Opponents of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes have long argued that such laws will encourage more youngsters to partake. But that notion may have no factual grounding, according to a new study that shows cannabis use among teenagers didn’t increase in states that legalized medical marijuana.

Marijuana has been legal in the District of Columbia for nearly two months now, despite ongoing warnings from Congress that the city's voter-approved experiment violates federal law.

Voters in Washington overwhelmingly approved an initiative last November that allows adults to possess up to two ounces of marijuana. They can also cultivate up to six cannabis plants within their homes at one time. But Congress has direct oversight over the District's laws, so the controversial new law is facing heavy scrutiny from Capitol Hill.

Action Points

• Note that this observational study found that eighth- to 12th- graders in states which have passed medical marijuana laws were more likely to have used marijuana.
• Be aware, however, that the within-state changes from before- to after-legislation were not significant.

The availability of medical marijuana does not cause a surge in pot smoking among teens, according to a national, school-based survey.

Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America, behind alcohol and tobacco. It is estimated that nearly 100 million Americans use it.

Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., recently have legalized marijuana’s recreational use and distribution. Many employers in Iowa are wondering how this trend will affect their workplace.

But frankly, unless federal and state laws are changed, the answer is not at all.

Remember, marijuana still is illegal under federal law (the Controlled Substances Act) and Iowa law. In fact, even in those states that legalized marijuana years ago (Colorado and Washington), many employers continue to drug test for marijuana in the workplace.

House Republicans advanced a budget plan Thursday that would prevent legal sales of marijuana in D.C. for more than two years.

Here’s the surprise: advocates for legalization called it a victory.

What the Republican budget does not do – at least not yet – is roll back Initiative 71, the voter-approved measure from November that legalized pot for recreational use in the nation’s capital. Since early this year, D.C. residents have been allowed to possess, grow and, in the privacy of their own homes, smoke marijuana.

The House advanced a budget resolution Thursday that says marijuana can't be sold for two more years in Washington, D.C. The vote comes on the heels of several maneuvers in the legislative body to protect medical marijuana laws in the states, including a measure that instructs the Drug Enforcement Administration not to target state medical marijuana dispensaries. 

Hundreds of tribal representatives as well as American Indian advocates and supporters are expected to rally in Washington D.C. on June 16 in front of the U.S. Capitol to bring attention to advancing economic development in Indian country.

This is the second year that the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development will host a regional Reservation Economic Summit, or RES event, in the nation's capital, and the first time that a rally will be held, according to Gary Davis, president and CEO of the National Center, a nonprofit organization that assists American Indian tribes and their enterprises with business and economic development.

Businesses wishing to offer medical cannabis to clients need to ensure they are prepared to distinguish themselves in a rapidly expanding field, announces Marijuana Marketing

As of May 5, 2015, 23 states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana. In addition, other states are debating on whether they should follow suit. Businesses and collectives in the industry find they must act quickly to distinguish themselves in a rapidly growing field and Marijuana Marketing strives to help them do so, offering tools to help a company or collective make their mark.

Time was when most life insurers had no underwriting policy regarding an applicant’s use of marijuana. But that’s no longer the case.

According to a survey by Munich American Reassurance, 29 percent of life insurers with an underwriting policy in place classify marijuana users as non-smokers. The survey is based on on-site interviews of nearly 150 underwriters. They were attending the April annual meeting of the Association of Home Office Underwriters in Washington, D.C.

Of the life carriers represented in the survey, just one in five have no official underwriting policy in place for marijuana users, according to the Atlanta business unit of Munich Re.

A majority of doctors would approve the use of medical marijuana, according to a new survey.

"We were surprised by the outcome of polling and comments, with 76 percent of all votes in favor of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes -- even though marijuana use is illegal in most countries," the survey's authors wrote.

The results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine on May 30. It included responses from 1,446 doctors from 72 different countries and 56 different states and provinces in North America. In addition, 118 doctors posted comments about their decision on the survey.