Mark Twain is said to have remarked that a gold rush is a good time to be in the pick and shovel business. Investors may be able to apply that same bit of wisdom to the growing number of U.S. states that have legalized pot.

Although federal law prohibits the sale or possession of marijuana, Massachusetts last week joined the ranks of states — 18 plus Washington, D.C. — that allow its use for people suffering from chronic illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. In Washington and Colorado, meanwhile, voters passed an initiative to allow pot for recreational use. Those changes have kickstarted a small but fast-growing medical-marijuana industry, estimated to be worth about $1.7 billion as of 2011, according to See Change Strategy, an independent financial-analysis firm that specializes in new markets. In Colorado alone, sales topped $181 million in 2010, and the business employed 4,200 state-licensed workers, says Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association , a nonprofit trade group that campaigns for marijuana’s federal legalization.

In addition to profiting itself from growing and selling marijuana, the industry benefits a slew of other businesses, such as insurers, lawyers and agricultural-equipment firms, experts say. “Call it the ‘green rush,’” says Derek Peterson, CEO of GrowOp Technology, an online retailer of hydroponics — products used in the cultivation of indoor plants — and a subsidiary of OTC stock Terra Tech TRTC +10.34% . “The industry is expanding, and there are all kinds of investment opportunities.”

For regular investors looking to get in on the action — and without having to actually grow or sell drugs — there are several small-cap stocks that stand to gain from marijuana’s growing acceptance. Medbox MDBX +80.00% , an OTC stock with a $45 million market cap, for example, sells its patented dispensing machines to licensed medical-marijuana dispensaries. The machines, which dispense set doses of the drug, after verifying patients’ identities via fingerprint, could potentially be used in ordinary drugstores too, says Medbox founder Vincent Mehdizadeh. Based in Hollywood, Calif., the company already has 130 machines in the field, and it expects to install an additional 40 in the next quarter. “The smart money is trying to help with compliance and transparency,” Mehdizadeh says.

Of course, investing in drugs the federal government still outlaws poses enormous risks to investors, says Sam Kamin, a law professor and the director of the Constitutional Rights & Remedies Program at the University of Denver. In fact, nearly 500 of the estimated 3,000 dispensaries nationwide have either been closed by the federal government or shut down in the past year, says a spokesman for StickyGuide.com , an online directory and review site for medical marijuana dispensaries — and yet another ancillary business that’s currently seeking investors.

That said, there are many companies that appear to be betting on a change in federal law. Steep Hill is a quality-control laboratory that tests medical marijuana to see if there’s any contamination from mold, bacteria or harmful pesticides. The company, based in Oakland, Calif., is also actively seeking funding of up to $3 million. David Lampach, co-founder and president of Steep Hill, expects a federal law legalizing medical marijuana within the next decade. Cannabis Science in Colorado Springs, Colo. CBIS +26.67% , an OTC stock with a market cap of $41 million, is developing marijuana-based medicines to help cancer and HIV/AIDS patients. “We’re at the beginning of the revolution in medicine,” says CEO Robert Melamede.

Other companies are creating a range of quirky products that allow people to use marijuana without smoking it. Medical Marijuana MJNA -4.36% , an OTC stock with a $69 million market cap, based in San Diego, Calif., offers more than 50 ways to ingest marijuana , from Dixie Elixir soda to Dixie Chill ice-cream and a range of Dixie Edibles, like chocolate truffles and crispy rice treats.

While experts say competition in the medical-marijuana business is growing fast, they add that there are also still plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs. For example, Troy Dayton, president and CEO of ArcView Group , an angel investor network for the industry, says demand has been growing for handheld tobacco vaporizers like those made by Ploom (which charges $250 for its “premium loose-leaf vaporizer”). “There’s a rush now to make the ideal vaporizer,” Dayton says. “There’s still room for a kingmaker in this space.”

In the meantime, at least one drug company is directly selling medical marijuana to patients around the world. GW Pharmaceuticals GWPRF +3.36% , based in London, markets Sativex, billed as the world’s first marijuana-based medicine. With a market cap of around $137 million, it’s listed on the Alternative Investment Market, a submarket of the London Stock Exchange. Sativex is currently sold as a mouth spray to help alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis in several countries, including the U.K., New Zealand, Germany, Spain, Denmark and Canada, a spokesman says, and it is currently seeking FDA approval in the U.S. for use as a pain reliever in late-stage cancer patients.

SAN DIEGO, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Medical Marijuana, Inc. MJNA 0.00% a leading hemp industry innovator, is pleased to announce that PhytoSPHERE Systems, a portfolio company of MJNA that develops pharmaceutical grade medicinal hemp production facilities, is expanding its production facilities to Europe. This expansion will be done through MJNA’s newly formed portfolio company Canipa Holdings, which has established an office and team in the city of Bucharest, Romania, to handle its European product launch and distribution.

Canipa Holdings has been formed to assist Medical Marijuana Inc.’s expansion and marketing efforts into Europe. Canipa Holdings will focus its efforts on obtaining European product and marketing approvals for the entire line of Medical Marijuana Inc.’s portfolio of products as well as obtaining various licenses for the production of industrialized varieties of hemp.

About PhytoSPHERE Systems LLC

PhytoSPHERE Systems, LLC is the world’s leading cannabinoid based biotechnology company that builds and develops growing, packaging and extraction technologies and deploys them in self-contained, highly efficient state of the art facilities as well as traditional hemp agricultural facilities, for the pharmaceutical and neutraceutical raw ingredients markets.

PhytoSPHERE’s highly efficient growth, packaging and extraction technologies provide clients with a compact, safe, pollutant-free facility which will allow them to:

Completely control the cultivation environment

Greatly increase plant yields that significantly exceed traditional methods

Reduce per-unit costs compared to traditional methods by eliminating the use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Produce Pharmaceutical grade extracts.

Establish antibacterial environments and packaging systems.

Control post production processing with proprietary standardization methods.

PhytoSPHERE’s core technologies consist of:

A module that places rows of plants in a manner to accelerate growth rates.

Computer operated sprayers that ensure even distribution of nutrients to plants.

A proprietary antibacterial product clipping, curing and packaging system, allowing for a truly pharmaceutical grade method of cultivation.

An extraction and production process for cannabinoid based compounds derived from the cannabis and /or hemp plants, which uses standardized processes and technology to create the world’s leading pharmaceutical grade extracts / oil / raw ingredients.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Product Distribution

PhytoSPHERE Systems has recently introduced its raw Cannabidoil (CBD) Oil product line for formulation and distribution through licensing partner, Dixie Elixirs in Colorado. In June, Dixie successfully launched the Dixie X product line, a family of non-THC, CBD based products. The Dixie X product line contains the highest CBD / Cannabidiol concentrations of any product on the market today.

To learn more about CBD and its medicinal benefits, please click here:

http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com/index.php/research

In addition to distribution in Colorado, portfolio company Red Dice Holdings recently announced that it would launch on-line sales of Dixie X and CBD-based CanChew gum through licensed distributors in the US within the next 60 days. Further, Red Dice Holdings will enter into exclusive licensing agreements with selected partners to distribute Dixie X and CanChew in California, Arizona and Washington D.C. within the next 90 days. The Company expects significant revenue increases once these distribution agreements are fully in place.

More on Red Dice and Dixie from the Tuesday June 26th 2012 Press Release:

http://app.quotemedia.com/quotetools/newsStoryPopup.go?storyId=52297807& ;topic=MJNA&symbology=null&cp=off&webmasterId=89753

Hemp Tissue Culture Research & Development

PhytoSPHERE Systems, the leading cannabinoid based hemp Biotechnology Company, has documented over 200 industrial hemp varieties and has identified specific ones with the highest levels of Cannabidiol for further development and production by PhytoSPHERE Systems. Based on its technology, PhytoSPHERE Systems is able to produce the highest level of genetic purity without the typical seed-based inconsistency issues which lead to a higher rate of plant disease.

Currently companies involved in the production of Cannabis L Sativa varieties do not have a single source for genetic purity, consistency and cannabinoid profiles. Often plants grown from seeds develop mold, fungus or other diseases and little can be done to prevent this. Using tissue cultures, as PhytoSPHERE Systems does, the plants have a higher likelihood of success because of their genetic purity and identical attributes. Combined with other PhytoSPHERE Systems technology, this allows for a consistent high quality plant, which in turn delivers a consistent pharmaceutical-grade end product.

The combination of PhytoSPHERE Systems superior technology, proprietary and patented processes, genetically consistent products and tissue culture based plants will give us the ability to produce the cleanest and highest quality pharmaceutical grade extracts and compounds currently on the market. Initially, these extracts and compounds will only be used in the manufacture of products to be distributed through MJNA’s portfolio companies, thereby giving these companies and MJNA a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace.

“Once PhytoSPHERE Systems receives its European approval we will establish a production facility and begin producing our high value hemp extracts. For the past several months we have been working to obtain various industrial hemp licenses and form partnerships to further the PhytoSPHERE entry into Europe,” said Medical Marijuana Inc. President Michael Llamas. “With our anticipated EU marketing approvals, we will be able to sell directly to the EU market from our EU facilities. This will cut our cost to produce and increase our net margin on the products we sell. We appreciate the continued support of our shareholders throughout this lengthy developmental process. We are very close to ‘the finish line’ and anticipate numerous additional revenue sources in the near future.”

About Medical Marijuana, Inc.

Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value.

Medical Marijuana, Inc. does not grow, sell or distribute any substances that violate United States Law or the controlled substance act.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at: www.MedicalMarijuanaInc.com

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.

Corporate Contact:Medical Marijuana, Inc.Toll Free: 888-OTC-MJNA (888-682-6562)

www.medicalmarijuanainc.com www.facebook.com/mjnainc

Investor Relations Contact:Stuart T. SmithSmallCapVoice.Com, Inc.P. 512-267-2430F. 512-267-2530Email: ssmith@smallcapvoice.comSkype: SmallCapVoice.comAIM: SmallCapVoice7

SOURCE Medical Marijuana, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

OSLO, Norway — A lawyer representing Snoop Dogg says the American rapper has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount of marijuana last month.

Holger Hagesaeter, the rapper’s legal representative in Norway, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his client “can live with the decision” and has no immediate plans to appeal it.

Snoop Dogg, whose name is Calvin Broadus, was on his way to a music festival in southern Norway in June when sniffer dogs detected eight grams of marijuana in his luggage. He was also carrying more cash than is legally allowed and was fined 52,000 kroner ($8,600) after admitting to the two offenses, the lawyer said.

A Commerce Township man is accused of running a marijuana operation after the Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team seized 950 marijuana plants and almost 20 pounds of marijuana inside his home on Friday, according to a report Sunday.

Lionell Deshawn Hicks, 39, was arrested Friday after a Consumers Energy employee tipped police that he had seen numerous marijuana plants inside Hicks’ home. The employee stated that he looked in the windows of the home and saw numerous marijuana plants while investigating a claim that the homeowner was stealing natural gas, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

NET investigators obtained a search warrant. Inside the home, investigators found approximately 950 marijuana plants, a .45 caliber handgun, measuring scales, packaging material, approximately 20 pounds of marijuana, proofs of residency, documents and $800.
Hicks was arraigned on Sunday and faces charges of delivery and manufacture of more than 45 kilograms of marijuana, a 15-year felony, and delivery and manufacture of five to 45 kilograms of marijuana, a seven-year felony.
Investigators said Hicks has prior state and federal convictions for possession with intent to manufacture marijuana. Bond was set for $100,000.
NET is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and consists of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, Troy Police Department, Hazel Park Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, Royal Oak Police Department, Southfield Police Department, Farmington Hills Police Department, West Bloomfield Township Police Department, Bloomfield Township Police Department, Lathrup Village Police Department, White Lake Township Police Department, Waterford Township Police Department, Rochester Police Department and Madison Heights Police Department.
Contact Chris Laine at 248-745-4673, chris.laine@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @topherlaine.

By Shane Hoover and Todd Porter

CantonRep.com

Alliance police confirmed Monday morning that Ohio State running back Bri’onte Dunn, a former standout at GlenOak High School, was charged over the weekend with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The charges stem from a traffic stop around 11:08 p.m. Saturday.

Police observed Dunn driving on E. Broadway Street when he almost ran the blinking red light at Arch Avenue, traveled over the crosswalk and almost struck a patrol car, according to a police report.

Police stopped Dunn for the violation and he and his passenger were found to have a wooden pipe used for smoking marijuana, along with less than 200 grams of marijuana on the seat cushions and floor boards where he was seated. A small amount of marijuana was also found in the driver’s door pocket, according to the police report.

Dunn, 19, of 219 S. Park Ave, was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, not wearing a seat belt and a tail-light violation. All the charges are misdemeanors.

Dunn’s passenger, an 18-year-old woman from Plain Township, also was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and not wearing a seat belt. (Information has been changed to fix an error. See correction at the end of the story.)

The traffic stop and resulting chargeswere first reported by CantonRep.com on Sunday night. Dunn was not arrested or booked into the jail, contrary to online reports from other media outlets.

Dunn did not return a message left by The Repository on Sunday.

OSU FUTURE IN DOUBT

Ohio State football spokesman Jerry Emig said Sunday the school has no comment because it was still in the information-gathering and fact-finding phase. Buckeye Head Coach Urban Meyer was unavailable to comment because he is on a retreat with his coaching staff.

Meyer has had a low tolerance for players who get into trouble off the field. OSU’s new coach suspended offensive lineman Jack Mewhort and tight end Jake Stoneburner indefinitely after they were charged with obstructing official business. Linebacker Storm Klein was dismissed from the team after he was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence and assault.

Dunn has been expected to contribute as a freshman for the Buckeyes. Jordan Hall, who was expected to start, had surgery on his foot for a cut. He could miss multiple games this season. Dunn has been a candidate to take some of those carries.

Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith are also in contention to get the bulk of the playing time in light of Hall’s injury. If Dunn misses playing time because of his incident in Alliance over the weekend, Meyer will lack depth at the position.

Dunn ran for nearly 2,000 yards last season for GlenOak after he gained 2,030 as a junior. He transferred to GlenOak from Alliance High School and still has family in the Alliance area.

Dunn did not immediately return a phone message from The Repository on Sunday night.

Correction: The passenger in Dunn’s car is from Plain Township. Incorrect information appeared when this story was originally published Monday morning.

Springfield, MO.

Supporters of a petition to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in Springfield are running out of time to collect enough signatures to get the issue on the November ballot.

The city clerk’s office says petition organizers need another 649 signatures before the initiative can go before the city council. They have until Aug. 7 to collect those signatures.

Petition organizer Maranda Reynolds says the group, Show-Me Cannabis, still hopes to have the issue before the council at its Aug. 13 meeting.

The Springfield News-Leader reports ( http://sgfnow.co/MOhHiG) the petition would reduce the penalty for having 35 grams or less of marijuana, to a fine, community service or counseling.

The city council can vote the initiative into law or to put it on the November ballot.

A 53-year-old Gambrills man has been arrested on drug and gun charges after authorities found an alleged marijuana growing operation and guns and ammunition in his home.

Anne Arundel County police said that detectives executed a search warrant Friday at the home of Nicholas V. Dominick in the 500 block of Watts Avenue. They found 46 marijuana plants, 11 handguns, five shotguns, eight rifles — including an AK-47 assault rifle — and boxes of ammunition.

Police said 10 of the guns were registered; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was to investigate the legality of the remaining weapons.

Dominick was charged with a range of offenses including possession of and manufacturing marijuana and two counts of possession of a gun in a drug-trafficking crime. He was also charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana in a school zone because his home is near Arundel High School, police said.

He was released Saturday on $25,000 bond, police said.

Michael Phelps

The gold medalist, 27, discusses his intense workout schedule, even explaining the difficulties of going six years without taking a day off.

“During those six years it was a sacrifice that I made to try to become my best,” he told the magazine. “So yeah, in bed at 10 or earlier every night. Waking up at 6:30 every day.”

Luckily, the grueling training paid off for the hardworking swimmer, which earned him 14 gold and two bronze medals.

However, Phelps recalls a time when he took off for Las Vegas instead of showing up at swim practice. The American athlete explains his sudden change of heart.

“At that point, I just didn’t have anything. It was weird going from the highest of the high, the biggest point of your life—winning eight gold medals—and then saying, ‘All right, where do I go from here?’ I wasn’t motivated,” explained Phelps. “I did nothing, literally nothing, for a long time. I gained 25 pounds.”

After being scrutinized for gaining weight and being pictured smoking marijuana, the Olympic Winner had a tough time finding his drive. With time, the 195lb swimmer realized he had yet to meet his full potential.

Getting into Olympic swimming shape, Phelps has now added boxing to his long list of exercises with hopes to keep his workouts fresh and new. “So boxing is something new that can stabilize my core and hold everything together. We’re also doing sled pulls and pushes to make it fun. It keeps me from sneaking out the back door.”

Phelps will be taking part in the London Olympics, staring on July 27th.

Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, said Monday he requested the bill, which would be introduced in the state Senate if he is elected to the upper house, because there is no legal way to obtain the drug, which is used to help people with glaucoma and cancer patients who suffer loss of appetite because of chemotherapy.

The medical marijuana law, implemented in 2001 after overwhelming voter support, allows each person with a state card to grow as many as three mature and four immature marijuana plants and have on hand no more than 1 ounce of usable marijuana.

Unlike Colorado, upon which Segerblom patterned his bill, Nevada does not allow dispensaries where marijuana is sold.

He said his bill is a response to a decision by then-Clark County District Judge Donald Mosley in March throwing out charges against two men who supplied marijuana to patients. He said the Legislature has failed in its duty to create an appropriate way for legal users to acquire marijuana.

In 2011, there were more than 3,000 registered medical marijuana users in Nevada.

The challenge will be to pass a law that does not run afoul of federal law that makes it illegal to possess the drug. President Barack Obama in April asked federal agencies not to prosecute individual medical marijuana users and instead to concentrate their resources on large suppliers of the drug.

Metropolitan Police Department officers do not arrest medical marijuana patients unless they violate the limits of the state marijuana law, a department spokesman said.

Segerblom wants to establish certified marijuana dispensaries and licensed farms where marijuana may be grown and to allow patients to buy from California dispensaries.

His bill also calls for this medical marijuana to be taxed, although a rate has not been established.

Another medical marijuana bill is being introduced by the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Details were not available.

FIRST BATCH OF BILL REQUESTS

Monday was the first day in which the Legislative Counsel Bureau began releasing a weekly list of the bills being sought by legislators. The names of the sponsors and brief descriptions are included, but the text of the proposals are not.

Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, requested a bill to adopt all legal ways to reduce the illegal immigration population in Nevada and another to let election workers request photo identification before voters cast ballots.

And Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Minden, is seeking a bill that would allow concealed-weapons permit holders who pass one firearms course to carry multiple revolvers or semiautomatic weapons. Now they have to pass a separate course for each type of weapon they want to carry.

But the medical marijuana bill is sure to generate the most debate, particularly because it is sought from a veteran legislator and former state Democrat Party chairman who has a lot of influence.

Since the 2001 medical marijuana measure was approved, legislators have proposed other bills calling for dispensaries, farms and marijuana taxes, but none of them has been approved. Petition drives to legalize marijuana for public consumption also twice failed to win voter approval.

Segerblom, a candidate for the state Senate, said it is even illegal to buy marijuana seeds over the Internet, although many out-of-country companies sell them. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia now have medical marijuana laws. He said that because the users cannot find seeds, or are unable to grow marijuana on their own, the Legislature needs to change the law so they can use the drug.

During hearings on the law, supporters said marijuana is helpful for people with glaucoma, who suffer loss of appetite because of chemotherapy and who have migraine headaches and other medical problems.

RELAXED ENFORCEMENT

In recent months, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Las Vegas police have busted several stores they suspected to be marijuana dispensaries and head shops where both synthetic and real marijuana were sold.

The DEA contends marijuana has no medical or other useful value. It has focused its prosecution on dispensaries and large suppliers, not on individual users. In an April interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Obama said the government is not going to “prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana” and instead “will focus on large-scale operations.”

He added they were not busting users of medical marijuana. The president said he could not ignore the federal law against marijuana but added he wants federal authorities to “go after things that are really doing folks damage.”

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901

The California boy was taken to the hospital after he slept for 16 hours and his family noticed crumbs from the grandmother’s cookies, according to an Associated Press story. He was observed at the hospital and released.

Cannabis is “one of the least toxic drugs that exists,” said Dr. Stephen Ross, a professor of child psychiatry and addiction at New York University’s Tish Hospital. Death from ingesting it would be unlikely even for a small child, he said.

But Ross said a child having access to any sort of drug, including marijuana, is certainly concerning, and the outcome could have been much worse if the child had ingested a drug such as an amphetamine, an opiate or alcohol.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that deaths among children due to accidental poisoning  — which includes drug overdoses as well as cases of ingesting cleaning products — nearly doubled over the past decade. There were 824 reported deaths in 2009, compared with 442 in 2000.

The increase was largely due to an increase in prescription drug overdoses in teens, the CDC said.

Because children’s brains are still developing, they are generally more sensitive to drugs in general, Ross said. In particular, drugs that are potentially addicting need to be kept out of children’s reach, he said.

“I’m concerned about drugs that have addictive liability, that are used medicinally, that are not locked up,” Ross said.

Marijuana is not addicting, but the growing trend among states of decriminalizing marijuana means that people should be reminded to be just as careful with this drug as with others. “Unless it’s properly secured like other medicines, this will happen,” Ross said.

While the exact effects of marijuana on children are unclear because no such medical experiments can be performed ethically, its main effects on children would likely be sedation or confusion. In adults, consuming large amounts of marijuana has been linked with psychosis, Ross noted.

He said no death has even been attributed directly to consuming marijuana. Deaths associated with the drug are the result of activities undertaken while on the drug, such as driving under the influence.

Still, parents who suspect their child has consumed the drug should immediately take the child to an emergency room, Ross said, and the child should be observed for the duration of the drug’s influence.

“Certainly, a child who had ingested it should be medically monitored to make sure they wouldn’t do anything that would be dangerous,” Ross said. “If a child becomes uncoordinated or their speech becomes slurry or they develop bloodshot eyes — those would be the overt signs that I’d be looking out for.”

Pass it on: Ingesting marijuana is not likely life-threatening for children, but it’s important to keep all medical prescriptions, including marijuana, locked away.

According to Reuters, the company, Tikun Olam, is cultivating a type of cannabis plant that has high levels of a substance called Cannabidiol (CBD) believed to have anti-inflammatory properties.

What the plants do not have is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the compound that gives many marijuana users the characteristic high.

Medical marijuana advocates tout the drug as an effective remedy for numerous symptoms, including pain and nausea. Studies have also found marijuana to be effective in relieving symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Zack Klein, Tikum Olan’s director of development, said the company’s THC-free marijuana offers symptom relief without the mind-altering effects.

“Sometimes the high is not always what they need. Sometimes it is an unwanted side effect. For some of the people it’s not even pleasant,” Klein told Reuters.

Experts in the U.S. say there has been very little research on how the specific compounds in marijuana affect people’s health, so it is difficult to predict how well this type of marijuana will work.

“With just regular marijuana, there is a mix between THC — the more neurologically active component — and CBD,” said Dr. Igor Grant, director of the University of California San Diego’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. “There is still ongoing research to try to understand the actions of THC and CBD and how they interact.”

There is, however, ample evidence to suggest that CBD is not psychoactive, he added.

THC has a number of physiological effects. It binds to cannabinoid receptors throughout the body to produce its effects, including the high.

“There are receptors all over the place — in the heart, lungs, belly, brain — and they control all sorts of things,” said Dr. Timothy Fong, associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

It is particularly powerful as an anti-nausea remedy and is available in synthetic form as a drug called Marinol. A combination of THC and CBD, known as Sativex, is available in some countries outside the U.S.

One very small study of 16 human volunteers that compared THC to CBD found that CBD had fewer negative side effects than THC.

Would Marijuana Without THC Be Legal?

Right now, federal law considers THC, CBD and entire marijuana plants to be illegal according to ProCon.org, an independent charity that provides information on a number of different issues. Marinol, the drug that contains synthetic THC, is legal.

The mass cultivation of a plant similar to the Israeli-grown cannabis could create complicated legal and political issues, according to Robert MacCoun, a psychologist and professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley.

While it remains to be seen whether or not CBD is effective against certain disease symptoms, many medical marijuana advocates believe it is the entire plant that provides therapeutic benefits.

“They have long argued that the substances in the plant collectively bring about the medical benefits,” said MacCoun, who is not an attorney, but has done extensive research into policy issues surrounding medical marijuana.

If CBD turns out to also be therapeutic as THC, MacCoun explained it may change the legal and political dynamic, since the argument can be made that only certain ingredients should be legal.

Medical marijuana for research purposes must be obtained from the federal government, so it can be difficult to get, which MacCoun said limits the ability to study its effects.

And more research is exactly what experts who work with these compounds say is needed.

“This is an area that is very underdeveloped and underresearched,” said Fong. “We need more ways to explore how the cannabinoid system works.”

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has withdrawn from consideration a landmark bill that would have created the first statewide system for regulating medical marijuana.

Assembly Bill 2312 made history this June when it narrowly passed the state legislature. In addition to creating an official California “cannabis commission” to oversee the industry, the measure would have allowed cities to implement a sales tax on medical marijuana of up to two percent.

But pot advocates withdrew their support after conservative members of the legislature added a provision that would also allow local governments to ban dispensaries outright.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS)

“Sadly, there are more bans out there than cities with regulations,” Americans for Safe Access spokesman Kris Hermes told SF Weekly. “We were reticent to continue supporting it.”

Ammiano crafted the legislation in response to the Obama administration’s aggressive crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California, which has dealt a huge blow to the state’s $1.3 billion industry. Since the Department of Justice announced in September that it would be using federal resources to target cannabis operations, hundreds of businesses have shuttered and even more jobs have been lost.

Medical pot has been legal in California since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, but the drug remains illegal under federal law, and authorities are citing the industry’s “explosion and proliferation” as the basis for their actions.

“[The U.S. Attorneys] are using a lack of statewide regulation as justification,” Ammiano spokesman Quintin Mecke told The Huffington Post earlier this month. “If we create regulations, we’ve removed every reasonable explanation on their part to justify the crackdown.”

Despite the bill’s withdrawal, medical marijuana supporters remain optimistic. “Many good bills take more than a year to pass,” ASA executive Don Duncan told the East Bay Express.

Meanwhile, San Francisco officials continue to support a thriving cannabis industry despite federal opposition. Last week, in the face of dueling protests from advocates and opponents, the Board of Supervisors rejected an appeal that would have delayed a dispensary from opening in the Excelsior district.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera recently went on record praising medical marijuana operations in San Francisco. “San Francisco’s model regulatory system has for many years carefully balanced the needs of patients and caregivers with neighborhood concerns over health and safety,” he wrote in a brief to the state Supreme Court. “Our ordinance works. But an unworkable interpretation of federal law, which would undercut local regulation, serves no public interest — not for patients, not for neighbors.”

For his part, Ammiano told the Sacramento Bee that he will continue to flesh out the details of AB 2312 and hopes to present a revised measure when the legislature begins its new session next January.

“Even though there’s always a sense of disappointment,” he said, “I think particularly when it comes to the Legislature, this extra time will be more beneficial.”

WACO, Texas –  A Texas man is facing animal cruelty charges after police said he ate a dog while high on synthetic marijuana.

Michael Terron Daniel, 22, was arrested Monday for the June 14 incident, KWTX-TV reported.

Police investigated after receiving a report of a man “going crazy” at a Waco home.

When they arrived, Daniel told officers he was on a “bad trip” from the synthetic marijuana, known as K-2. He had apparently assaulted several people at the home.

He dropped to all fours and chased a neighbor “while barking and growling like a dog,” Waco Police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said.

Daniel then grabbed a dog, beat and fatally strangled it and “began to bite into the dog, ripping pieces of flesh away,” according to Swanton.

Officers contacted paramedics because Daniel was incoherent. While waiting for them to arrive, Daniel reportedly asked police to fight him or use a stun gun on him to help end his bad trip, Swanton said. The officers declined.

Daniel was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. He was arrested Monday at his workplace, charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal and booked into McLennan County Jail.

Like the designer drugs sold as “bath salts,” synthetic marijuana — also sold under the name “spice” — has been known to make some users aggressive and behave in a bizarre manner.

Over the weekend, 23-year-old Matthew See was arrested in Costa Mesa, Calif., after he allegedly smoked spice and then broke into an elderly couple’s apartment and assaulted them while speaking gibberish.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/26/texas-man-accused-eating-dog-while-high-on-synthetic-marijuana/#ixzz1yzg48wi6

Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, began studying the issue after an unusually high number of newborns in their nursery began testing positive for marijuana exposure. Newborn screening for marijuana at hospitals, particularly among babies of women who are considered at high risk of drug use, is not uncommon: at U.N.C. Chapel Hill, 10% to 40% of newborns are tested.

Positive results can precipitate an investigation by child welfare authorities. “We really did this to help protect families from being falsely accused,” study co-author Dr. Carl Seashore, a pediatrician in the U.N.C. Chapel Hill newborn nursery, told My Health News Daily.

(LIST: 10 Reasons to Revisit Marijuana Policy Now)

Soaps that were specifically associated with false-positive marijuana test results include Johnson & Johnson’s Bedtime Bath, CVS Night-Time Baby Bath, Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Creamy Wash and Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo.

Other products, such as Johnson’s Head-to-Toe Baby Wash, CVS Baby Wash, Baby Magic and even standard hospital gel hand soap, also indicated the presence of marijuana metabolites when tested, but not at sufficient levels to qualify as a positive result according to the hospital lab’s standards.

The problem is almost certainly not limited to these products, however. Researchers also tested ingredients used widely in soaps and shampoos, including polyquaternium-11 and cocamidopropyl betaine, which both elicited positive marijuana test results. So far, there is no explanation as to why the chemicals interfere with the test’s function, but importantly, they aren’t intoxicating; they don’t cause symptoms of marijuana exposure in children. The researchers think minute amounts of the substances were simply washing off the babies’ skin into their urine samples and confounding the screens.

While more sophisticated and expensive testing can easily distinguish between true and false positive results, most hospitals don’t use such tests because of the time and costs involved. And positive tests found at the hospital aren’t typically sent to outside labs for confirmation, which makes false positive results — and possible investigations afterward — all the more troubling.

Indeed, why hospitals test infants for marijuana exposure in the first place is not entirely clear. Twelve U.S. states designate prenatal exposure to any illegal drug as child abuse; however, there is no scientific evidence that connects marijuana-smoking by a parent with abuse.

(MORE: Viewpoint: Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Child?)

The question is not whether it’s acceptable for expectant mothers to use illegal drugs. No child-health expert would characterize recreational drug use during pregnancy as a good idea. But it’s not at all clear that the benefits, if any, of newborn marijuana screening — particularly given how selectively the tests are administered — justify the potential harm it can cause to families.

“If the issue is that the mother broke the law and therefore the child should be removed, we might want to consider going after mothers who exceed the speed limit while driving,” says Carl Hart, an associate professor of psychology at Columbia University and author of a leading text on drug effects. “Of course, this is ridiculous.” (Full disclosure: Hart and I are currently collaborating on a book project.)

To remove children from their home at birth because of a positive marijuana test is immediately and inexorably harmful, says Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. “Even when the test is accurate, there is no evidence that smoking pot endangers children,” he says, adding, “There is overwhelming evidence that needless foster care endangers children.”

Wexler explains that the odds of abuse and neglect are higher in foster care than they would be at home for the babies. “These infants are being taken from homes where there is no evidence of abuse, and placed in a situation where the odds of abuse are at least 1 in 4,” he says. “The odds of this kind of separation doing emotional damage are nearly 100%. Children risk enormous emotional trauma when they are torn from their mothers during a crucial period for infant-parent bonding.”

One study of infants who were exposed to cocaine in the womb found that their physical growth and development increased when they remained with their biological mothers, compared with being removed from the home because of maternal drug use. “For the foster children, being taken from their mothers was more toxic than the cocaine,” Wexler says.

(PHOTOS: A Giant Marijuana Plantation Discovered in Mexico)

The effects of prenatal drug exposure can vary widely. Maternal cocaine use during pregnancy has been linked with subtle developmental problems in children. But despite the popularized notion of permanently disabled “crack babies,” the research shows that the harms of cocaine use in pregnancy are on par with those associated with smoking cigarettes. Both can increase the risk of preterm birth and stillbirth. Neither is as dangerous as alcohol, which can cause irreversible intellectual disability.

The evidence on marijuana is inconclusive: some studies link marijuana use in pregnancy with reduced fetal growth and behavioral problems, but other research has found no effect. Again, the science shows no damage that approaches the harm linked with alcohol or cigarettes.

Although marijuana exposure has not been associated definitively with child harm, testing for it and placing children in foster care unnecessarily has been. Worse, the risks of custody loss are not applied equally to all women.

Determining whether a mother is considered at high risk for drug use — and warrants newborn testing — is ostensibly based on objective factors like whether she failed to obtain prenatal care or has acknowledged being a drug user. But in reality, characteristics like race often dictate which women are singled out for testing: a 2007 studyfound that babies born to black mothers were 50% more likely to be tested than white infants, even though rates of drug use and odds of positive results didn’t vary by race.

If you now consider the additional risks of false-positive results due to bath soaps, it’s hard to make the case for continued newborn marijuana testing — especially if the ultimate goal is to help children thrive.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/19/baby-soaps-and-shampoos-trigger-positive-marijuana-tests/#ixzz1yGPcnV54

rdeatley@pe.com

An Aug. 7 trial date has been set for six men charged with violating federal drug laws in connection with the operation and supply of G3 Holistics, a three-store chain of medical marijuana stores in the Inland area.

All defendants entered pleas of not guilty during an arraignment appearance Monday, June 18, in a downtown Los Angeles federal courtroom. Four of them are free on bond.

Brothers Aaron Sandusky, 41, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Keith Alan Sandusky, 44, of Rancho Cucamonga, remain in custody as the government challenges terms of their proposed bail. A hearing for them was set for Monday, June 25.

A six-count federal indictment unsealed last week claimed that G3 Holistic was using California’s Prop. 215 and other state laws regulating legal medical marijuana sales to cover an illegal for-profit marijuana growing and sales operation.

Aaron Sandusky and John Leslie Nuckolls II, 31, of Rialto were called co-founders of G3, while Keith Sandusky was in charge of day-to-day operations of the stores that at one time operated in Moreno Valley, Colton and Upland, the government said.

Defendants Paul Neumann Brownbridge, 29, of Upland; Richard Irwin Kirchnavy, 45, of Rancho Cucamonga; and Brandon Anton Gustafson, 30, of Yucaipa, were linked in the indictment to the operation of a marijuana-growing warehouse in Ontario that supplied the stores.

Forensic accounting by the Internal Revenue Service claimed that 19 different bank accounts associated with G3 Holistic and two of the defendants showed how about $3.3 million in deposits and withdrawals were shuffled to mask that G3 was a for-profit outfit, the government claimed.

Under Prop. 215 and subsequent state guidelines, medical marijuana dispensaries are legal when they are a nonprofit collective, with members cultivating and supplying a limited amount of marijuana for sale only in the facility.

Under federal law, marijuana is an illegal drug in all circumstances. U.S. prosecutors in California said in late 2011 they would begin investigating dispensary operations they believed were skirting Prop. 215′s regulations.

The indictment charges all six defendants with conspiracy to manufacture and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and also with possession with intent to distribute marijuana. The two charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.

Each defendant is also named in at least one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, which carries a mandatory sentence of 20 years, if convicted.

If the system were to come to Connecticut for regular operations, customers with a prescription would be able to walk up, swipe a credit or debit card, have their fingerprints scanned, and get their prescribed leafy drug — a system that’s in place in six western states and Canada.

“The technology was created in order to have a safe, efficient and regulated way to dispense the drug,” said Bruce Bedrick, CEO of Kind Clinics, a consulting firm for marijuana dispensaries, and Medbox, the machine itself.

Bedrick, a chiropractor and holistic health advocate from Scottsdale, Ariz., is in the Capital City to show the system to people interested in signing on as franchisees, and to prompt faster movement by the state in creating rules for the sale of marijuana. The legislature last month adopted a law that goes into effect Oct. 1, allowing patients of certain diseases and conditions to buy pot legally.

Bedrick said he favors the strict regulation contained in the Connecticut law — which, lawmakers said, will be far more tightly constrained than in other states. It remains unclear how and whether Bedrick’s machines would fit into the legalized marijuana market in Connecticut, which calls for pharmacists to dispense the drug.

But Bedrick said his vending system is the least risky and most secure. He noted that in other states, sellers take cash, store the pot in glass jars and lack controls to keep employees from stealing the drug.

“Anybody, whether it’s a patient or a resident, wants to make sure that when the system gets up and running it is the safest, most secure and legally compliant for everyone,” Bedrick said in an interview. “And that’s exactly what the technology does….in our opinion this is the only way to do it.”

As a business, it is also less risk, he said. “In terms of operational costs, you only really need roughly 10 patients a day, to sell 3.5 grams to break even with our business model.”

The machines, which Bedrick calls Medboxes, are about the height of a Redbox, the movie-dispensing machine usually at grocery stores, though twice as wide. They are automated and armored. They dispense the drug to someone with a card who verifies their identity via a fingerprint scan, and a clerk is on the premises while the machine is operating.

Medboxes are able to dispense 50 kinds of the drug, via touch-screen, Bedrick said Tuesday. The Medboxes do not accept cash.

Bedrick said he would have them wired into the state’s Department of Consumer Protection for transparency and oversight.

The rules around marijuana dispensing in Connecticut have not been set yet, so Bedrick’s explanation of how the boxes would operate is still evolving. He is not sure, for example, whether patients will directly operate the machines or whether pharmacists will be on-site.

Kind Clinics and Medbox have franchised operations in California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington and Arizona, with about 100 of the machines already in use and many more in the application process.

Kind Clinics is Bedrick’s firm that helps people get into the marijuana dispensing business through the franchised use of the Medboxes. To get one going, he said, a franchisee would need about $25,000 of investment in the application process on top of the about $150,000 to pay for the machine, real estate and other costs. He also consults on the marijuana cultivation.

“We are in the embryonic stage of the industry right now,” Bedrick said. “It’s just coming out of its shell.”

Officials said there were no “outward signs” of alcohol or drug use that may have caused King to fall into the pool Sunday morning.

Investigators are looking into reports by a next-door neighbor who said she heard the 47-year-old King in his backyard sobbing uncontrollably shortly before a splash.

PHOTOS: Rodney King | 1965- 2012

King’s fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, called 911 at 5:25 a.m. after finding King at the bottom of the pool. She told detectives that she was unable to rescue him herself because she is a poor swimmer.

“Even though we’re investigating this as an accidental drowning, we’re looking into every lead,” Rialto Police Department spokesman Officer David Shephard said.

An autopsy on King was scheduled for Monday morning, although his cause of death will not be made public until the completion of toxicology tests in six to eight weeks, said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Jodi Miller.

VIDEOS: Rodney King

The toxicology tests and autopsy may determine if King suffered from an undiagnosed medical condition that caused him to lose consciousness or if he had been drinking or was under the influence of drugs.

Police said King’s body showed no signs of trauma, and no traces of blood were found on the concrete pool deck or in the water.

One of King’s neighbors, Sandra Gardea, 31, said she heard a man crying in King’s backyard from about 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. King and his fiancée were the only ones at the house at the time, according to police. Gardea also heard King’s fiancée trying to coax him back into the house.

“There is anecdotal evidence that medical marijuana is finding its way into the hands of teenagers, but there’s no statistical evidence that legalization increases the probability of use,” Daniel I. Rees, an economics professor at the University of Colorado Denver who worked on the study, said in a written statement.

Rees and his team looked at nationally representative data from high school students from 1993 through 2009–medical marijuana was legal in 13 states during that time–and found that legalization didn’t affect marijuana use at school. According to study co-author Benjamine Hansen, assistant professor of economics at the University of Oregon, the data showed the opposite: There was often an inverse relationship between legalization and marijuana use.

What’s more, the researchers found no evidence that medical marijuana legalization led to an increase alcohol or cocaine use.

“This result is important given that the federal government has recently intensified its efforts to close medical marijuana dispensaries,” Hansen said in the statement.

The news adds another layer to the ongoing debate over whether medical marijuana should be legalized in more states. Currently, medical marijuana is legal in 17 states.

Just last month, a judge suffering from cancer wrote a New York Times op-ed in favor of legalization for medical reasons in New York state, confessing that he sometimes smokes before meals to relieve nausea and pain resulting from his illness and the medicines used to treat it.

In December, a study out of Rhode Island found that legalization of the drug did not lead to an increase in illegal use among teens.

Press Release

SAN DIEGO, June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Medical Marijuana, Inc. (Pink Sheets: MJNA)

From excerpts of an article written by the Medical Marijuana Business Daily; (click here to download full article)

Several prominent medical marijuana companies are focusing on what they see as the wave of the future in the MMJ industry: products infused with cannabidiol, or CBD.

The marijuana compound offers some of the pain-relieving benefits of THC, without the psychoactive effects. In other words, you don’t get stoned. Studies show that CBDs can help with a variety of medical conditions, including anxiety, nausea, inflammation and convulsions.

Just as importantly, hemp-based CBDs are legal in the United States, meaning patients don’t need to live in a state with MMJ laws and don’t have to worry about the government knocking on their door.

Publicly traded Medical Marijuana, Inc. last month paid $1.45 million to acquire Dixie’s intellectual property, formulas and recipes. The two companies have created a third, Red Dice Holdings, to license and market Dixie’s brand and NON-THC products in other states, focusing on hemp-based extracts.

Dixie Elixirs & Edibles is the latest firm in the medical marijuana industry to jump on the trend. The Denver-based company – which is now part of Medical Marijuana, Inc. – is preparing to roll out anew line of hemp-based CBD products including tinctures, salves and capsules. Dixie will officially launch the product line tomorrow and expects to add new CBD offerings at a rapid clip going forward, hoping to tap what it says is a $5 billion market.

The company initially will sell the products to dispensaries but then plans to make them available to the general public via mail order and an online e-commerce platform.

Other MMJ players are taking an interest in cannabidiols as well. Medical Marijuana, Inc. has taken an aggressive approach to CBD research, filing a patent last year for a process to extract cannabidiol and other cannabinoids from cannabis. It also inked a deal to distribute CBD-infused beverages. At the same time, individual dispensaries are producing high-CBD strains, and C3 Patients Associationis distributing a CBD-infused pill called Idrasil. Most of these products are only available to card-carrying patients in MMJ states however, as they contain CBDs derived from cannabis and in many cases also contain THC.

The company has plans for several additional product launches over the next few months and has nearly 600 retail stores now carrying its products.

About Medical Marijuana, Inc.

Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit.  We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value.

Medical Marijuana, Inc. does not grow, sell or distribute any substances that violate United States law or the controlled substance act.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at:  www.MedicalMarijuanaInc.com

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections.  This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.

Corporate Contact:
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DENVER (Reuters) – Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama hasn’t exactly been a friend to marijuana users.

Sure, he has acknowledged smoking pot as a young man, but he has disappointed marijuana advocates by opposing its legalization, regulation and taxation like alcohol.

And the Justice Department’s occasional crackdown under his administration on medical marijuana dispensaries, which 17 states and the District of Columbia allow, has angered others.

So now, with Obama facing a stiff challenge from Republican Mitt Romney in the November 6 election, it’s ironic that his chances of winning the key state of Colorado could hinge on marijuana legalization, supported by a growing number of Americans.

At issue is whether Obama will get a boost from young voters expected to be among the most enthusiastic backers of a Colorado ballot initiative that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot for recreational use – and give the state the most liberal marijuana law in the nation.

The initiative is a reflection of Colorado’s unique blend of laid-back liberalism and anti-regulation conservatism that helped make the state the birthplace of the Libertarian Party.

It’s a state where people of different political stripes see marijuana laws as an example of government needlessly sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong.

It’s also a proving ground for advocates who see legalization as a way to ease crowding in prisons, generate much-needed tax revenues, create jobs and weaken Mexican cartels that thrive on Americans’ appetite for illegal drugs.

The Rocky Mountain State already allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes such as severe pain relief, and some communities have embraced it enthusiastically.

The prevalence of medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver has moved pot into the mainstream in Colorado’s capital city.

In Denver County, home to about 600,000 people, one in every 41 residents is a registered medical marijuana patient, leading to chuckles about the “Mile High City.” Denver is roughly a mile above sea level.

The number of places licensed to sell medical marijuana products has reached 400 here, according to the Denver Post. That means there are more dispensaries in the capital than there are Starbucks coffee shops (375) statewide.

A similar bill is on the ballot in Washington, another state that already allows use of medical marijuana. If approved, the initiatives would put the states squarely in the crosshairs of federal law, which classifies cannabis as an illegal narcotic.

PATH TO THE WHITE HOUSE

It’s unclear precisely how the U.S. Justice Department – whether led by Obama or Romney – would respond if Colorado, Washington or other states legalize marijuana for recreational use. Both politicians oppose legalizing the drug.

But in a close presidential election in which Colorado could be a tipping point – and with polls showing Obama has up to a 30-point edge over Romney among voters age 30 and under – the state’s marijuana initiative could be a factor if it inspires waves of young voters to cast ballots on November 6.

“This is an issue that is really meaningful to young people, people of color, disenfranchised communities,” groups that typically lag in registering and showing up to vote, said Brian Vicente, 35, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a group seeking less restrictive marijuana laws.

“Democrats and Obama need these groups to win,” Vicente said. “The path to the White House leads through Colorado. We feel we can motivate these groups.”

Last winter, Public Policy Polling found that 49 percent of Coloradans favored legalization, while 41 percent opposed it.

As much as some Democrats feel they have the wind at their backs, they are fighting history in Colorado. Obama won the state in 2008, but he was the first Democratic presidential contender to do so in 16 years.

And even though a majority of the delegates at the Colorado Democratic Party’s convention last month said they supported legalization, some party officials are skeptical the politically diverse movement will help Obama much this fall.

They note that Colorado voters rejected such a legalization measure in 2006, and that Californians blocked a similar initiative two years ago.

“If they get 40 percent” of voters supporting legalization, “they should throw themselves a party,” said Matt Inzeo, spokesman for Colorado’s Democratic Party.

Others see more potential in the legalization debate’s impact on the presidential race.

Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling said that if the state-by-state race for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency comes down to Colorado’s 9 electoral votes, marijuana “could be a difference maker.”

BROADENING SUPPORT

During a recent visit to Colorado, Romney seemed irritated when a local television reporter quizzed him on his views about gay marriage, immigration reform and marijuana legalization.

“Aren’t there issues of significance you’d like to talk about?” an exasperated Romney asked.

In Colorado, however, marijuana is significant. And its acceptance hasn’t been limited to more liberal areas.

Colorado Springs, home to the U.S. Air Force Academy and the evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family, is one of the most conservative cities in the United States. But the city of 400,000 about 70 miles south of Denver has nearly as many marijuana dispensaries as churches, according to city records.

Supporters of Colorado’s initiative point to a broadening coalition of those who support legalization, including local civil rights and union leaders.

Those opposing marijuana legalization often cite the drug’s impact on youths.

Roger Sherman, a strategist for the campaign against Amendment 64, said “there’s a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and a high level of concern” among those who oppose legalization. His group cites increased drug use among children and increasing cases of impaired driving.

Nationwide polling on marijuana legalization, although sparse, suggests that support now equals support for marriage equality, which just found a new backer in Obama.

In October, 50 percent of Americans said “yes” when asked by Gallup, “Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal, or not?” When Gallup asked that in 1969, 12 percent said yes.

Last week, a Rasmussen Reports survey said 56 percent of likely U.S. voters favored legalizing and regulating marijuana.

QUESTIONING OBAMA

Supporters of legalization also argue that regulating marijuana – and capturing tax revenue from its sale – could help governments, cities and towns face increasingly tight budgets.

In 2011, taxes for medical marijuana generated $5 million for Colorado. Denver-based political strategist Rick Ridder said that depending upon the cost of an ounce, legalization would likely generate $20 million to $80 million in annual tax revenue for Colorado and local communities.

As designed, Amendment 64 would designate its first $40 million in tax revenue for rebuilding public schools. As part of a bond issue, that amount could turn into a treasure chest for public education funding in Colorado.

Legalization advocates see Obama’s crackdown on some medical marijuana outlets as hypocritical, noting that in his memoir “Dreams from My Father” he acknowledged smoking pot as a youth.

“It’s really insulting with this president. He actually smoked pot in high school and college. The only difference is he didn’t get caught. If he had gotten caught, he would not be president,” said Wanda James, 48, whose business, Simply Pure, supplies 300 Colorado dispensaries with edible marijuana.

She tells community leaders that legalization is not just about pot smokers having a good time, legally. She sees it as a way to ease prison crowding, help cash-strapped governments, provide jobs and weaken drug cartels.

Legalization, of course, would mean a larger market for James’ indica sesame brittle bars and sativa peppermint cups.

To James, legalizing marijuana boils down to what could be a good slogan for this year’s elections: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”

(Editing by David Lindsey and Todd Eastham)