Signatures are being gathered to try and ask Missourians if medical and recreational marijuana should be legalized, regardless of age. Steve Leck of Springfield wants to get the issue on the November 2018 ballot. It also aims to allow people to drive under the influence of marijuana.

Efforts underway to legalize medical and recreational marijuana in Missouri

“We believe that it should be treated no differently than alcohol in terms of any adult should be able to consume whatever they want as long as they are not affecting anybody else or harming anyone else,” says Leck.

One of the biggest problems with consuming marijuana for many American’s is the disapproval of their employer to its use. Even in legal marijuana states, few if any protections exist for employees that consume cannabis in their off time. Since the metabolites remain in your system for weeks and not hours, a drug test can pick up traces of cannabis in your system. Even legal medical marijuana patients under state laws that are usiing cannabis are subject to discrimination practices by employers.

In response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling marijuana ‘slightly less awful’ than heroin, country legend Willie Nelson suggest he try it, to see if it were true.

Don’t Knock It Until You Try It

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Nelson responded to questions about Session’s stance on marijuana, the Trump presidency and the time he almost ran for office.

84-year old Nelson is an outspoken supporter of marijuana legalization. He has served on NORML’s advisory board, led celebrity fundraisers and has even been arrested for marijuana possession. His opinion of Session’s comment was straightforward and friendly, referring to Sessions as ‘Jeff’:

If no action is taken by Vermont’s Governor Phil Scott before Wednesday, the state will become the first to legalize cannabis through the legislative process, and not a ballot initiative.

The legislation has already been approved by both chambers of the state legislature and the governor has only a few more days to decide whether to sign or to veto it.

Although Governor Scott has not been an advocate for the cannabis industry because he is still not sure it is healthy, Scott has certainly become more favorable on cannabis. Earlier this month, after both houses approved the legislation, Governor Scott’s spokeswoman Rebecca Kelley released the following statement:

A drug addiction treatment centre claims to be helping patients give up heroin and cocaine with medical marijuana.

Cannabis is more frequently associated with getting high than getting sober – but the directors of one rehab facility in Los Angeles say it can reduce overall harm caused by drug use.

“Some say it's hypocritical because, you know, you're supposed to go to rehab to get off drugs,” Joe Schrank, founder of the High Sobriety clinic, told CNN.

The Michigan State Board of Canvassers approved an adult cannabis use approved a ballot measure for signature gathering. On Thursday, May 18th, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol was told they can now begin collecting the 252,523 signatures needed from registered Michigan voters. To get the measure on the general election ballot in November 2018, they need them by May 30, 2018.

Josh Hovey who is the spokesman for The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol said, “We’ve got petitions printed. We’re ready to go.”

The marijuana industry, and marijuana stocks for that matter, have been expanding by leaps and bounds over the past two decades. What was once a completely taboo industry has become a thriving source of legal growth, at least in some states.

According to a Gallup poll from the mid-1990s, just 25% of respondents were in favor of seeing recreational weed legalized nationally. Mind you, this was during the height of the War on Drugs campaign in America. As of 2016, an all-time high of 60% of respondents wanted to see cannabis legalized for adult use across the country, per Gallup. An even larger figure, 93%, wants medical cannabis legalized nationally, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

Tampa Bay is home to a new revolution. Gardening without soil. Not even sand, gravel or liquid.

We’re talking about growing plants out of thin air.

It’s called Aeroponics. Yes, it been around for a long time, but a local company in St. Petersburg has mastered growing cannibals using the technique.

“Growing the plants 10 percent faster,” says Doug Fyvolent with Solaridy.

The company uses a 10-foot-tall “CropTower”, which allows you to grow up, not out.

They got the idea from NASA and made It better. Better to grow cannabis that is.

Doug Fyvolent is one of the masterminds of Solaridy. He's been researching the cannabis industry for a while and found that space was a big issue for growers.

The Weber County Sheriff's Office is drawing some backlash for its thoughts on medicinal marijuana.

In a statement issued to the Utah Sheriff's Association Friday, the Department quoted the Utah Narcotics Officers Association saying:

“So called medical marijuana in other states has become a farce and a sham. The average user of smoked medical marijuana has no chronic illness and is a white male in his mid-30s with a history of drug and alcohol abuse."

The statement caught many supporters of medicinal marijuana off-guard.

Medical cannabis may be effective in managing chronic pain and inflammation and in treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. It is also said to be a viable treatment for epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, for sleep disorders, and chronic cancer pain, among other maladies.

Although research is ongoing, marijuana reportedly works with the endocannabinoid system in the body to modulate levels of pain and anxiety, which gives it the ability to alleviate symptoms of a wide range of disorders.