Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to make it easier for government-paid researchers to study marijuana – and not just its negative side effects.

Eight Democratic senators, led by Warren, are urging federal health and drug officials to address the “data shortfall” on potential health benefits of medical marijuana by making it easier for researchers to study the drug.

Medical use of marijuana is now legal in 23 states, though it is difficult to study because it remains one of the country’s most tightly controlled substances.

Cannabix Technologies Inc. is the developer of the patent pending Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer for law enforcement and the workplace.

As cannabis bans are relaxed in more U.S. states, the race is on to develop an instant roadside breathalyzer for police to test drivers who may be taking the “high” road.

Vancouver-based Cannabix Technologies Inc, founded by a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, expects to be first out of the gate with a “pot breathalyzer” - a handheld device similar to those used to detect alcohol.

Cannabix won’t give an estimate of when its product might go on sale, but has a prototype undergoing in-house testing.

Cannabis has been known for millennia as a means to stimulate appetite and encourage consumption of food, and has long been used as a treatment for anorexia and related eating disorders. Now, modern research is finding that the link between the endocannabinoid system and diseases like anorexia is far deeper than ever suspected.

A political committee leading a renewed effort to pass a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana raised nearly $293,000 in June, with about $233,000 of the money coming from an Orlando law firm headed by prominent trial attorney John Morgan, according to a newly filed report. The committee, People United for Medical Marijuana, is spearheading an effort to pass a medical-marijuana ballot initiative in November 2016, after narrowly failing to pass a similar constitutional amendment in 2014.

A drop in the number of marijuana plants seized in Ohio in recent years can be attributed to a greater push by growers to cultivate the plants indoors, according to authorities.

Investigators say they have seized $326 million in marijuana across the state since 2008. But authorities say that the underground market for marijuana continues to thrive, with growers moving operations inside to avoid police, thieves and unpredictable weather. *edit*

Jason Park, an agent with the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force in Chillicothe, said just as much and maybe more marijuana is being produced now, even though the number of confiscated plants has dropped.

ST. GEORGE — The Libertas Institute, an organization dedicated to advancing the cause of liberty in the state of Utah, will hold a public forum on proposals to legalize medical cannabis Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Dixie Center St. George, 1835 S. Convention Center Drive, St. George.

According to a press release from the Libertas Institute, this will be the third in a series of public forums on the issue. The first, which was held in Ogden, focused on the law enforcement aspect of legalizing medical marijauna. The second, held in Provo focused solely on patient stories.

Thursday’s forum will be more of a general event, Libertas Institute President Connor Boyack said, adding that it will broadly touch on a lot of the issues.

Should marijuana businesses pay tax on gross profits or net profits? It sounds like a silly question. Virtually every business in every country pays tax only on net profits, after expenses. But the topsy-turvy rules for marijuana seem to defy logic. And taxes are clearly a big topic these days under both federal and burgeoning state law.

Amanda Seyfried wants marijuana legalized.

The 'Ted 2' actress believes that the drug - which she does not smoke herself - is a ''wonderful thing'' and that alcohol is a lot more damaging to society.

She said: ''I think it's a wonderful thing, and lots of people use it responsibly, and it should be legal.''

The 29-year-old actress - who plays a lawyer that smokes the drug from a bong in the 'Ted' sequel - doesn't understand why the drug and it's paraphernalia are seen as taboo.

She told The Sunday Times newspaper: ''I don't understand how people can die all the time from alcohol poisoning, yet pot is so stigmatised. They could have put a bong in every scene as far as I'm concerned.''

Sunlight streaming through a glass roof in a rural warehouse will likely soon be feeding one of Illinois' first legal crops of marijuana seedlings.

The company that owns the warehouse, PharmaCann LLC, is preparing for a final inspection from state regulators Tuesday. Once that is secured, along with IDs for workers who have passed background checks, Illinois' fledgling medical marijuana industry will finally be able to get down to business — growing pot — nearly two years since a change in state law made it legal and after a series of hiccups in the rollout that followed.