States throughout the USA are quickly adapting to pro-marijuana laws because science is revealing its many medical benefits, and economies and societies improve where it’s legalized. For these reasons, Americans continue to vote to end marijuana prohibition, which has led to presidential candidates debating marijuana legalization as a major topic right alongside global warming, terrorism and taxes.

Over forty states have passed some type of medical marijuana law, while four states and the District of Columbia have adult-use recreational marijuana laws.

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As marijuana regulations begin to take shape, many entrepreneurs were hoping to see changes that would allow out of state investors to buy into their businesses. But a Tuesday meeting of the Marijuana Control Board stopped short of voting on the issue due to a procedural technicality.

Under the current proposed regulations, marijuana businesses are not allowed to receive any funding from out of state investors. A recent amendment proposed by MCB member Brandon Emmett would allow for a 12.5 percent outside investment.

The board was scheduled to vote on the amendment Tuesday. However, according to the Department of Law, there wasn't proper public notice to address the issue at the meeting and so no vote could be taken.

It all starts with correlation. In 1950, the British Medical Journal published an article showing a high correlation between lung cancer and smoking tobacco. In 1998, the tobacco industry entered a settlement agreement with the attorneys general of 46 states, agreeing to change its marketing tactics, to abandon certain industry groups, and to pay out more than $206 billion.

As rural youth have known for more than a generation, growing pot, even in the Canadian climate, is not so difficult. A sunny patch between young pines, a bit of fertilizer and seed and then go away till autumn.

The constraint on pot production has never been agricultural.  

Marijuana laws have been in place for so long that there will be political pressure to make sure any changes put health and safety first as Canada leads the way on pot regulation. But as governments across the country consider how to liberalize the rules on the distribution and use of cannabis, they are also laying the ground rules for a multibillion-dollar industry.

Santa Maria's City Council made some big decisions Tuesday night regarding how medical marijuana should be grown and delivered.

City Councilmember Jack Boysen tells KSBY the council voted 5-0 against the cultivation of medical marijuana within city limits and in favor of allowing deliveries of medical marijuana to patients in Santa Maria from legitimate dispensaries located outside of the city.

Santa Maria has a law on the books that blocks medical marijuana dispensaries. However, city code does not ban deliveries from outside of town.

Tuesday night's decisions come two months after Governor Jerry Brown signed a package of bills called the Medical Marijuana Regulatory and Safety Act to regulate medical marijuana use.

BURLINGTON — A medical marijuana clinic has opened after several delays in recent weeks.

The Canadian Cannabis Clinics site is up and running at 3155 Harvester Rd., Suite 302.

"We've seen about 15 so far and have had many people stopping by to inquire. It's going very well," said Ronan Levy, the general counsel and a partner in the Burlington clinic.

There will be four people at the clinic at any given time, he said. The staff will be comprised of a physician, a receptionist, a nurse or an international medical graduate (a doctor licensed to practise in another country but not yet in Canada).

By Becky Bohrer, Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — The board tasked with writing rules for Alaska’s recreational marijuana industry backtracked Tuesday and adopted stricter residency requirements for applicants for pot business licenses.

The Marijuana Control Board scuttled a rule adopted last month that would use the residency requirements needed to vote in Alaska in favor of using the more stringent standards needed to qualify for the yearly check from Alaska’s oil wealth fund.

During a meeting Tuesday in Anchorage the board approved using the residency requirements for the Permanent Fund Dividend, which include being a resident of the state for a full calendar year.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC PINK: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabinoid-based formulation, announces the launch of their cannabinoid-formulated capsule product line. The initial capsule formulations released are CBD, Indica, and Sativa; each of the three types of caps will be available in 25mg, 50mg, and 100mg doses and will be provided in two-dose packs with more size options to be made available in the near future.

Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP) announced today that it has become the newest member of one of the most proactive organizations in the industrial hemp industry, the National Hemp Association. As a Gold member, Hemp, Inc. will be able to reach more hemp businesses with multi-channel exposure. The National Hemp Association (NHA) is a mission-driven, non-profit organization "dedicated to the re-birth of industrial hemp in America which helps connect farmers, processors, manufactures, researchers, investors and policy makers to accelerate the growth of this important industry in the United States."