Florida lawmakers passed the so-called Charlotte's Web medical marijuana law two years ago -- but to date nobody has been helped.

That may change under a bill filed for the 2016 legislative session that would remove the limit on the number of growers and expand the number of diseases that qualify for use to include HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, or any terminal illness. Only cancer patients and seizure sufferers qualify now.

The current law has been bogged down in red tape from the Department of Health as well as litigation from nursery owners trying to position themselves as one of only five cannabis growers in the state.

Oh, no big deal, it’s just a marijuana get-together.  A bunch of guys are chatting, about weed, yes. But the talk is also about revenue, and futures, and even the NASDAQ. Turns out, we’re at a convention center for a business expo on cannabis. And it’s crawling with straight-laced financiers and ex-Wall Streeters. The host, Scott Greiper — a former analyst and New York banker who’s president of Viridian Capital Advisors, the country’s first advisory firm and investment bank totally devoted to cannabis — is bullish: “This is going to be the cash crop of the world.”

Ohioans will vote this November on a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana now that a group backed by cannabis-industry speculators has collected enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot, the office of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced Wednesday.

Ten investment groups put up a combined $3.4 million to bankroll the initiative through a state-level group called Responsible Ohio, records show. In addition to legalizing the use of marijuana for adults over 21 and for medicinal purposes, the constitutional amendment would limit marijuana growing to just ten plots of land throughout the state. The investment groups backing the amendment own or hold options on all of that land.

Organized opposition to marijuana legalization in Ohio has been slow developing, but a coalition touted as “broad and diverse as this state has ever seen” will be rolled out Monday.

Opponents plan a press conference at 2 p.m. at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

The event comes a day before a showdown at the Ohio Ballot Board where crucial wording will be worked out for the marijuana legalization constitutional amendment voters will see at the Nov. 3 election.

State Rep. Mike Curtin, D-Marble Cliff, a vocal opponent of ResponsibleOhio’s for-profit plan to legalize marijuana for personal and medicinal use, said the coalition will include medical and professional organizations, business, faith groups, and children health advocates, among others.

Vancouver Police have now executed a search warrant on an illegal marijuana store after it was determined that the store had ties to organized crime.

Members of the VPD’s Drug Unit executed the warrant at Limelife Society, located at 4866 Rupert Street.

Police say one employee was arrested and released at the scene and police seized some evidence as part of their investigation.

In July, investigators say they received information that the store had ties to an organized crime group. Further investigation revealed that marijuana was being sold to youth and to those without a valid license.

The number of police raids on commercial cannabis farms has dropped by more than 17% in the last year, Freedom of Information figures suggest.

The 22 police forces that responded in full reported a fall in farms identified from 2,038 to 1,689.

Drug researchers say cuts mean less money for complex investigations and specialist resources like helicopters.

The National Police Chiefs' Council says the drugs market is complex and the fall is due to a number of factors.

The new figures were obtained through Freedom of Information requests sent by the Victoria Derbyshire programme to all 45 police forces in the UK. Of the 22 forces that sent full replies, 16 reported a fall in raids and detections.
Budget cuts

An associate of the Hells Angels is listed as the operator of an East Vancouver medical dispensary, according to a search warrant executed in a raid on the business.

The court document claims the Pitt Meadows resident, who has not been charged in association with the investigation, shows up in City of Vancouver records associated with the Limelife Society at Society at 4866 Rupert St.

'High end' vehicles

"He is a known Hells Angel associate and is 'Of  Interest' in five separate gang intel files since 2010," the warrant states.

Vancouver police swore the information this week to obtain a search warrant for the business.

According to the court document, police started investigating after observing "new and high end" vehicles in the parking lot.

Federal agents have charged another person in connection with bribery inside the California medical cannabis industry.

Today, the Chronicle reports that the federal government has charged Oakland union official Dan Rush with accepting bribes or kickbacks to both help and hinder unionization efforts in the multi-billion industry.

A Harley-Davidson-riding union organizer — once hailed as a "Superman" by the California cannabis movement — has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly taking bribes and rigging the union organizing process.

This summer, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) signed a bill that significantly decreases criminal penalties for marijuana possession in the state. But for some prisoners already serving time on marijuana charges, the state’s old draconian drug laws continue to apply.