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OAKLAND — A man suspected of conspiring with others to ship marijuana from Pittsburg to Atlanta, Georgia, was arrested in the Bay Area last week on an arrest warrant for money laundering charges, court records show.

Alhaji Jewru Touray was arrested in connection with a federal conspiracy and money laundering case based in Georgia. The complaint against Touray says that a confidential federal informant confessed to helping Touray vacuum-seal bags of marijuana in a home on Springhill Drive in Pittsburg to prepare them for shipment to Atlanta.

During the course of the two-year investigation, authorities seized more than to $400,000 in cash, according to court records.

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Less than a month after Cambridge’s attempt to ban a medical marijuana dispensary from selling to all adults for two years was ruled unconstitutional in superior court, the city announced that it has filed an emergency motion to halt the ruling — a decision ripped by the local pot shop.

“The City’s actions in pursuing an appeal reflect a contempt for the Court and the rule of law,” Revolutionary Clinics, one of the shops hit by Cambridge’s moratorium, said in a statement. “Rather than working toward solutions and sound policy that can have a tangible impact, the City continues to play politics.”

The announcement comes after a Middlesex Superior Court judge ruled on Jan. 24 that the moratorium on Revolutionary Clinics opening a retail pot shop violated the Home Rule Amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution and state cannabis law.

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Two Boston entrepreneurs’ plans to open the state’s third independent testing laboratory to check the safety of cannabis products — including vape cartridges — are being slow-walked as the city works to roll out a brand new marijuana licensing board amid an already slow-moving pot industry.

“There is a dire need for marijuana testing and that’s where we are putting 99 percent of our attention … but we need to make sure we don’t get bogged down in the politics,” said Dimitri Pelekoudas, CEO of Assured Testing Laboratories.

Pelekoudas and his partner Kris Nykbakken want to open a lab at 43 Freeport St. in Dorchester that would test the safety of marijuana flower, products and concentrates that can contain dangerous solvents and chemicals. State law requires all legally sold marijuana products to be tested for potency and safety prior to sale.

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A New York man was arrested Wednesday night during a traffic stop in Sturbridge, where more than 360 pounds of marijuana were found in the minivan he was driving, State Police said.

Trooper Michael Barrera was on patrol shortly after 8:30 p.m.in the area of Exit 3A on Interstate 84 when he saw a 2017 Toyota Sienna minivan merge onto the off-ramp at a clocked speed of 50 mph – 20 mph over the ramp’s speed limit, police said.

Barrera activated his cruiser’s lights and stopped the minivan on Route 20 East, police said.

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By STEVE LeBLANC

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that would tighten oversight of payments made by marijuana companies to the cities and towns that host them.

The bill, which passed by a 121-33 vote, would give the state’s Cannabis Control Commission the power to review, regulate and enforce “host community agreements” following criticism that some local officials have used the contracts to demand more money from companies than is allowed under state law.

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JUNEAU, Alaska — The first marijuana shops in Alaska where customers can partake on-site have gotten approval, putting them on the leading edge nationally.

Visions for the spaces range from a living room feel to a brewery-style tasting room with a TV to watch football games.

Zoning and ventilation requirements and restrictions on smoking can limit the growth of so-called cannabis lounges or cafes in places that permit them, such as some cities in California, said Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the National Cannabis Industry Association.

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Pot regulators are vowing to crack down on “loopers” and “smurfs” — slang for people who make make multiple purchases of weed products in one day at one store or many.

The state Cannabis Control Commission and state Attorney General Maura Healey’s office said they are looking to create a task force to find ways to blunt the illegal activity.

A multi-agency illicit pot squad would clamp down on, among other things, people who go from dispensary to dispensary buying the maximum allowable amount of pot, with the intent of selling it illegally.

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PROVINCETOWN, Mass. (AP) — Cape Cod has its first legal pot shop.

Curaleaf opened a recreational marijuana store in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Wednesday after town officials granted the Wakefield-based company local approval.

The store is located along the famous resort town’s bustling downtown of shops, restaurants and bars. The company says it expects to employ about 30 people.

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Weed “smurfs” and “loopers” are being warned any attempt to stock up on pot products to sell on the black market could spark the interest of federal agents.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and the Drug Enforcement Administration both vowed on Wednesday to continue to crack down on weed violations, including “smurfing” — buying the maximum allowable amount of marijuana from multiple dispensaries for the purpose of selling it illegally, often across state lines.

“As I have said in the past, the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to pursue marijuana enforcement and will review potential matters on a case-by-case basis,” Lelling said in a statement. “We continue to police interstate transportation of marijuana along with incoming or outgoing shipments of cash and use of the federal banking system.”

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I am all for equity in the marijuana business and opportunities for communities of color. I congratulate new pot shop owners Kobie Evans of Dorchester and his business partner Kevin Hart on getting their license to open Boston’s first recreational marijuana shop, Pure Oasis, in the Grove Hall neighborhood.

I welcome business opportunities for folks of color because I know they don’t come easy. And these legal cannabis retail opportunities are a kind of compensation for the fact that minorities received particularly harsh sentencing for marijuana-related crimes before it was legal here. But like many of my neighbors, I am concerned about how a legal drug business opportunity  and a community hard hit by illegal drugs can co-exist.

Like many of my neighbors, I am concerned about the proliferation of pot shops here. At one time every open storefront from Roxbury to Mattapan was in consideration. Forget about how close they were to schools, or that many were not true minority-owned ventures. What we have here is a gold rush.

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