July 1, the day recreational marijuana could be sold legally in the state, is just around the corner.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in the state will sell the products.  During the last week in June, marijuana growers are racing against the clock to distribute as much product to dispensaries as possible.

They're trying to do it all ahead of the weekend rush.

Taking on the theme of Black Friday, many shops are planning to open its doors at midnight leading into Saturday.
   
Dyran Stalling is the cultivating brains behind Nature's Kindest, and he says at any given time he has between five and seven pounds of inventory.  However, right now, he has less than one, so he's feeling the pressure.

Cannabis may help alleviate symptoms of PTSD and remove negative associations in daily life.

PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety condition caused by disturbing episodes in one’s life, such as military combat or sexual abuse. PTSD is thought to be caused by changes in the brain chemistry that occur at the time of the trauma, when stress and adrenaline hormones are hyper-responsive.

This past Thursday a new bill was passed that would effectively end the prohibition on the use of medicinal cannabis. While it was certainly a happy occasion to note the bipartisan effort put in, it is also frustrating to most to still have the struggle behind legalization. To have the amount of pushback against legislation in favor of a plant that has the ability to help many, is asinine to the majority of the public’s opinion.

It has been rumored for years that Monsanto plans to take over the cannabis industry with genetic engineering just as they’ve taken over the corn and soy industries.

Although they have always denied having any intentions to do so, at this point it is unlikely that anybody really believes them. In contrast, many in the cannabis sphere are prepared to resist any kind of GMO takeover of marijuana by Monsanto or any of their cohorts.

Evidence is mounting, though, which points strongly to the notion that Monsanto does indeed plan to take control of the cannabis plant, and it doesn’t look good for medical users, or anyone planning on getting into the industry.

Artificial intelligence is being used to improve banking, marketing, the legal field — and now to find which one of the more than 30,000 strains of medical marijuana is best

Medical use of cannabis is officially accepted -- and is helping to limit opioid abuse.

Drug abuse is devastating American society. Opioid overdose alone killed more than 33,000 people in 2015. But rather than address this public-health crisis, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared a new war on drugs. He has re-introduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes and has asked Congress to let him spend money to prosecute people and businesses behaving in accordance with their states' medical marijuana laws.

Clearly, Sessions is out of step with the scientific consensus regarding the medical effectiveness of cannabis.

Last week, a graphic designer shared a link to a post titled “How Sophisticated Branding Aims to Make You Rethink Cannabis” with Benzinga. The article, published on Adobe Systems Incorporated’s creative community/blog "99U" explained how distinct branding was key for brand building as the cannabis industrycontinues to mature.

“The hand-painted signs, bad puns, and Rastafarian flags that once defined the industry are giving way to sophisticated design that abandons aging stoners in favor of more upscale clientele,” author Scott Kirkwood wrote.

There are as many canna-biz employees as there are dental hygienists.

The cannabis industry has been one of the fastest-growing industries in the country, and as it grows, it has been employing more and more Americans. The industry now employs between 165,000 and 230,000 full- and part-time workers, according to estimates published in the Marijuana Business Factbook 2017. By comparison, there are around 201,000 dental hygienists working in the U.S., about 238,000 telemarketers, and 169,000 massage therapists.

As Nevada prepares to roll out its recreational marijuana program at midnight on July 1, local dispensaries and producers are working overtime to prepare for the anticipated demand.

Evergreen Organix, one of the state's largest marijuana edible producers that's carried by most of the state's dispensaries, has anticipated the surge in demand for their products.

Gourmet Infused Confections

According to company officials, Evergreen Organix staff has been working extended hours with additional personnel for the past ten days.  They will continue production through the end of this week to prepare for the launch of Nevada's recreational cannabis program on July 1st.

As cannabis policies in the U.S. change, what was once a strictly underground business is now becoming increasingly legitimate and mainstream—and the industry is absolutely booming as a result.

In North America, marijuana sales totaled almost $7 billion in 2016, with an astonishing 30% growth rate. And that growth is not set to slow down any time soon. By 2021, North American sales are projected to top $20.2 billion.