INDIANAPOLIS — To some observers, the newly formed First Church of Cannabis appears to be an excuse for potheads to get together and light up.

But the "grand poobah" of what followers describe as a new Indiana religion insists sacramental smoke has sanctity.

"This is what I live by, and I have more faith in this religion than any other," said Bill Levin, the church founder who plans to hold the ministry's first official service July 1 — the day Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act takes effect. "This is my lifestyle. This is millions of people's lifestyle." - Bill Levin

The march, scheduled for next Sunday, at Iracema Beach, argues that marijuana has economic potential and should be explored.

The Marijuana March Brazil, social, cultural and political movement that questions the prohibition regarding the cultivation and consumption of cannabis in the country, argues that marijuana has economic potential and should be explored, especially when consistent from an environmental point of view. In addition, the march struggles for medicinal and recreational use of cannabis.

(Harrisburg) -- While state lawmakers consider legalizing marijuana for medical use, some are urging the commonwealth at least allow one type of the crop for commercial use.

Advocates view industrial hemp as a win-win.

Let's first be clear: industrial hemp is like marijuana, but can't really be smoked.

Instead the plant is used in clothes, cars, and paper, among many other goods.

Bills in both the state Senate and House would legalize commercial harvesting of the crop and legislators used a recent hearing to build a case for it.

Jonathan Miller with Kentucky's Hemp Industry Council was once was a lawmaker who thought it would be easy to vote against something associated with marijuana.

But, he says he did his research, and it paid off.

CBS This Morning on Thursday returned to a favorite topic of the network's journalists: Legalized pot. This time, reporter Barry Petersen hyped an all marijuana radio station. With no hint at any downside, co-host Norah O'Donnell introduced, "A Colorado radio station is fine-tuning its format to reach a higher audience in the land of legalized marijuana." 

Reporter Barry Petersen enthused, "With revenue and audience numbers climbing to the sky, at K-HIGH, it's good to be high." Explaining the station's lineup of hosts, he promoted, "And in the afternoon, there are the Weed Pimps." 

Nevada’s medical marijuana law prevents the outdoor growth of marijuana due to security concerns.  The law – which mandates that cannabis plants must not be visible to the general public for security reasons – is also creating an extra headache and increasing the bottom line for the state’s growers.  The ever-present desert sun is now an option off the table.

A single 100,000 square foot facility can require up to 5 megawatts of electricity to fuel its growing operations for a year – or enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.  That is also about 5% of the entire capacity of a state-based substation.  Even covering an entire warehouse roof with solar cells is not enough to offset the energy drain created by such facilities.

Warning: Video contains profane language

Given his band’s reputation for raucous behavior on and off the stage, one might be surprised that the lead singer of iconic rock band The Who has an aversion to marijuana smoke — even when he sniffs it out at shows.

Sure enough, Roger Daltrey halted Wednesday night’s concert in Long Island, New York, and threatened to end the proceedings because of how much pot smoke was wafting up to the stage.

A striking feature of the rollout of the state-legalized retail sales of marijuana has been the tremendous popularity of edible marijuana products. Marijuana brownies have long been a staple of cannabis coffee shops in the Netherlands, but the new products are quite different. They are skillfully produced and packaged to closely mimic popular candies and other sweets. These products can now be purchased legally in four states; retail stores are operating in Colorado and Washington State, and voters recently approved retail sales in Alaska and Oregon.

In the absence of federal leadership on the issue, B.C. municipalities are lobbying for authority to regulate marijuana dispensaries. That is not all they should be pushing for.

If marijuana is to be available for sale in B.C., as it is in Vancouver, a system needs to be put in place to ensure sellers and buyers pay taxation.

Because of the ad hoc nature of developments relating to pot sales here, this crucial aspect of the enterprise appears to be falling through the cracks.

Lower Mainland municipalities want a national debate on the pot dispensaries, and recently submitted a resolution on the topic to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, holding a convention in June.

As confirmed by Entertainment Weekly, former hype man/reality TV star and giant clock enthusiast Flavor Flav was arrested this morning in Nevada. Flav was pulled over by Highway Patrol officers who then arrested him for DUI, possession of marijuana, having an open container of alcohol in the car, having a suspended registration, having a suspended license, and speeding. Basically, he did almost every bad thing you can do in a car without hitting somebody or something. They probably don’t give out awards for that sort of thing, but if they do, he’s totally in the running.

After recently admitting that he is re-examining his stance on marijuana legalization, Glenn Beck on Wednesday brought in two experts — one in favor of legalization and one opposed — to discuss the issue. After a three-hour talk, Beck said the question of which drugs are legal should be left to each state. Beck also said he would be open to abolishing the Food and Drug Administration.

“I would open it up to all drugs [potentially being legalized],” Beck said. “Let the people decide. The closer to the people, the better. And you will be surprised at how responsible people are.”