Last month, hundreds of visitors mingled outside three conferences being held side by side in New York City’s massive Javits Center. Sharing lines for lattes with their neighbors from the Salesforce and International Franchise Expo meetings down the hall, attendees of the Cannabis World Conference & Business Exposition could only have been picked out of the business-casual crowd by a careful observer thanks to one detail: the green accents on their name badges.

By Kelly Hansen, Illumitex

We are often asked how far into the canopy our LED grow lights deliver light. Cannabis growers, in particular, are concerned with delivering light to the flowers under a dense canopy, because cannabis flowers best under direct light. Oftentimes, growers see nicely developed, dense buds at the top of the canopy, while buds from the underside of the canopy are less dense and not as well developed.

Many factors are at play when determining how much light penetrates the canopy.  Plant species, leaf thickness, leaf size and the number of leaves within a given area all play a part in light penetration, and so it’s impossible to make a blanket statement.

Cannabix Technologies Inc. is the developer of the patent pending Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer for law enforcement and the workplace.

As cannabis bans are relaxed in more U.S. states, the race is on to develop an instant roadside breathalyzer for police to test drivers who may be taking the “high” road.

Vancouver-based Cannabix Technologies Inc, founded by a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, expects to be first out of the gate with a “pot breathalyzer” - a handheld device similar to those used to detect alcohol.

Cannabix won’t give an estimate of when its product might go on sale, but has a prototype undergoing in-house testing.

But manufacturing process, potency have caused concerns

Bend resident Tamara Brost became an Oregon Medical Marijuana Program patient after being diagnosed with cancer in 2011 . The marijuana mitigated some of her symptoms, but smoking aggravated her asthma, and edibles, which can take an hour or more to kick in, didn’t provide immediate pain relief.

As attitudes toward marijuana become more lenient and states authorize its use for medicinal — or even recreational — purposes, a long simmering debate over the efficacy of workplace drug testing has found a new flash point.

Marijuana accounts for more failed workplace drug tests than any other substance, and the new laws have the potential of decreasing or eliminating employer testing for it.

Defenders of drug testing maintain that employees who use drugs, including marijuana, have been found to miss more work, cause more accidents, change jobs more frequently and ultimately cost employers more money.

It’s called the “Green Rush.”

That’s the name given to the flood of investment into marijuana startups.

In California, new companies are trying to corner different parts of the medical marijuana market, hoping to position themselves for widespread legalization. Delivery is one hot spot for competition.  Companies are jockeying to become the “Uber” of pot.

I’m sitting with Kat Ilera in her apartment, waiting for a delivery of medical marijuana.

Ilera uses medical marijuana to cope with pain and anxiety. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer last fall. It quickly metastasized to her liver and spine. On Thanksgiving she got surgery on her back, which left her fairly immobile.

SACRAMENTO —

Local app developers are putting a farm-to-fork spin on medical marijuana, connecting growers with patients and delivering to doorsteps.

“We’re just trying to streamline the distribution of cannabis and its derivatives from farm to table. We don’t handle product, we don’t handle delivery, we let you do your business,” App Developer Josh Artman said.

The app, called Loud Cannabis, is currently only available on Android with Google Play because Artman said iOS does not currently allow cannabis delivery apps.

“People want to know how their food is grown and where their food is grown, cannabis is the same way,” Artman said.

The Swiss postal system, in collaboration with California-based drone delivery company Matternet, announced this week that they’re testing a new package delivery service that uses drones as couriers. Switzerlands diverse terrain, full of mountains, lakes, rivers, and other environments easier to navigate by air, make it an ideal test site for flying robot mail delivery.

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – A Boulder marijuana company says it has a new breakthrough for medical marijuana patients — a marijuana capsule that looks and acts more like traditional pharmaceuticals.

Wana Brands says it now has an alternative to smoking or edible marijuana called Wana Caps.

“We feel like we are making an important step in giving patients another alternative in consuming cannabis,” said Wana Brands owner John Whiteman.

The marijuana maker worked with Cannabics, a pharmaceutical company based in Israel, to develop the first extended release formula to make marijuana last up to 12 hours. The capsules are filled twice — first with a dose that kicks in almost immediately, and then with a dose that starts to work after about four hours.

Builders are using cannabis "not in joints but between joists."

The jokes about homes “going up in smoke” are inevitable.