Donald Trump has been compared to plenty of things — a spoiled brat, a carnival barker, Mussolini. But HBO’s John Oliver says the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination is “America’s back mole.”

“It may have seemed harmless a year ago,“ Oliver said on “Last Week Tonight” Sunday. “But now that it has gotten frighteningly bigger, it is no longer wise to ignore it.”

“I get it, he’s unpredictable and entertaining,” Oliver continued. “Donald Trump can seem appealing until you take a closer look, much like a lunch buffet at a strip club, or the NFL, or having a pet chimpanzee. Sure, it seems fun, but some day Coco is going to tear your f***ing limbs off.”

Even D.A.R.E. isn’t pretending like marijuana is a gateway drug anymore.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.), one of the largest anti-drug groups in the world, no longer lists marijuana as a so-called “gateway drug” on its website, as one Redditor recently pointed out.

The gateway theory basically claims that people who start using “soft” substances, such as marijuana, then go on to use “hard” drugs like heroin or cocaine.

It’s a fairly common argument made to support marijuana prohibition.

Earlier today I posed a question on my Facebook page – “What do you think are the best investment areas in the cannabis industry right now?” I made sure to state ahead of time that I wasn’t talking about any particular companies, because ‘invest in this company’ blah blah blah, it gets old. I was talking about areas or sectors of the marijuana industry that present good investment opportunities. To be very clear, I am in NO WAY an investor in anything, other than retro arcade games and consumable cannabis, and even then only on a personal level (up to 8 ounces legally in Oregon!). So take my opinion for what you will.

Senator Coleman Young II introduced a bill and a Resolution related to marijuana in the Michigan Senate on Feb. 24.

Senate Bill 813 would establish the “Nonmedical Marihuana Code”. It would legalize marijuana and allow possession of one ounce and 5 flowering plants per adult, plus an unlimited amount of marijuana generated from the plants, provided that stash is kept where the garden is. Out-of-state visitors are allowed one-half an ounce of flower. Hashish: 5 grams for residents, one gram for tourists.

MISSOULA, Mont. - Medical marijuana patients in Montana are worried they won't be able to get prescriptions filled after last week's state supreme court decision.

Thursday justices upheld most of a restrictive law passed by the 2011 legislature. Part of their decision said medical marijuana providers can make money but can only sell to a maximum of three patients.

Katrina Farnum, the owner of Garden Mother Herb in Missoula, said she has no idea who will help most of her 124 patients with their chronic illnesses.

"The people who I've been dealing with for the last two days are in tears and don't know what they're supposed to do," she said.

She's been in business for over 12 years.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A medical marijuana bill is headed back to the floor of the Florida Senate after being approved in the rules committee Monday.

The bill (SB 460) was debated on the Senate floor last week but was referred back to committee because of the number of late amendments sought.

When Sen. Rob Bradley introduced the bill in October, he wanted to expand the Right to Try Act to allow terminally ill patients to use nonsmokable marijuana of all strengths and doses. However, the Republican from Fleming Island has added regulations to resolve issues that have come up since the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act signed by Gov. Rick Scott two years ago.

People burning to work with marijuana are flocking to California and other states with an established pot culture to work as "budtenders" in smoke shops and cafés or as entrepreneurs in operations developing the latest cannabis products.

There is a "record exodus" of workers from corporate America to an "expanding, legal $5.4bn-and-growing weed country," reports California's East Bay Express.

Marijuana can alter the way one processes their emotions, according to a new study. Colorado State University researchers found that pot can affect users’ ability to recognize, process and “empathize with human emotions.”

The study, published Monday in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at the brain activities of 70 participants over the course of two years. Researchers classified participants based on whether they considered themselves chronic, moderate or nonusers of marijuana. 

Some of Iowa's most influential business leaders are urging state legislators to pass a bill that would expand the state's medical cannabis laws.

"Now is the time to help suffering Iowans and their families get legal access to this medicine, and we hereby call on Iowa lawmakers to debate and pass Comprehensive Medical Cannabis legislation this session," a letter signed by more than 90 business leaders and sent to lawmakers reads.

Meredith Corp. CEO Steve Lacy, Principal Financial Group CEO Dan Houston, Bankers Trust CEO Suku Radia, Knapp Properties CEO Gerry Neugent, local real estate developer Bill Knapp and BelinMcCormick attorney Steve Zumbach are among the influential names attached to it.

John Roulac, founder and CEO of hemp superfoods brand Nutiva, plans to announce that he will buy all the organic hemp Kentucky can produce, according to a news release from the Kentucky Hemp Research Foundation and Atalo Holdings.

Roulac plans to make the announcement at GoOrganic!, a seminar on organic agronomics Feb. 29 at the Hemp Research Campus in Winchester.

“Demand for certified organic foods is growing. We look forward to sourcing organic hemp from Kentucky farmers,” Roulac said.

The transition to organic farming methods can take 2 to 5 years, and Roulac is encouraging farmers to prepare now, although the USDA has instructed its National Organic Program’s accredited certifying agents to not certify organically grown hemp.