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Voters in Ohio shot down a legalization effort in November, marking the first big loss for reformers since last year, when Florida fell just shy of enacting medical marijuana. But the big picture remains rosy. Weed is now legal in five places within the borders of the United States: Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Washington State, and the District of Columbia. The ...

Legal marijuana may be on its way to California, sooner rather than later. By the middle of July, seven groups had announced separate campaigns to legalize recreational use of cannabis statewide. Late in the month, that list grew to eight. It’s unclear what the odds are on any of these efforts, but the newest entry is especially ambitious. The proposal, ...

A gunfight during a robbery at a Fresno marijuana grow site left two suspects dead while their accomplices took a 15-year-old girl hostage. Seven men, armed and dressed as police, burst into a home in south Fresno in an attempt to rob the residents of cash and weed, police said. They pistol-whipped one man inside the house and then started ...

A legal marijuana market in California could translate to more than $2 trillion at the retail level, according to research by San Francisco Weekly.

Los Angeles city officials won a restraining order in July to shut down a popular marijuana farmers market. An L.A. County Superior Court judge ruled July 15 that the cannabis farmers market in Boyle’s Heights must cease operations immediately. The ruling was a victory for City Attorney Mike Feuer, who said the market violated L.A.’s rules for medical marijuana dispensaries. ...

Authorities have accused a Northern California marijuana grower of starting a large wildfire while he was transporting material for a pot garden. The man, who gave his name as Freddie Alexander Smoke III, was arrested July 12. He was charged with recklessly causing a fire and cultivating marijuana, both felonies, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ...

Thousands of happy stoners waited in line for hours in early July to peruse the stands at the first marijuana farmers market in Los Angeles. Vendors at the first-ever California Heritage Market, held inside a warehouse in Boyle Heights, sold a wide variety of bud, cannabis edibles, oils, concentrates, and other products. Shoppers were allowed to handle the goods and, ...

While the rest of California continues to adopt tight restrictions or bans on medical marijuana, the City of Berkeley is headed in the opposite direction. The Berkeley City Council voted July 1 to require that medical weed dispensaries provide free pot to low-income patients. Under the new policy, dispensaries will be required to dedicate at least 2 percent of their ...

The High Times Cannabis Cup event blew into the Bay Area in late June, attracting thousands of eager tokers and industry players. The Cannabis Cup was held June 28 and 29 at the Sonoma County Fairground in Santa Rosa. As many as 10,000 people showed up to sample a wide array of weed and bask in the glow of changing ...

Police raided a suspected marijuana network in Fremont, Union City, and Hayward in June. They arrested four people and seized hundreds of plants, cash, and other drugs, authorities said. The investigation lasted almost a month, and police confiscated nearly 700 plants, processed weed, cocaine, cash, and a car, according to the Southern Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force. The operation ...