Cannabis Landscape Overview

What an interesting and exciting time for cannabis this is. With four states and D.C. legalizing cannabis for adult use and dozens of states working to implement medical cannabis programs, cannabis is becoming more widely accepted in our society. Every day new opportunities arise and new challenges are faced. As cannabis returns to the mainstream of society there are both external and internal forces at work to consider.

The Marijuana Investor Summit was not short on speakers and panelists offering advice on financing a cannabis business. But many cannabis entrepreneurs learned a grittier lesson in the conference center’s labyrinth-like hallways and the hotel’s lobby bar: don’t rely on venture capitalists to finance your early-stage business.

Quotations can connect you to wisdom from the past that you can apply to the present and the future. Many of the legal marijuana industry’s key players have already amassed vital wisdom during the industry’s fledgling years. At Marijuana Investor Summit, several of these key players shared their insight with attendees. Because their knowledge is a valuable resource for those looking to enter the industry, here are seven notable quotations captured at MJIS:

What kind of facility has lighting as intense as that found in an operating room (500-times more than needed for reading), 6-times the air-change rate of a biotech laboratory and 60-times that of a home, and the electric power intensity of a datacenter?

The emergent industry of indoor Cannabis production results in prodigious energy use, costs, and greenhouse-gas pollution. Large-scale industrialized and highly energy-intensive indoor cultivation of Cannabis is driven by criminalization, pursuit of security, and the desire for greater process control and yields. The practice occurs across the United States and in many other countries.

For the reason that the marijuana plant contains chemicals that may help treat range of illnesses or symptoms, many people argue that it should be legal for medical purposes. In fact, a growing number of states have already legalized marijuana for medical use.

Shane Ray, left, the Missouri pass rusher selected by Denver Broncos in the first round of the NFL Draft, holds his team jersey with his mother Sebrina Johnson after a news conference Friday, May 1, 2015, in Englewood. (David Zalubowski, The Associated Press)

Let's call a cease-fire on the NFL's senseless war against marijuana.

When Broncos rookie Shane Ray messes up and gets pulled over by police with 35 grams of marijuana in his car, he needs to answer to his mom, not NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

"My mom just started crying," Ray said, when I asked how he broke the news to Sebrina Johnson about getting busted for pot possession 80 hours before the draft's opening bell.

Nine recent, non-fatal overdoses York City Police believe stemmed from people smoking synthetic marijuana prompted the department on Thursday to take a boots-on-the-ground approach to getting the drug off the streets.

Three officers walked into 58 stores in the city, handing out pamphlets about the drug and educating store owners who may not know about the drug's legal status, said York City Detective First Class Andrew Shaffer, who joined the officers.

Shaffer said that all synthetic cannabis is illegal. But that can change when manufacturers of the drug introduce a new chemical.

A Texas police officer recently reprimanded by his superiors after he was pictured posing for a photograph with rapper Snoop Dogg is suing his bosses.

The incident in question took place at South By Southwest music festival in Austin at the end of March, when Snoop Dogg was delivering a keynote speech and state trooper Billy Spears was patrolling. Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Broadus, is thought to have asked for the photo with Spears, later posting the image to his Instagram account with the caption: "Me n my deputy dogg". See the photo above.

The legislative push to reduce or eliminate criminal penalties associated with the possession and use of marijuana is an imperative concern for many Texans statewide.

While information on all current bills and action items regarding marijuana are readily accessible, citizens of Texas lack the ability to vote directly on drug policies at a local level. Instead, elected officials congregate at the Capital once every two years to write and vote on bills in the House and Senate.

The early 1990s already feel like a lifetime ago, but that’s when vaporizers first started to hit the market alongside car phones, Sega Genesis, and the first Internet browser. And much like mobile phones, vaporizer design has evolved over the past two decades, getting increasingly smaller, smarter, and more powerful. Let’s take a look at how advanced technology has changed the cannabis vaping experience and what cannabis vaporization will look like in the not-too-distant future.