Pro marijuana advocates in Maine are expected to start collecting signatures to get recreational pot on the ballot in 2016 following approval Tuesday of a petition by the Secretary of State's office, the Associated Press reported. Legalize Maine submitted its proposal 10 weeks ago, and hoped to put through the petition pushed without help from outside marijuana groups.  

A bill that that would allow epilepsy patients in Texas to use medicinal oils containing a therapeutic component found in marijuana was considered by state lawmakers in an emotional hearing on Tuesday.

House Bill 892 would legalize oils containing CBD, a non-euphoric component of marijuana known to treat epilepsy and other chronic medical conditions. By 2018, the measure would allow the state to regulate and distribute the oils to epilepsy patients whose symptoms have not responded to federally approved medication. The measure was left pending by the House Committee on Public Health.

Dive Brief:

• Oregon's electric utilities are steeling themselves for an anticipated spike in demand after marijuana becomes legal for recreational use after July 1, Oregon Capital Insider reports.
• Well-known as an energy hog when grown indoors, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) estimates four plants draw as much power as 29 refrigerators.
• The state is considering efficiency measures, but federal money that typically pays utilities to convince consumers to use less cannot be directed towards cannabis operations..

Dive Insight:

Now that legalized recreational marijuana is spreading across the United States and medicinal marijuana is present in 23 states and Washington, D.C, youth marijuana education is a large concern. Now that the stigma for the drug is starting to subside, should youth education reflect this and lean toward informing with logic and not employing scare tactics?

Washington state’s marijuana legalization bill, Initiative 502, had a number of specific clauses written that were geared towards education, information and studies regarding marijuana use. Namely, 60 percent of new revenue would be dedicated to substance-abuse prevention, research, education and health care.

Cannabis has been at the center of one of the most exciting — and underreported — developments in modern science. Research on marijuana’s effects led directly to the discovery of a hitherto unknown biochemical communication system in the human body, the Endocannabinoid System, which plays a crucial role in regulating our physiology, mood, and everyday experience.

The majority of people have heard of THC, the compound in cannabis used to make the individual high. However, more and more people are speaking about the other component found within marijuana; called cannabidiol (CBD).

Cannabidiol is One of the Two Major Ingredients in Cannabis

For the regular advocate, this will come as no surprise. But for many this is still a point of confusion.

Defensive end prospect Shane Ray was about to enter the 2015 NFL Draft as a blue-chip prospect who was in consideration to be drafted in the top 10, but those dreams were quickly shattered.

Ray was busted Monday morning for possession of pot after he was pulled over by the police for not driving in the right lane on the highway he was on.

Due to his brush with the law, Ray has entered a drug abuse program that is run by the NFL. He is currently in Phase 1 of the program, which is the behavioral part of it.

Ray picked the worst time possible to be cited for marijuana possession, as the draft will start on Thursday.

There is a legitimate chance that Ray may fall out of the first round, as he has also battled a foot injury leading up to his big day.

Since we were young, we've been hearing how marijuana was the "gateway drug" and once we smoked weed, we were doomed to slide down the slippery slope of much harder drugs. On some level it probably made sense, as marijuana was the first thing we experimented with growing up.

But the fact remains, it's far too much of a generalization to claim that just because someone smoked cannabis, that led them to try cocaine or meth or heroin. There are tons of social factors that go into someone's decisions surrounding drug use.

Two months from now, on July 1, Oregon will become the fourth state to allow residents to legally purchase marijuana for recreational use. In anticipation of legalization, the governing body that will oversee marijuana licensing and sales is preparing for something unexpected: A huge influx of cold, hard cash.

Legal marijuana in states like Colorado and Washington have surpassed revenue expectations in their first few years. But when marijuana businesses try to pay their taxes, the federal law that makes marijuana illegal limits their access to financial institutions.

After many decades of stigmatization of cannabis use, people are beginning to realize that the controlled use of the herb might not be as bad as it was once thought out to be. An increasing number of A-list celebrities like Dr. Oz & Susan Sarandon, and health experts have started  campaigns that supports the legalization of the use of cannabis or marijuana for its numerous health benefits that would in turn make people’s live more fulfilling and healthier.

JEFFERSON CITY 

It took a little while for Missouri Rep. Shawn Rhoads’ colleagues to wrap their heads around the idea of taxing marijuana and other illegal drugs.

“A drug dealer is supposed to show up and buy a tax stamp for his drugs?”Bill Lant, a Republican from southwest Missouri, asked during a committee hearing on the bill.

Most of the hearing went pretty much like that.

“They needed a little time to let the idea sink in,” said Rhoads, a south-central Missouri Republican. “About 15 minutes after the meeting, I had someone grab me and say, ‘I get it now.’”