ALASKA  – Native Alaskan Leif Abel knew how to hunt, fish, trap and grow organically by the time he was eight. In the family greenhouse, marijuana plants grew among the tomatoes, cucumbers and garden flowers. 

“On the Yukon when I was a kid, it was as normal as anything else,” he recalled. “I probably was pretty old before I realized that it was a little bit of a societal taboo.” 

Last November, Alaska legalized recreational marijuana use. The voter initiative passed 53 percent to 47 percent, but it was hardly unforeseen to people like Abel living in the state’s interior. Long ingrained in their culture, Alaskans have been growing and using marijuana in their homes for decades. 

Marijuana legalization now enjoys majority support in the U.S. -- 52 percent of Americans support legalization, 42 percent oppose it, and 7 percent remain undecided, according to the latest General Social Survey.

But most changes to marijuana law aren't happening at the federal level, they're happening in the states. In some, possession and use remains a crime. Other states have decriminalized possession of small amounts, 24 have legalized marijuana for medical use, and 4 states plus Washington, D.C., have gone fully legal. There are as many shades of grey (or green) between these policies as there are states.

Members of Congress are often eager to admit they're not scientists. The trouble is, they also don't like listening to scientists and have tried to keep them from shaping federal policy on issues from national defense to environmental protection to gun violence. Now, America's ignorance-is-bliss Congress has come to fear what scientists might have to say about marijuana.

As the social stigma associated with marijuana slowly evaporates with each passing year, it may be just a matter of time before the laws that govern drinking and driving are applied to smoking pot.

Advocates for medical marijuana use gained another piece of artillery in their fight to legalize marijuana across the U.S. after a new study showed that the drug could have significant effects on bone-related conditions.

Last Thursday, the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published the results of a study in which marijuana treatments were used to help mend broken bones. The results suggested that the drug may have even more medical applications than previously believed.

Stronger Bones

Guest columnist Fr. Thomas Haren was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland in 1973. Has served as a priest at six different parishes in Cuyahoga County. He is currently the pastor of St. Monica Church in Garfield Heights where he has served since 2005.

Just think, in a few months the use of marijuana may become legal in Ohio.  Did you ever think how this could affect our lives? For example, during the past 30 years we have demonized "smokers." Now we will have a new group to demonize – "pot heads."

Police in Mexico have seized nearly three tonnes of marijuana hidden in a house in Miguel Aleman, a town along the US border (Representational Image)

Police in Mexico have seized nearly three tonnes of marijuana hidden in a house in Miguel Aleman, a town along the US border in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, officials said.

The house in Linda Vista district was being guarded by a man who fled as soon as he spotted officers approaching, the Tamaulipas Coordination Group said.

Pittsfield Township plans to consider regulations and zoning for medical marijuana provisioning centers.

The Board of Trustees recently received information from Township Attorney Jim Fink describing how neighboring communities regulate and zone provisioning centers, formerly referred to as dispensaries

The issue will either land before the planning commission or come back before the board at a meeting later this summer or fall.

"The discussion was 'Here is where we are. Here are some options to think about. Here's what some other communities have done. That's it so far,'" Fink said.

The Colorado Board of Health made the right call Wednesday when it rejected a proposal to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the conditions that qualify for medical marijuana.

To be sure, some veterans who suffer from PTSD insist that marijuana is vital to their well-being. A few were asked to leave.

Just days after Governor Ige signed a bill to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Hawaii, dozens of businesses are setting up shop at the Hawaii Cannabis Expo in the Hawaii Convention Center.

The three-day event got underway Friday night with a panel discussion involving state lawmakers, attorneys and even pot growers, among others.

With more than a thousand medical marijuana registration cars already being issued each month in Hawaii, an entirely new and large wave of business opportunities is also coming up.