Dan Malloy is best known, along with his two brothers Chris and Keith, as a pro surfer. But through his association with the outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia, where he’s a brand ambassador, he’s added author and filmmaker to his resume. With his latest project for the company, a 12-minute film called “Harvesting Liberty,” he can add farming advocate and industrial hemp supporter to his growing list of titles.

Fibromyalgia - a disorder that causes full-body pain, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating - is still not that well understood by the medical community and by the public at large. What patients themselves don't fully understand yet is that there's growing evidence to suggest that medical marijuana could provide some relief from fibromyalgia. According to a 2015 article in Whaxy, "cannabis treats not only the pain" associated with the syndrome, "but other symptoms of the condition as well, including insomnia, fatigue, restless legs syndrome, depression, and anxiety."

Last week, state legislators put Illinois on track to become the 21st state to decriminalize cannabis.

If Governor Bruce Rauner signs the bill – and he’s said he likely will – residents would no longer face up to 6 months in jail and a fine up to $1,500 or getting caught with between 2.5-10 grams of marijuana.

Instead, They’ll be ticketed between $100-$200 per offense.

But other Americans aren’t so lucky. Some states impose hefty fines for small amounts of cannabis – even for personal use. Here are the 5 harshest state lawscurrently on the books for simple cannabis possession (based on data from NORML.)

Researchers in the US say that marijuana use has no negative effect on health, aside from a link with gum disease. Christopher Ingraham considers what this means for the legalisation of pot.

Long-term marijuana use is not associated with a raft of physical health problems, according to a new study, with one surprising exception: gum disease.

Researchers led by Madeline H Meier of Arizona State University tracked the marijuana habits of 1,037 New Zealanders from birth to middle age to see what effect those habits have on some common measures of physical health, including lung function, systemic inflammation, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, body weight, blood sugar and dental health.

The recreational sale of pot edibles has been legal for nearly a week now. NewsChannel 21's Dani Fried visited a Bend marijuana shop to see how sales have been going, and get a guided tour of its cannabis edibles and extracts.

Officials at Oregrown said their sales have gone up significantly since edibles became legal last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bloom Well Dispensary in Bend said their sales have gone up significantly, with a shift in their sales from the marijuana flower to edibles.

Aviv Hadar, co-owner, of Oregrown in Bend, partners with many local companies to sell the products that have now been legalized.

I am a huge fan of Baltimore Ravens player Eugene Monroe. That’s not because of what he does on the field, although he is an amazing athlete and I plan on rooting for him this upcoming season. The real reason why I’m such a big fan of Mr. Monroe’s is because of his advocacy and courage. He has been a powerful voice for cannabis reform in the NFL, and has risked his entire career to push for a removal of cannabis from the NFL’s banned substance list.

“I Want to Take You Higher.”

Pharmaceutical companies developing cannabis-based drugs just might be serenading investors with this 1969 hit single by the group Sly and the Family Stone.

But a word of caution to those banking on marijuana drugs to be the blockbusters that send share prices zooming. You could see your investment “go to pot.”

Cannabis is an annual plant that flowers from late summer into fall. The natural growing season begins when farmers plant seeds every spring; these seedlings quickly develop branches and leaves over the next few months, becoming taller and bushier until longer nights after the summer solstice trigger the flowering phase. In autumn, when flowers are ripe, they are cut down, dried, and trimmed before entering the market.

Is marijuana addictive? The answer to that question depends on whom you ask.

Critics of legalization argue that marijuana is highly addictive and that increased access to the substance will feed a cycle of drug dependency, especially among young people. Frequent users, on the other hand, contend that there's literally no such thing as marijuana addiction.

Most patients enrolled in Minnesota's medical marijuana program believe the medication is helping them, but a majority also think it's unaffordable, according to a Minnesota Department of Health survey.

About 90 percent of patients surveyed by the agency saw some benefit from the medical marijuana, with about half of patients giving the medication the highest marks possible, saying they'd received a "great deal of benefit."