Pro-legalization groups amp up for 2016 measures

Well-funded advocacy groups drive the effort to legalize marijuana nationwide. Proponents have found success by securing financial backing and taking advantage of changing attitudes.

In Montana, medical marijuana debate drags on

Critics say Montana's medical marijuana industry grew beyond its bounds. Now, it could become the first state to shut down legal sales of cannabis, depending on the outcome of the state Supreme Court case.

A lost generation still lobbies in the South

Mired in forgotten statutes, a marijuana movement sweeps through the conservative South. Old political tinder is fueling the new debate.

Tribes wait to jump into weed rush

While Native American tribes can decide whether to legalize marijuana on tribal lands, many are concerned about possible repercussions from the government.

Could Arizona be next to legalize?

Arizona has been targeted as a state that could potentially legalize recreational marijuana in 2016. But problems remain in the state’s medical marijuana system.

With a federal ban on pot, states make the rules — whether they work or not

Every state regulates medical marijuana differently. The result is wide disparities across the country, including everything from lab testing to costs.

Rarely inspected, medical caregivers could feed illegal markets

Medical caregivers in 23 states and Washington D.C. are not inspected or effectively regulated. Many participate legally. Others exploit their privileges.

Resolute and desperate parents demand marijuana treatment for children

An ever-growing lobby of tenacious parents are pushing politicians to legalize medical marijuana for children with epilepsy and other serious conditions.

Marijuana businesses wait as Nevada works through regulations

Although voters approved medical marijuana in a 2000 initiative, Nevada didn’t establish a system to distribute cannabis. When officials did in 2013, they set out to establish stringent rules.

Hawaii’s medical marijuana patients turn to illegal market

Without dispensaries or a legal way to purchase seeds, plants and medical marijuana, the illegal market on the islands thrives. Patients are left hoping for change.

Colorado on pot: America’s imperfect marijuana model

Colorado has 883 licensed marijuana dispensaries. Though the state has seen an influx of money, some say it was not ready for commercialization.

Washington merges recreational and medical marijuana

Washington's recreational pot program is up and running with more than dispensaries. But it’s expensive and heavily taxed, drawing criticism from marijuana patients.

Vashon Island: Where one man's legal pot is grown in paradise

On Vashon Island, just a short ferry ride from Seattle, Scott Durkee is following his farmer’s passion: To legally grow pot for Washington’s new marijuana market.

From seed to sale, Oregon's weed rush grows on its reputation

Welcome to Oregon where possession and home-growing became legal on July 1, but sales won’t be legal until sometime next year – after the state makes new rules.

Alaska struggles to roll out regulations

Alaska became the third state to legalize recreational marijuana, and the first red state to do so. But Alaskans have been growing and using weed for years.

The new world of weed in D.C. poses old problems

Possession of small amounts of marijuana is legal in Washington, D.C. But with sales still illegal, residents are finding ways to get creative.

Marijuana crops are raising concerns over water and pesticides

More legal and illegal marijuana plants have sprouted up across the country. But the crop's needs are leaving their mark.

Restrictions and lack of funding have hindered research

Federal health agencies spend millions on pot science. But most money is spent on addiction research, not on the benefits.

States struggle to develop weed safety regulations

Without comprehensive regulation and established lab testing, scientists say medical marijuana patients could consume contaminated weed.

From cookies to lotion, is edible marijuana worth the risk?

Marijuana is consumed in ways unimaginable a couple decades ago. But could their ability to deliver a higher high do more damage than good?

Marijuana industry explodes, but complications abound

As marijuana matures from a fledgling industry into serious business, problems mount for a field challenged by complex regulations and an uncertain future.

The culture around cannabis is changing — so are perceptions

American support of cannabis is on the rise, as more money, increased exposure and smarter advocacy transforms public opinion around the drug.

Without banks, marijuana businesses amass stacks of cash

Federal restrictions have made reliable banking nearly impossible for marijuana businesses, leading them to rely on safes and armed guards as they await reform.

Growing marijuana industry grapples with labor dilemmas

As the marijuana industry grows into a multibillion-dollar enterprise, workers and their bosses search for common ground on labor dilemmas. Unions have offered an organized alternative, but not everyone is buying in.

Experts: Minorities struggle in legal cannabis industry

Aspiring marijuana business owners need access to large amounts of both financial and social capital. And experts said that’s proven difficult for everyone, but especially for many minorities to break into the business.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

How marijuana is pushing the limits of legality.

Medical marijuana brings bedlam to some California communities

California’s medical marijuana industry is fraught with unlicensed dispensaries and illegal pot as voters prepare for possible recreational legalization next year.

East New York: It's still a target for marijuana possession

The New York City administration and police decriminalized minor marijuana possession, but the racial disparity within the violations persists.

Marijuana possession arrests charted over three decades

Possession arrest rates doubled during the 1990s, and only recently began to subside. Explore data spanning 34 years to see how states compare.

Avoyelles Parish: Where poverty, race and drugs collide

Blacks in one Louisiana community are more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, and are frequent targets of the so-called “Jump-Out Boys."

Marijuana pushes the limits in the inexact science of DUID

Law enforcement deals with impaired drivers every day. But discrepancies in legal limits and testing procedures vary from state to state.

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