No state east of the Mississippi has legalized marijuana, but the land of Yankees has several states that could free the weed this year.

No state east of the Mississippi has legalized marijuana, but that's very likely to change this year, and New England will be leading the way. Two of the six New England states will likely let the voters make the call in November, while the others all have legalization bills pending.

So far, with the exception of Washington, DC, where voters elected to legalize the possession and cultivation, but not the sale of marijuana in 2014, all of the legalization action has been in the West. The four states that have legalized it so far—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington—are all Western states.

SEATTLE (AP) — While Denver has recalled 19 pot products in as many weeks over pesticide issues, no such recalls have affected Washington state in the 18 months that pot sales have been legal.

The Seattle Times reports that no products were recalled after Washington officials fined two marijuana growers and suspended the licenses of two others for using unapproved pesticides.

Experts say it’s difficult to determine whether consumers should be worried about that.

Although there’s abundant research on pesticides on food, there’s little information about the effects of heating and inhaling such chemicals. The federal prohibition on marijuana has prevented relevant research.

Roseanne Barr wants you to smoke a bowl with her at her new medical marijuana shop, opening soon in California. Can’t you hear her laugh already?

The comedic actress has invested in a weed dispensary called Roseanne’s Joint in Santa Ana, which will sell all sorts of edibles including chocolate-covered weed snacks made with macadamia nuts from Oprah’s favorite Hawaiian nut producer. The store, along with the comedian’s personal strain of weed, will be named Roseanne’s Joint.

Via the OC Register, Barr also says she plans on stopping by the store from time to time:

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The House Commerce Subcommittee will review H.S.B. 607, Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.

Thanks to legislation, passed in 2014, cannabis oil is technically legal to use in Iowa for help with chronic epilepsy. But, lawmakers neglected to go further.

It’s illegal to sell cannabis oil in the state or bring it in from other states.

“You can't do anything," said Iowa House Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton). "Really, the bill we passed a couple years ago isn't being effective."

Kaufmann worked with House Commerce Committee Chair Peter Cownie to create H.S.B. 607, which Cownie announced last week.

New Mexico won't follow the lead of Colorado and other Western states that have legalized marijuana as a recreational drug, at least not this year.

State senators on Sunday night voted 24-17 against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed people 25 and older to buy and smoke marijuana. The measure also would have legalized industrial hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant, that has myriad commercial uses.

All 18 Republicans and six Democrats voted against the proposal to legalize marijuana and hemp after a debate lasting about 40 minutes. Both advocates and opponents of the marijuana measure used crime as their leading argument.

Medical marijuana is legal in New York, but veterans’ doctors are still forbidden from recommending it.

It’s a painful irony for those like retired Cpl. Matthew Welch, whose wartime injuries 11 years ago left him with severe nerve damage and phantom pains in his left leg.

“To me, we’re the people who fought for freedom. We should not be restricted the way it seems like we’re being restricted,” said Welch, who lives in Corinth with his wife and three children.

“It seems a lot harder for a veteran to get medical marijuana than a civilian,” he said.

In an unprecedented move doctors in Colorado are treating a 2-month old baby with cannabis oil at Children's Hospital Colorado.

The Nunez family of Albuquerque, New Mexico travelled to Denver seeking treatment for their daughter, Amylea who was born in December and started suffering from seizures immediately after birth. She was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy.

In the 1980s, scientists working for Pfizer set their sights on developing a drug for the pharmaceutical giant that would relieve hypertension and help save the lives of those suffering from angina. After years of tireless research by some of the best scientific minds money could buy, Pfizer created the chemical compound sildenafi l citrate in 1989. The company poured more money, time and talent into putting its new drug through clinical trials, only to discover sildenafi l citrate wasn’t very effective in treating heart problems. However, men taking the would-be heart medication reported increased erections, and Pfizer decided to spin the drug’s side effect into its main purpose. On March 27, 1998, the FDA approved sildenafi l citrate for public consumption under the brand name Viagra.

According to a new report from ArcView Market Research, legal marijuana sales could grow by 30% per year through 2020.

Ready or not, legal marijuana could be coming to a state or city near you in the not-too-distant future.

Since 1996, we've witnessed an incredibly quick rate of expansion for marijuana at the state level. Beginning with California legalizing medical marijuana, 22 additional states, along with Washington, D.C., now allow for medical cannabis to be prescribed by physicians for specific ailments that vary by state.

Although Massachusetts voters will decide the outcome of the referendum questions on next fall's ballot, at least two of the ballot question campaigns will be shaped in large part by forces outside the state.

A review of campaign finance reports found that organizations outside Massachusetts are the major backers of questions to legalize recreational marijuana and ban the sale of meat and eggs from confined animals.

The outside money means that those committees will be able to fund strong campaigns, with advertising and grassroots organizing. But it also opens the organizers up to criticism for not representing the interests of Massachusetts.