


Illinois sees record pot sales, with boost from Lollapalooza
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois dispensaries sold a record $127.8 million in recreational marijuana in July, with a big boost coming from out-of-state fans who converged on Chicago for the Lollapalazoo music festival. The month’s sales were 10% higher than May’s…

Cannabis company sues Tennessee Titans’ Julio Jones, others
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones is facing allegations of illegally harvesting and selling millions of dollars of cannabis in California, according to court records. California-based cannabis company Genetixs filed the suit earlier this month against…

Mississippi lawmakers work toward medical marijuana program
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two Mississippi lawmakers say they’re continuing to work on proposals to create a medical marijuana program, two months after the state Supreme Court invalidated one that voters had approved. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported that…

Not nice: Baron Cohen sues Massachusetts cannabis dispensary
BOSTON (AP) — Actor Sacha Baron Cohen has sued a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary he says used an image of his character Borat on a billboard without his permission, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Boston. The billboard…

$1B in illegal pot seized in largest Los Angeles County bust
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The largest illegal marijuana bust in Los Angeles County history — which netted 373,000 plants that would ultimately have been worth $1 billion on the street — eradicated only a fraction of the illicit grows in…

No relay: Banned sprinter Richardson left off Olympic team
Banned sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was not on the Olympic roster released Tuesday by USA Track and Field, a decision that means the American champion’s positive test for marijuana will cost her a chance at running on the relay team in…

Richardson will miss Olympic 100 after marijuana test
American champion Sha’Carri Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana. Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19, spoke of her ban Friday on…

Recreational marijuana legal to possess, grow in New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — It’s legal for people in New Mexico to possess recreational marijuana and grow those plants at home as of Tuesday, the same day regulators opened discussions on rules for the launch of pot sales next…

Police kill man near California pot farms evacuated by fire
WEED, Calif. (AP) — Officers shot and killed a man who pulled a gun as they tried to keep him out of a complex of marijuana farms in an area of far Northern California where thousands of people were ordered…

Mexico high court mandates permits for personal pot use
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered the government Monday to issue permits for the personal use of marijuana and for the growing of limited amounts of pot plants, after the country’s Congress took too long to approve a…

Washington’s ‘joints for jabs’ vaccine program falling flat
SEATTLE (AP) — It was designed as an innovative way to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, but Washington’s new “joints for jabs” program is off to a rough start. Officials announced Monday that the state’s nearly 500 licensed marijuana retailers could begin…

Global sting began by creating message service for crooks
SAN DIEGO (AP) — When the FBI dismantled an encrypted messaging service based in Canada in 2018, agents noticed users moving to other networks. Instead of following their tracks to rivals, investigators decided on a new tactic: creating their own…

Lawmakers discuss future of medical marijuana in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The leader of the organization that sponsored the voter-approved Mississippi medical marijuana initiative that was recently blocked in court says the program should be changed and improved by the state Legislature — but not by too…

Pot users welcome: Amazon won’t test jobseekers for cannabis
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Tuesday that it will stop testing jobseekers for marijuana. The company, the second-largest private employer in the U.S. behind Walmart, is making the change as states legalize cannabis or introduce laws banning employers from…

Since the nose doesn’t know pot is now legal, K-9s retire
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Asking dogs to follow their noses won’t work anymore in states that have legalized marijuana. As Virginia prepares to legalize adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana on July 1, drug-sniffing police dogs from…