QUEENSBURY — Warren County Supervisers voted in support of Amy and Hillary Peckham’s proposal to develop a marijuana-growing facility south of Chestertown, an operation that is expected to provide dozens of well-paying, stable jobs in the northern sector of the county.

The unanimous vote was cast by the supervisors following a detailed presentation of plans by Hillary Peckham, 23, and her mother Amy — the wife of John Peckham, CEO of Peckham Industries. The firm operates a gravel quarry across state Rte. 9 from where the marijuana-growing and processing plant would be located, about one mile south of Chestertown. The operation, independent of Peckham Industries, would be operated by Etain, Inc. — led by Hillary and Amy Peckham.

The cannabis industry is rapidly growing and there are no signs that it’s slowing down anytime soon. According to ArcView Research, the market for legal cannabis is the fastest-growing industry in the United States, growing to $2.7 billion in 2014.

Many publicly traded companies have sought to capitalize on this growth by growing medical cannabis, pursuing clinical trials with cannabinoids, developing vaporizers and other accessories, or providing generic consulting services to the space. While many of these companies are involved in the industry, no clear market leaders have yet to emerge as conglomerates.

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff canceled the company’s events in Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence signed a law on Thursday that could protect business owners who refuse to serve LGBT couples.

“Today we are canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination,” Benioff tweeted.

Today we are canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination. http://t.co/SvTwyCHxvE

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) March 26, 2015

In this article, Mike Zappy transcribes the contents of a talk on cannabis and how it's going to change 'life as we know it' that he had intended to deliver at a Tedx event in Boca Raton. The text was approved by the organizers and Zappy was scheduled into the event but a few days later he received an email from the same organizers cancelling his talk. They said that 'Boca Raton was not ready for a talk about cannabis'. 

Zappy wants to take a stand against what he believes is the hypocrisy of Tedx, an event that is supposed to break barriers, and is publishing his talk in full here.

There will be branded bongs and stores, too, as Willie gets out ahead of big industry in states where pot is legal.

Willie Nelson takes a hit of the cigarette-sized vaporizer in his gnarled hand, exhaling a small cloud, before placing it on the foldout table in front of us. We’re seated in the cool enclave of his tour bus, at the entrance to his sprawling property just outside Austin, Texas, which he has dubbed the town of Luck. Up a hill and around a corner, people are rocking out at Willie’s own Heartbreaker Banquet, an annual fundraiser/music festival held concurrently with SXSW.

Theresa Collins, left, and Jami Hicks are two of the four business partners behind Pot Luck Events.

Marijuana is in legal limbo in Alaska. Multiple bills in the Legislature will determine everything from permits to penalties, and in the meantime municipalities are scrambling find rules that protect the public, but also make room for an emerging industry. A new business in Anchorage is taking its first tentative steps forward navigating the shifting legal landscape.

Inside a brand new private marijuana club air purifiers whir. The room is huge, with a stage at one end, lounge chairs in another, and high ceilings.

Beginning in April, we are pleased to present a regular series of complimentary programs to brief you on the trends and hot topics brewing in the developing legal world of medical cannabis.

Our first program in the series will be a webinar titled "Medical Marijuana, Employees, and You" on April 29, 2015 at 12:00 pm CT.

In Illinois and the other 23 states including D.C. that have enacted medical cannabis laws, facilities are being built and bought, vendor relationships established, and employees hired. Cannabis industry employers are operating in an unprecedented hiring environment, and will confront many novel legal issues as they build their teams.

One of the most common misconceptions about cannabis is that it has the same effect on everyone who consumes it. This, however, couldn’t be further from the truth: some people are social smokers, some people want to work out when they are high, and some people would rather cozy up in front of a movie on Netflix with a bag of gummy worms (or kale chips). With modern technology helping people find companions for virtually every other type of activity they might want to partake in, it seems only natural that an app would emerge to help people find companions for smoking weed.

New regulations in Canada designed to improve access to higher quality medical cannabis have shaken up the market.

The rules have left some patients with few options to purchase and consume their medication, leading to several lawsuits. Meanwhile, the licensed cultivators and sellers who are now responsible for supplying safe, tested cannabis are laying down expansion plans amid optimistic growth forecasts.

Canada legalized medical marijuana on a federal level 15 years ago, and last year put in place new regulations that have smoothed the road for marijuana entrepreneurs. The path, however, has been a bumpy one, and further uncertainty looms on the horizon.

New Regulations Gives Boost to Licensed Operators

Del Rey Oaks >> Next week’s opening of Monterey County’s only medical marijuana dispensary doesn’t seem to worry local marijuana delivery services.

A few of them say the private and convenient nature of their services assures them they will stay in business, despite new competition from the dispensary slated to open April 1 in Del Rey Oaks.

“I don’t see it affecting us because we deliver quality and convenience to your door,” says Luis Solis, part owner of Compassionate Bay Delivery, a 6-month-old company serving the Salinas area.

In fact, more than one delivery business owner welcomed the arrival of the dispensary.