Some have dubbed it the modern-day gold rush while skeptics warn of the hostile attitude of the current administration in Washington D.C. Whatever the view there is no denying that the marijuana legalization landscape is contentious and demands attention, including from trademark attorneys who will increasingly see their clients interested in cannabis related business activities, and consequently in obtaining cannabis trademarks.

Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work and some say more employees have failed drug tests in Colorado, since the state legalized marijuana in 2014.

Oilpatch CEOs fear their costs will rise when the federal government passes recently introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

The issue of drug use is closely watched in the industry, where workers tend to be young and hazards include long commutes to and from remote drilling sites, wells that produce poisonous or explosive gas and exposure to heavy machinery. Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work.

New products address everything from skin hydration to wrinkle defense, pain elimination to muscle relaxation.

Cannabis beauty. It's the next frontier in the increasingly chic world of weed, with new products addressing everything from skin hydration to wrinkle defense, pain elimination to muscle relaxation.

The magic ingredients being sourced from cannabis plants and used in beauty products include hemp seed oil (said to have up to 80 percent essential fatty acids, one of the highest percentages of any plant oil in the world), plus terpenes, sterols and vitamin E, which can help keep skin moisturized and balanced.

A tray of tempting pastel-coloured candies sits on a countertop inside AmeriCanna's production facility. Although shaped like pot leaves and stamped with Colorado's universal symbol for the mind-altering ingredient in cannabis – a diamond containing the letters "THC" – the gummies would only provide a sugar high at this point.

Working with precision and speed, the kitchen supervisor uses a device to soak each candy with marijuana extract, so each piece contains exactly 10 milligrams of THC, a single dose under the state's regulations.

The entire process takes seconds, but it represents the culmination of a long regulatory journey for Colorado's edible marijuana industry – one that AmeriCanna owner Dan Anglin is urging Canada to learn from.

Here are five myths about marijuana legalization that Colorado officials and businesses say have been debunked in the state, where recreational pot was first legalized in 2012:

1. It's a tax windfall.

Marijuana sales surpassed US$1.3 billion in Colorado in 2016, but that's only a fraction of the state's $333 billion GDP, said Ashley Kilroy, Denver's executive director of excise and licences, which oversees marijuana policy.

In 2016, the state collected $199 million in tax and fee revenue, of which $40 million was earmarked for school construction projects and $5.7 million was designated generally for public schools. Colorado's overall budget is $26.8 billion this year.

Most high-level security systems involve multiple levels of clearance. Cannabis edibles should be no different, believes Garyn Angel.

As the state Department of Health looks to license five new companies to operate, four current registered organizations sue to block action.

Four of New York's five medical marijuana companies have filed suit against the state Department of Health to stop it from licensing additional operators to take part in the tightly run state program. The companies argue that the expansion could tank the nascent industry and potentially harm thousands of patients who rely on medical marijuana to treat their ailments.

A judge did not immediately grant a request for an injunction to stop the process. 

DOH spokeswoman Jill Montag said the agency "will continue to fight any attempts to block patients from the relief they deserve."

An organic tea tree farm in New South Wales has received a $1.49 million investment to help develop medical cannabis honey.

Jenbrook supplies raw tea tree oil and honey products to the US through Naturally Aust Product. Next month, it’s expected to hit $1.6m annualised monthly revenue, a 100% increase from June 2016. 

The company has also been exploring a medical hemp honey, produced by bees pollinating on the nectar of medicinal cannabis plants. It’s working with Southern Cross University on research into its health benefits. EVE Investments has kicked in the $1.49 million to help get the product to market.

In return, EVE – an ASX-listed technology investment company – will acquire a 50% interest in Jenbrook.

In a cannabis market awash with thousands of strains and a flood of information on dosing and consumption – some credible, and some, not so much – how can patients make sure they get the most out of their medicine?

After facing criticism from patient rights advocates earlier this year, the South Australian state government announced earlier this week that it will create an Office of Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp to “support the establishment of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp industries.” The office, which will oversee production of industrial hemp, was announced in tandem with an updated medical cannabis patient access scheme.