For this week’s report we congratulate Victoria, Australia for being the first state to legalize medical marijuana in that country and examine the meaning of the word marijuana, among other things.

Legislation & Politics

Victoria has just become the first Australian state to legalize medical marijuana, though mostly just for extreme medical cases. Children with epilepsy will be the first to benefit from the drug in 2017, reports Mashable.

Merry Jane lets tokers know which US states are the most dangerous to get caught with weed in-shocker that almost all of them are in the conservative south. On the other side of that coin the Motley Fool looks at the states that might be approving marijuana use late this year.

Economics

Social media may still not be all that friendly when it comes to chatter about weed, but Forbes pulled some interesting statistics from Instagram while examining the top 10 cities that mention marijuana terms on the social media site. Not surprisingly Los Angeles and Denver were high on the list, but Spring Valley, Texas has everyone a little confused since Texas is nowhere near legalizing marijuana.

Speaking of social media, MassRoots -- one of the first social networks for cannabis consumers -- is likely to be the first marijuana-related company to become publicly traded on NASDAQ, as it filed IPO papers on April 11, according to PBS.

The New York Times digs a little deeper into the changes in the economic landscape that California is undergoing thanks to the rise of marijuana as a cash crop and the concerns of big business moving in.

The International Business Times profiles Lamine Zarrad, a financial industry expert who is diving into the troublesome waters of cannabis industry banking with his new platform, Tokken.

Medical & Health

Columbia University researchers recently concluded a study that proved that the increasing passage of medical marijuana laws does not have an effect underage cannabis use, according to Medical Marijuana Inc. Take that, Nancy Reagan.

Sports & Entertainment

Cliff Robinson, former Portland Trail Blazer, is working on a new cannabis product line aimed at athletes called Uncle Spliffy’s. The company’s products are supposed to “significantly enrich the athlete experience and outcomes while improving preparedness, focus, recovery and relaxation,” according to Portland’s KGW.com.

The Game is getting into the cannabis industry (you thought I was going to say game, huh?) with a partnership with california-based G FarmaBrands. The two will partner on a cannabis lemonade and cannabis cigarettes. The products will be sold in California and Washington, reports Hot New Hip Hop.

Everything Else

This dumb dumb was clearly on some really good shit when he packed for his Washington flight, because he thought it was a great idea to bring along a grinder shaped like a hand grenade -- in his carry-on.

The topic of semantics was a popular one this week, as Green Rush Daily and The Stranger examined the racist undertones of the word “marijuana.” Our own Reginald Reefer offered up a rebuttal to their arguments. Which side of this issue do you fall on?