Understand that Las Vegas is not the town it claims to be.

If you’re an adult in Las Vegas, you can do almost anything. On the strip, you can smoke, drink, and gamble. Drive an hour in one direction, and you can fire heavy weapons, legally. Drive an hour in another direction, and you can pay for sex, legally. But if what helps you relax is a prescribed dose of medicinal marijuana, you’re out of luck.

Marijuana prices have plummeted since stores opened last summer, and the average gram of marijuana in the state’s system now goes for about $12, according to the state Liquor Control Board (LCB).

When prices peaked last summer, a gram was fetching about $30 on average, according to data from the LCB.

The aggregated data doesn’t consider the quality of the bud or the effect of bulk pricing, but shows a clear downward trend since the state launched its regulated marijuana market.

Brian Smith, a spokesman for the LCB, said the agency was pleased with the trend.

No, rumours are not true. Marijuana is not America's largest cash crop, but it's still probably a $4-billion annual business. As of 2014, it's also legal to grow, own, and use recreationally in some US states. It's approved for medical and other limited use in 18 more states. Entrepreneurs are racing to take advantage of the new laws and changing attitudes toward the drug. Here are the players and startups you need to watch for a high.

Privateer Holdings is a private equity firm that's making big investments in marijuana startups. Its CEO is 42-year-old Yale graduate Brendan Kennedy, and it counts Peter Thiel's Founders Fund among its investors

Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s first federal budget may have focused on pocketbook measures for voters, but small businesses should look closely at some of the promises made and incentives offered by the federal government. If you’re a manufacturer looking for a break during a rough time for the industry, an entrepreneur looking to exit and donate some of the proceeds to charity, a startup looking to buy your first office or a firm desperately in need of skilled workers, the budget holds the promise of better times ahead.

At a Society for Human Resource Management conference in Washington DC last month, a session on drug testing in the workplace was so heavily attended that organizers had to switch rooms to accommodate the audience. Even then, it was standing room only. And the hour set aside for the talk wasn’t enough: outside the hall, employment attorney James Reidy, the presenter, answered questions for 40 minutes afterward.

Individuals looking to invest in the cannabis industry have multiple options to consider.

The two most popular routes are investing in producers, processors and retailers directly involved with the plant, or investing in ancillary businesses that provide services to the operators, including software companies, consulting firms and security providers.

Risk tolerance guides the investor’s path. For the risk averse, ancillary businesses can provide a safer investment free of potential hurdles put up by the federal government.

But for the risk seekers, obtaining licenses that allow cannabis production could be the most lucrative approach.

It's Saturday morning at an "entrepreneurship retreat" at a hotel in Aurora, Colorado, just outside Denver - well, that's what the sign in the lobby reads anyway.

The word "marijuana" is conspicuously absent from the marquee.

Social media is abuzz over 4/20, the unofficial holiday celebrating all things marijuana, including its consumption. As pot fans across the country commemorate National Weed Day, restaurants in states such as California and Colorado and even in the nation’s capital are promoting 4/20 specials and deals in hopes of luring hungry smokers with cheaper eats. Some dispensaries in those states and others with legal weed are offering discounts or even freebies to certain customers.

Understand that Las Vegas is not the town it claims to be.

If you’re an adult in Las Vegas, you can do almost anything. On the strip, you can smoke, drink, and gamble. Drive an hour in one direction, and you can fire heavy weapons, legally. Drive an hour in another direction, and you can pay for sex, legally. But if what helps you relax is a prescribed dose of medicinal marijuana, you’re out of luck.