission which does not adequately address the symptomatology of a very complex disorder (Hyman, 2014). Moreover, they cause side effects such as extrapyramidal motor symptoms and metabolic syndrome which can worsen the patient condition.

Ohio is looking to hire an expert who knows the ins and outs of growing marijuana and the medical marijuana business.

The drug will be legal as of next month in Ohio, although it will take up to two years for full implementation.

In preparation, the Ohio Department of Commerce, one of three agencies tasked with its regulation, wants to hire a contractor for a Medical Marijuana Industry Analysis and Regulatory Framework to suss out the best marijuana cultivation techniques, which includes analyzing supply and demand and setting standards for businesses that will operate in Ohio.