More state and local governments are signing onto not just marijuana legalization, but record expungement as well.

Though eleven states and Washington, D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana, the process of expunging prior cannabis convictions remains complicated and expensive, with methods to clear records varying widely between jurisdictions.

People with marijuana records may struggle to pay outstanding fines or locate documents from different courthouses -- if they are even aware at all that they are eligible for expungement.

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Alexander Lekhtman ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

High Times announced it will open two flagship retail stores offering cannabis under dispensary licenses, giving the strongest brand in the marijuana industry a new engine of growth as it prepares for a public listing.

Formally known as Hightimes Holding Corp., the owner of the eponymous magazine and operator of Cannabis Cup events has signed binding letters of intent with holders of dispensary licenses in high-traffic locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The new locations will provide a cross-marketing opportunity, both with the High Times and Cannabis Cup brands. 

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John Jannarone ~ IPO Edge ~ 

A year after Joan Caleodis became the first person in Ohio to purchase state-sanctioned medical marijuana, she said she remains mostly satisfied with the program but looks forward to a day when prices for cannabis products drop.

Caleodis, 56, of Martins Ferry in southeast Ohio, said she spends around $300 a month at local dispensaries to buy patches along with dried flowers and cannabis oil, which she vapes, to help treat primary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Thursday marks the one-year anniversary for medical marijuana sales in Ohio.

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Mark Gillispie ~ Associated Press ~ 

Thanks to changes in WADA policies, Olympic athletes can use CBD legally for the first time.

A new champion will be crowned when the 2020 Summer Olympics debut in Tokyo. We’re not talking gold medals or world records, though.

Instead, a new presence will be felt for the first time legally at the Olympics -- cannabidiol, or CBD.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, an organization that monitors and fights against the use of drugs in the Olympics, announced in 2018 that CBD had been removed from its list of banned substances. 

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In 2019 a flavonoid of cannabis – Caflanone (FBL-03G) – was granted Orphan drug status by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Now, trials using the flavonoid to treat pancreatic cancer are anticipated to begin in the spring.

Flavocure, a drug discovery and development company, was granted Orphan drug status to its lead drug candidate, the cannabis flavonoid Caflanone (FBL-03G), by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following the successful demonstration of its therapeutic efficacy in tumour progression in animals with pancreatic cancer.

The company is now on track to begin clinical trials for treating pancreatic cancer with Caflanone in the spring. 

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Health Europa ~ 

We talked with a couple of families with children who regularly medicate with cannabis, aiming to get a picture at what this lifestyle is like, what kinds of challenges they face, and how cannabis has transformed their lives.

It’s awful that there are sick children in this world, that someone so young could already be tied to grown-up matters like mandatory daily medicine.

Unfortunately, it’s a very real situation for many families, and its complications are made considerably more so when that medicine is federally illegal.

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Meg Hartley ~ Leafly.com ~

As CBD pet products become more common in Michigan - and as pet exposure to marijuana becomes more likely - veterinarians are asking lawmakers to give them more leeway to discuss the substances with clients.

Legislation pending in the House Agriculture Committee would add language to Michigan’s public health code explicitly allowing veterinarians to talk about marijuana or CBD with pet owners, specifically to discuss pros and cons and whether the pet is being exposed to the products.

Michigan has allowed medicinal marijuana use since 2008, and hemp and recreational marijuana were legalized in 2018.

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Lauren Gibbons ~ Mlive.com ~

Place your beer down and pass the joint around. That may be a regular sentence in any of the universities based in states that have legalized the use of marijuana.

A study by Oregon State University (OSU) has discovered that undergraduate students aged 18 to 26 are smoking more and more marijuana in legalized states.

In contrast, they're binge drinking less and less. The study was published on Monday in Addiction.

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Fabienne Lang ~ InterestingEngineering.com ~ 

A state-best $9.8 million in marijuana tax revenue was collected by Nevada in October, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation, which regulates the industry.

The total, the largest since recreational sales began legal in July 2017, represents an increase of more than $1 million from September and a jump of close to $1.6 million from the October 2018.

The state collects on a 15% wholesale cultivation and production tax, along with a 10% excise tax on retail sales.

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Bryan Horwath ~ LasVegasSun.com ~ 

'The findings are astounding and present a national challenge,' says doctor.

Approximately 1.4m British people are using “street cannabis” to treat medically-diagnosed chronic health conditions, a poll has found.

Previous research estimated between 50,000 and 1.1m people in the UK regularly use cannabis bought illegally as a form of medicinal treatment.

However, according to a new study of the “largest ever polling sample”, a greater number than estimated are purchasing cannabis outside of the law as a means of treating chronic health issues.

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A House panel on Wednesday is set to examine some of the barriers to marijuana research amid a growing disconnect between federal and state policies.

“There is a chasm between the federal laws and what over 30 states are doing,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) told The Hill in an interview Tuesday.

Eshoo, the chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, said she wants to hear officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency explain why the federal government is potentially blocking research into the effects of marijuana.

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Nathaniel Weixel ~ TheHill.com ~ 

The legal cannabusiness has been pushing innovation in all things growing and manufacturing related.

In the olden days of hemp it was farmed much like any other crop with backbreaking labor at the forefront of the process.

Today technology is at the forefront, not only controlling water and nutrients, but also monitoring for excess moisture and problems like mold and rot.

With these plants being as expensive and controlled as they are, any bit of technology to help boost yields is going to be a game changer. 

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Statewide sales of legal marijuana totaled $19.7 million in the first 12 days, officials said.

There were 495,385 transactions from Jan. 1 to Sunday at marijuana shops across the state, including in Addison, North Aurora and Mundelein, for an average transaction of $40.

"Illinois had a far more successful launch of cannabis than many of the other states that have legalized, but this is about more than money, it's about starting a new industry in a way that includes communities left behind for far too long," Toi Hutchinson, senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for cannabis control, said in a news release Monday.

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Elena Ferrarin ~ DailyHerald.com ~ 

The results could pave the way to new treatments for anxiety.

When we’re stressed or anxious, we tend to turn to things that make us feel better — and for some, that means cannabis.

In fact, this is one of the primary reasons for smoking weed or taking CBD, according to a 2009 study on young adults.

But despite its popularity as a salve for anxious brains, scientists don’t know how the chemicals in marijuana work to calm anxiety — but the discovery of a molecule that affects an anxiety-producing super-highway in the brain could hold the key.

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Patients who live in states where medical marijuana is legal are less likely to use opioids to treat their chronic pain. That's according to a recent study by three Florida International University professors who sought to examine the effect of cannabis laws on opioid use.

The study also concluded that although medical marijuana laws corresponded with less reliance on opioids, those same laws did nothing to mitigate the misuse of opioids.

In other words, people currently abusing the drugs won't likely be affected by changing medical marijuana laws in their states.

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Kristine Gill ~ MiamiNewTimes.com ~ 

Marijuana seizures at the U.S. border jumped in the year after Canada legalized recreational cannabis.

Figures provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show American officers seized 2,214 kg of marijuana from travellers entering the U.S. between Nov. 1, 2018 and Oct. 31, 2019, up from just 1,259 kg over the same period a year earlier.

That's an increase in volume of about 75 per cent.

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Kathleen Harris ~ CBC News ~

Colorado marijuana dispensaries have set a new sales record for the sixth consecutive year, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Commercial pot sales accounted for just over $141 million in November, state data shows.

That was good enough to put 2019's overall sales total past $1.6 billion, breaking 2018's record of approximately $1.55 billion...and there's still one month of sales figures to add to the total.

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Thomas Mitchell ~ Westword.com ~

“It’s like when you drink whiskey or wine — there’s more to it than just the alcohol content.”

The smell smacks your nostrils. A cocktail of earthy, citrusy and skunky scents are swirling in a flowering room tucked inside a 27,000-square-foot factory planted in Sparks.

Hundreds of green plants are lined in rows, standing tall and strong, each one identical in shape and color.

Two people sporting teal scrubs, hairnets and ear buds are trimming the pungent plants. 

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Currently, Tennessee is among a dwindling number of states where marijuana has been neither decriminalized nor legalized for medical or recreational use.

Proponents of medical marijuana launched their next legislative effort Thursday with an attempt to convince law enforcement officials from across the state not to oppose legal dispensaries selling cannabis products to sick Tennesseans.

Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, said she intends to introduce a bill in the coming months that would create a state government infrastructure to issue marijuana cards and regulate the sale of marijuana vapes, edibles and non-smokable products.

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Brett Kelman ~Tennessean.com ~ 

CTA, the organization behind both CES and the CES Innovation Award, barred Keep Labs from using the word "cannabis" on its booth or on any marketing materials -- in spite of marijuana being legal to buy in Nevada.

A 15-year veteran in enterprise technology, Phil Wilkins has epilepsy and uses cannabis medicinally to ease his seizures -- but he also has three children.

Alongside a business partner, he created a solution: Keep.

On the outside, Keep looks like a charming little smart alarm clock. But it's all deception. Keep is a safe, subtle way to store cannabis. 

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