Israeli research and development in traditional areas like agriculture technologies are crystallizing into new market areas for cannabis

Not long before flower children of the Sixties started talking peace and love and smoking pot, an Israeli researcher made a landmark study deciphering the chemical makeup of its active ingredient, THC.

Using an 11-pound lump of Lebanese hash seized by the national police, Raphael Mechoulam identified and synthesized the first known cannabinoid from cannabis, among an estimated 60 to 85 known compounds. He’d go on to discover more.

ONTARIO — Marijuana took up most of the discussion at this morning’s Legislative Hotline, with state Sen. Ted Ferrioli expressing frustration with the slow pace of rule-making.

Legislative Hotline is a monthly video conference with Ferrioli, District 30, and state Rep. Cliff Bentz, District 60, and local residents. It is hosted at the Ontario School District administrative office by the Ontario Area Chamber of Commerce.

Addressing issues raised by Ontario Mayor Ron Verini, Ferrioli said one of likely results of Measure 91 and the implementation measures being established is that Oregon medical marijuana cards will no longer be available to out-of-state residents.

The price of legal recreational marijuana is down to an average of $12 per gram in Washington state lately. Last summer, it was as high as $30 per gram.

One justification for making recreational marijuana legal in Colorado, Washington, and perhaps elsewhere soon is the hope that it will help put an end to the black market, which is unregulated and untaxed and has been known to involve gangs, drug cartels, and crime far beyond the low-level dealing of weed. But it’ll be all but impossible to stop the black market if its prices are substantially cheaper than rates on the up-and-up.

Ever since the SEC cracked down on marijuana-related investments in 2014, potential investors have been painfully aware of the need to conduct adequate due diligence on the early-stage companies that come courting. Last year’s crisis focused on thinly-traded penny stocks.

It's like techstars, but for cannabis!

"At no time in this office should you ever be intoxicated on any substance."

That's not typically part of the opening spiel when welcoming a roomful of budding entrepreneurs to your business boot camp, but then Micah Tapman is not running your typical startup session.

"I know the parties can be a little lively," Tapman, a partner in the new-business accelerator Canopy Boulder, continued. "But you’re a founder in funding mode."

Some of the founders in the room were dressed the part in business casual, while others went for the ultra-casual look: ripped jeans and printed T-shirts.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that the Constitution forbids police from holding a suspect without probable cause, even for fewer than 10 extra minutes.

Writing on behalf of the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declared that the constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure prevent police from extending an otherwise completed traffic stop to allow for a drug-sniffing dog to arrive.

“We hold that a police stop exceeding the time needed to handle the matter for which the stop was made violates the Constitution’s shield against unreasonable seizures,” she ruled.

More than two years after Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, a small but growing number of publicly traded companies are betting their futures on the hope of a thriving legal market for pot-based products. Bloomberg Intelligence identified 55 public companies whose business is based largely or completely on legal marijuana, and whose shares traded at $0.10 or more as of April 15th. These wildly fluctuating penny stocks aren’t for the faint of heart.

AVT Presents an Exciting New Product Line at the NAMA One Show

CORONA, Calif., April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AVT, Inc. (OTC Markets: AVTC) (www.autoretail.com), a leader in the design and development of custom vending machines, kiosks and automated retailing units, presented their new product line today at the NAMA One Show in Las Vegas. The One Show is the industry's leading trade event, and presents the latest and greatest in vending and automated retailing innovation.

Marshall Ramsey-Creators Syndicate

How the times have changed. Just say no problem!

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Submit a link to your favourite cannabis cartoon in the comments below, and send us any news tips to feature on the next newsletter.

Have a great weekend!

The Global Marijuana March (GMM) is kicking off at different locations across the world taking place this year on Saturday May 2, 2015 and include marches, meetings, rallies, concerts, festivals and other relevant information and events relating to cannabis.

The Global Marijuana March began in 1999 which have had hundreds of thousands of people participated in over 829 different cities in 72 countries worldwide since its inception.

The Global Marijuana March is a celebration embracing cannabis culture as a personal lifestyle choice. Participants unite to discuss, promote, entertain and educate both consumers and non-consumers alike.