Vireo Health is on track to reach its January deadline to provide severely sick patients with medical marijuana.

On Thursday, Vireo Health harvested its first medical marijuana plants. The organization only had four and half months to get to this stage and start making medicine.

Inside a tropical 80 degree room with high pressure sodium lights acting as the sun helping to speed up the process, Vireo CEO Dr. Kyle Kingsley showed off the state’s first medical marijuana plants.

What would Donald Trump do? Probably not vape in his hotel

The annual Marijuana Business Conference in Las Vegas, running through Friday at the Rio, is in many ways a metaphor for the burgeoning legal cannabis industry.

On one hand, it’s a professional, suit-and-tie business conference — with important meetings, industry-reshaping deals and big announcements on deck. On the other, it’s a friggin’ party — with sponsored parties, sponsored afterparties and unofficial after-afterparties with legal cannabis CEOs and their staffs smoking, vaporizing and eating pot all over the Strip and hashtagging their photos“#whathappensinvegas.”

The day after the Liberals won the federal election, cannabis consultant Eric Nash’s inbox was hit with 20 e-mails from people across Canada asking for guidance on how to open marijuana dispensaries.

Until now, the growth of dispensaries – which remain illegal under federal drug laws – has generally been concentrated in Vancouver and Victoria, where local governments and police have largely allowed them to flourish.

But a handful of stores began operating in other provinces over the past several weeks and experts predict dozens more could open across the country in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pledge to legalize and regulate recreational sales – something that could take at least two years to become a reality.

Black Dog LED's grow light stood out like a beaming purple beacon. It was bright, it was unusual, and company founder Cory Drew said it worked on many levels.

Cannabis plants need photons, and so do conventioneers.

The fourth annual Marijuana Business Conference and Expo opened its floor at the Rio on Wednesday, attracting gaggles of badge-dangling, hand-shaking conventioneers. Like every other conference, the expo, which continues through Friday and is closed to the public, teemed with information sharing and dealmaking. Unlike other shows, this one had premium fertilizer, displays of edible cannabis treats, vapor pens and Black Dog's passer-by-magnet light.

On November 12th from 4-5PM, Steve DeAngelo helps lead one of the most important discussions at the 4th annual Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, NV. From the Brink to the Breakthrough: Industry Pioneers Share Lessons from the Trenches: Most companies face major obstacles during their lifecycle, some of which bring the business to the edge of failure. This trend has proven especially true for cannabusiness owners. Hear from industry pioneers Steve DeAngelo, Greta Carter and Tripp Keber to learn what it took to survive their defining moments and how they persevered through the toughest times – and how you can, too.

Denver’s marijuana regulators are asking the City Council to expand rules that would bar any new players from entering the state’s largest market.

For two years, a city moratorium aimed at controlling industry growth has allowed only existing medical marijuana businesses to open recreational dispensaries, grow houses or edible manufacturers. That’s set to expire Jan. 1, a prospect that’s had eager entrepreneurs and investors lining up.

With plans for a major expansion looming, Delta 9 -- a local Health Canada medical cannabis producer -- has joined the Canadian Medical Cannabis Council (CMCC), the association announced Tuesday.

"We wanted to further the interests of our patients, address insurance coverage and make sure our patients were getting a good enough supply of medicinal marijuana," Delta 9 vice-president John Arbuthnot said.

"Delta 9 is very excited to join CMCC in creating and implementing the highest standards of safety, quality, and patient access within Canada's medical cannabis industry."

More than 16,000 people have signed a petition demanding that the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) be fired for calling medical marijuana a "joke" last week.

"What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it's not," DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said during a press briefing on November 4. "We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine — that is a joke."

One morning in September, I logged on to the website of HelloMD, a medical start-up that promises to connect patients with doctors instantly over the Internet. I filled out my personal details, explained my ailment — I often get heartburn — and entered in my credit card number to cover the $50 consultation fee.