The administration of Gov. Peter Shumlin is gearing up for a task assigned to it by the Legislature: studying the fiscal and other impacts if the state were to legalize marijuana. Advocates on both sides of the issue are already offering suggestions for what Vermont ought to consider.

According to Leaf Science, the Cannabinoid Medical Clinic will soon be the first clinic in Toronto that specializes in medical marijuana but will not be handing out prescriptions to just anyone. “We won’t be seeing the 18- or 25-year-old who walks in and says, ‘Hey Doc, I’ve got a really bad back’… I’m seeing the patients who have a true medical diagnosis.”

Some of issues stalling trials in Kentucky are the availability of marijuana oil, the possible need for approval from the Food and Drug Administration and the cost of studies that preliminary estimates say could be $10,000 per participant. Still, doctors hoping to conduct the trials are optimistic.

The debate over the future of medical marijuana dispensaries in San Jose filled city council chambers for a contentious meeting, though council members delayed a vote on a proposed ordinance. If approved, dispensaries would have to be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, day care centers, churches, recreation centers, parks, libraries and other collectives.

Denver’s city attorney is pleased with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s efforts to align its bring-your-own-cannabis fundraising concerts with laws that authorize, but still regulate, marijuana use in Colorado.

In August, Illinois passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana. A draft of regulations is out, and dispensaries are expected to open in 2015. The business will be extraordinarily hard to get into, though, as Illinois has some of the strictest regulations and most expensive entry fees in the industry.

A political committee helping spearhead a ballot effort to legalize medical marijuana in Florida raised an overall total of $3.1 million through April while also receiving $1.9 million in loans, though much of that money went to collecting the 683,149 petition signatures needed to get on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The chances are very good that Gov. Terry Branstad will sign a bill into law this month to allow the use of cannabis oil to treat severe cases of epilepsy, he has talked to governors who have signed similar laws and he feels Iowa can move ahead without fear of “unintended consequences” in giving legal status to an oil derivative of marijuana.

Military vets using medical marijuana will not be disqualified from VA benefits and services according to a local Colorado Veterans Administration medical center. “Use of state-approved marijuana does not disqualify a veteran for healthcare, and it will not result in any sort of retaliation or denial of services.”

Leaf Online reports on colleges policies of higher punitive action on marijuana use than underage drinking. Administrators believe that student use of marijuana leads to poor academic performance. While there are few scientific studies that directly challenge the idea marijuana users are lazier than students who use alcohol, surveys show this claim is false.

Bermuda’s National Security Minister Michael Dunkley submitted the report from the Cannabis Reform Collaborative to the National Assembly and urged legislators to consider its recommendations saying any changes to marijuana laws in the British territory would be made only in a “measured fashion.”

High Times says Colorado has a public relations issue that must be dealt with, products infused with marijuana, “medibles.” As stories about children and some adults mistaking medibles for unmedicated products and eating more than a recommended dosage, some of the public that was barely supportive of marijuana legalization becomes more wary.

Recent amendments to New York medical marijuana legislation would include not allowing it to be used for glaucoma, but for rheumatoid arthritis, the bill’s Senate sponsor said. She said ophthalmologists told her that better drugs are available to treat the illness. But rheumatoid arthritis would be included.

By a slender margin, Connecticut voters back legalizing marijuana for recreational use, with the strongest support coming from those under 30, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.

It seems like every day brings a new surprise in the awkward transition of marijuana from outlaw status to social acceptance. In the blending between those ready to seize a rare entrepreneurial moment and those whose job is to regulate and tax a business that’s still illegal in 48 states, it’s been tough to select the most discordant set of circumstances.

Colorado’s Department of Revenue reports that marijuana retailers sold nearly $19 million in recreational weed in March, up from $14 million in February. The first three months of legal weed have netted about $7.3 million in taxes. In its first few months, Colorado could soon be outpacing those historic first-day sales on a daily basis.

Many patients in Massachusetts received certificates from physicians allowing them to obtain marijuana for an array of conditions. But with dispensaries not expected to open until the fall at the earliest, they have turned to the Internet, where sites such as marijuana-caregiver.com provide a list of eager suppliers.

Because marijuana is illegal under federal law, financial institutions are reluctant to serve state-licensed marijuana businesses. These businesses currently operate almost entirely on a cash-only basis, which raises their costs, increases the risk of crime, and impedes Colorado’s ability to account for these businesses’ revenues.

As the pot businesses blossom, a robust supply chain is needed to help grow, package and market legal marijuana. Where there’s weed, there’s also a growing need for everything from greenhouses and fertilizer to pipes and vaporizers.

Patients who use medical marijuana for pain and other chronic symptoms can take an unwanted hit: Insurers don’t cover the treatment, which costs as much as $1,000 a month. Perhaps the biggest hurdle for health insurers is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved it.