TAMPA, Fla.--As Neutra Corp. (OTCQB: NTRR) continues working to deliver safer, better solutions for cultivators across North America, cannabis businesses and state agencies are still grappling with the use of potentially harmful pesticides in the nascent industry. A recent independent study found dangerous levels of pesticides in cannabis products in Denver.

“Recalls are bad for the entire industry”

Greenhouse Ventures hosts its first Demo Day Dec. 5

With the cannabis industry booming in states like Colorado, Washington and California, it may be surprising that a new startup has decided to take root in Philadelphia. While marijuana laws are certainly more relaxed in the city thanks to legislation decriminalizing small amounts of weed, Pennsylvania is hardly a bastion of progressive thought when it comes to marijuana legislation. But that could change with the introduction of Greenhouse Ventures’ first Demo Day on Dec. 5. 

• DelShen Therapeutics plans cultivation former state tree farm
• Prime Minister Trudeau has pledged to legalize marijuana

A former state-owned tree farm in northeastern Ontario will soon be growing medical marijuana, according to one of a group of Canadian companies that’s trying to capitalize on booming demand and the potential for full decriminalization.

Earlier this month several sources reported that Barbadian pop star Rihanna, who already sidelines as an actress, creative director of Puma, and owner of a beauty agency, supposedly revealed during an appearance at the High Times Cannabis Cup in Negril, Jamaica, that she is preparing to jump into the marijuana business.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora" or the "Company") (CSE:ACB)(OTCQB:ACBFF)(FRANKFURT:21P)(WKN:A1C4WM) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., has been granted a license from Health Canada to sell medicinal cannabis pursuant to the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations ("MMPR"). 

Neil Belot, Chief Brand Officer, commented, "People seeking a holistic approach to health and wellness, who believe in medical cannabis and the healing power of nature, can now choose a culture and community minded Licensed Producer which truly understands their needs."

Can Colorado issue a water right to irrigate marijuana plants when federal law still says that growing pot is a crime? That’s the question being asked by a division engineer and a water referee in Div. 5 water court in Glenwood Springs in response to a water rights application filed by High Valley Farms, LLC. 

“Even though the cultivation of marijuana and the sale of marijuana is legal in the state of Colorado, because it is still not legal under federal law, this question is still out there — whether beneficial use includes any use that is not legal under federal law,” said Alan Martellaro, the division engineer in Div. 5. 

Martellaro said a water right in Colorado can only be issued if the water is being put to a beneficial use, such as irrigation. 

MACEY, Neb. —About an hour and half north of the city of Omaha, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska sits on 300 square miles of reservation land stretching into Iowa's Monona County.

"We need jobs," Daniel Webster said, who lives on the reservation.

KETV reports, historical issues such as poverty and unemployment have reached critical levels.

"Right now, my community has a 69 percent unemployment rate," Omaha Tribe of Nebraska chairman Vernon Miller said.

Miller said the dire economy is leading to desperate solutions.

"We're not seeing anybody else looking to assist us and we acknowledge that, so we're trying to pursue whatever we can," Miller said.

The kind of event that can only be dreamed of in many parts of America was just another Saturday in San Francisco’s busy holiday season.

Pungent, flavorful, artisanal, small-batch, high-THC, eco-friendly bud from Berkeley swept the City’s annual, patient-judged medical cannabis contest Saturday — the 9th Annual San Francisco Patients’ Choice. 

On the cusp of receiving a coveted new licence to grow medical marijuana, Dan LaFlamme went looking for a bank to represent his family-owned business and encountered the kind of rejection those in the burgeoning industry have gotten used to.

Two of them turned Canna Farms away before a third finally agreed. It was early 2014 and the company, based in Hope, B.C., had secured the fifth licence from Health Canada to produce medical cannabis for its new commercial mail-order system.

“I think it was just so new, [the banks] didn’t know [it was legal],” Mr. LaFlamme said.

As marijuana becomes increasingly mainstream, the online marketplace is becoming the potrepreneur’s next frontier.

Enter Colorado’s online marijuana wholesaler, Tradiv.com. Within a year of operating, the company has received $1 million from investors to launch its website and hire new employees, increasing its full-time staff to nine people.

“We’re like Amazon for marijuana wholesalers,” said Lisa Buffo, Tradiv’s chief marketing officer.