Recreational drug laws and regulations
In this Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 photo, a customer sniffs a display sample of marijuana, in a tamper-proof container secured with a cable, sold at Evergreen Cannabis, a marijuana retail shop, in Vancouver, B.C. One year into Canada's experiment in legal marijuana, hundreds of legal pot shops have sprung up. But many people still buy their weed on the sly, because taxes and other issues mean that craft marijuana costs nearly twice what it did before legalization. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Pricey pot, few stores in Canada after 1 year of legal sales
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The weed is expensive, the selection is limited, the black market persists, and licensed stores are scarce. It's one year into Canada's experiment in legal marijuana, and hundreds of legal pot shops have opened. While many residents remain proud of Canada for...
FILE - This Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 file photo shows the MedMen marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. Marijuana stocks have come down hard from their highs a year ago, and the skid isn't just spooking investors. On Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, MedMen Enterprises Inc., which sells legal cannabis in California and 11 other states, backed out of a blockbuster deal to buy PharmaCann, a Chicago-based marijuana company with operations in eight states. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
MedMen's ends blockbuster deal adding to cannabis stock woes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marijuana stocks have come down hard from their highs a year ago, and the skid isn't just spooking investors. On Tuesday, MedMen Enterprises Inc., which sells legal cannabis in California and 11 other states, backed out of a blockbuster deal to buy PharmaCann, a Chicago-based...
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014, file photo, a patron exhales vapor from an e-cigarette at a store in New York. Only two years ago e-cigarettes were viewed as holding great potential for public health: offering a way to wean smokers off traditional cigarettes. But now Juul and other vaping companies face an escalating backlash that threatens to sweep their products off the market. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
Clampdown on vaping could send users back toward cigarettes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only two years ago, electronic cigarettes were viewed as a small industry with big potential to improve public health by offering a path to steer millions of smokers away from deadly cigarettes. That promise led U.S. regulators to take a hands-off approach to e-cigarette makers,...
In this Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 photo released by Northwest Metro Drug Task Force/Minnesota Departments of Public Safety shows "Dank" packaging, part of the 75,000 THC vaping cartridges seized in a record drug bust in Anoka County, Minn. Dank, a shadowy but widely sold illegal marijuana vape is drawing the attention of investigators looking into a rash of mysterious lung illnesses around the U.S. Investigators haven't identified a culprit in the outbreak but say many patients have mentioned using Dank vapes. (Northwest Metro Drug Task Force/Minnesota Departments of Public Safety via AP)
Black market brand draws scrutiny as vaping illness spreads
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's a widely known vaping cartridge in the marijuana economy, but it's not a licensed brand. And it's got the kind of market buzz no legitimate company would want. The vaping cartridges that go by the catchy, one-syllable name "Dank" — a slang word for highly potent cannabis —...
In this photo taken Sept. 20, 2019, David Alport, owner of the Bridge City Collective marijuana dispensary in Portland, Ore., goes over sales numbers with the store's general manager Cameron Moore. The company has seen a 31% decrease in its sales of vaping products in the past two weeks. "It's having an impact on how consumers are behaving," said Alport. "People are concerned, and we're concerned." (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)
Marijuana vape sales lag as lung illnesses rise in US
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Vaping products, one of the fastest-growing segments of the legal marijuana industry, have taken a hit from consumers as public health experts scramble to determine what's causing a mysterious and sometimes fatal lung disease among people who use e-cigarettes. The ailment has...
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2019, file photo, marijuana grows at an indoor cannabis farm in Gardena, Calif. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, that would grant legal marijuana businesses access to banking, a measure that would clear up a longstanding headache for the industry. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
US House passes bill giving pot businesses access to banking
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would grant legal marijuana businesses access to banking, a measure that would clear up a longstanding headache for the industry. The bill, called the SAFE Banking Act, passed 321-103 on the strength of near-unanimous support from...
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018, file photo, a guest takes a puff of a cannabis vape pen during a marijuana event in downtown Los Angeles. A short walk from police headquarters in the heart of downtown, a cluster of bustling shops are openly selling packaging and hardware that can be used to produce counterfeit, and potentially dangerous, marijuana vapes that have infected California's cannabis market and possibly sickened dozens of people. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
As illnesses spread, fake vape gear sells on LA streets
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A short walk from police headquarters in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, a cluster of bustling shops are openly selling packaging and hardware that can be used to produce counterfeit marijuana vapes that have infected California's cannabis market. Bootleggers eager to profit...
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California will spend $20 million on a public awareness campaign about the dangers of vaping nicotine and cannabis products amid a rise in vaping-related illnesses, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Sept. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
California campaign will warn public of vaping dangers
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will spend $20 million on a public awareness campaign about the dangers of vaping nicotine and cannabis products and step up efforts to halt the sale of illicit products amid a rise in vaping-related illnesses. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the actions...
Vaping illness in US gives Canada pause as legal sales near
TORONTO (AP) — The serious lung illness affecting hundreds of people in the U.S. who vaped cannabis-based oil is giving Canadian health officials pause as that country prepares to allow the sale of vaping products in its legal marijuana market. No illnesses have yet been reported north of the...
File - In this Aug. 28, 2019, file photo, a man exhales while smoking an e-cigarette in Portland, Maine. The U.S. government has refined how it is measuring an outbreak of breathing illnesses in people who vape, now counting only cases that are most closely linked to electronic cigarette use. Health officials on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019 said 380 confirmed cases and probable cases have been reported in 36 states and one U.S. territory. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Oregon pot retailers begin pulling vape brands in lung scare
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon marijuana retailers on Thursday began removing vaping products from their shelves and offering returns on previously purchased vape pens amid a nationwide scare over severe lung illnesses and deaths tied to electronic cigarettes. The move came after the agency that...