Despite growing acceptance of medical marijuana and its uses, the drug is still illegal on the federal levels and is classified as a schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, defining it as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” For many House Republicans last week, that was the rationale behind voting against an amendment in next year’s appropriations bill to lift a gag order barring Veterans Administration (VA) doctors from discussing medical marijuana with their patients.   

Starting a new business is complicated enough – company founders have to find a place to set up shop, hire great employees, manage cash flow, market their goods or services and sometimes hire experts to help. A marijuana business faces extra challenges at each of these steps, so entrepreneurs in the cannabusiness space need to be aware of the concerns they’ll be facing that the typical startup doesn’t worry about.

Consultants are available to help in real estate, legal, financial and other areas, but it is important to check credentials and references thoroughly to make sure those folks are experienced, legitimate experts. They may be as new as the entrepreneur is to the industry.

The race is on to secure the five licenses to be granted under New York state’s medical marijuana program, which takes effect in January.

And the cash-crop lottery could bring in millions for the winners.

Statewide revenues will likely total $239 million in 2016 and more than $1.2 billion by 2020, according to a report issued by GreenWave Advisors late last year.

“Let the cash register ring for New York state,” says GreenWave’s Matt Karnes.

And there appears to be no shortage of investors looking to dip a hand into this cash register.

Venture capitalists willing to take the plunge include Privateer Holdings and Tilray, both of which have already had a strong presence in the legal marijuana space.

BOISE, Idaho -- Saturday afternoon, a large group of people marched through downtown Boise. They were spreading around a petition that would legalize marijuana. They say it would only help the state. State leaders say it would only hurt.

A group called 'New Approach Idaho,' along with other supporters, marched and rallied for the legalization of cannabis, marijuana, and hemp in Idaho.

Serra Frank is the President of New Approach Idaho. "There are children all over the state of Idaho who need this as medicine, or at least need the opportunity to try this as medicine, and they don't have time to wait."

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in New York City's Union Square on Saturday to call for the legalization of marijuana in New York State.

NYC Cannabis Parade organizer Troy Smit told NBC News the annual event, first held in 2012, aims to "end the war on drugs, release the medicine, free the prisoners, heal the sick, and unite the nations."

Colorado, Washington, and Alaska have already legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In February a law went into effect in Washington, D.C., that made carrying small amounts of pot legal. Oregon voters passed a law legalizing pot that is set to take effect July 1.

MEDFORD, Ore. — Narc and Cody are finding out there's truth to the adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

The two drug-sniffing canines that work for Medford police could face early retirement because they are too good at detecting marijuana, which will become legal July 1.

"It's kind of sad," Deputy Chief Brett Johnson said. "Nobody wants to see a dog lose its job."

The issue arises because drug-sniffing dogs are often used to provide leads - probable cause - that can allow police to search people or property for drugs. If a suspect were carrying marijuana and heroin and a dog trained to smell both indicated the presence of a drug, any arrest could be invalidated, because the dog may have been smelling legal marijuana.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTVU) -- Nine years after medical marijuana became legal in California, the state lawmakers on April 30th voted on a bill that would give medical cannabis users the same right to get an organ transplant as anyone else. 

It would remove what some call prejudice against medical marijuana that already led some users to die because hospitals removed them from the transplant lists. 

That is what happened to 56-year-old Richard Hawthorne. He had viral hepatitis and like four thousand people in the Bay Area, desperately needs a liver transplant.

Just playing with his granddaughter exhausts him. 

“Depression is always here. I am tired of not being able to go out and do anything. I am pretty much confined to the house” Hawthorne said.

DENVER -- When 8 News NOW tagged along with Nevada lawmakers on a fact-finding trip to explore Colorado's regulated marijuana industry, the blossoming economy for both recreational and medicinal weed wasn't the only thing that stood out.

So, too, were the problems emerging in Denver, the Mile High City that is home to 200 marijuana dispensaries. Those outlets create quite the opportunity for criminals.

"The Denver police will tell you that really, any high cash business is often times a target for crime,” said Ashley Kilroy, Denver's executive director for marijuana policy.

DENVER (CBS4)– State lawmakers began a debate on Friday over whether to allow children to bring medical marijuana to school.

The bill passed out of committee with a unanimous vote. It went to the state House floor for debate on Friday evening. It was given initial approval and needs one more vote before heading to the state Senate.

The bill is designed to help the nearly 500 children who use medical marijuana for debilitating conditions like seizures and muscle spasms. Many of those children have moved to Colorado with their families specifically to have access to medical marijuana.

Those children take a special strain that is low in THC but high in cannabinoids, what is believed to help relieve their symptoms.

TRENTON — The parents of a 16-year-old girl with epilepsy and autism who are fighting for her right to consume cannabis oil at school rejected an offer from school board attorney Friday that would have allowed her mother to take her daughter off campus to medicate her.

"Unfortunately the proposed accommodation has to be rejected due to safety and behavior concerns," according to a letter from Roger Barbour, the father of Genevieve "Genny" Barbour to the Maple Shade Board of Education.