Marijuana

An appellate court in Colorado ruled Thursday employees can be fired for testing positive for marijuana. Recreational use of the drug is now legal in the state.

This week Colorado officials will consider a proposal to require marijuana excise and sales taxes of up to 30 percent combined, The New York Times reports.

A drug that contains the active ingredient of marijuana may be more effective for pain relief than the smoked form of the drug, a new study suggests. Researchers at Columbia University in New York also found the pill, dronabinol, created less of a high than smoked marijuana.

Professional marijuana growers, who are facing high startup costs, operational challenges and state regulations, are finding it difficult to make a profit, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Three people were injured when gunshots were fired at the first 4/20 marijuana celebration in Denver since Colorado legalized the drug last November. It was one of many such gatherings around the world, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Legalizing marijuana will not solve the country’s drug problem, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, said Wednesday.

A California congressman has introduced a bill that would protect marijuana users from federal prosecution in states where the drug is legal. The Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2013 would legalize marijuana at the federal level to the extent it is legal at the state level.

The federal government has been reducing funding for research on marijuana’s potential medical benefits, Bloomberg reports. Medical research funding for marijuana reached a peak of $131 million in 2007; it dropped to $91 million last year.

A person who answers the door while smoking marijuana can be arrested without a warrant, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled this week.

Maryland lawmakers have approved a bill that allows academic medical centers to distribute medical marijuana, according to the Associated Press. Governor Martin O’Malley said he is likely to sign the measure.

Investors are paying more attention to the burgeoning marijuana market, in light of the drug’s legalization in Washington state and Colorado, USA Today reports.

The majority of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The findings represent a shift in public opinion, particularly among young people, Reuters reports.

Washington state is overestimating the amount of tax revenue that will be generated by marijuana sales, according to a consultant hired by the state to set up and regulate its new marijuana market.

Officials in Bogota, Colombia are hoping to convince people addicted to a smokable type of cocaine called basuco to use marijuana instead, according to ABC News.

A marijuana tourism company is opening in Colorado, the first such business in the nation, according to The Denver Post.

A Colorado state audit released this week finds problems in oversight of the state’s medical marijuana industry, according to The Wall Street Journal. The audit comes soon after a task force issued recommendations on regulating recreational marijuana.

As marijuana becomes legal in a growing number of states, for medical or recreational use, businesses are hoping to profit from the trend, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Using marijuana in college may increase the risk of leaving school, a new study suggests. Researchers found even students who only used marijuana occasionally were more likely to leave than their peers who did not use drugs.

Officials in Washington state have chosen a think tank to help them set up and regulate its new marijuana market, Reuters reports.

The recreational use of marijuana is a violation of international law, the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board warned the United States this week.

A task force in Colorado has issued recommendations on how to regulate marijuana, now that recreational use of the drug has been legalized.

Eight former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration called on the federal government Tuesday to challenge laws in Colorado and Washington state that legalize the recreational use of marijuana, The Wall Street Journal reports. On the same day, a United Nations agency said the state laws violate international narcotics conventions.

A new potential treatment for marijuana dependence, and the success of network therapy, which engages family and friends in a patient’s substance abuse treatment, were two of the topics discussed at the recent annual meeting of the New York Society of Addiction Medicine. This is the second of a two-part report on the meeting, “Addiction Medicine 2013: Emerging Problems, Current Treatment.”

The number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado has declined 40 percent in the past several years, The Denver Post reports. The industry faces challenges from the federal government, as well as shrinking profit margins.

A Massachusetts woman is suing FedEx, claiming the company accidentally shipped a seven-pound box of marijuana to her, then gave her address to drug dealers looking for the package.