The Montego Bay Conference Centre is set to host Jamaica's first cannabis seminar dedicated to shaping the future of the local cannabis market.

CanEx Jamaica is being billed as a unique conference that will focus on the North American, Latin American, and the Caribbean cannabis landscape with key insight for those looking to invest in and be an integral part of the burgeoning market.

It will feature an international speaker line-up and showcase state-of-the-art grow facilities, technology, branding, and political advocacy measures.

The one-day conference will also feature high-level content on the latest advances on the regulatory, legal, investment, and product-development landscape.

What do the coffee business and the cannabis business have in common?

As it turns out, it's more than people might expect.

The CannaCloud vaporizer is billed as the "Keurig of Cannabis" — it's a device that heats marijuana to a specific temperature without burning the plant — because it really is just like its coffee-maker namesake. 

It employs a similar pod-based technology that helped grow Keurig into the multi-billion dollar coffee empire that it is today. 

The CannaCloud was even designed by the same firm that created the Keurig, Dave Manly, the chairman of CannaKorp, told Business Insider. (CannaKorp is the company that builds the CannaCloud). 

Most people don’t think of Marijuana and technology in the same breath.  We’re all very aware of the absolute explosion of technology and the recent boom in its popularity now that smart phones and other devices have become ubiquitous.  Marijuana likewise, has seen exponential advancements in how it is produced, processed and delivered.  It is the intersection of Marijuana and technology today that has led to the ever expanding Cannabis renaissance we are experiencing.

For more than a year, the three entrepreneurs behind Hummingbird Technologies have been working to perfect a device to take the guesswork out of growing plants.

The result of that effort is Nectar, a system that its creators say provides the ideal environment for gardening, albeit on a small scale.

Nectar is 4 feet tall, 18 inches wide and 20 inches long, and can easily fit in a kitchen. It does not require soil or water, but uses a nutrient solution that can be purchased online or in gardening shops. The enclosure is controlled by a smartphone application that allows users to adjust humidity, pH levels, temperature and lighting based on the type of plant being grown.

Cannabis is a serious business. 

Currently, medical marijuana is legal in 25 states, with several more considering bills. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research group, estimates that it's a $45 billion industry in the US alone. 

This year, the International Cannabis Association hosted the second-annual Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition in New York City, where cannabis businesses from around the world can network, show off their products, and attend seminars and panel discussions about the burgeoning industry.

Prohibition Gold, a Seattle-based marijuana company, announces a major step forward in the legal recreational-marijuana market with Potshotz™, a premeasured single gram of neutral tasting white powder that quickly dissolves when added to any beverage.

"This isn't what comes to mind when you think about marijuana," said co-founder Tom Williams. "It looks different and creates an entirely new product category for marijuana. It's such a convenient, easy-to-use powdered mixer."

Potshotz come in small packets containing 10mg of THC in just a quarter teaspoon  of powder. "We worked hard to simplify our recipe so it blends well with other flavors," said Williams. "It really creates almost unlimited possibilities for anyone who enjoys marijuana."

The Trinity Summit: Advancements in the Age of Cannabis

Dublin | 14th September 2016

The Trinity Summit will bring together world experts from science, public policy, business and campaigning to explore emerging new innovations in medical cannabis.

VolteFace and Help Not Harm are curating the biggest global medical cannabis event of the year, in Dublin, on the 14th September. We are hosting leaders and major stakeholders in the area of medical cannabis to discuss the innovations and developments that are changing the trajectory of this global debate.

Imagine a video game that allows users to grow and sell weed, interact with celebrity smokers of the stuff, and ultimately build a citywide marijuana empire. Except, don't imagine it. Because it exists, right now. It's just a little under the radar, surprisingly.

Far removed from joints and bongs, marijuana smoking methods have truly entered the high-tech age. Beginning with tabletop devices like Storz and Bickel’s revolutionary Volcano vaporizer, the market has seen a greater demand for more portable, high-end devices that seem to have more in common with mobile phone technology than their paper and pipe ancestors.

In many ways, Matt Norris’ work developing mobile sites and apps feels like any other startup gig.

His team moves quickly, testing new products and sometimes failing. His co-workers are young, passionate and often wearing headsets.

But the Irvine office often has a distinct smell. And it happens to be part of a profitable, international company – which, Norris points out, is pretty rare in the world of startups.

That company is Weedmaps, which allows consumers to find and rate marijuana dispensaries.

As a vice president, Norris’ job is to create mobile products that work for everyone from elderly medical marijuana patients to strain-savvy millennials.