Right now possession of less than a half ounce of marijuana in Virginia is a misdemeanor, punishable by 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. A subsequent offense raises the penalties to 1 year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Possession of a half ounce of marijuana or more is a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and a whopping 10 years in prison. Ten years in prison for possession 14 grams of a plant that is 114 times safer than alcohol.

More than half of the United States allow marijuana use of some kind after voters in eight states passed legalization laws following the 2016 presidential election. Since then, cannabis advocates in other states have been pushing even harder for marijuana reform, and some states have already hopped on the legalization bandwagon and started considering making changes to weed laws in Texas, Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee.

The effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona has seen millions of dollarsin contributions opposing the initiative -- and political advertisements on both sides of the issue.

A recent ad from the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a pro-pot group, tells the story of a post-9/11 veteran, Bruce Laird, who was prescribed multiple drugs before he turned to medical marijuana to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who recently gained national notoriety after a photo emerged of him sitting next to Willie Nelson and a jar of the singer’s own cannabis line “Willie’s Reserve,” says he would like to legalize a statewide medical marijuana program in 2017, but he doesn’t have a lot of confidence the state legislature is prepared to take the plunge.

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S. resulting in at least 584,881 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent animal studies show that marijuana extracts can help kill certain cancer cells and even reduce the size of some of them. But, marijuana is still illegal in several states. The number of people who’ve died due to an overdose of marijuana? None.

Prohibitionists just revealed that a retired professor is bankrolling their efforts to defeat marijuana legalization ballot measures this year to the tune of more than $1.3 million.

SAM Action, the advocacy arm of the nonprofit Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in campaign finance documents filed Friday in both California and Massachusetts that Julie Schauer, a former art teacher at Northern Virginia Community College, has given the group at least $1,389,000 this year.

The marijuana business in the U.S. is growing like a weed.

Nationwide, legal sales of marijuana reached $5.7 billion in 2015, up from $4.6 billion the previous year, according to a report from ArcView Market Research. For 2016, the market is projected to grow to $7.1 billion. And by 2020, ArcView says, sales of legal marijuana in the U.S. could top $22 billion.

As it stands now, about two-thirds of America’s marijuana crop — the legal and illegal kinds — is grown outdoors, according to Mother Jones magazine.

As the opioid epidemic continues to plague the Ohio Valley with addiction and death, the search for safer methods of pain management has become increasingly urgent.

Advocates for medical marijuana have recently made inroads in the area with growing scientific evidence that the substance currently considered of no medical value by the federal government might be a tool to wean those suffering from chronic pain off of more dangerous drugs.

In West Virginia, residents will soon be seeing a lot more green than they’re used to. And it may come in the form of dollar bills, too.

Researchers from West Virginia University are teaming up with a new startup called Agri Carb Electric Corporation to investigate the farming infrastructure benefits of hemp. This will mark the first time West Virginia has allowed hemp cultivation in 70 years. 

A doctor is upset after the Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix blocked her from giving a lecture about marijuana’s effect on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

This summer, Dr. Sue Sisley is conducting a study on PTSD and medical marijuana that is funded by aColorado marijuana research grant. Although the Drug Enforcement Administration approved her work, the Phoenix VA Medical Center told Sisley she couldn’t give a presentation there.