States that legalized marijuana as a medical alternative saw a drop in prescription drug use, according to a new study published in July in Health Affairs — suggesting that medical marijuana may be one way to combat the United States’ deadly opioid epidemic.

The researchers, a father-daughter team at the University of Georgia, combed through three years of prescription data filled under Medicare Part D between 2010 to 2013. Then they looked specifically at nine conditions for which marijuana can be used as an alternative treatment: anxiety, depression, glaucoma, nausea, pain, psychosis, seizures, sleep disorders, and spasticity.

An effort is forming to oppose ballot initiatives that would legalize medial marijuana, saying it would lead to increased use of the drug and, eventually, full legalization.

The Coalition for Safer Arkansas Communities held an informational meeting Friday that included a message from Terry Benham of Impact Management, who is managing the group’s campaign, Keep Arkansas Safe. The main speaker was Little Rock native and Colorado resident Henny Laster of Smart Colorado, a group that opposes marijuana legalization in that state.

Thursday afternoon, officials in the small town of Hugo, Colorado, told residents they’d found THC—yup, that would be the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana—in local wells. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment discouraged residents from drinking, cooking with, or bathing in the water, but subsequent tests revealed that there was not, in fact, THC in the water supply. Experts are still investigating, but it sounds like this is a case of false positives. 

Four doctors are suing after their medical licenses were suspended for allegedly prescribing too much marijuana to patients. Courthouse News reported that doctors Gentry Dunlop,  Robert Maiocco, Deborah Kaye Parr, and William Tyler Stone filed complaints against the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment saying that there were no limits on the books for how much of the substance doctors can prescribe their patients, and that the Board used a “secret policy” to make their decision.

To a child on the prowl for sweets, that brownie, cookie or bear-shaped candy left on the kitchen counter is just asking to be gobbled up. But in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, notably Colorado, that child may end up with more than a sugar high.

A study published on Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics says that in Colorado the rates of marijuana exposure in young children, many of them toddlers, have increased 150 percent since 2014, when recreational marijuana products, like sweets, went on the market legally.

Not long ago, whenever professional athletes dabbled with marijuana, it was bad news: multigame suspensions, ruined careers, endless stoner jokes. Not anymore. Just take a look at this week’s Sports Illustrated, which dedicated its cover story to former NFL running back Ricky Williams’ relationship with cannabis. Williams’ 11 NFL seasons were marked by repeated suspensions for positive marijuana tests, hand-wringing, and forced contrition; now the big story is that Williams has become an outspoken marijuana advocate and co-founder of the world’s first cannabis-friendly gym, Power Plant Fitness and Wellness.

Ever wonder what it would be like to work in the cannabis industry? Now you can take a crack at the marijuana biz with the mobile game Hemp Inc.

Developed by HKA Digital Studios, "Hemp Inc." let's you put your entrepreneurial skills to the test by growing cannabis strains, hiring bud tenders, franchising and doing everything else involved in becoming a cannabis tycoon.

Is a reintroduction in the cards for this contentious crop?

Ryan Loflin bet the farm in 2013 and did what no U.S. producer had done for 70 years.

The Springfield, Colo., farmer ordered hemp seed by mail from Europe and stockpiled his supply bit by precious bit. When the cache climbed to 1,500 lb., Loflin dotted 60 acres of flat ground with hemp seed. Then he waited for Uncle Sam to come knocking.

No cease and desist letter. No phone call from the feds. No Drug Enforcement Agency raid. Loflin became the first U.S. farmer since the 1940s to plant and harvest industrial hemp. 

Particularly in an ag economy with low commodity prices, hemp is beckoning U.S. farmers. Federal prohibition remains in place, but some states are moving forward with legalization. 

Heliospectra AB (publ) (OTCQB:HLSPY, FIRSTNORTH:HELIO), a world leader in intelligent lighting technology for controlled environments horticulture, is pleased to announce that Green Leaf, a recently licensed cannabis cultivation facility in Alaska, selected the Heliospectra LED lighting system. Green Leaf owner-operator Aaron Bean chose the Heliospectra LED-based solution after determining that it is the only product in the marketplace with the power and versatility to support every stage of the cannabis growth cycle.

A new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides an in-depth examination of marijuana use in the United States, as well as data regarding the public’s perception of the risks associated with the drug.

Using data collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2012 to 2014, SAMHSA analyzed various regions around the country and within states to determine the rates of marijuana use and “perceptions of risks of harm” associated with the drug’s use in different parts of the U.S.