With invasive Asian carp now established in waterways near Chicago, politicians and officials in the Great Lakes states are pushing for immediate action to prevent the fish from ever entering Lake Michigan. But the one state with control over the situation, Illinois, believes that sufficient action has already been taken.

The debate hinges on the question of whether or not a group of electric barriers currently in place are effective in blocking the movement of the carp. Those who question the barriers' ability are pushing for the closing of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a man-made waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River through the Chicago and Calumet rivers.

Nearly 100,000 medical marijuana patients may have to find another means of purchasing their medication following a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling published on August 23rd. The Court ruled that Compassionate Apothecary, a medical marijuana dispensary, was not operating in accordance with the provisions of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), thus making it a public nuisance for violating the Public Health Code. More specifically, Compassionate Apothecary was in violation of the provision that states that the "medical use" of marijuana does not include patient-to-patient "sales" of marijuana, and no other provision of the MMMA can be read to permit such sales. So essentially, Michigan has passed a law which allows for the use of marijuana for medical purposes but does not necessarily allow for the purchase or sale of marijuana. This raises several concerns for lawmakers, who will now need to decide the future of medical marijuana in Michigan, dispensaries across Michigan, and patients needing marijuana for medical purposes.