The legal cannabis industry in the U.S. may grow to $50 billion in the next decade, expanding to more than eight times its current size, as lawful pot purveyors gain new customers and win over users from the illicit market, according to a new report.

Legalizing recreational use in California, where the drug is already medically permitted, is on the ballot in November, and approval of that measure alone would triple the size of the nation’s current $6 billion legal industry, according to a report from 10 Cowen & Co. analysts released on Monday. In all, voters in nine states will vote on weed-related initiatives this November -- five to legalize the drug for all adults and four to allow for medical use.

The “Headaches” of the Legal Marijuana Industry

The legal-marijuana industry faces many challenges to doing business.

Most companies in the space are frozen out of bank, cannot use credit cards for transactions, and cannot get loans, huge headaches for the industry.

And marijuana is like any other commodity: when there’s a supply glut, the price falls. That is what is happening in legal markets like Colorado.

Cultivators are ramping up production and the price of marijuana is falling, causing profit margins for growers to decline.

Marijuana companies, especially those that deal with the plant directly, are squeezed between the high cost of doing business and lower profit margins from the falling price of cannabis.

Regulations include 200 metres separating dispensaries from each other, and schools.

After months of discussion, tough regulations are coming into effect for operators of Victoria’s 38 marijuana dispensaries.

City council voted last night to move ahead with the new Medical Cannabis Business License Bylaw.

That means that as of October first, all storefront marijuana retailers have to apply for a business license, and eventually, rezoning.

At last night’s public meeting, speakers made their case for:

“I’m really proud of the fact to be from a city that is thinking of this.”

“Just want thank council for being very progressive towards policy going forward.”

As a whole, the marijuana industry has come a long way in a short amount of time.

When medical cannabis was first legalized in California in 1996 for compassionate use, support for nationwide legalization of the drug was only around 25%, per Gallup. A decade ago, just a third of Americans polled supported full legalization efforts. Yet in Gallup's most recent poll, 58% of respondents favored legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. In separate polls on the legalization of medical cannabis alone, favorability often exceeds 80%.

During almost five years on the beat, patrolling some of the roughest parts of London, Mike Abbott arrested dozens of people for drug offences. 

As a young recruit he picked up people carrying cannabis on the street in areas such as Brixton, and later participated in undercover operations against major suppliers.

‘The stench of hash was becoming more prevalent,’ he says. ‘My job was to uphold the law and cannabis, like other drugs, was illegal.’

Ex-Met Police officer Mike Abbott runs one of the most successful medical marijuana firms in the United States, Columbia Care

The owners of Frozen Budz have high hopes now that they've received Alaska's first retail marijuana licence.

Destiny Neade, co-owner of the Fairbanks business, received a round of applause from the audience after she won unanimous approval for the inaugural permit from the five-man Alaska Marijuana Control Board.

She clapped with both hands above her head after getting the OK.

As she walked back to her seat, she told the audience, "Now all I need is some herb."

"I'm excited because I really need to start making some money," Neade told The Associated Press.

She and her husband Nick Neade have poured more than $150,000 into their fledgling business. They hope to open the shop by Oct. 1.

Cannabis regulation comes in different forms throughout the world. We showcase Portugal, Netherlands, and Colorado in their approach to cannabis regulation.

Drug possession, use, and distribution are under different regulations throughout the world. Most of the countries make a difference when it comes to so-called soft and hard drugs. Hard drugs are loosely defined as drugs with an unacceptable degree of addictiveness (physical addiction) and/or physical harm.

Cannabis falls under the domain of soft drugs, as there is minimal physical harm even when used irresponsibly and the addiction caused in heavy users is still only psychological. As such cannabis regulations in the world are usually less harsh than those for let’s say heroin or cocaine.

Canadian cannabis producers say they are ramping up their operations to keep up with growing demand for medical marijuana and in anticipation of legislation that would allow for recreational use of the drug.

Alberta-based Aurora Cannabis is planning to expand its operations by 600,000 square feet over the next two years. That's a more than tenfold increase over its 55,200 square-foot facility, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and would boost production to 70,000 kilograms per year, up from 7,000.

The first 200,000 square feet, which is set to begin producing marijuana by next spring, is needed to satisfy the burgeoning demand from the medical market, says Aurora CEO Terry Booth.

"The medical business in Canada is going crazy," says Booth.

If college athletes want to use marijuana, the NCAA likely won't catch them, and Treyous Jarrells is proof of that. He says he was high in almost every game he played. Now he has given up his dream of a football career for one that’s very different: He has one of 102,620 medical marijuana licenses to legally grow plants in Colorado. And he has a message for organized sports, especially football: It’s time to take marijuana off the banned-substance list.

Jarrells, 23, earned a scholarship to Colorado State University, where he averaged 5.2 yards per carry as a running back as a sophomore in 2014. Then he suddenly quit the team because he was afraid he'd finally get caught and lose his scholarship.

Scotiabank and the Royal Bank of Canada say they aren't providing accounts to companies associated with the marijuana industry, leaving some business owners scrambling to find alternate arrangements.

After a decade-long relationship with Scotiabank, Hemp Country owner Nathan MacLellan says he received a letter from the bank late last month stating his account was being cancelled.

The store in Woodstock, Ont., sells marijuana-related items such as pipes and bongs but no actual cannabis, MacLellan says.

"It's kind of insulting really, especially when legalization is right on the horizon," he says.

"Nothing in the store that we sell is illegal. Every single variety store sells pipes and bongs nowadays, so why are they singling us out all of a sudden?"