If you are reading this, you are possibly interested in either becoming a grower of cannabis (sometimes also referred to as a producers or cultivators) or you are already profiting from cannabis production. With the constantly changing political and legal environments surrounding medical marijuana, here are some legal issues to keep in mind as you consider expanding your business through cannabis cultivation.

First and foremost, the federal government treats cannabis as a Schedule I substance, which makes cultivating, distributing or possessing it illegal. A Schedule I substance is one defined as having no demonstrated medical benefit and being highly addictive, such as LSD and Heroin. So there is no coherent federal policy governing or regulating cannabis producers.

State agriculture officials have opened an investigation into a marijuana grow operation named in a report by The Denver Post about pesticide residues, and confirmed a second business named in the story was already under scrutiny.

It is unclear which of the two companies — Mahatma Concentrates or Treatments Unlimited, both in Denver — is already under scrutiny and officials with the Colorado Department of Agriculture would not elaborate.

But the agency said investigations into the businesses’ use of pesticides is the focus of its probe.

The company also has sizable debt but hopes for revenue from three marijuana cultivation projects as it woos the Maine tribe.

The company that hopes to land a contract with the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township to design and build a marijuana-growing operation on tribal lands is struggling to generate revenue and is carrying substantial debt, according to its latest financial filing.

Winner of High Times Stash Award Grow Green with G8LED Technology

America’s legal cannabis industry will belong to a minority of Americans with a large appetite for risk. The rest of us will watch from the sidelines.

That’s the verdict from massive financial firm Morgan Stanley, which released the results of a poll about investing in marijuana.

Even if marijuana were legalized in California, and throughout the U.S., about 69 percent of Americans would not invest. The average cannabis investor is going to be 65 and older, Democrat and relatively rare.

Morgan Stanley polled 1,003 “high net worth” investors age 25 to 75 online.

As a part of its marijuana legalization initiative passed in 2012, I-502, Washington state is required to issue periodic reports on how its ‘experiment’ with cannabis is going.

Passamaquoddy officials say the facility will be used for industrial hemp production, but would not rule out a shift to medicinal and recreational marijuana cultivation as state and federal cannabis laws continue to change.

The Passamaquoddies have tried, in vain, to bring more economic opportunity and good-paying jobs to tribal members, living Down East in Maine's poorest county.

Efforts to build a casino on tribal lands have been consistently blocked at the ballot box and in the Legislature. Plans to build a $120 million wind farm have not panned out.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kodiak Capital is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Solutioneer, Jim Fitzpatrick, to lead Kodiak Capital’s efforts in the cannabis industry, leveraging Kodiak Capital’s history of industry success. Kodiak Capital has committed over $25 million into almost two dozen transactions since 2011.

“We are excited to join forces with Jim Fitzpatrick. Kodiak is proud of our successful industry investments and we are confident Fitzpatrick will accelerate our leadership role in providing strategic growth capital to the emerging cannabis industry”

In February of 2014, FinCEN (the financial crimes division of the U.S. Department of Justice) issued its guidelines for financial institutions wanting to do business with the marijuana industry. Though somewhat helpful, this memo did not change federal banking laws nor did it provide guidance on merchant processing services. Even though a marijuana business may have a bank account, it still may not have a way to accept debit or credit card payments.

The marijuana gold rush is in full effect, depending on what part of the country you live in. For those on the west coast, cannabis has been decriminalized and legalized for recreational use along the entire Pacific Rim, with the exception of California — though it looks like 2016 might be the year legislation passes in the country’s most populous state.

Marijuana.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As a lifelong Michigan resident, small-business owner, and friend to people whose lives have been changed by medical marijuana, I am deeply concerned about the inability for registered patients to safely access this potentially life-saving medication.

For the past seven years, the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, approved overwhelmingly by Michigan’s voters in 2008, has provided some protections for patients, but not for the caregivers or the businesses who serve them.

I am sure we agree that patients, due to their serious illness, deserve to use medical marijuana as a complementary therapy.