Law & Crime

A warden with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife hacks down pot plants found growing in a deep ravine in the Sierra Nevada foothills. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

California Gov. Jerry Brown signs law targeting illegal marijuana grows

 
Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed into law a measure allowing steep civil fines against marijuana farms that damage the environment by dumping wastewater and chemicals, removing trees and killing wild animals.
DEA badge. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Better late than never: The DEA admits that marijuana is safer than heroin

 
It's official: the U.S. government's top drug cop has acknowledged that marijuana is less dangerous than heroin.
Sign outside a Denver dispensary. Photo: WeedWorthy.com

Colorado working to tweak marijuana enforcement, testing rules

 
GOLDEN - Colorado kicked off a month-long effort Wednesday to develop and tweak marijuana enforcement rules dealing with everything from yeast levels to how edible medical marijuana products are labeled and packaged.
Wyoming State Flag. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Wyoming begins study on impact of potential marijuana legalization

 
A Marijuana Impact Council will study the health, economic and social impacts of potentially legalizing cannabis in the state.
Michigan State entrance sign. Image via Wikimedia Commons

State Bar of Michigan creates special division for cannabis attorneys


Attorneys specializing in marijuana law now have their own division within the State Bar of Michigan.
Conservation police officer Leo Finn (right) inspects a backpack from a group of teens who were walking off trail at Starved Rock State Park. Though this search came up clean, marijuana and other drug use has increased at some state parks.  NewsTribune photo/Scott Anderson

Illinois Conservation cops finding pot on the trails

Tom Collins ~ NewsTribune.com ~
 
For state Conservation Police, finding nature lovers not only carrying cannabis but sometimes firing it up in plain sight is not unusual.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige signs bills Tuesday in Honolulu, including two on medical marijuana. (Cathy Bussewitz / Associated Press)

Hawaii to start licensing medical marijuana dispensaries

Natalie Schachar ~ Los Angeles Times ~
 
Fifteen years after Hawaii legalized medical marijuana, the state plans to begin licensing pot dispensaries.
Photo: Stella Hwang/Flickr

Portland International Airport allows carrying marijuana on in-state flights

FOX 12 Staff ~ KPTV.com   ~
 
The airport is allowing travelers to board with the legal amount of marijuana on flights that take off and land within Oregon's borders.

Ohio marijuana law petition signatures confirmed

Tim Rearden ~ Newsnet5.com ~
 
The initiative, which would expunge criminal records for past cannabis convictions if marijuana becomes legal, received the necessary 1,000 signatures from registered Ohio voters.
A grow light shines through the leaves of a cannabis plant at Northern Lights grow facility in Denver, Colorado on March 27, 2014. (Photo by Seth McConnell/The Denver Post)

Fewer crimes, more revenue as medical marijuana industry stabilizes in Colorado Springs

 
As the number of medical marijuana shops and dispensary-related crimes in Colorado Springs has fallen over the past five years, medical pot tax revenue in El Paso County has soared.

WeedLife.com