Adults in Vermont are one step closer toward being able to consume marijuana without worrying about going to jail after the House passed a measure this week aimed at legalizing recreational cannabis. Although only by a slim margin, the bill was approved with a 71 to 74 vote Tuesday.

An early start to recreational marijuana sales in Nevada cleared the final state hurdle Monday, paving the way for the program to roll out in under two months.

The Nevada Tax Commission adopted temporary regulations proposed by the Department of Taxation that will allow the state to issue recreational marijuana licenses by July 1. Most of the regulations were copied from the state’s medical marijuana program.

An affordable luxury product, new cannabis cigarettes from Toast use elegantly decorated boxes inspired by the cigarette cases of the 1920s to inspire socializing and celebrating.

The legal cannabis market is exploding, with 30% growth in 2016 to $6.7 billion, and with it, the range of marijuana brands and products available—including buds, concentrates, oils, edibles, and beverages, to name a few. As with any consumer packaged goods product, as competition has grown, marijuana brands have begun using increasingly sophisticated marketing strategies to differentiate themselves on (the dispensary) shelf.

At a fine restaurant in Los Angeles, diners might encounter a sommelier who recommends a chardonnay with the fish or a cabernet sauvignon with the steak.

At a gourmet cannabis pop-up, the resident chef might serve a citrusy sativa (like the strain pink lemonade) with a citrus crudo or a heavier indica to make a person feel rooted before indulging in some wintery vegetables and lamb. It’s not about getting "high," cannabis chef Lauren Unger says, it’s about becoming “elevated.”

Now that medical marijuana legalization has passed, the Ohio Rights Group is turning its attention toward educating medical professionals about the healing potential of cannabis.

Oberlin native John Pardee, group founder, kicked off that effort Monday night with a fundraiser at Town Hall restaurant in Cleveland where $4,500 was raised to send doctors, nurses and medical students to a Medical Cannabis Education Symposium in Columbus at the end of the month.

The goal is to fund 20 students, said Brandon Bashak, an Elyria resident and deputy director of North Central Ohio NORML, a group with a mission to shift public opinion on pot legalization.

More than $140,000 has already been spent in the state as stakeholders seek a voice in how lawmakers regulate the lucrative recreational industry.

Retail sales of marijuana may still be a year away, but cannabis-related cash is already flowing at the Maine State House as businesses jockey to influence the policies that will govern the lucrative recreational market.

Between Dec. 1 and March 31, clients paid lobbyists more than $140,000 for representation on marijuana-related issues in Augusta even though lawmakers have only taken up a handful of the roughly 50 bills connected to the drug.

The Mexico Lower House of Congress just passed legislation on April 28 to legalize medical marijuana in the country. Now the President, Enrique Pena Nieto, must sign the bill into law to legalize cannabis for medical and scientific uses in the country. The bill passed 371-11.

The ruling “eliminates the prohibition and criminalization of acts related to the medicinal use of marijuana and its scientific research, and those relating to the production and distribution of the plant for these purposes.”

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