Kris Lewandowski had survived tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Marine, but he feared the side effects of the dozen pills prescribed by a doctor would kill him.

That’s when the 33-year-old father of two began growing marijuana in his backyard to treat his PTSD symptoms, his wife, Whitney Lewandowski, told BuzzFeed News.

The couple and their two young sons were living outside Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in June 2014 as his honorable discharge from the Marines processed. Finding the best mix of medication for his mental health was a process of trial and error, Whitney Lewandowski said, and one Sunday night, there was an “issue.”

“We called for help,” she said.

A study of Southern California middle school students found that those who see ads, billboards, or signs for medical marijuana were more likely to think about or smoke pot than those who see no advertising, researchers said Monday.

Surveys from more than 8,214 students who attended 16 Southern California middle schools during 2010 and 2011 were analyzed by researchers with the RAND corporation. The youths were asked in 2010, then again in 2011 about their exposure to medical marijuana advertising, use and their intentions about whether to use it in the future.

Jul 06, 2015 (ACCESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- SAN JOSE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2015 / Soleil Capital L.P. JOBI, -33.33% ("Soleil" or the "Company") announces today their first product launch, in collaboration with KangerTech, one of the leading global brands in the industry known for cutting edge innovations for Vaporizers, Mods and Tanks. The Company's new product offering is a limited edition and exclusive upscale version of KangerTech's highly acclaimed KBOX MINI SUB TANK which is just hitting retail shelves now.

DENVER 

Editor's note: A paragraph has been removed that included false information on the use of public funds to fight drug abuse. The correct story on that topic can be found at the link under this column.

Marijuana causes kids to kill themselves! It makes IQs drop!! If children accidentally eat edibles, they will be poisoned!!!

OK, now that I have your attention, I just want to say that none of the above is proven to be true. But Sheila Polk, Yavapai County attorney, and her anti-drug MATForce group has spread such propaganda in statewide programs and billboards. 

It turns out legalising marijuana in Washington wasn’t such a bad idea.

Who would have thought (a few people actually did) that making weed widely available in the state would not be catastrophic.

If you’re judging the decision based on money generated, it was certainly a good one.

Washington’s racked up more than $250 million (£160m) in marijuana sales in the past year from around 160 weed stores — roughly $62m (£39m) of which constitute marijuana excise taxes.

Packets of a variety of recreational marijuana named ‘Space Needle’ (Picture: AP)

That’s beyond the state’s original forecast of $36m (£23m).

And when state and local sales and other taxes are included, the total payday for the state and local governments tops $70m (£45m).

Steamboat Springs — The legalization of recreational marijuana in states including Colorado has led national medical organizations to release formal recommendations on the use of the drug, specifically as they may affect pregnant women and mothers.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement in June denouncing the use of marijuana by pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics is expected to follow suit with similar recommendations this month.

Getting permission to sell this stuff is not easy.

You may have a passion for the product, but getting the go-ahead to start growing and selling marijuana in Massachusetts can be a long, expensive and difficult path.

Just ask Jeffrey Roos, CEO of Mass-Medi Spa, a potential dispensary in Norwell and Nantucket. Roos and his team have spent three years and about $300,000 in their journey to open. They’re still waiting.

Department of Strange Bedfellows: Ohio marijuana activists applaud the ballot measure, passed by a conservative Ohio legislature, that would stop the plan by the private group ResponsibleOhio to legalize marijuana.(Photo: File)

Just in the past week, the politics of legalizing marijuana in Ohio in 2015 has created strange bedfellows – conservative legislators and longtime marijuana activists who want to stop the initiative of the private group ResponsibleOhio.

The law has been on the books now for about a year, but still patients can’t get medical marijuana. 

That’s because the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission is setting up the program. 

They are making progress.

There are proposed regulations for the growers of medical marijuana and the 94 dispensaries across the state that will get the drug to patients. 

Public comment on those regulations is taking place this month. 

Baltimore County Delegate Dan Morhaim, of Baltimore County’s 11th District co-sponsored the law. 

He’s an emergency room physician and we talked to him this week about the regulations.

Morhaim told Maryland's News This Week that the regulations are a positive step.