Bangor plans to start studying how cities and towns in other states have reacted to the legalization of marijuana before figuring out what, if any, restrictions to set for businesses that want to sell it.

City leadership hopes to get the ball rolling before the November election, when Mainers will decide whether marijuana should be legal in the state for people over 21.

Although it seemed possible that an Oklahoma initiative aimed at legalizing a statewide medical marijuana program was headed for the ballot this November, a report from the Associated Press suggests that this proposal is not likely to appear before the voters in 2016 because of some changes being made to the ballot title sent down by Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

The Game is best known as a hip-hop artist, handpicked by Dr. Dre to join the rap group G-Unit. He’s also taken on the title of actor, with roles in several films and his own reality TV show. Now he has a new role: “potrepreneur.”

The Los Angeles rapper, whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, has become part owner of The Reserve, one of 10 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa Ana.

He’s also developing branded strains of marijuana flowers and concentrates that will be available first at his Tech Center Drive shop, then at other licensed dispensaries by the end of the year.

“Our mission as a community is simple: safe and legal access to a plant that saves lives and changes futures,” The Game said in a statement.

AN INCREASING NUMBER of US adults are using marijuana, as fewer people perceive the drug as harmful, according to a survey of over 500,000 people.

The study analysed data from 596,500 adults who took part in the annual US National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002 to 2014.

Marijuana use (defined as having used marijuana in the previous year) increased from 10.4% in 2002 to 13.3% in 2014. The proportion of adults who first started using marijuana in the previous year increased from 0.7% in 2002 to 1.1% in 2014.

The prevalence of daily or near daily use (defined as people who use marijuana, on average, five days or more per week) increased from 1.9% to 3.5% over the same period.

Before cannabinoid testing and genetic profiling of the cannabis plant, consumers would judge a batch of weed based on its smell, taste, and color. In fact, a whopping 93 percent of buyers make a purchasing choice contingent on the color and look of the bud.

The color of cannabis is not constant, but rather changes with the plant's maturity. According to the pH or acidity levels of the plant, its anthocyanins—water-soluble pigments—may appear blue, red, or purple. Anthocyanins appear in other plants as well, such as blueberries and eggplants.

In his sunny office on the edge of town in Arcata, California, Scott Greacen pulls up a slideshow on his large high-resolution monitor. As wildflowers sway in the wind outside a window, a woodsy guitar solo starts to play along with the pictures. Greacen mutes it; he wants to focus on destruction. Aerial images of clear-cut plots within the coastal forest, bounded by dusty roads and dotted with trucks, show the intrusion of industrial marijuana cultivation into redwood groves and hillsides. Some plots are small, barely detectable. Others cover hundreds of acres with row upon row of oblong structures covered with white tarps, blighting the landscape like giant predatory maggots.

Patients can even get it delivered to their homes.

New York state is about to expand its medical marijuana program to help better meet patient need and improve accessibility.

The state’s new policies were recommended by the Department of Health and will include things like home delivery and doubling the number of companies that can provide the substance. The New York Times reports that the policy changes are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

The Frederick County Council is considering a disputed proposal to allow medical marijuana cultivation on land zoned for agriculture.

County land-use regulations currently allow medical marijuana cultivation only in industrial zones. The Frederick County Farm Bureau opposes the bill, which is scheduled for a vote Tuesday evening.

Opponents say they consider medical marijuana cultivation a form of drug production. Critics also have raised security concerns.

Supporters include local farmer Larry Gude, who applied for but did not receive one of the 15 preliminary grower licenses that the Maryland Cannabis Commission awarded earlier this month. Gude and a business partner had planned to grow marijuana in a greenhouse on his family farm.

How the world still dearly loves a ranking system. Each week, we rank something from the world of pop culture in a totally objective, not to be questioned, absolutely definitive manner. It could be anything from the best Kanye West songs to the worst nightmares we’ve had from Nic Cage characters. Or it could be – as it is this week – the top five celebrity strains of marijuana.

There’s a huge buzz around the weed industry, and celebrities are cashing in. With legalization increasing across North America, musicians, artists and even reality stars are launching their own cannabis lines. Here are our five favourite endorsements:

5. Die Antwoord

Gary Johnson's Libertarian Party campaign for president received its biggest single donation, pushing very near the legal maximum with $117,000 from B. Wayne Hughes Jr.

The donation went to the Gary Johnson Victory Fund, a special joint fundraising committee formed by the Johnson campaign and a group of state Libertarian Parties. This committee can currently legally take a maximum of $122,700 from individual donors.

Hughes' father founded the company Public Storage, and Hughes is on its board of directors. He described his fortune as deriving from "real estate" in a phone interview last night.