New Mexico's state auditor is investigating the state Department of Health for making chronically-ill patients wait for their medical marijuana cards.

Health officials admit that for the last several months, people have waited up to 60 days for their cards. By law, they're supposed to process those within half that time.

The department has said they lack the staff to keep up with applications, but State Auditor Tim Keller said he finds that hard to believe.

Keller said after reviewing the department's finances, it appears they have more than enough money to hire all the employees they need.

Andy Williams projects 2016 will be another good year for his marijuana business.

The Medicine Man CEO estimates the company is valued at about $30 million, with some $18 million in revenue projected for 2016.

So goes business for a successful marijuana company in Colorado, where recreational and medicinal uses of the drug are legal.

Hyperventilation syndrome is heavy breathing brought about by the decrease in carbon dioxide levels in the blood. It occurs when the rate and quantity of alveolar ventilation of carbon dioxide exceeds the body’s production of carbon dioxide making our brains and bodies short of oxygen. Some of the causes can be exercise, fever, shivering, and other disorders which lead to excess production of carbon dioxide than normal.

With nearly 3,000 caregivers, competition has ramped up as operations get larger and businesses look for a niche.

Brett Messer and Stephanie Caron operate Brigid Farm in a nondescript building in Saco’s industrial zone. There are no signs that hint at what takes place behind the building’s locked doors.

In Unity, Dawson Julia operates a 14,000-square-foot warehouse on a main road through town, with a sign that indicates the former dairy building is the home of East Coast CBDs.

And up in Fort Kent, Steve Rusnack runs his businesses, Full Bloom Head Shop and Full Bloom Cannabis, out of a storefront on Main Street.

In marijuana dispensaries across Ottawa, customers are snapping up dried weed, cannabis brownies and hash, while authorities at every level stand by.

Federal politicians condemn the dispensaries as illegal businesses selling products that may be unsafe. They want Canada’s drug laws enforced, but that’s up to the police.

Ottawa police say they have been monitoring the dispensaries since the first one opened in November 2015. They don’t reveal details of “ongoing investigations.”

Making edibles can be an ordeal. Even basic recipes tend to use cannabutter or oil, which takes time, and lots of product, to create. Given the choice between labour-intensive kitchen science, and busting out the vaporizer, most of us choose the latter.

Hipsters, hippies, and young families love farmer's markets: after all, what's not to love? Sampling new things. Eschewing factory-farmed, environmentally unsustainable produce in favour of organic goodies grown by a farmer you've actually met and conversed with. Best of all? What you're buying is not only awesome and delicious, but also grown without scary pesticides and exploitative, factory farming techniques. 

What’s worse than having stinky breath? Being completely oblivious to the fact that you have stinky breath. We can all admit at some time or another we’ve had questionable breath, and we’ve also encountered someone whose breath reminded us far too much of our first visit to the zoo. But can smoking cannabis give you bad breath?  If so, what are some ways to combat foul breath after hitting a joint or bong?

According to a Wikileaks DNC email dump, the alcohol industry pressured and bribed officials in Congress to destroy the reputation of cannabis.

According to cannabis industry website Marijuana.com, officials in some of the top alcohol companies in America spent money on persuading members of Congress to pay attention to the alleged problem of “marijuana-impaired driving”.

Hightimes.com reports:

Medical marijuana is coming to Pennsylvania, and towns can't use local zoning laws to keep it out of their backyards.

But they can plan ahead to make sure zoning codes direct marijuana growing and processing operations and dispensaries to the locations that make the most sense in local cities, townships and boroughs.

"As the third most populous region with major health care and medical facilities as well as a population density and a transit system, I would bet, within 99 percent accuracy, that we are going to see a grower-processor and a dispensary at least, in the Lehigh Valley, probably more," said Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.