Maryland signed off on its medical marijuana program four years ago, and it has yet to deliver its first dose, but there is evidence that public acceptance of the drug has already had an impact on the state.

In July of 2012, police discovered dozens of marijuana plants in Nick Dominick's backyard, and he admitted he'd grown them so he could self-medicate.

"Back pain issues... I had surgery on my neck for cervical fusion and I can't take medications and pain pills and stuff like that," said Dominick at the time.

But Anne Arundel County police saw it differently---a virtual field of marijuana, concealed by a six foot high fence with lattice and black plastic sheeting all located within a thousand feet of Arundel High School.

Chileans are increasingly growing their own cannabis for medical purposes as the conservative South American nation begins loosening legal prohibitions on the formerly illegal plant.

In 2015, Chile legalized the use of medical marijuana, following a wave of other Latin American nations that are slowly making the cultivation, distribution, and consumption of cannabis easier.

Earlier in May, pharmacies in the capital city of Santiago began selling cannabis-based medicines, the first time such treatments have been offered by drugstores in Latin America.

Boosters of the plant are making sure Chileans with chronic pain have the know-how to grow marijuana, even as doing so occupies a legal gray area.

Summer is here, and that means tourists are descending on the state in search of mountain viewing, whale sightings and, sometimes, marijuana.

This summer marks the state's first tourist season with marijuana shops up and running. For travelers heading to Alaska, here's what to expect, do and avoid.

What you can do 

Anyone 21 years or older can buy and carry up to an ounce of marijuana. You can give and receive up to an ounce for free.

But the state still has some places where marijuana is not allowed — like national parks and some private property.

The lowdown on retail shops 

Marijuana stores have opened in many Alaska communities, from Fairbanks to Sitka.

Jay Schlauch’s conviction for peddling pot haunted him for nearly a quarter century.

The felony prevented him from landing jobs, gave his wife doubts about tying the knot and cast a shadow over his typically sunny outlook on life.

So when an opportunity arose to reduce his record to a misdemeanor under the voter-approved law that legalized recreational marijuana last year, Schlauch wasted little time getting to court.

“Why should I be lumped in with, you know, murderers and rapists and people who really deserve to get a felony?” he asked.

Illinois is well into its second year of sales for medical marijuana and in that time, the state has decriminalized the drug and there have been serious talks of legalizing recreational weed.

Medical cannabis has been legal in Illinois since 2013, but it hasn't always been and still isn't, perceived in a positive way.

"You know there probably are some uses for it," recovering addict Elizabeth Price said. "I think we could be creating addicts where we don't need to. Marijuana has always been called the gateway drug and now we're going to have doctors dispensing it. That's how the heroin epidemic got so bad, is doctors were dispensing [opioids]."

In Washington, it is now as easy to get marijuana delivered to your front door as pizza. Really expensive pizza.

More than two years after the District of Columbia allowed residents to legally cultivate and possess cannabis for personal use - but not buy it - a growing grey market of companies has sprung up that will bring orders of high-priced cookies, juice, clothing or even artwork to your house, along with the "gift" of a few fat buds.

Those who want to imbibe can also pay to attend dance parties and craft fairs where vendors sell edibles and smokables at what one regular terms a "farmers market for weed".

Lost to most in the flurry of legislation at the end of the South Carolina General Assembly’s session earlier this month was a bill legalizing the growth of industrial hemp. Not pot, but hemp.

Industrial hemp is different from its cousin marijuana in that it contains 0.3 percent or less of the psychoactive chemical that will get you high. Marijuana, a separate variety of Cannabis sativa, can contain up to 40 percent.

Hemp is used for myriad purposes, from food to clothing to composites for car and airplane parts to oils for dietary supplements. Soon, perhaps this summer, the S.C. Department of Agriculture and the State Law Enforcement Division will issue 20 licenses to grow crops on up to 20 acres as a pilot program.

A clear majority of Canadians want the federal government to issue pardons to fellow citizens who have a criminal record for marijuana possession, a new poll has found.

The survey stands to buttress the call of marijuana activists, lawyers and politicians who argue that the old criminal records will be a legal anomaly once marijuana is legalized for recreational use by all adults.

The federal government tabled legislation last month that aimed to legalize marijuana by the middle of next year. Despite widespread pressure, the government has refused to call on law enforcement to stop charging marijuana users with simple possession while the legislation goes through Parliament, or to promise an amnesty for past convictions after the adoption of the new law.

In response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling marijuana ‘slightly less awful’ than heroin, country legend Willie Nelson suggest he try it, to see if it were true.

Don’t Knock It Until You Try It

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Nelson responded to questions about Session’s stance on marijuana, the Trump presidency and the time he almost ran for office.

84-year old Nelson is an outspoken supporter of marijuana legalization. He has served on NORML’s advisory board, led celebrity fundraisers and has even been arrested for marijuana possession. His opinion of Session’s comment was straightforward and friendly, referring to Sessions as ‘Jeff’:

The Michigan State Board of Canvassers approved an adult cannabis use approved a ballot measure for signature gathering. On Thursday, May 18th, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol was told they can now begin collecting the 252,523 signatures needed from registered Michigan voters. To get the measure on the general election ballot in November 2018, they need them by May 30, 2018.

Josh Hovey who is the spokesman for The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol said, “We’ve got petitions printed. We’re ready to go.”