John Evans insists that calling post-traumatic stress a disorder is like cutting yourself and calling the blood a disorder.

“It is a natural reaction to an unnatural event,” says Evans, director of support group Veterans 4 Freedom. Not only military veterans, but women who have suffered domestic abuse or sexual assault, hospice workers, EMTs, firefighters, police officers and even those affected by natural disasters can have post-traumatic stress, he believes.

Three police forces have acknowledged that growing and using cannabis is no longer to be treated as a priority crime.

While cannabis remains a Class B drug in the UK, police chiefs including Durham’s Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg, say they will not actively pursue those growing or using leaves for personal, recreational use.

And Alan Charles, Derbyshire's PCC, told the Daily Mail: "When we are faced with significant budget cuts we cannot keep turning out to every single thing reported to us."

When you think of popular retirement destinations, Florida and Arizona likely come to mind.

But according to Reuters, some U.S. retirees are considering more than warm weather, good health care and close proximity to grandkids when deciding where to retire. Many American seniors are choosing to enjoy their golden years in a marijuana-friendly state.

Chris Cooper is a 57-year-old retired investment adviser from Ohio. He opted to retire in San Diego because California has legalized medical marijuana use. Cooper, who doesn’t like heavy-duty prescription painkillers like Vicodin, told Reuters that marijuana eases his back pain and spasms.

The Denver Police Department is hardly seen as a booster of legal marijuana.

The DPD's official policy is to enforce laws in the city and the state, and the department has done so in a manner some critics see as heavy-handed.

Canisters of medical marijuana and a price list for the marijuana products is seen inside Highland Health medical dispensary and wellness center in Denver, Colorado, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009.

A growing number of cancer patients and oncologists view marijuana as a viable alternative for managing the negative effects, such as nausea, bone pain, anxiety, and depression, of both chemotherapy and cancer itself.

After a successful surgery to remove a cancer-ridden section of Jeff Moroso’s large intestine in the spring of 2013, the oncologist sat down with his patient to prepare him for what would come next: 12 rounds of punishing chemotherapy, once every two weeks for six months—standard practice for the treatment of colon cancer.

Earlier this month the State of Colorado rejected a proposal that would have added PTSD to the list of qualifying medical conditions to become a medical marijuana patient in Colorado. In response to the lack of compassion by the State of Colorado, Operation Grow for Vets is planning a rally on August 1st. Below is more information from the Operation Grow for Vets Facebook page, along with a flyer.

The death of 19 year old Levy Thamba Pongi, a Wyoming exchange student from the Republic of Congo visiting Colorado in March of 2014, who ate a marijuana cookie, deserves special mention in light of the growing trend toward legalization of recreational marijuana in the U.S.

It offers a stark reminder about the potential risks associated with consuming edibles rapidly, serving as a reminder of its delayed effects (1-2 hours), as opposed to smoking it (5-10 minutes).

Denver, Colorado - July 27, 2015  - INTIVA Inc. announced today that it has increased the planting of industrial hemp from one acre to six acres (261,000 square feet) at the Company’s INTIVA ACRES, located in Pueblo County, Colorado.

INTIVA management made the decision to increase the growing of industrial hemp at INTIVA ACRES due to two principal reasons: (i) the increasing demand for cannabidiol (CBD) extracts; and (ii) the additional availability of of high-CBD strain of industrial hemp seeds.

DENVER - Driving high and driving drunk carry the same charge in Colorado, and that's a problem for those who want to track the impact, if any, of legalized marijuana on the safety of the state's roads and highways.

It's impossible to break out state-wide statistics about the number of convictions for driving under the influence of marijuana or other drugs. The charges and convictions are all lumped together under the same impaired driving statute.

That's a problem, says Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Morrison, who will propose a bill in the 2016 legislative session to enable marijuana-related driving offenses to be tracked.

Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but only Colorado and Washington have licensed dispensaries that can legally sell recreational cannabis. Since legalization and sale came to those communities, the budding pot industry in these two states has tried to shape a future of vineyard-esque tours of marijuana farms, and fatty-friendly salons reminiscent of Amsterdam’s cafes. (The phrase “Napa Valley of weed” gets tossed around a fair bit.)