The global conversation on marijuana legalization has reached its highest volume yet. Already, some countries, the United States included, have pioneered past decriminalization and into some form of legalization. Few have fully legalized marijuana — and have yet to transform into total hellscapes from it. 

Tampa biopharmaceutical firm has been awarded the first U.S. patent for a commercial process that could lead to additional medical therapies based on substances unique to marijuana.

The company, formerly CBC Biotechnologies Inc., has changed its name to Teewinot Life Sciences Corp., and struck a deal with a contract research organization to scale up its proprietary processes, a press release said.

The changes follow a $7 million venture capital investment in CBC in March.

Regulatory hurdles seen hindering expansion of acres.

An explosion in demand for Canadian hemp out of South Korea is welcome news for the industry, but strict regulations may hamper just how much of that demand will be met this year.

“The doors have blown off the market in Korea for hemp,” said Kim Shukla, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance at Steinbach, Man.

Six months ago, South Korea was unknown as a market for Canadian hemp; now, “that market requirement is outstripping the requirements for the U.S.,” said Shukla. A promotion on a home shopping channel in South Korea led to sales of 40,000 pounds of hempseed in one hour, according to reports.

There has been a considerable spike in capital investment for companies in the cannabis industry in the last few years. This would come as no surprise to industry insiders and investors, but the numbers recently compiled into a graphic by Marijuana Business Daily (MBD) are nonetheless striking. 

According to data compiled by the investment research firm CB Insights - which formed the basis of the MBD chart - there were only nine investment deals in 2013 totalling $9-million. In 2015, there were 98 that received a total of $215-million in investment.

Raising seed funding for a medical cannabis start-up is just half the battle.

Entrepreneurs are jostling for position in the nascent but lucrative medical cannabis industry, even as political and legal traction is proving difficult.

Take Chris Nasr, founder of LeafCann, who represents the contemporary face of the medical cannabis industry.

A 24-year-old electrician from a conservative Arabic family, Nasr is hard to dismiss as law-flouting drug user.

Dan Malloy is best known, along with his two brothers Chris and Keith, as a pro surfer. But through his association with the outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia, where he’s a brand ambassador, he’s added author and filmmaker to his resume. With his latest project for the company, a 12-minute film called “Harvesting Liberty,” he can add farming advocate and industrial hemp supporter to his growing list of titles.

The recreational sale of pot edibles has been legal for nearly a week now. NewsChannel 21's Dani Fried visited a Bend marijuana shop to see how sales have been going, and get a guided tour of its cannabis edibles and extracts.

Officials at Oregrown said their sales have gone up significantly since edibles became legal last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bloom Well Dispensary in Bend said their sales have gone up significantly, with a shift in their sales from the marijuana flower to edibles.

Aviv Hadar, co-owner, of Oregrown in Bend, partners with many local companies to sell the products that have now been legalized.

“I Want to Take You Higher.”

Pharmaceutical companies developing cannabis-based drugs just might be serenading investors with this 1969 hit single by the group Sly and the Family Stone.

But a word of caution to those banking on marijuana drugs to be the blockbusters that send share prices zooming. You could see your investment “go to pot.”

Cannabis is an annual plant that flowers from late summer into fall. The natural growing season begins when farmers plant seeds every spring; these seedlings quickly develop branches and leaves over the next few months, becoming taller and bushier until longer nights after the summer solstice trigger the flowering phase. In autumn, when flowers are ripe, they are cut down, dried, and trimmed before entering the market.

Most patients enrolled in Minnesota's medical marijuana program believe the medication is helping them, but a majority also think it's unaffordable, according to a Minnesota Department of Health survey.

About 90 percent of patients surveyed by the agency saw some benefit from the medical marijuana, with about half of patients giving the medication the highest marks possible, saying they'd received a "great deal of benefit."