As the November elections get closer, the arguments over state ballot measures to legalize marijuana for recreational use are heating up. In some states, like California where supporters have the upper hand in both polling and cash, there is more anticipation than suspense. But that’s not the case in the other four states where legal recreational use of marijuana is on the ballot.

The vote is much tighter in Massachusetts, where support for a recreational marijuana initiative (known as Question 4) has lost ground and is trailing by 10 points in the most recent poll, 51% opposed to 41% in favor. Supporters and opponents don’t differ greatly on the issue of legalization as much as they do on how the initiative is written and how a law will be implemented and enforced.

According to a report in at Boston.com, some medical marijuana outlets that would have priority for licenses to sell recreational marijuana oppose the ballot initiative. Some object to the provision allowing home-grown plants and others object to the limits the law would set on local control of whether pot shops could open in a particular community.

The levels of oversight and taxation rankle some, including a Libertarian view that would allow any retailer to sell marijuana as if it were any other agricultural product, would levy no new taxes, and set no limits on how much could be grown at home.

These objections might seem light hair-splitting among people who might otherwise vote in favor of legalization. That’s a familiar story in politics, making the perfect the enemy of the good. Still, it appears that the vote for legalization in Massachusetts will be close, and supporters can’t afford to lose any votes.

Other states voting on recreational use measures are Nevada, Arizona and Maine.

Study: Can Marijuana Improve PTSD Symptoms for Veterans?

Roberto Pickering’s story is all too familiar.

The infantry Marine says he fought during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, lost some “good buddies” and returned to civilian life a “basket case” from battling a new enemy: post-traumatic stress disorder.

Pickering says he was pumped full of medications — from Valium to Zoloft, OxyContin, Seroquel, Lithium, Ambien and more — by Department of Veterans Affairs doctors. He tried to go back to school but had trouble adjusting.

He recoiled further after one friend took his own life and another died of a heroin overdose after becoming dependent on opioids through his medical care. Pickering moved into his parents’ California basement and found solace in the bottle while his life spiraled out of control.

Unlike thousands of post-9/11 veterans who have committed suicide, Pickering then found another way to cope: He began experimenting with marijuana about 10 years ago.

“This war doesn’t end when you come back,” he said. Cannabis “really improved my quality of life … I found what works for me.”

Read more in Stars & Stripes.

CDC: More People Are Using Marijuana, but Fewer Are Abusing It

Marijuana abuse and dependency are becoming less common, even as states roll back restrictions on the use of the drug, according to a new federal report.

In 2014, the number of Americans aged 12 and over meeting diagnostic criteria for marijuana abuse or dependency stood at 1.6 percent, a decline from 1.8 percent in 2002, according to the report released Thursday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Declines in marijuana abuse and dependency were greatest among teens (37 percent decrease) and young adults (18 percent decrease) over that period. The change in marijuana abuse and dependency among adults age 26 and older was not statistically meaningful, according to the CDC.

These figures come from nearly 900,000 responses to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a massive annual federal survey of American substance use. Dependence and abuse were measured by common criteria set by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) used by the American Psychiatric Association.

Read more at the Washington Post.

600 Marijuana Plants Found in Backyard of Day Care: Police

West Haven[, Connecticut,] police found around 600 marijuana plants growing in the backyard of a day care, police said.

According to police, officers responded to 159 Norfolk St., a licensed day care, on Friday after being called by state child care inspectors.

The inspectors called police when they were denied access behind a tall wooden fence in the backyard which they found suspicious, according to the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood.

Police obtained a search warrant and found about 600 plants, each between 6 and 10 feet tall, growing in a garden in the backyard, police said.

City housing inspectors shut down the facility and the day-care license was suspended.

Read more at NBCConnecticut.com.

Nearly a Ton of Marijuana Found on Speedboat in Greece

Greek authorities say they have seized nearly a ton of marijuana on an inflatable speedboat that was abandoned after a chase in the west of the country.

The coast guard says the seizure followed a tip-off. A coast guard launch located and pursued the 10-meter (33-foot) boat Monday, but the only man on board managed to beach the craft and escape on foot near the town of Messolonghi.

A coast guard statement Tuesday said a total 920 kilograms of marijuana was found packaged on the speedboat.

Read more at Fox News.

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