For more than a year, the three entrepreneurs behind Hummingbird Technologies have been working to perfect a device to take the guesswork out of growing plants.

The result of that effort is Nectar, a system that its creators say provides the ideal environment for gardening, albeit on a small scale.

Nectar is 4 feet tall, 18 inches wide and 20 inches long, and can easily fit in a kitchen. It does not require soil or water, but uses a nutrient solution that can be purchased online or in gardening shops. The enclosure is controlled by a smartphone application that allows users to adjust humidity, pH levels, temperature and lighting based on the type of plant being grown.

Colorado's green goldrush is turning into something of a bummer for some would-be marijuana-growing mavens, as an oversupply of pot is causing wholesale pound prices for the state's booming recreational market to drop dramatically. But with retail prices not following suit, it's pot shops, not consumers, who are making bank on the price drop.

The wholesale price is the price paid to growers by pot shops, edibles manufacturers and others.

According to Cannabase, an online wholesale marketplace, the average monthly asking price per pound for wholesale buds has declined by a full third so far this year. In January, the average price was $2,106 per pound; by June, it was $1,402.

Ultra Health, a national provider for the healthcare cannabis industry with operations and facilities in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, and retail dispensaries to commercial-scale cannabis production in New Mexico and Las Vegas, has become the title sponsor for the Gathering of Nations Pow wow for 2017.

In addition to the sponsorship, the official name of the event will be the "Ultra Health - Gathering of Nations." 

This marks the first time a medical cannabis company has sponsored such an event. Ultra Health has agreed to the title sponsorship for the next five years and holds an option to consider sponsorship through 2027.

Google — the major online search engine, advertising platform, and creator of the Android mobile operating system — may be eyeing ways to involve itself with the cannabis industry, according to a report by Marijuana Business Daily‘s Omar Sacirbey.

Grover Beach is moving forward with plans to tax medical marijuana sales in the city — though they have to move fast: a deadline to put the measure on the Nov. 8 general election ballot is fast approaching.

If voters approved such a measure, Grover Beach would be the first city in San Luis Obispo County to tax medical marijuana sales. 

“Chez Jean Coutu, on trouve de tout, même un ami.”

That’s the famous slogan of the Quebec based pharmacy chain.

It translates to: “At Jean Coutu you’ll find it all, even a friend” .

But perhaps after today they’ll want to change their slogan to: “At Jean Coutu You’ll Find It All, Even Some Weed”.

It’s not a pipe dream either, (Get it, pipe dream?) the CEO of Jean Coutu announced this week that he is willing to start selling medical marijuana in his pharmacies.

They don’t plan on doing any lobbying or publicity campaigns to be have the right to start selling weed, they just claim to be open to the idea.

But that’s probably because they lack the proper motivation.

Cannabis is a serious business. 

Currently, medical marijuana is legal in 25 states, with several more considering bills. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research group, estimates that it's a $45 billion industry in the US alone. 

This year, the International Cannabis Association hosted the second-annual Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition in New York City, where cannabis businesses from around the world can network, show off their products, and attend seminars and panel discussions about the burgeoning industry.

Prohibition Gold, a Seattle-based marijuana company, announces a major step forward in the legal recreational-marijuana market with Potshotz™, a premeasured single gram of neutral tasting white powder that quickly dissolves when added to any beverage.

"This isn't what comes to mind when you think about marijuana," said co-founder Tom Williams. "It looks different and creates an entirely new product category for marijuana. It's such a convenient, easy-to-use powdered mixer."

Potshotz come in small packets containing 10mg of THC in just a quarter teaspoon  of powder. "We worked hard to simplify our recipe so it blends well with other flavors," said Williams. "It really creates almost unlimited possibilities for anyone who enjoys marijuana."

Calabria is considered Italy’s wildest region. Besides being home to one of the most secretive and ruthless mafia organizations, the 'ndrangheta, it also gave name to the Italy’s only psychoactive cannabis landrace strains. 

Located in the southernmost part of the sunny, hilly countryside, Calabria forms the “toe” of the Italian peninsula. To foreign visitors, Calabria might sometimes be overwhelming. The food is a bit coarse and very spicy — peperoncino, the local chili peppers, are sold not by the gram but by the kilo.

HerbaBuena Social Club is all about organic marijuana and wellness.

Alicia Rose and Brant Hindman are the brilliant co-founders behind HerbaBuena, the first Demeter-certified biodynamic cannabis collective in California, and the broader United States. They've “come out of the cannabis closet and are hell-bent on helping others to do the same.“ After learning about their biodynamicly-grown medicinal marijuana and the HerbaBuena Social Club (which sounds amazing!), we sought them out to learn more.