Last month, pesticide use in the legalized cannabis market made headlines and sent some shock waves through the industry, with articles such as, “Millions of Dollars of Pot Sales on ‘Hold’ in Denver Due to Bug Spray Concerns,” which explained that a growing number of cultivators had been forced to halt distribution, affecting at least many tens of thousands of plants.

During the heyday of the industrial hemp industry during World War I and II, Wisconsin was home to over 70 percent of the hemp mills in the U.S.

Quite a feat for an industry that was largely unknown in the Badger State in 1912.

One of the oldest cultivated fiber plants in the world, hemp seed was brought to the U.S. by the pilgrims in 1620. The early settlers used the fiber from the woody stalk to produce twine, thread and rope.

According to state archives, six acres of hemp were grown on the asylum farm at Mendota and three acres as the Wisconsin State Prison farm in 1908, by the Agronomy Department of the Wisconsin Experiment State in cooperation with the Office of Fiber Investigations of the USDA.

A Redding-based contractor and out-of-state property owner have been fined nearly $300,000 for grading activities associated with marijuana cultivation that resulted in harm to surface waters in the Ono area of Shasta County, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board announced Friday.

The state agency imposed $297,400 in penalties against property owner Christopher Cordes, of Pensacola, Florida, and contractor Eddie Axner Construction Inc.

The case is the first penalty action taken by a multi-agency Cannabis Pilot Project formed to address the adverse environmental impacts caused by marijuana cultivation.  The state and Regional Water Boards and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife teamed up on the task force.

The marijuana industry appears to be blooming, and the American public tends to have a more favorable view of the currently illicit drug with each passing year.

In the most recent Gallup poll, slightly more than half of all respondents (51%) offered their opinion that they'd prefer to see marijuana legalized across the board. If we're speaking strictly about medical marijuana and the possible benefits it could offer to the terminally ill, or those with chronic medical conditions such as glaucoma, the approval rating soars even higher. A Quinnipiac University poll of swing states Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio showed medical marijuana approval ratings ranging between 84% and 88%.

ED ZIMMERMAN: “Businessmen they drink my wine, Plowmen dig my herb.”

Show opens with Chris Tinney giving an update on the current legislation regarding hemp and introducing his two guests: Anndrea Hermann of the Hemp Industries Association and Bruce Perlowin, CEO f Hemp Inc.

The Supreme Court of Canada yesterday voted 7-0 that Canadians have the right to consume medical marijuana can be legally consumed in a range of ways.

The landmark Supreme Court ruling that says Canadians have the right to consume medical-marijuana in ways other than smoking could soon increase the value of currently licensed producers, says M Partners analyst Daniel Pearlstein.

In 2009, Owen Smith, the head baker for Victoria-based Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada was arrested when police found items such as dried marijuana and cannabis cookies on site. He was charged under sections 4(1) and 5(2) under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).

When the Canadian government announced the commercialization of medical marijuana sales in April 2014, hundreds of business-minded individuals rushed to get in applications to legally sell medical marijuana.

It’s the type of industry that requires entrepreneurs ready to take risks, not business people looking for a slam dunk return on their investment. That’s because before the licence can be granted to sell, government staff need to tour the facilities, make sure everything is just right – including security set-ups and RCMP clearance for key personnel.

As of April 27, Health Canada said they have had 1,315 applications, 955 of which have been refused or withdrawn.

Today state officials in New York will close the application process to open a dispensary.

According to numbers from the New York Post, the state has already brought in $3 million from the selection process by charging 300 perspective dispensary owners $10,000 a pop to file their bid to attain one of the five permits being distributed in the state.

HARTFORD — Connecticut plans to allow up to three more medical marijuana dispensaries, targeting New Haven and Fairfield counties, where there are the most registered patients and the fewest licensed sellers.

The decision to add to the state's six dispensaries comes nine months after the first medical marijuana sales by a fledgling industry in Connecticut in which both growers and dispensaries are still in a struggle to break even.

The Department of Consumer Protection announced Thursday that it would seek proposals for the new dispensaries because there has been "significant growth" in patient registration, especially this spring.