It was another eventful week in the fight to legalize marijuana in the United States. Perhaps the biggest news to surface was a couple of federal bills that some activists believe to be another indication that the government’s war on marijuana is on its last leg. Other highlights include an initiative aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana in Michigan, as well as guidance coming from the California Lieutenant Governor’s office in an attempt to help steer the regulatory model of a potential cannabis industry in 2016.

If anyone would have suggested a year ago that Ohio might be on the verge of legalizing marijuana in 2015, I would have laughed at the idea.

First, Ohio is a conservative Midwestern state that is seldom, if ever, on the cutting edge on social issues. And second, 2015 is an off-year election, with no statewide or federal elections, meaning the voter turn-out would be lower and the likely voters would be older and less supportive than would be the case if the proposal were on the ballot in 2016, a presidential election year when younger voters turn out in far higher numbers.

A financial services company gives a prominent reform group the boot, then backtracks.

Earlier this month, a financial services company informed one of the nation’s largest marijuana advocacy groups that its business was no longer welcome, adding an unexpected twist to public debate about the de facto banking ban affecting state-legal pot businesses.

DENVER - Driving high and driving drunk carry the same charge in Colorado, and that's a problem for those who want to track the impact, if any, of legalized marijuana on the safety of the state's roads and highways.

It's impossible to break out state-wide statistics about the number of convictions for driving under the influence of marijuana or other drugs. The charges and convictions are all lumped together under the same impaired driving statute.

That's a problem, says Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Morrison, who will propose a bill in the 2016 legislative session to enable marijuana-related driving offenses to be tracked.

Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but only Colorado and Washington have licensed dispensaries that can legally sell recreational cannabis. Since legalization and sale came to those communities, the budding pot industry in these two states has tried to shape a future of vineyard-esque tours of marijuana farms, and fatty-friendly salons reminiscent of Amsterdam’s cafes. (The phrase “Napa Valley of weed” gets tossed around a fair bit.)

Medical cannabis, recreational cannabis; it's getting hard to tell the two apart -- even in states where only the former is allowed. Just look at your local dispensary. If it's anything like my local weed shop, your cannabis choices are governed more by the brand name and relative THC content than they are the other active cannabinoids -- you know, the ones with the actual medical benefits. This is great for your average stoner recuperating from a backiatomy, but for patients who really do need these complementary cannabinoid effects, guessing whether Blue Dream or Vallejo Sour Diesel will best help alleviate the effects of their chemo simply won't do.

While 19 year old Levy Thamba Pongi (a student hailing from the Republic of Congo) may not have died directly from the ingestion of too much cannabis, it’s what happened after the drugs kicked in that is causing Colorado to reassess labelling procedures on the packaging of treats containing the recreational narcotic.  After being dissatisfied with the effects from part of a cookie made with marijuana, the Wyoming teen decided to ingest the whole thing, leading him to essentially ‘trip-out’ and jump off a fourth-story balcony.  The incident took place March of last year, however new details are emerging as the state scrambles to stop others from following in the late exchange student’s footsteps.

Support for marijuana legalization and decriminalization in New Hampshire is rising, particularly among Democrats and undeclared voters, according to a poll released Thursday. The poll, by WMUR-TV in Manchester, revealed that 3 in 5 adults in the first-in-the-nation primary state favor marijuana legalization, while 72 percent support decriminalization.

Marijuana products and paraphernalia are displayed at the Cannabis World Congress Expo on June 19, 2015. Marijuana consumption is growing into a multimillion dollar industry.