Doctors and lawyers, entrepreneurs and farmers.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture issued 13 permits authorizing industrial farming for the first time ever this year.

Lack of financing, difficulty procuring seeds and conflict over fears industrial hemp will cross-pollinate with its psychoactive cousin, marijuana, have kept the young program in a protracted state of infancy.

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Plant based proteins are increasing in popularity as an eco-friendly, sustainable way to fuel workouts and meet energy needs.

One protein on the rise is the controversial hemp seed.

While hemp seeds have been consumed around the world for almost 12,000 years, the vegetarian protein source has recently been added to some favorite grocery staples and is loved by many for its soft texture, nutty flavor and nutrient rich nutritional profile.

Hemp seeds or hemp nuts are the inner portion of a shelled seed from the Cannabis sativa plant that naturally contains the substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana).

We regularly get calls from clients in Oregon who are trying to figure out whether the property they’ve selected for their recreational marijuana business complies with applicable zoning regulations. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear what zoning regulations pertaining to recreational marijuana businesses will look like, because much of this regulation is left to individual cities and counties. Aside from designating sensitive uses such as schools, parks and transit centers, and then mandating a buffer zone (likely 1,000 feet) for marijuana businesses, the state of Oregon does not tend to involve itself extensively in zoning regulations.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) --  For investors who want to put the cannabis industry into their portfolios, one investment firm is holding the first ever cannabis investment seminar. Scott Greiper, president of Viridian Capital, which is hosting the seminar Thursday at New York City's Javits Center, said there's tremendous upside in the space, but retail investors still need to be careful.

Mississippi already decriminalized marijuana last year. They are the first state in the deep south to do so. The Louisiana state legislature only created a simple possession charge last week, and the penalty is still pretty serious. In Alabama, there is no simple possession law and one gram of cannabis has a maximum penalty of $6,000 and 30 days in jail.

Louisiana also just passed a limited medical cannabis law. Alabama and South Carolina are expected to pass full medical cannabis laws in the 2016 session.

Despite marijuana legalization in the state of Colorado, a relatively small percentage of adults are currently consuming the drug.

According to new data from the state's Health Department, 13.6% of adults 18 years of age and older are current marijuana users, although it is only legal for adults 21 years and older to purchase and consume pot.

That's a pretty low figure, given that nearly half (48.9%) of adults 18 years and older in Colorado have used marijuana at one time or another.

The Ministry of Justice has scheduled a town hall meeting aimed at raising awareness of the amendments made to the Dangerous Drugs Act, often referred to as 'the Ganja Law' at the St Luke's Anglican Church Hall in Cross Roads, Kingston, tomorrow evening.

The ministry said that the meeting will seek to address misconceptions held by the public about the law relating to the possession of ganja and will provide an opportunity for questions on the controversial subject.

Topics to be discussed include the possession of ganja, use of ganja as a sacrament and cultivation for personal and medicinal/therapeutic use.

Shona Banda, a Garden City mom who faces five charges related to marijuana use, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday.

Those charges came after her 11-year-old son made comments about Banda using pot during an anti-drug program in his fifth-grade class at Bernadine Sitts School.

Eleven days after the incident, Garden City police and the Department for Children and Families questioned Banda’s son at school and raided Banda’s home in Garden City. Authorities took her son away and put him in protective state custody.

Curtis Jacobs, Finney County court administrator, said Banda’s first-appearance court records were still being processed as of Tuesday afternoon but should be released Wednesday.

BREWER, Maine — The Bangor Area Recovery Network is hosting a series of community education sessions to discuss the potential pitfalls of legalizing recreational marijuana.

The sessions come as two petitions seek to place citizen-initiated referendums on the November 2016 ballot that would legalize recreational marijuana in Maine.

“Most of the people just assume this is going to happen, but the facts about this subject are being left out of the conversation,” said Jean Baker, an organizer, in a statement. “We need to hear both sides of the story.”

Auckland police have busted a huge cannabis ring in Auckland after raiding several properties and a yacht.

At 7.30am on Tuesday 46 officers from the Waitemata Police raided 10 properties in Beach Haven, Sunnyvale, Henderson, Massey, Albany and central Auckland. A yacht moored at Westhaven Marina was also searched.

Eight people were arrested and several cannabis growing operations were discovered, including one at an industrial unit in Henderson where 800 plants were found.

Inside the unit, several rooms had been converted to growrooms, including a nursery where plants were cloned and a commercial shredder to destroy plant stalks.

Two shipping containers had also been transformed into growrooms, with ventilation systems and filters to keep the air clean.