The cannabis industry has made incredible strides over the last two years as scientific research continues to support the plant’s vast medical applications.

Although the biotech sector will be one of the greatest beneficiaries of the burgeoning cannabis industry, companies levered to the health and wellness side of the business will also benefit as they continue to develop new products and supplements that support healthy living. 

Hi is a cannabis brand. Its logo — “hi” in white letters inside an orange circle — can be found above the front door of a Portland, Ore., marijuana shop and on a handful of cannabis products, including massage oil and Hi Releaf pain-relief balm.

But you wouldn’t guess any of that from Hi’s trademark filings. In 2015, the brand’s parent company, Cannabis Sativa Inc., filed a trademark application — not for any of Hi’s core products, but for hats, T-shirts and a wide array of other apparel.

If the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office signs off on the application, Cannabis Sativa would be able to stop other companies from using the Hi brand on clothing, but it might not be able to stop rivals from setting up Hi-brand marijuana shops or selling knockoff Hi-brand products.

Wins by pro-pot advocates are ushering in a gold rush of interest in marijuana stocks. Some marijuana companies will be winners and others will be losers, but they'll all have a chance to compete in what GreenWave Advisors estimates could be a $25 billion market in 2021. Are you prepared to profit from marijuana legalization? Read on to discover how big this market could become.

First, a bit of background

Medical marijuana laws have been on the books in the U.S. for decades, but recreational marijuana laws are only recently winning support on state ballots.

Recreational marijuana is becoming legal in more jurisdictions throughout the US and is being used medically at an even greater rate. 

The push has driven Vicente Sederberg LLC to create the International Cannabis Practice Group for the potential onslaught of weed related legal issues to arise from the regulatory adoption.

“Public perception of marijuana is rapidly shifting around the world, and the cannabis industry is poised to become a large, mature marketplace with a host of legal needs,” Brian Vicente, partner and founding member of Vicente Sederberg said.

Vicente Sederberg also announced its partnership with Spain’s top cannabis law firm Soriano Fernández Abogados (S&F Abogados) to launch a Spanish language website providing legal advice.

With the passage of Proposition 64, investors are hoping to cash in and take advantage of California's growing marijuana industry.

Hundreds of investors looking to cash in on the state's growing marijuana industry traveled to West Hollywood on Monday to tour MedMen, a West Hollywood dispensary. 

The dispensary refers to itself as the "Whole Foods of Cannabis" and its goal is to normalize marijuana now that the industry no longer needs to hide. 

"We want people to feel like they can explore and really take their time looking at all our products," said Jocelyn Pettway, director of facility design. "It's really just like any other store."

While Canada is on the brink of legalizing Cannabis country-wide in 2017, the U.S is still engulfed in skepticism and legal ruffle about the substance. The election of Donald Trump wasn’t good news for the marijuana industry. As with most issues, Trump isn’t clear about his stance on pot. But in the past, he had supported giving Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 status to marijuana. Schedule 1 status substances are considered federally illegal and perceived to have no medical benefits, whereas Schedule 2 substances are considered to have some medical benefits, but with addictive ingredients.

The Boston Globe reports that hackers early last week took down the servers of MJ Freeway, a system that tracks marijuana sales and inventory, and helps dispensaries prepare regulatory paperwork. The company says no customer or patient information was stolen during the attack, but large amounts of data was corrupted. The recovery process has been slow, and at least some customers are abandoning the company.

John Wallace stood in a small storage building with concrete-block walls and explained his vision for the first retail marijuana store in Buchanan.

Medical cannabis patients would have to check in at a front desk. After showing the proper identification, they would be shown to the display room, where friendly bud-tenders would help them choose from a selection of weed, oils or marijuana-laced foods.

With a shortage of authorized caregivers to provide medical marijuana services, patients could benefit from a retail outlet, he said, though city officials have yet to give it their blessing.

The marijuana industry enters 2017 with high hopes. Last year was arguably the best year ever for cannabis, and pro-legalization enthusiasts are counting on that trend to continue.

Entering 2016, 23 states had legalized medical cannabis while residents in another four states had legalized the sale of recreational pot. By year's end, five new states have legalized medical cannabis, two of which did so entirely through the legislative process (Ohio and Pennsylvania). What's more, the number of recreation-legal weed states doubled to eight, with Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, and the crown jewel, California, all voting in favor of their respective state's pot initiative.

Imagine a group of young professionals enjoying a dinner party. It’s time for dessert, and everyone moves from the dinner table to the living room. A digestif is served alongside a handful of luxury chocolates that have a slightly sweet taste and a low-dose of THC that kicks in within 15 minutes, just as the coffee is ready from the kitchen.