Kush Research has announced a social media and branding partnership with The Cannabis Marketing Lab, the cannabis industry’s premier digital marketing firm. The partnership will assist Kush Research in expanding awareness of its cannabis and hemp-based medicinal supplements throughout the United States.

“With the help of The Cannabis Marketing Lab, we can raise awareness of the health benefits of cannabis and hemp and particularly our revolutionary supplements,” said Kim Kendrick, CEO/President of Kush Research. “Our goal is to continue to transform the way people think about the natural remedies that cannabis offers, and in working together with TCML we can push this debate to the forefront of the cannabis industry.”

The Hawaii Department of Health says it's having delays in the process of selecting medical marijuana dispensary owners because of an issue with background checks. The announcement comes just seven days before the department is scheduled to announce the state's first medical marijuana dispensary owners.

Each medical marijuana dispensary applicant has until Tuesday to submit fingerprints for background checks, the department said Friday.

It took longer than expected to set up the fingerprint system, said Janice Okubo, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Department of Health. "We notified the applicants as soon as we found out, and we understand that this is not the ideal situation," Okubo said.

On March 24, 2016, Health Minister Jane Philpott released a statement announcing that the government will not appeal a Federal Court ruling in Allard that found that the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (“MMPR”) regime, made pursuant to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, infringes section 7 Charter rights to liberty and security by unjustifiably restricting access to medical marijuana. The Court found that, under the single source system of a licensed producer, there is no guarantee that required marijuana will be available when needed at an acceptable price level due to the MMPR structure and market characteristics.

Buenos Aires has a unique cannabis business, where the business consists of everything except the cannabis itself.

Ignacio Goyret, the owner of the Basta de Lobby Shop, explains that he sells almost everything concerning cannabis, 99 percent.

"I don't touch seeds, and that's the remaining one percent," he said. 

Sales of seeds and products with THC, the active chemical in cannabis, is illegal.

Courts have tolerated possession for personal use and, in specific cases, have recently allowed medicines containing THC.

There are no restrictions on the sale of flower pots, fertilizer and other equipment to grow marijuana.

Nevertheless, if police find the plants, there will be problems with the law.

Proposed amendments to measure setting caps on pot shops and grow houses could target pending applications

When the Denver City Council introduces a proposal Monday that would cap the number of locations of pot shops and grow houses, Truman Bradley will be among dozens of investors waiting nervously.

Is Vermont’s push to legalize losing steam? Earlier this year, the state was poised to become the first in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for adult use by an act of the Legislature, rather than a ballot initiative. But after the Senate approved the legalization bill and it landed in the House, the chair of a key panel announced she’s starting over from scratch. House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Maxine Grad (D-Moretown) indicated that instead of supporting a legal, regulated market, she thinks the state should simply decriminalize home cultivation.

The legalization of marijuana in the state of Colorado has not only been good for the local economy, but it has inadvertently helped fuel the business of Mexican drug cartels. 

"If you combine the legalization of marijuana and you combine that there are no regulations for the legalization of marijuana outside Colorado, it becomes an attractive criminal enterprises," said Jorge Duque with the Colorado Department of Law.

Duque said cartels are now trading drugs like heroin for marijuana, and the trade has since opened the door to drug and human trafficking.

“We have lots of victims. People are victimized whether they are being forced into prostitution, whether they are being kidnapped or just becoming addicts to illegal drug,” said Duque.

Here's a snapshot of Oregon's marijuana market:

418: Registered medical marijuana dispensaries statewide

167: Dispensaries in Portland

3: Dispensaries facing state "enforcement action" for rule violations since recreational marijuana sales began in October

850: Recreational marijuana licenses that the state expects to issue this year across Oregon

1,200 to 2,000: Recreational marijuana license applications that the state expects to receive this year. The agency will issue six types of licenses: producer, wholesaler, processor, retailer, lab and researcher.

Andy Bunske and Chris Ellis are hoping to ride the marijuana legalization wave and take their Scottsdale business to a national platform.

Ellis and Bunske are co-founders and principals with Scottsdale-based Beacon Information Designs Inc.

The company provides consulting and compliance services to government agencies, businesses and others delving into the world of medical marijuana and legalized cannabis.

“It’s very robust,” Ellis said of Beacon’s marijuana consulting business.

The Marijuana Business Factbook estimates the cannabis business in the U.S. could hit $44 billion by 2020.

That would surpass the GDP of Panama and Serbia.

Ellis said the hope is for the firm to become one of the top marijuana consulting firms in the U.S.