marijuana legalization

WeGrow, a just-opened marijuana superstore in Phoenix, boasts 21,000 square feet of cannabis gardening tools and a "plant whisperer" who makes house calls. It dubs itself the "Walmart of Weed," and hopes its big-box mentality will lure the country's budding legions of medical-marijuana users.

According to a new poll, almost three-quarters of Americans favor legalizing marijuana within their respective states for medical use, while just 18% oppose such a measure. A majority also believe legalizing pot could help boost tax revenues in their state.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has taken emergency action to begin the process of banning synthetic marijuana, smokable leaves coated in chemicals to mimic the effect of pot. The chemicals have been the subject of a growing number of medical complaints such as seizures, hallucinations and dependency.

It looks like a ballot measure to legalize marijuana in California has failed. Proposition 19 would have made it legal for adults of drinking age to possess up to 1 ounce of pot, as well as to grow and smoke the drug in private, and would have authorized local governments to tax its sale.

Many are watching to see if voters say yes to Proposition 19, the controversial ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California. Advocates say it would be a moneymaker. Opponents see nothing but trouble ahead if Prop 19 passes.

Billionaire financier George Soros is spending $1 million to support a California proposition that would legalize marijuana for recreational use. In a opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, he wrote that the measure would be "a major step forward."

Colorado is instituting tougher regulations for this booming industry. Dispensaries must now comply with rules regarding licensing, local zoning laws and criminal background checks for owners. They also have to grow at least 70% of the marijuana they sell. Stricter standards will push many out of business.

In 2007, a man was convicted of murder despite strong evidence that he wasn't the killer after three apparently very compelling witnesses matched him to the scent of the victim's clothes. Those witnesses? A trio of bloodhounds named Quincey, James Bond and Clue. I wish I was joking.

New Jersey was the fourteenth state to legalize medical marijuana, but current governor Chris Christie is placing such harsh restrictions on the prospective business that some question whether it will ever get off the ground.

Colorado, where medical marijuana has been legal for a decade, recently passed new laws regulating the hundreds of dispensaries that have popped up to meet soaring demand. Not everyone there is happy about that boom, but most of these businesses probably won't last long anyway.