A legislative committee has voted to reject a bill seeking to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Maine, but supporters say the real fight will be on the House floor.

Democratic Rep. Diane Russell's bill was rejected Thursday by the criminal justice committee and would have allowed people 21 and older to have as much as one ounce of pot. It would also set a 10 percent tax rate on marijuana sales, The Press Herald reports.

The tax revenues would go to public school construction, substance abuse programs, drug and alcohol awareness among youth and regulation.

Under a compromise unveiled Thursday, the bill would allow up to 45 marijuana retail stores around the state.

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (WJBK) -A measure to legalize marijuana is likely to appear on next year's ballot -and not everyone is happy about it.

Petitions to place the issue of legalizing marijuana appears to be headed to the voters.  The first step was officially filed Friday. 

It is a voter initiative, a voter supported law, that supporters believe has many benefits. 

It was one of the topics at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

"It's been decriminalized in most municipalities," said attorney John Pirich. "And this state and virtually all the other states. It is a tremendous amount of revenue and policing that could come with regulation."

And the proposal would mandate State control of recreational pot.

There’s little doubt that Travis Dahl adores his dog, Dora, and absolutely none that she adores him. But their partnership is on borrowed time. Soon, Dora will leave for a new home and a new job. “It’ll be a bittersweet moment when she leaves, that’s for sure,” he says ruefully.

Dora, you see, has a drug problem. When it comes to marijuana, she can’t help herself. She’ll find it in sealed bags in the trunks of cars, hidden under floorboards, inside walls, drawers or pockets. And when she finds it, she won’t move until Dahl retrieves it and rewards her.

As thousands of 19-year-olds graduate from high school this spring, an Yle analysis shows some big changes in their lives today compared to those of school leavers two decades ago. But the things young people hold most important in life have remained the same, the surveys show.

Finland’s 19-year-olds are more likely to be politically engaged, have a multicultural view of society, and enjoy higher living standards today than a teenager living two decades ago, new data claims.

But whereas their counterparts from 1996 would have been into smoking and drinking alcohol, today’s 19-year-old is much more likely to prefer energy drinks and cannabis. They’ll also be in worse physical shape, and more prone to insomnia, neck and back pain as a result of higher stress.

After looking at Islam and Hinduism, today we look at Judaism and its relationship marijuana in a modern contemporary setting. We'll find out whether Jewish Law prohibits the use of recreational marijuana and why. 

Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world - much older than Christianity and Islam. It's teachings are documented as far back at 8th Century BCE. Judaism is monotheistic and has approximately 14 million followers globally, a markedly small number considering it's influence on the Western world and long history.

Cannabis Social Clubs are the solution, not the problem.

HASSELT, BELGIUM – On Thursday May 28th, the appeal in the case against Mambo Social Club will be held in the court of Antwerp. Mambo is the second Cannabis Social Club in Belgium and was sentenced by the Court of First Instance last year, for cultivation and possession of cannabis. President and founder of Mambo Social Club, Michel Degens, expects a positive outcome: “Cannabis Social Clubs offer a safe alternative to adult consumers who don’t want to buy cannabis on the black market. It’s a non-profit model of cannabis production and distribution that promotes health, safety and responsibility. Cannabis Social Clubs are the solution, not the problem.”

Oregon liquor control officials on Wednesday presented a plan for allowing retailers to sell both medical and recreational marijuana -- and it seemed to win support from key legislators.

Under the proposal, medical marijuana growers willing to accept strict regulatory controls would be able to sell to retailers serving both medical and recreational marijuana users.

However, there still does not appear to be any consensus on when retail sales of recreational marijuana will actually start.

Marijuana was once the drug of choice for hazy-eyed potheads with no ambition and a loose grasp of new-age philosophy. But step aside, stoners. Since recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon and Washington DC, weed has become associated with up-and-coming entrepreneurs with networking charm and business nous.

Establishment figures are turning to marijuana as inspiration for the next big entrepreneurial idea. Or ganjapreneurial idea, if you will. The United States is now home to the Martha Stewart of weed, a women’s cannabis networking group, and Uber for weed. Meanwhile, the former chief of homeland security for New York is currently in charge of protecting marijuana shipments. Meet the very respectable leaders of America’s weed revolution.

DENVER, COLORADO (May 21, 2015) – Sweet Grass Kitchen, the Denver-based cannabis bakery, is proud to announce the release of a new Six Serving Mini Peanut Butter and Jelly Cup for recreational consumers. Mini PB&J Cups will be available on or before June 1st in care centers throughout Colorado.

The new Mini PB&J Cup is a peanut butter shortbread muffin with a Swiss strawberry jam center. Packaging manager Charles Hopkins can’t get enough of the jam, “I would eat it by the spoonful,” he exclaims.

This mini cup is “truly a Sweet Grass Kitchen original” says executive chef Lauren Finesilver, “It’s a unique offering, that combines two classic and familiar flavors and gives the Mini PB&J Cup the perfect balance of sweet and savory.”

It shouldn’t sound all that strange! The UK has been a hemp growing nation since records began and believe it or not once upon a time you could actually get fined for not growing hemp if you had enough land. Queen Elizabeth the 1stwas pretty serious about this plant!

Simply put, the UK and its far reaching empire quite literally wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the super strong properties of hemp, it’s durability and anti-rotting nature meant that out at sea it was uncompetable with. You could say hemp made the world a smaller place way before the invention of the plane

Getting so many pro hemp people in one space all at the same time can only mean good things are about to happen.