An entrepreneurial investment opportunity in a new industry is unfolding as more and more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana. “Investing in the Emerging Cannabis Industry While Managing Risk” on June 18th in New York will explore and discuss the opportunities and risks in this growing multi billion-dollar industry. Hosted by Viridian Capital Advisors, the first investment banking and strategic advisory firm dedicated to the cannabis market, this invitation-only morning briefing is open to attendees of the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition (CWCBExpo).

Rylie Maedler, 9, of Rehoboth Beach plays with brother Korban, 3. Rylie suffers from non-epileptic seizures and is pushing for legislation that would allow Delaware minors to use marijuana oils to treat seizures.(Photo: CHUCK SNYDER/Special to the News Journal)

Rylie Maedler's seizures started after 2013 surgery to remove a benign but aggressive tumor that spread from her jaw to the palate of her mouth.

Now Maedler's seizures come and go, but can have a devastating impact.

They leave the Rehoboth Beach 9-year-old dizzy, her legs numb and immobile, and with headaches that can last for days.

Researchers in Quebec have launched a registry of medicinal cannabis users to determine the safety of the drug and its effectiveness in treating a variety of diseases and conditions.

The Quebec Cannabis Registry will be used to compile and store clinical data collected directly from about 3,000 medical marijuana users in the province, who will be enrolled through their primary-care doctors over a 10-year period.

“The registry is now basically open for business,” said principal investigator Dr. Mark Ware, a family doctor and McGill researcher who specializes in pain management.

Two Vancouver lawyers who specialize in marijuana have warned that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. may have put itself at risk of litigation when on May 5 it revised how doctors should counsel patients on medicinal cannabis.

In separate interviews, Kirk Tousaw and John Conroy told the Straight a memo sent to B.C. doctors could result in a court challenge that argues the new rules violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The CDU, a staunchly conservative party and the leading political party in Germany may have come around to the idea of legalizing and regulating the cannabis market in Germany. In a surprising union they issued a joint statement on cannabis via the news channel ARD. An unexpected move considering the two parties generally don't agree much on ideas.

The spokesman on economic policy for the Christian Democratic Union Joachim Pfeiffer, and Dieter Janecek of the Green Party in Germany issued a statement declaring that they believe criminalization no longer makes sense. Every year between 1-2 billion euros are spent on prosecuting cannabis consumers.  If legalized and taxed the government could make 2 billion euros a year from the taxes on cannabis.

Growers are a unique breed, and the best of the bunch are passionate about their garden, highly dependable, and thrive on exposure to new and different horticulture techniques. The grower role is often the most covert position in medical cannabis because their processes are considered trade secrets, and rightfully so -- successfully cultivating cannabis on a large scale is no simple task. There are dozens of factors that have to be perfectly controlled over the approximately 90 day growing cycle. If the environmental controls or nutrient schedule fail for even just a few hours, the entire harvest will be negatively impacted, and in some cases completely lost.

The Israeli government and police should reexamine their policies on the use of cannabis and study how other countries are dealing with the matter, National Police Chief Yohanan Danino said Wednesday.

“I think the time has come for the Israel police, together with the state, to re-examine their stance on Cannabis. I think we must sit and study what’s happening around the world [with Cannabis].”

Speaking to high school students in Beit Shemesh Wednesday, Danino also said he is aware of the fact that Cannabis “has become an issue that is much more a part of the public debate than it was in the past and more citizens are asking that the use of Cannabis be legalized”.

“Reefer Madness” ideology has yet to be quashed, where well-to-do, model students take one fateful puff and they are severely hooked, avoiding Trainspotting-esque withdrawal symptoms and instead spiral into a marijuana-laced world of paranoia, aggression, academic failure and mental illness. To the contrary, there are pro-marijuana myths, where marijuana could never be addictive and is a benign, happy little drug that can do absolutely no harm. As such, marijuana withdrawal syndrome is still considered by some to be just about as real as leprechauns, unicorns and the Easter bunny!

It’s a rare education seminar that includes this shot across the bow: “Everything and anything we’re talking about today is federally illegal—there is no grey area.” Yet that’s the warning that course facilitator Doug Porter issued to the dozen students attending a one-day workshop held by the Cannabis Career Institute (CCI) at a Baltimore airport hotel on a recent rainy Saturday. “I don’t want you to be negged out by this,” he said. “If you’re crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s, chances are you’ll never spend a day in jail.”

A bill that would legalize some forms of medical marijuana in Nebraska passed its first hurdle Tuesday after state senators voted to advance the proposal. The bill, which was first debated last week, gained support among skeptics after senators adopted an amendment that would prohibit marijuana smoking and exclude “chronic pain” from the list of qualifying medical conditions, according to local station KSNB.