It’s an interesting time for marijuana, more US states are looking ahead to full legalization and Canada is moving forward with a wide scale plan which could eventually legalize cannabis across the whole country. Jamaica is getting serious about building a cannabis industry and more countries such as Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand are looking at changing their laws to accommodate marijuana on a medical basis.

Here are the top 10 business sectors that will thrive under this process:

1. Agriculture

Dixie Brands, a US company that produces health and beauty products containing cannabinoid extracts, is on track to enter the Australian and New Zealand markets in 2016 as and when legislation permits.

Alongside food, drinks and tinctures, Dixie Brands also produces its own range of cosmetics products including Bath Soak, Muscle Relief Lotion and Relief Balm.

Peter Lewis made his fortune writing high-risk auto insurance policies through the company his father founded in 1937. As CEO of Progressive Insurance from 1965-2000, he built the company from tiny to the 3^rd largest auto insurer in the country by the time of his death in 2013, with 26,000 employees and $16 billion in annual sales.
 
He built other things as well. In 2012 he pledged to give away at least half his personal fortune of more than $1 billion, and gave at least $233 million to Princeton, among many other organizations.
 

According to the latest Roy Morgan poll, the Cannabis Party is ranked as New Zealand's 5th most popular political party behind National, Labour, The Greens and NZ First.

The September 28 - October 11 poll showed that Maori Party, ACT NZ, United Future, Conservatives, Mana Party and Internet Party were all on or below 0.5%.

While the 'Other' section which included the Cannabis Party as well as Ban1080, Democrats for Social Credit, NZ Independent Coalition and Focus New Zealand was up to 1% support.

Party leader Julian Crawford said the majority of the 'Other' section was support for the Cannabis Party.

New Zealand's agricultural exports are predicted to grow to $100 billion a year in the next 20 years and will be much more diversified than the current mix, which relies on dairy and forestry, says Ian Proudfoot, KPMG's global leader for agribusiness and food.

Speaking at an Auckland conference on farming and the future of food today, Proudfoot said that would mean increasing the compound annual growth rate for agricultural exports from 4.5 percent to 5.4 percent, but that will only happen with a cultural shift towards more value-add products.

You are being offered the wrong referendum. The matter to be decided should not be the design of a flag on which 6000 people have made submissions, but the status of a law which 400,000 people feel inclined to break each year.

The question of whether crime should be reduced, taxes collected and liberty increased on par with comparable risks, has been the subject of referendums in Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Alaska. It is likely California, Arizona, Maine and Massachusetts will also in the near future legalise the recreational use of marijuana.

The current position in New Zealand is that marijuana should be prohibited as the risks are too high to allow the public to have regularised access to it. The evidence shows that the risks are real.

Thousands of dollars belonging to a charity advocating for medicinal cannabis has been returned after a bank stonewalled its moves to open an account.

United In Compassion (UIC) is a non-profit group advocating for New Zealand-based research into the therapeutic effects of cannabis-based medicines.

Kiwibank was the third bank that UIC, which has been trying to set up an account in the lead-up to a national symposium in April, has hit hurdles with.

On Wednesday afternoon Kiwibank agreed to release the money immediately but won't open an account for the group until compliance issues are sorted.

UIC co-founder Toni-Marie Matich approached Kiwibank for help in June and close to $5000 has been sitting in the account for the last month.

There has been much written about this topic over the last few months, and I suspect I don't have anything new to add to the debate. However, reading the news coverage did prompt me to browse the medical literature for the latest research in an attempt to understand the potential benefits of this contentious substance.

Cannabis has been used medicinally in various forms for many centuries, at least as far back as Ancient Greece and China. Interestingly, even way back then, its benefits were mainly in the realm of pain relief, nausea, muscle spasm and joint inflammation – very similar to today. It was most commonly chewed rather than smoked.

Queenslanders and Victorians with particular chronic illnesses may now be eligible to join New South Wales medicinal cannabis trials, due to start mid next year.

The three states will collaborate on the development of medicinal cannabis, its regulatory framework and clinical research to explore the safety and benefits of the product among three key groups:

A recent visitor from California was astounded at the cloak and dagger nature of cannabis consumption in New Zealand.

Under California State law she, a retired health professional, can openly grow her own medicinal marijuana (strictly for personal use) in the garden along with her roses and courgettes, or buy it from licensed dispensers.

The law takes the drama out of the situation by giving patients with doctors' recommendations safe access without risking arrest. Qualifying conditions include anorexia, arthritis, cancer, HIV/AIDs, glaucoma, migraine, muscle spasms, severe nausea, seizures and any debilitating condition where the use of cannabis has been deemed appropriate.