The California Legislature has yet to establish limits concerning cannabis consumption, following voters’ approval in November 2016 of Proposition 64, which allows recreational marijuana use.

Unlike alcohol, measuring marijuana intoxication in a reliable way that can lead to admissible evidence in court has proven difficult. Although tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) − the chemical component of marijuana that causes a “high” − can be detected in a person’s blood or urine for up to 30 days after use, the inebriating effects last only a few hours. Numerous variables may distort the results, such as the user’s age, gender and race; method of consumption; frequency of use; and even the strain of the drug.

California voters may have spoken on recreational marijuana in November, but rather than settling the issue, that vote has set the stage for several local battles over whether to allow marijuana operations.

Because Proposition 64 passed last fall, state licensing to marijuana businesses is slated to begin Jan. 1, 2018 — though local jurisdictions have the power to forbid them in their boundaries.

That has teed up a new set of pot-related efforts, from a group seeking to overturn the County Board of Supervisors’ ban to cities softening their stances on marijuana in the face of voter petition drives.

During a recent early morning flight, I skipped the complimentary honey-roasted almonds on the plane and indulged in these sugar-free, gluten-free, paleo-friendly nuts, made by San Francisco-based company Wish, instead — and found myself above the clouds in more ways than one. 

The nuts I tried were made with Dragonfish Farms’ sativa strain Red Congolese, lab-tested by Steep Hill. But the company has recently released an indica version, made with Grandaddy Purple, which might be better for those wanting to doze off on a flight. 

When he returned from war in 2004, veteran Roberto Pickering was diagnosed as 100 percent disabled from posttraumatic stress disorder. "Who I am today, I'm a normal guy until you peel the onion back," he says. "It's taken me 13 years to get to this point. I'm no longer on prescription pills, no longer using alcohol. I taught myself nutrition, I'm now a full vegan, practicing Buddhist. I went full circle from a marine sniper." 

Cannabis played no small role in Pickering's recovery process. Now his goal is to help other vets suffering from trauma and other war injuries use cannabis to get better. For some vets, cannabis can serve not only as a medical treatment, but as a professional endeavor to get them back on their feet.

Farmers in the historic wine country of California are looking to a new crop to bring in larger profits. Cannabis, like wine, needs clean soil and air to grow the lush, beautiful, buds that every connoisseur has come to know and love. Luckily, the grape fields of Northern California provide the ideal atmosphere for cannabis farming. Not only are farmers clearing space to make room for more of the new-age cash crop, they’re transforming their mindset and skills to help cultivate the plant that might be their largest earner yet.

The founders of the Cannabliss retreat in Ojai, California, claims that pumping guests with the drug from morning till night will help to awaken the spirit and expand the mind.

Guests will be fed cannabis-infused meals and take part in cannabis-influenced acitivities like yoga and painting.

In addition to cannabis, they will also take part in ceremonies with cacao, kava kava and other “conscious awakening herbs.”

The retreat’s founder Sari Gabbay said: “This is not just a smoke-weed-and-do-yoga type of retreat.

The grapevines that line rolling hillsides and sweeping valleys in Northern California’s wine country have become iconic – a symbol of the region’s rustic charm that helped California earn its reputation as a world-class wine and food destination.

But winegrapes have new competition: weed.

It's an issue that divides society - to smoke or not to smoke.

Throughout the world, a number of countries are slowing changing their laws around medicinal and recreational cannabis use. New Zealand's laws have stayed relatively the same for some time, with the exception of cannabis based products now being approved for use, but still tightly controlled.

So, which countries are leading the way in this area, and where can you use it either for fun, or for well-being?

Here in New Zealand, cannabis remains illegal to possess, and illegal to grow.

Medicinal use is tightly controlled but can be granted by the Ministry of Health.

Across the ditch it's a similar story.

As he admitted having tried weed "at a younger time," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday night defended the state’s 2016 legalization of recreational marijuana against possible federal restrictions.

In an interview with POLITICO California’s David Siders and Carla Marrinucci, the former Democratic congressman said he was willing to fight Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a dedicated foe of the drug, on a possible federal crackdown on legal marijuana.

Despite having legalized medical marijuana twenty years ago, California has left its MMJ industry largely unregulated. That is all set to change, as the California Bureau of Marijuana Control has released draft versions of regulations that will tightly regulate the industry starting next year. This week, the bureau released a series of draft regulations that will govern how medical marijuana providers must test their products.