Speaking from personal experience, from the stage of the Kyoto Hemp Forum, Japan’s first lady, Akie Abe proclaimed her support for reviving hemp use in Japan particularly for medicinal purposes.

Ms. Abe was appearing to raise awareness for hemp culturization in Japan, and support for hemp’s many uses, pointing to studies showing its success in treating epilepsy, diabetes and pain.

Ms. Abe then further showed her support for hemp products by purchasing Elixinol CBD hemp oil, the “healthy not high” alternative, for her husband, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.

If recreational marijuana becomes legal in Massachusetts, it won’t be just for smoking.

Edible marijuana products – a broad category that could include such treats as cookies and candy – would also be permitted under the ballot question nearly certain to go before voters in November. As the legalization debate heats up, the smoke-free forms of the drug are quickly emerging as a central focus of discussion.

Edibles caught the attention of the state Supreme Judicial Court, which this past week pointedly ordered revisions to a summary designed to explain the question to voters. The justices said it was misleading not to specify that legal marijuana could include food products.

Ohio could be the first medical marijuana state to fix the industry's cash-only situation.

Half the states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana but the federal government still considers it among the most dangerous drugs. Banks, credit unions and credit card companies are reluctant to provide services to legal marijuana businesses because of uncertainty from federal regulators, leaving most businesses to operate as cash-only.

Ohio's new medical marijuana law proposes a new way around the bank problem. The law allows state officials to set up a "closed loop" payment processing system, similar to prepaid debit and gift cards.

Hawaii patients have more options to gain access to medical marijuana now that nurses can certify people for use of the drug, a change advocates say was needed because there's a shortage of doctors willing to do the certifications.

Gov. David Ige signed a bill Monday updating the state's medical marijuana dispensary law.

"It's high time that this bill came into effect," said Wailua Brandman, a psychiatric nurse practitioner. "I have patients that have been using marijuana, not legally, because they don't have the diagnosis yet ... but the medication is working for them, and they keep asking me, can they get a card?"

He’s actually 6 years old. It makes so much sense now.

You may have been following this year’s tumultuous election a bit on autopilot. And one could hardly blame you. But it’s hard to ignore Donald Trump, even though you/I/we desperately want to.

He reminds you of someone. You can’t quite put your finger on it. The loud, cocky attitude delivered with all the subtlety of a 6-year-old. Oh wow, Donald Trump is Calvin from “Calvin and Hobbes.”

And to answer the question you never asked, YES, there is a subreddit dedicated to injecting Trump into “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strips.

After a five-year struggle in the General Assembly, Pennsylvania became the 25th state to legalize medical marijuana on Apr. 17. But it will take at least six months for the Dept. of Health to craft regulations that permit this new industry to begin, with a couple of years of road-testing after that.

This process began with a bang at St. Joseph’s University on Jul. 8, where State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery), the prime sponsor of Act 16, convened a “Medical Marijuana Regulatory Palooza” that drew 300 experts from across the nation – physicians, lawyers, businesses, producers, patients and public officials – to share their experiences in the industry, in hopes that the Keystone State can learn from others’ successes and snafus.

There are many myths about use and possession of marijuana and medical marijuana in Arizona, especially since the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act passed in 2010. Here's what you need to know about what is and isn't allowed, and the legal consequences.

Can I be fired for using or possessing medical marijuana legally?

A patient can be fired if he or she is in possession or under the influence of marijuana at the workplace.

It is illegal for an employer to take adverse action against an employee because of cardholder status or a positive test for the presence of marijuana, unless the employer would lose federal funding or licensing for not taking action. It does happen but often never makes it to court, according to marijuana lawyer Thomas Dean.

Coloradans weigh whether the more liberal legal environment has freed pot users from one of marijuana’s worst side effects.

If you ask certain pot aficionados here, marijuana is “not a drug.” It certainly isn’t sold like one, now that pot legalization has swept through these spruce-dotted valleys like smoke through the neck of a gravity bong.

The tiny downtown area of this resort city, population 6,700, is home to six street-facing, bonafide pot shops. A gondola that ferries skiers up and down Aspen Mountain is referred to, lovingly, as the “ganjala.”

Opponents of the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona filed a lawsuit Monday, asking a judge to bar the initiative from the November ballot.

The lawsuit comes as elections officials are verifying whether the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The lawsuit was brought by 13 individuals and groups, including Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk,  the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Republican Rep. Paul Boyer, a Tempe school board member, and others.

Within less than a year, as many as 50,000 marijuana growers in California could be required to obtain state permits for the irrigation water they consume. It is an unprecedented step aimed at preventing harm to the environment and other water users resulting from the rapid growth of marijuana cultivation in the state.

“Most of them are operating below the radar,” said Cris Carrigan, chief of enforcement at the State Water Resources Control Board. “As a result, we’ve gotten ourselves into an acute problem with streamflow and pollution associated with these activities.”