The alcohol industry has joined the pharmaceutical trade in the fight against legal cannabis in the U.S. amid fears of losing significant market share.

Last week it came to light that a synthetic cannabis company helped finance the opposition to legal cannabis in the state of Arizona, and now, according to The Intercept, a beer industry group made one of the largest donations to an organisation set up to take on legalisation in Massachusetts.

The standards developed for medical marijuana by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association are part of a pilot program involving five caregivers.

Maine patients could be the first on the East Coast to consume medical marijuana grown to standards similar to those used for certified organic food products.

The Certified Clean Cannabis program, launched by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and now in a yearlong trial phase, is the first of its kind on the East Coast and one of the only programs in the country to set standards for growing medical marijuana without harmful chemicals.

Here’s how Stephen Colbert introduced Whoopi Goldberg on CBS’s Late Show last week: “My first guest is an actor, author, talk show host and has her own line of premium pot.”

Well, who doesn’t these days?

Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Tommy Chong are among the usual suspects who are pushing their own lines of specialty marijuana products.

“It’s almost gotten into the fad scenario at this point,” Harvard Business School marketing professor John Quelch tells USA TODAY Sports, “where celebrities almost feel obligated to attach themselves to the cause.”

Whoopi & Maya is a medical marijuana company that focuses on cannabis-infused salves, balms and edibles designed to relieve menstrual pain, according to the company’s website.

Governor Asa Hutchinson held a news conference Monday to detail his opposition to medical marijuana proposals going before voters this fall.

He plans to give $10,000 from his political action committee, called Asa Pac, to a group fighting against two medical marijuana proposals.

During the press conference, Governor Hutchinson was backed by doctors as he talked about his opposition to the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment and the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act.

Both ballot questions will be before voters in November.

In addition to concerns about regulation, cost to taxpayers, and violating federal law, Hutchinson disputes those who say the proposals will help suffering patients.

The Wild West of weed is on fire with entrepreneurial opportunities. Potpreneurs across America are legally growing, curing and cooking the skunky stuff in record numbers. As those who cultivate and sell the plant grow, so do the offshoot businesses sprouting up around them.

The controversial Mystic plant-research site that Monsanto Co. plans to shut down this year has drawn the interest of two groups looking into using the modern facilities for growing medical marijuana, First Selectman Rob Simmons said Monday.

Simmons' revelation came soon after a state website indicated that Monsanto had issued a formal notice of the closure, which will occur in two phases starting Oct. 29. The shutdown, announced last year, will result in the loss of 40 jobs locally, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification dated Aug. 29 and released Monday to The Day by the state Department of Labor.

Few have said more about the benefits of cannabis than author, lecturer and psychedelic drug enthusiast Terence McKenna.

McKenna used cannabis regularly as a creative aid meant to induce higher consciousness, bring a sense of mental clarity and make the expression of deep thought easier. He didn’t consider its use something to be ashamed of, but embraced.

He often spoke of the plant’s practically endless uses, and on one occasion, he quit for a short period of time while working on a book only to realize after completing it (without having used cannabis the whole time he wrote it) that the book was terrible.

Obviously, his experiences are unique and don’t apply to everyone.

Not Much of a Difference

A new poll is fuelling uncertainty about how Californians will vote come November concerning Proposition 64.   

The poll, released by the Southern California News Group and KABC/Eyewitness News on Monday, found that voters are likely to approve the proposal to legalize the recreational use of marijuana – but only by 52 percent. Forty per cent of those polled stated that they would vote No on Proposition 64, while eight percent stated that they were undecided. Zero per cent stated that they would not be voting at all.

Past polls on the question of Proposition 64 have come up with mixed results.

Maryland’s black state lawmakers are weighing options to ensure that the state’s nascent medical marijuana industry includes its fair share of minority-owned businesses.

The Legislative Black Caucus, which comprises 45 of the General Assembly’s 188 members, has criticized the lack of racial diversity in an independent commission’s licensing of 15 companies to grow and 15 businesses to process the drug. Only one grower license and one processor license were awarded last month to businesses with some sort of minority leadership.

In the United States, 25 states have legalized medical marijuana, including 19 that let patients with a prescription buy pot from dispensaries. Proponents argue that expanding the availability of medical marijuana reduces opioid abuse and overdose deaths because it gives people an alternative for pain relief.

About 3 out of 5 opioid overdoses occur in people with legitimate prescriptions for pain pills. These are the people who might opt for medical marijuana instead.