GAINESVILLE — A state commission is backing Gov. Nathan Deal in refusing to support the cultivation and distribution of marijuana in Georgia for medicinal use.

“There’s no appetite for cultivation,” said state Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, a member of the Commission on Medical Cannabis. “Until you have a clear model … there are too many vague concepts about cultivation for me to be comfortable with it.”

Lawmakers last spring approved the use of cannabis oil to treat eight medical conditions, but the prospect of manufacturing and selling the drug in-state was left for the commission to review.

The majority of members voted Wednesday to expand the number of conditions legally treatable with the drug, but declined to pursue the issue of access any further.

Rick Steves doesn’t think Big Marijuana should control your pot. That’s one reason people in Washington state should be able to grow their own weed, Steves told KUOW’s Jeannie Yandel.

“I don't want marijuana to go the route of tobacco and have Joe Camel and Big Tobacco and Big Marijuana” dominate the industry, Steves said. “If there's money to be made, it's going to attract big corporate interests and they're going to have the clout. I like the idea of having home grow because it gives people an option to having to buy something from a giant organization. They can just have a few plants on the window sill, and it's not a big deal.”

The union of SAQ workers is studying whether or not they should be the ones selling marijuana when the federal government legalizes weed.

In the throne speech the Liberal government promised to legalize, regulate, and restrict marijuana.

Workers at the SAQ believe that, as a provincially-regulated monopoly, the SAQ is in a unique position to handle the sales of marijuana.

"It's a particular product, it's not like selling food or anything like that," said Marc-André McSween of the SAQ's union.

He added the union is asking the independent research group IRIS to look into whether the SAQ could handle quality control, verifying a customer's age, and other restrictions.

forts to legalize marijuana in California got a boost this week after competing ballot measures joined forces behind the stronger of the two, backed by billionaire Sean Parker, a former president of Facebook Inc.

The initiative has the support of Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform. Coalition board member Antonio Gonzalez, who is also president of the Latino Voters League, said the coalition withdrew its rival initiative after Parker’s measure was modified to protect children, workers and small businesses.

Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster Inc., photographed on Jan. 27, 2012. 

Whether it's founding Napster, guiding Facebook or investing in Spotify, Sean Parker has developed a reputation for pushing change forward, and now he's at the forefront of California's marijuana legalization movement. This week a competing proposal from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR) was folded into Parker's, making his the leading ballot measure, by default, for 2016 in a state with the largest medical marijuana market in the country.

For some veterans and their families, a Nov. 11 provision allowing Veteran Affairs doctors to recommend marijuana in states where it’s legal, means that they’re packing up and heading to greener pastures.

The legislation, which has yet to pass through the House, does not change existing laws that prevent the possession or distribution of medical marijuana on VA property, nor does it do anything for veterans in states where it’s not legal.

DENVER, Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage Analytics (www.sageanalytics.com), the developers of portable, laboratory-quality cannabis potency measurement systems, announced that the company has been nominated for three prestigious awards.

Nominated for "Breakthrough Product of 2015" by The Cannabist Awards, Sage Analytics was selected by the awards committee whose mandate is to "recognize the businesses that are excelling in the marijuana industry."

Sage Analytics has also been nominated for a 2015 Laurel Award in the category of "Most Disruptive Technology." The Laurel Awards "recognize the very best of 2015 in regard to cannabis entrepreneurship and innovation."

In order to be ready well beforehand to take applications for recreational dispensaries on January 4, 2016, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) recently adopted temporary rules to regulate the industry.

The temporary rules will take effect January 1, 2016 and will remain in place until June 28, 2016 or whenever the OLCC adopts permanent rules.

Last month, Rob Partridge, OLCC chair said the temporary rules mark “another milestone in Oregon’s effort to establish a robust, safe, and well-regulated recreational marijuana industry.”

REDLANDS >> The Planning Commission on Tuesday wrestled with a proposed change in the city’s medical marijuana laws.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are prohibited in the city. The city code does not address the cultivation, processing, delivery and distribution of medical cannabis, according to the report.

City staff is proposing the city’s code ban these activities in the city.

The Planning Commission on Tuesday postponed the issue to January and asked that the city attorney and police chief be present to answer several questions that arose during the meeting.

A quick expansion of Georgia’s medical marijuana likely went up in smoke Wednesday when a state-sanctioned board voted down a proposal to allow the plants’ cultivation within the state.

The decision by the Commission on Medical Cannabis came a day after House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wants to give Georgians access to cannabis oil made from homegrown marijuana.

The commission held their last meeting of the year and made initial recommendations about improving the state’s new law.