The Associated Press

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Recreational marijuana bill clears Connecticut legislative committee

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A bill that would help Connecticut prepare for the possibility of legalized recreational marijuana has cleared a legislative hurdle.

Marijuana not part of North Dakota’s corporate farming ban

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North Dakota’s Great Depression-era law banning corporate farming won’t preclude horticulture operations from growing medical marijuana, provided it’s not done on agricultural land, the state’s attorney general has determined.

County officials sue the state of Oregon, call marijuana farms a “nuisance”

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Officials in an Oregon county who have tried to restrict commercial marijuana production sued the state in federal court, asserting state laws that made pot legal are pre-empted by federal law that criminalize it.

Two small Colorado towns OK recreational cannabis sales

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Voters in a western Colorado town have approved allowing a variety of marijuana businesses, including stores for medical and adult-use recreational products, manufacturing facilities and cultivation facilities.

North Carolina mom admits she put marijuana blunt in 1-year-old child’s mouth

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A search warrant says a North Carolina mother confessed to letting her 1-year-old child smoke pot in a social media video that went viral.

Interest in Massachusetts marijuana licenses appears strong

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The state’s Cannabis Control Commission reported on Tuesday that more than 200 applications have been started on the agency’s website since a “priority certification” period opened one day earlier.

Utah Medical Association: medical marijuana campaign “not about medicine”

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The group says supporters have used the images of suffering patients to disguise their true aim of opening another market for their products.

Illinois’ medical marijuana industry is about to lose its main bank

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“The Bank of Springfield will not jeopardize any of their customers by working with businesses that operate in the legal gray zone,” a bank spokesman said.

Albuquerque City Council votes to decriminalize marijuana

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“This would put Albuquerque in line with a third of the population” in the United States, said Emily Kaltenbach, the state director in New Mexico for the Drug Policy Alliance.

New studies link legal marijuana to fewer opioid prescriptions under Medicaid and Medicare

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Two new studies examining opioid prescriptions in legal marijuana states were published by the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Alaska marijuana testing lab closes, leaving only 2 in state

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Steep Hill Alaska, of Anchorage, declared in an Instagram post that the lab is “suspending cannabis testing operations on March 31.”

From horses to hemp: Colorado rancher eyes second calling

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Known far and wide as “America’s Most Trusted Horseman,” last year Lyons turned his Colorado ranch into a hemp and CBD (Cannabidiol) oil facility.

Utah governor to oppose medical marijuana ballot initiative

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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said that he believe the proposal has major flaws and lacks safeguards for the growing and distribution of marijuana that “would potentially open the door to recreational use.”

Nevada marijuana industry experts share tips on edibles consumption

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Open a pack of convenience store gummy candies and it’s hard not to grab a handful at a time to satisfy your craving. But doing the same for a tube of marijuana gummy candies purchased at one of Las Vegas’ legal pot dispensaries could leave users on the floor.

Marijuana-friendly states want meeting with Jeff Sessions

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California, Oregon and other marijuana-friendly states are seeking a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in hopes of resolving the conflict between federal and state laws that has left the nation’s cannabis industry in legal limbo.

Michigan closed 210 medical marijuana shops in the last 2 weeks. Most were in Detroit

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Shops ordered to close did not apply for a license, applied too late, submitted an application without their municipality’s blessing or possibly filled out some information incorrectly, according to officials.

Plans for California marijuana resort “on the back burner” after town sold to oil company

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Nipton’s owners have discovered that even after California legalized recreational marijuana on Jan. 1, meeting the myriad of regulations to obtain a license to sell it is not easy.

Weedmaps ads for unlicensed marijuana shops roils California market

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“That’s Weedmaps’ business model, to confuse the difference between legal and illegal,” said Jerred Kiloh, a licensed dispensary owner in Los Angeles. “It’s an unfair playing field. They are pitting us against each other.”

Nevada state Sen. Tick Segerblom: More marijuana tax funds for schools

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The state projected the tax would generate $13.6 million in the first seven months of legal recreational marijuana sales, which started last July. Actual numbers have been nearly $23 million.

California’s “largest marijuana business landlord” sues city over regulations

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A woman who owns a business that claims to be California’s largest landlord of marijuana businesses sued the city of San Bernardino to overturn its pot regulation ordinance that could bar her from the industry.

Remember that company developing a marijuana resort in California? They’re selling the town to an oil company.

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American Green says the sale includes the provision that it continue with its project to transform the 80-acre town on the edge of the Mojave Desert into a cannabis-themed resort.

New Jersey expanding its medical marijuana program, Gov. Phil Murphy pushing for recreational

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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program. The announcement comes as Murphy pushes for legalized recreational marijuana in New Jersey.

Utah’s new medical marijuana laws won’t stop ballot initiative that would further expand access

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Utah medical marijuana advocates already have 117,000 verified signatures for the ballot initiative – more than the 113,000 needed by the April 15 deadline.

Nevada marijuana sales down in January, still ahead of projections

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“It’s a good spot to be in, but it’s not growing like I thought it would,” said Democratic State Sen. Tick Segerblom.

Utah gov signs bill legalizing medical marijuana for research, terminally ill

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Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has signed a measure that allows medical marijuana to be grown in the state and sets up state-run dispensary for cannabis to be handed out for research purposes or use by people who are terminally ill.

3 plead guilty to trying to ship 11 pounds of marijuana from Colorado to Mississippi

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A third man has pleaded guilty to trying to FedEx 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of marijuana from Colorado to a Mississippi home.

Maine police department will now hire recruits who recently used marijuana

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PORTLAND, Maine — Police in Portland, Maine will now consider new recruits who are non-citizens and who have recently used marijuana. The Portland Press Herald reports the city’s police department is loosening its hiring policies during a time when departments across the state are struggling to find new recruits. The…

Arkansas judge tosses state’s medical marijuana licensing process

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In his ruling, Judge Wendell Griffen said he “takes no joy” in blocking the state from issuing the licenses.

Michigan “Hash Bash” organizers hope to legalize marijuana

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This year’s event could be the last that focuses on state prohibition, said Mark Passerini, the festival’s lead organizer.

Marijuana entrepreneurs hope for green in reliably red Texas

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Texas hasn’t legalized marijuana, but that hasn’t stopped some entrepreneurs from planting their flags early, wagering that the Lone Star State will one day have its own “green rush.”

Georgia medical marijuana advocates fuming over stalled PTSD bill

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The bill, which passed the House overwhelmingly last month, has not received a Senate committee hearing.