For as bad as the elections were for many Americans, it was a great election for marijuana. And today, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day. So what better way to celebrate both marijuana and the military than to watch these veterans get stoned.

Summary: One of the most striking juxtapositions of the 2016 U.S. elections is that on the same day that the nation elected to the presidency a candidate who employed openly racist language and fueled his campaign by denigrating and stoking fear of Mexicans, four U.S. states—notably including California—continued to roll back cannabis prohibition, a policy rooted in overtly racist demonization of Mexicans and black Americans in the early 20th Century. With over 20 percent of Americans now living in states that have voted to regulate rather than ban cannabis, the United States is in no position to slam the brakes on similar reform efforts abroad. The U.S.

Venture capitalist Peter Thiel will join President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition team, a move that solidifies the Facebook Inc. board member’s power and could help Silicon Valley have a say in the next administration. Since Thiel was the first institutional investor to put money into the nascent cannabis industry, this could be a positive sign, and an indication that Trump's government is open to business opportunities in the marijuana sector.

The marijuana industry was delivered a series of major victories this week at the state level, and it is bullish about opportunities at the federal level under the Trump administration as well.

Cannabis legalization ballot initiatives were approved in several states on Tuesday. Florida, Montana, Arkansas and North Dakota voted in favor of medical initiatives, and recreational marijuana measures passed in California, Maine, Nevada and Massachusetts. Arizona was the only state to reject the initiative there. Across the board, marijuana industry leaders and legalization proponents are encouraged by the votes.

"From an industry standpoint, things went almost perfect," said Dan Humiston, president of the International Cannabis Association.

If you start hearing stories about thousands of toy soldiers showing up on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol on Veteran’s Day, you can thank David Bass.

Bass is the director of veteran outreach for Texas NORML, one of the cannabis advocacy group’s most active chapters.

He came by that position through hard experience. Years ago, Bass found himself taking an assortment of prescription painkillers to deal with the PTSD and chronic pain brought on by a 20-year career in the U.S. Army.

Cohen Got High on Medical Weed and Danced Around While Making His New Album.

Leonard Cohen, the hugely influential singer and songwriter whose work spanned nearly 50 years, died at the age of 82. Cohen's label, Sony Music Canada, confirmed his death on the singer's Facebook page. 

On You Want It Darker, Leonard Cohen’s excellent new album, the 82-year-old songwriting god looks death straight in the eye without flinching. It’s an intense listen, and it’s nice to know that Cohen and his son Adam were able to loosen up a few times and have some chemically assisted fun while they were making it.

A woman is suing her healthcare provider, Spectrum Health Systems Inc., for revealing to her employer, Michigan-based Gentex Corp., that she uses medical marijuana, reports Business Insurance. The lawsuit, Lisa Richlich v. Spectrum Health Systems Inc., charges Spectrum with violating her privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and forcing her subsequent resignation. Medical marijuana use is legal in Michigan.

Let’s recap the numbers from yesterday’s post, the first in this series about marijuana in wine country and the impact of California’s approval of Proposition 64:

According to 2015 crop reports, the yield per acre in Sonoma County for wine grapes is approximately $8,500 per acre, and the yield per acre for vegetables is $24,000. The estimated yield for cannabis per acre is $8,200,000, or two orders of magnitude greater than wine grapes.

They’re the kind of numbers — and potential for profit — that could tempt all manner of businesses to rush in.

From California to the Baltic, the dam is breaking. Meanwhile, the British government sticks to its ‘war on drugs’, and pays the heavy price.

How did the world change on 8 November 2016? No, it was not the election of Donald Trump. It was the passage of California’s proposition 64, removing legal controls on the production and sale of marijuana.

Tuesday's election notched several wins for marijuana law reformers across the country, including those in four Ohio communities.  

Three states legalized recreational marijuana and the vote was too close to call in a fourth state, according to unofficial election results. Four states legalized medical marijuana.

And four Ohio communities passed local ordinances reducing penalties for marijuana possession to none. 

Marijuana decriminalization measures passed in Newark in Licking County, Bellaire in Belmont County, Logan in Hocking County and Roseville, on the border of Perry and Muskingum counties. A measure in Byesville in Guernsey County failed.