Federal rules effectively barring marijuana businesses from using banks stymie the medical marijuana industry.

An official in Illinois has asked President Donald Trump for guidance on his administration’s policy on the banking industry offering services to the cannabis industry.

In a statement released in January, State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said the president’s approach to the issue could impact the future of medical marijuana in the state of Illinois. He has sent a letter to the president, asking for his guidance on the issue.

Roto-Gro produces an automated hydroponic growing system.

Roto-Gro International (ASX:RGI), a Canadian cannabis-tech company has been admitted to the ASX, and has become the latest player to join the list of cannabis based companies on the ASX.

Roto-Gro produces a fully automated rotary hydroponic system (a method of growing plants without soil) which can be used to grow up to 420 cannabis plants.

Australia legalised medical cannabis on 1 November 2016.

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment released a comprehensive guide for worker safety guide for the marijuana industry Tuesday.

The guide took about two years to complete and is likely the first of its kind compiled by a state agency, said Roberta Smith, Occupational Health Program Manager at CDHE.

Part of the purpose of the guide, Smith said, is to remind the industry that though the federal government has not sanctioned the legalization medical and recreational marijuana, businesses in the industry are still required to follow rules from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The U.S. cannabis industry is projected to reach $50 billion in size by 2026, according to Cowen & Co., with over half of the population living in a state where the drug is legal.

Surprisingly, many cannabis business must operate completely in cash since the federal government exerts significant influence on financial institutions through the FDIC. The government’s confusing stance on the matter has led nearly all banks to avoid providing banking services to the sector.

The injection of modern technology into the developing world of cannabis and legal medical marijuana is helping the industry climb to new heights and increase engagement with consumers, especially when it comes to cannabis patients in the medical facet of the industry. The synergy created between modern technology and the explosive cannabis industry is allowing leaders in marijuana to leverage consumer technology engagement for companies such as Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (OTC: RQHTF) (TSX-V: RHT), Acology Inc. (OTC: ACOL), Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC: CBIS), Lifestyle Delivery Systems Inc (OTC: LDSYF) and mCig, Inc., (OTC: MCIG)  

Vancouver’s approach to regulating illegal marijuana dispensaries is working, says the councillor who helped develop Canada’s first municipal pot licensing regime, even if almost half of the stores continue to operate outside the bylaw.

Councillor Kerry Jang, point person for the governing Vision Vancouver party on the marijuana file, said that regardless of how long it takes to shut down these rogue shops, the city’s regulatory program – not police raids – is paying off. The strategy is meeting the city’s public-health goals of stamping out sales to minors and cutting down on the armed robberies now plaguing Toronto’s illegal dispensary sector.

Want to know how to grow weed safely? Soon you’ll be able to ask the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

The agency is moving past years of skepticism on regulating marijuana. Agriculture officials are telling other states what they’ve learned about regulating a plant that is illegal under federal law.

The department is also working on the world’s first government-produced guidelines on how to grow weed.

Pot’s commercial popularity has forced state agriculture officials to stop considering marijuana a running joke and start thinking of it as a commercial crop in need of regulation.

Colorado sold about a billion dollars’ worth of marijuana last year, making it a cash crop, the same as many others.

A fresh way to consume cannabis is gaining fans in California.

Pot-laced mints that contain as little as 2.5 milligrams of THC, the chemical compound in marijuana that makes users high, began cropping up on dispensary shelves last fall and are gaining favor among users who want to avoid smoking or over-dosing on edibles.

"People who quote-unquote 'don't smoke weed' will definitely eat a cannabis-infused mint," Jim Patterson, CEO of marijuana delivery service Eaze (also known as the "Uber for weed"), tells Business Insider.

The signs that marijuana has moved mainstream are everywhere. With a majority of Americans supporting cannabis legalization, medical marijuana enjoying supermajority support, electoral victories across the nation

As marijuana consumption grows with expanding legalization, most users still want to be discreet about their practices. Entrepreneurs are helping these customers keep their cannabis consumption under the radar, and to connect them unobtrusively to retailers and like-minded users.