Bad news for supporters of legal marijuana: One state's highest court recently announced it was voiding a decriminalization ordinance that passed last April.

Ready or not, here comes marijuana!

The past two decades have featured a fairly steady expansion in the legal uses of marijuana across the United States. Since 1996, when California passed Proposition 215, which allowed marijuana to be medically prescribed to treat select ailments, a total of 23 states, along with Washington D.C., have legalized the use of marijuana for specific approved conditions.

A months-long shortage of medical marijuana in the District has been eased in recent weeks by new growers moving into the city and a change in the law that doubled the number of plants producers can cultivate, according to buyers and suppliers.

The boost in supply has ended rationing and cut the price of cannabis for the 3,500 city residents legally allowed to buy it. During the shortage, some patients said they were forced buy marijuana from street users or turn to ad hoc networks of unsanctioned growers willing to provide it at low or no cost.

DENVER -- Colorado's restrictions on marijuana advertising are aimed at protecting impressionable children. A local man said the laws are failing and the loopholes are easy to work around.

Greenfield is now serving dabble extracts,” Scott Carlson, of Aurora, reads a text message his wife received more than a month ago.

“We have two grams of pure fire wax $45,” he reads from his phone.

He said he was surprised to learn it came from a Denver-based marijuana shop they've never been to.

“We don`t know how they got the number,” he said.

Carlson and his wife replied to the message, STOP, as instructed in the text to be taken off the mass text database.

Cannabix Hand-held THC Marijuana Breathalyzer is being developed to give law enforcement and employers the ability to test for recent consumption of the THC component of marijuana.

Vancouver, British Columbia (PRWEB) February 01, 2016

It was 2012, and Douglas Leighton wanted to pour some money into marijuana.

Leighton, the co-founder of a Boston-based hedge fund called Dutchess Capital, had done his homework. He saw public opinion shifting in favor of cannabis. Laws had already begun to follow, including the legalization of medical marijuana in Massachusetts.

And as the legal landscape changed, a $50 billion black market was about to emerge into the sunlight—marking a major investment opportunity.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Plus, he admitted, he just enjoyed smoking pot.

“It’s what got me interested in it, definitely,” Leighton said.

The group pushing for a November referendum on marijuana legalization will submit its signatures to the secretary of state Monday, paving the way for a decision on whether Maine should join the growing number of states to accept recreational use of the drug.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which backs a bill that would allow adults 21 and older to possess marijuana, said Sunday that it had collected 103,115 signatures in its quest to become the first East Coast state to legalize pot for recreational use. The campaign must submit 61,123 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

As snow began to fall outside, Deb Button snuggled up on her couch, fired up a joint and spoke of the nature of Christ.

"Even if Jesus didn't smoke weed, he'd still be a stoner," she said, exhaling a white cloud.

Her kitten sniffed the air curiously.

"Jesus was peaceful and loving. He went from house to house and was always accepted," she explained. "Only a stoner could do that."

Medical marijuana venture Vireo Health is seeking $31.5 million in equity financing as it prepares to expand into more states. According to CEO Dr. Kyle Kingsley, the Minneapolis-based parent company of Minnesota Medical Solutions (MinnMed) is close to reeling in $6 million of that amount.

As of today, Vireo’s staff has a headcount of nearly 50 employees but expects its staff to expand ten-fold in the upcoming years. Vireo is largely targeting individual investors as opposed to institutional funds, an approach it used to bankroll its original launch in Minnesota and New York.