It was only a matter of time: Wall Street heavyweight Merrill Lynch, the wealth management division of Bank of America, has apparently already started thinking about its role in the marijuana industry.

A 45-page equity report leaked to Philly Inquirer columnist Chris Goldstein suggests that Merrill Lynch is paying close attention to the budding industry. The company says that it's particularly "bullish on the cannabis testing market."

For the week ended Friday, December 11, the spot price index for a pound of cannabis increased by $198 (about 11%) from $1,734 in the prior week to $1,932. The simple (non-volume-weighted) average price for a gram ticked down from $4.67 to $4.66.

The futures price for January rose from $1,680 to $1,800 on the near-month contract. For the month of February 2016, the forward price increased from $1,775 a pound to $1,850. The six-month forward price for June 2016 is $2,050 a pound, unchanged from the prior week.

Nothing kills a buzz like the sight of federal agents seizing tens of thousands of marijuana plants from a tribe's reservation.

One year ago, a wave of euphoria swept Indian country when the U.S. Department of Justice released a memo that many read as the feds giving the nation's more than 560 tribes an unrestricted green light to grow and sell marijuana on their reservations — even in states such as Wisconsin where weed remains illegal.

Anthony Franciosi now 26, has grown from 14-year-old pot smoker to professional cannabis farmer and outspoken advocate for organic crops and sustainable production practices. The 7000 sq. ft marijuana grow space he is creating outside of Steamboat Springs Colorado aims to use the latest technology in lighting, water use and waste management to minimize resource use while growing organic cannabis.

His company, HonestMarijuana.com, expects to produce 900-1200 pounds of marijuana in 8-10 strains in 2016, employing 8-10 people depending on the season.  As an early entrepreneur in the growing Colorado market for legal marijuana, he’s watched the industry develop.

VERNON – Supporters of local medical marijuana dispensaries rallied today in Vernon. The show of support was organized after police visited all of the city’s dispensaries.

Elizabeth Bakker was among those who joined the rally appealing to keep Vernon’s dispensaries open for people like her 13 year old daughter.

“This summer we were up to 140 to 170 seizures a day,” she says, with her daughter standing by her side. “[We were] restricted to our house because she could not walk because of how many seizures she was having.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Supporters spent more than $21 million on a losing fall campaign to legalize marijuana in Ohio for personal and medical use, campaign finance reports filed Friday show.

Most of the nearly $12 million ResponsibleOhio raised from July to October came from 10 companies or organizations listed under corporate names, according to the figures reported to the Secretary of State's office. About 250 people gave individual contributions during the period. Their contributions of $2 to $200 totaled less than $8,000.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mentor Capital (MNTR), GW Pharma (GWPH) and Terra Tech (TRTC) lead the new Mentor Capital Cannabis Index for Value Investors. 

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mentor Capital, Inc. (OTCQB:MNTR) announces that the leaders in Mentor’s new Cannabis Index for Value Investors were Mentor Capital at (252%), Terra Tech (OTCQX:TRTC) at (86%) and GW Pharmaceuticals Plc. (NASDAQ: GWPH) at (33%) when compared to the NASDAQ average set at (100%). Sales plus book value were compared to market capitalization for leading marijuana stocks to establish this new marijuana stock index.

Industrial hemp's been having a hard time for the past 77 years. Yes, it looks like cannabis, but it's basically impossible to get high on it. Nonetheless the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 made the once-profitable industry illegal, and it stayed that way until 2014.

LAUGHLIN — The first medical marijuana dispensary in Laughlin opened quietly Saturday, nearly 16 years after Nevada voters approved the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. 

Nevada Medical Marijuana, located in a former bank building at 1975 Casino Drive, is one of only a handful of retail outlets that have opened for business in Nevada since the Legislature enacted regulations two years ago regarding growth, production and retail sale of medicinal marijuana. Its sister facility in Henderson also opened for business Saturday.

At opening, four strains of smokeable product were available for purchase.