Johannesburg - Andre du Plessis admits it proudly. Yes, he was the one who had disbursed the mysterious bankies of dagga seeds to the tables of delegates attending a government-hosted conference on the medical use of cannabis this week.

“God is in every garden,” smiles Du Plessis, of the Cannabis Working Group.

“Do try to grow those seeds. Plant them, water them and watch them grow.”

Of the stash of only three seeds that Du Plessis had deposited in small, zip-locked bags, some had been furtively stashed into handbags, while others were left, rejected at the Kopanong Conference Centre in Benoni.

Marijuana legalization may not be a top priority of Congress or President Obama, but the American public is certainly doing its best to make it apparent that marijuana is an important issue.

We've seen a complete transformation of the American public's opinion of marijuana and even individual state law over the past two decades. What once was an illegal substance in all 50 states is now legal from the aspect of medical purposes in 23 states, and legal from a recreational, adult-use standpoint in four states.

Weedsta aims to notify all interested college students of the Weedsta Scholarship program. This program is designed to teach, encourage, enlighten, and give a better idea about medical marijuana-- that it's more than just an illegal drug.

The amount of scholarship is $1,000 and it'll be awarded on June 1st 2015.

Eligibility 
This scholarship program of Weedsta.com is open to any college or university student who:

A few years ago, when Modern Corp.’s Chief Operating Officer Gary E. Smith was recovering from open-heart surgery, he used the company’s 12-acre H2Gro facility to walk and rebuild his strength. Even then, Modern was contemplating a risky investment of converting the structure to a sophisticated, medical marijuana production center.

Now, with the New York State Compassionate Care Act signed into law, formal rules and regulations in place and an application process under way, Smith and Modern are vying to become one of five, licensed growing operations in the state.

Two years from now, the leafy corridors of the greenhouse may no longer house the towering tomato plants, instead nurturing the strong-stalked cannabis and their oil rich, medicinal trichomes.

Nearly 80 years since the United States effectively declared marijuana an illegal drug, support for legalization is spreading like a weed.

In the past three years, voters in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have voted to allow the recreational use of pot.

This year, Ohio voters will likely be asked to join the cannabis cavalcade.

That proposal, generated by a group calling itself ResponsibleOhio, is well into the signature-gathering process. Given its resources, estimated at more than $40 million, gathering signatures will likely not be its hardest task.

The ResponsibleOhio plan would allow adults 21 and older to possess an ounce of pot and grow up to four plants.

With any Marijuana Business Insurance program, or any commercial insurance program for that matter, a lesson can be learned from the unfortunate fire of Seattle’s first legal marijuana farm, Sea of Green Farms. The lesson to be learned is always apply the ‘Golden Rules of Risk Management’ which are:

A red herring is “something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue.” Sad to say the marijuana industry has more than its fair share of red herrings, including the ten that are most prevalent these days:

Despite the headline, I’m a proponent of crowdfunding and believe it can bring innovative ideas to market. Fundamentally, I feel that new forms of financing provide additional access to much-needed capital and bring healthy competition to the lender market, benefits that all entrepreneurs and inventors can appreciate.

Over the past few weeks, all eyes have been on California as the super-parched state endures its fourth year of record-breaking drought. In mid-March, after officials announced new, far-reaching water restrictions for residents and businesses, attention turned towards the worst offenders when it comes to water use. Earlier this week, a host of articles centered on the conveniently easy-to-remember fact that it takes an estimated one gallon of water to produce a single almond.

Portland, Ore.— The legalization of marijuana is already beginning to reshape the economy in Oregon. Entrepreneurs are looking for ways to profit from products and services that support this new industry.

"Every day my scale, my business plan is constantly changing because I'm realizing the opportunity is much larger than I would have imagined," said Noah Stokes, founder and C.E.O. of OmniGuard Security.

Stokes has expanded his existing company by opening a new division 'CannaGuard Security' that specializes in protecting legal marijuana operations.

"In the industry, if you talk to anybody who grows, has been growing or is currently growing, they've all been robbed," said Stokes.