"Medical cannabis has high POTential," according to a new report.

The investment arm of Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, sent out a 45 page equity report last week focused on prospects related to marijuana.

Carefully researched, it was an interesting peek at how heavy hitters on Wall Street are starting to view the expanding industry. The document is not publicly available. It was leaked to this writer by an individual who received the report as a member and investor.

Nurseries are required to begin dispensing medicinal marijuana by August. A handful of proposed bills would increase the number of patients legally eligible to use the drug.

Medicinal marijuana should be available in Florida by the middle of August.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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The union of SAQ workers is studying whether or not they should be the ones selling marijuana when the federal government legalizes weed.

In the throne speech the Liberal government promised to legalize, regulate, and restrict marijuana.

Workers at the SAQ believe that, as a provincially-regulated monopoly, the SAQ is in a unique position to handle the sales of marijuana.

"It's a particular product, it's not like selling food or anything like that," said Marc-André McSween of the SAQ's union.

He added the union is asking the independent research group IRIS to look into whether the SAQ could handle quality control, verifying a customer's age, and other restrictions.

Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster Inc., photographed on Jan. 27, 2012. 

Whether it's founding Napster, guiding Facebook or investing in Spotify, Sean Parker has developed a reputation for pushing change forward, and now he's at the forefront of California's marijuana legalization movement. This week a competing proposal from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR) was folded into Parker's, making his the leading ballot measure, by default, for 2016 in a state with the largest medical marijuana market in the country.

The cannabis market has come a long way in recent years, and 2015 was no exception. While marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the US has allowed patients with a variety of medical conditions to smoke marijuana in 23 states since 1996, and this year more states have moved to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis.

For example, in February, Alaska became the third state to allow individuals to grow, smoke and possess cannabis for recreational use, while Oregon became the fourth in July. There have also been initiatives in the medical cannabis space, with both Texas and Georgia signing bills last year to legalize low-THC cannabis oil for the treatment of epilepsy and other chronic diseases.

While the nation’s 50 states remain divided on the legalization of marijuana, New York’s Compassionate Care Act has freed marijuana companies to open dispensaries in the nation’s largest city, capturing the attention of accredited investors nationwide.

The law legalizes certain types of medical marijuana in the Empire State and is expected to lead to the opening up of the state’s first marijuana dispensary in New York City in January—a development seen by some as a significant boost to bringing more investment dollars into the cannabis industry.

The rush of junior public companies into the marijuana space over the past couple of years has been fast and furious as laws regulating the drug’s use changed in Canada and some US states.

Despite the best of intentions, many of these companies have not fared well, though in fairness regulatory hang-ups undermined momentum for those focused on operating in Canada.

Golden Leaf Holdings (CNSX:GLH) chose a decidedly different path by positioning itself to take advantage of regulatory change in states on the US west coast. It turned out to be a shrewd move, as the company has gone from strength to strength literally since day one.

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - The marijuana business is booming in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational and medical use.

Arizona voters are expected to decide whether to legalize recreations pot next year and beginning December 10th, Dunlap-Stone University, which is based in the valley, will offer online courses on cannabis -- helping those looking to get into pot-related businesses and learn more about the drug, how it's grown, manufactured and sold.

The growers that Florida’s Office of Compassionate Use selected to dispense medical marijuana got their first look at state rules Wednesday. But instead of discussion between the growers and the state, there was mostly silence.

Five growers around the state were officially selected to grow Florida's first form of medical marijuana in late November. The companies had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to post a $5 million performance bond. The Department of Health said four had posted the money by Wednesday afternoon.

The draft rules include dispensing requirements, hygiene and odor control, and security.

With about a dozen people on hand, Chicago's first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors in Uptown on Wednesday.

“We’ve been working so hard for so long," co-owner Zachary Zises told RedEye before the 11 a.m. opening of Dispensary 33 at 5001 N. Clark St.

It's among a handful of dispensaries that have opened statewide in recent weeks, two years after state lawmakers approved a medical marijuana program.

Only registered medical marijuana patients will be able to get past the waiting room area to the retail area, he said.