Chances are you’ve seen media reports on a cannabis coffeeshop opening up in Germany's capital, Berlin. While the idea is widely debated, it's still a long way from being realized. The good news is that more German cities are joining in and developing their own plans for how to regulate cannabis.

A University of Washington study concluded about 30 football fields worth of marijuana are needed to serve the medical marijuana market in Washington. That translates to about two million square feet of canopy.

Currently, more than 12 million square feet are approved for production.

The study was commissioned by the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board and released Thursday showed there’s plenty of marijuana growing in Washington state to serve both recreational users and medical patients. And the state is not accepting license applications for any more producers.

The third MJ customer category is often overlooked by cannabis brands targeting the recreational market – the casual or occasional user.  Despite irregularity in their usage, the casual recreational market represents the biggest opportunity for growth because it is such a large percentage of the overall population.  Failing to recognize, and appeal to this group will eventually have a negative impact on many cannabusinesses.

The Persona

The headquarters of Weedmaps, the most influential company in California's medical-marijuana industry, is hidden inside a gray, two-story office building at the intersection of Irvine Center Drive and Discovery in Irvine. Inside the green-accented lobby, the first hint that you've just entered a 420-friendly business is a faint trace of marijuana odor. At just after 10 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, the phone at the front desk is ringing incessantly, the office is hopping with vendors dropping off samples, and UPS has arrived with three large boxes.

As the 2016 legislative session comes to a close, The Cannabis Business Alliance (CBA) applauds legislators for the hard work and the goals achieved during the 2016 session.

“The 2016 legislative session has been eventful for the Cannabis industry,” said Mark Slaugh, CBA Executive Director and iComply CEO. “Many of the bills that were up for discussion this session will have a major impact on our industry, and we are looking forward to seeing how some of these bills and laws change the landscape of the Cannabis industry in Colorado for the better.”

Texas is that much closer to getting a cannabis cafe — albeit one that won't actually get you stoned — thanks to a weed company's new infusion of capital. Yesterday, North American Cannabis Holdings announced it had inked a $1 million investment deal to fund its flagship AmeriCanna Cafe in Frisco, near Dallas.

According to a release, the cafe menu menu will include items like hemp-infused coffee, cold-pressed juices, and smoothies. Raw hemp seeds and other hemp-infused foods will also be available.

Galen G. Weston wants in on the medical marijuana business. Weston, the head of the country’s largest drugstore and grocery chain, said Thursday that pharmacists are well-positioned to dispense the drug in a safe manner.

“We’re an industry that is extremely effective at managing controlled substances,” said Weston, Loblaw’s president and executive chairman, following the company’s annual general meeting Thursday.

“It gives pharmacists the opportunity to work directly in real time with patients as opposed to doing it through the mail, working on their doses and making sure it actually has the therapeutic effect that it is intended to have.”

Through a new licensing agreement between two Washington-based companies, cannabis-infused sugar and salt can make its way to the state's recreational retail marijuana market.

Seattle-based DeepCell Industries developed a technology to fuse THC from marijuana with crystals, like salt and sugar. Now, Green Labs, a licensed producer/processor in Raymond, have inked a deal to manufacture and distribute DeepCell's brands.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In many countries, there is an ongoing debate on legalising cannabis (marijuana). This means the drug, not the plant. Such bans or controls are typically creatures of the 20th-century. You may have come across reports about an Indian commission having contributed to initial arguments for a ban. This is the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1893/94. Originally, the commission was set up to examine the use and abuse of cannabis in Bengal and the geographical mandate was later extended to entire India.

Retail marijuana sales in the United States are expected to be $4.5 billion this year, but constant changes in state regulations are creating hurdles for business people trying to make money off pot.

That’s the word coming out of the Marijuana Business Conference & Expo being held in Orlando, Florida, this week.

Chris Walsh, editorial director of Marijuana Business Daily, says marijuana sales doubled in the United States from 2013 to 2015.

Right now, 19 states have legalized medical marijuana. Another four states, as well as the District of Columbia, allow marijuana for both medical and recreational uses.

Walsh estimates 100,000 people are directly and indirectly employed in the industry, and 80 to 90 percent of companies are profitable.