SAM argues that weed is potentially addictive, definitely harmful, and does not really contribute to the disgrace that is our prison system.

Move over, giant pumpkins. Marijuana is taking over the competitive agriculture exhibits at this year's Oregon State Fair, which runs from August 26-September 5 in Salem. The fair's organizers are celebrating legalization by inviting growers to bring their best cannabis plants to the show, according to Portland FOX affiliate KPTV. 

An outgoing member of the Alaska Marijuana Control Board says some officials in Gov. Bill Walker's administration, as well as remaining board members, are attempting to delay implementation of the voter-approved commercial cannabis industry.

"There's an underlying agenda to subvert the process, to delay the implementation of a legalized marijuana industry," says Bruce Schulte, who was abruptly removed from the five-member board on Friday by the governor. "It doesn't look like the State of Alaska is really serious about making this happen."

A replacement was not immediately announced.

As homegrown drug operations go, the meth lab is king. Methamphetamine production is known to contaminate houses and spontaneously combust labs, so attempting it requires a scrappy sensibility and serious attention to detail.

A national anti-marijuana group co-founded by former Rep. Patrick Kennedy has raised millions to defeat pot legalization initiatives in California and across the nation.

The anti-cannabis group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, has raised more than $2 million and plans to donate the lion share to defeat California’s Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational pot in the state.

The group joins a growing number of California law enforcement agencies who argue legalizing marijuana would make the state more dangerous, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens told the Orange County Register.

Minnesota may have already legalized medical marijuana but it wasn’t until Monday that pain patients of the state finally had the opportunity to buy it. Even though the Minnesota state legislature legalized the drug for medicinal purposes in 2014, strict laws banned the plant form in favor of pills, oils and vapors.

Only four days before the summer solstice, the air is hot and heavy, the sky cloudless. The road along the highway is spotted with shrubbery, gas stations and occasionally vast rows of crop, somehow withstanding, even thriving under the tenacious desert sun.  

Driving south from Tel Aviv along Ayalon Highway, the scenery looks almost identical to Southern California — if not for the Hebrew-lettered billboards, the green-clad soldiers waiting by desolate bus stops and the occasional black-hatted Orthodox men walking along the road. 

No, this is not a public call to action to make like Snoop Dogg and smoke weed everyday per se. But if science is any indication, when applied topically, cannabis can be beneficial to your beauty routine. Here, an impressive amount of reasons you should consider a cannabis-infused hair treatment or skin elixir.

Your Hair:

Stimulates Growth: Cannabis contains cannabis sativa (hello, anti-inflammatory properties!) and essential fatty acids that stimulate hair growth, as well as add more sheen for shinier, healthier-looking hair.

Nourishes Scalp: Gamma-Linolenic acid is moisturizing and combats dryness to improve scalp health i.e. less dandruff.

San Francisco is the cannabis capital of America, new data shows.

In fact, the entire West Coast has far more pot smokers than the rest of the country, and a more positive opinion of what the drug does to your body.

Once you reach 12, you are far more likely to light up a joint in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington than anywhere else in the United States.

Southern Texans, meanwhile - particularly those living near the Mexican border - are less enamored by the drug.

The findings have emerged in a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) compiling federal about marijuana smokers between 2012 and 2014.

In the survey, 204,000 respondents described their cannabis use.

Over the years, the average medical-cannabis patients’ tastes have evolved—from merely being satisfied with having some buds to understanding types of buds, such as indica and sativa.

Still, patients can do better. Whatever the need, there are some good options available in Sacramento dispensaries right now.

Here are some of the leading strains out this summer:

The fruit stand

Summer means sativas—the generally more energetic of the two broad classes of medical cannabis flower. Sativas evolved for the tropical sun. They’re taller, rangier and lankier than their short, squat, indica cousins, and they evolved different ratios of molecules to beat the heat.