Nick Boppe: Head Grower

Nick Boppe is the head grower at Buddy Boy Farm located about 30 miles from Spokane, Wash. Boppe, 37, is in his second year at the 600 acre organic farm. Boppe moved to Eastern Wash. to work at Buddy Boy from Calif. where he was in construction. (Jed Conklin for Leafly)

After a couple decades as an itinerant construction worker, Nick Boppe values his job as head grower for Buddy Boy Farm in eastern Washington for its steady paycheck and the chance to work outdoors.

Cannabis culture has moved in a few short years from an illicit black market to a legal industry in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Earlier this year the data analysis firm New Frontier pronounced recreational cannabis the fastest-growing industry sector in the United States, outpacing electric vehicles, LED bulbs, solar installations and big data.

Legal cannabis sales reached nearly $7 billion in 2016, up from more than $5 billion last year. Many expect sales in excess of $20 billion by 2020, even without federal legalization.

Medical cannabis has been named among the top biggest legal risks for businesses in 2017, according to a report from Canada’s largest law firm.

In its annual report on key trends and regulatory changes, Borden Ladner Gervais predicts medical marijuana will have a major impact on businesses — such as the possibility of employees being stoned on the job. But that doesn’t mean employers should freak out about it — because overreacting is also a risk, said Rob Weir, a partner in the law firm.

“Employers think they will have employees stoned out of their minds. I think that’s an overreaction,” said Weir, who urges employers to look at the evidence.

The November election caused shock throughout the nation, but there was an underlying story that was not shocking at all. As expected, seven more states legalized marijuana in some form. In 2017, 60 percent of Americans will have legal access to medical marijuana, and 20 percent will also reside in areas where recreational marijuana is legal.

Given this new reality, I am renewing my call for Congress to remove its outdated and harmful federal prohibition on marijuana.

Every Congress since 2013, I have introduced legislation that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and leaves the decision to legalize up to the states, where it belongs. I plan to reintroduce the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act in the next Congress.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — More medical marijuana dispensaries are expected to open next year in Michigan. A set of bills signed by Gov. Rick Snyder have made dispensaries and production of edibles legal.

You may remember recent raids that shut down medical marijuana dispensaries in West Michigan. The new state laws will let people apply for a license to legally grow and sell marijuana.

Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville, is behind the three bills that create the licensing and regulatory framework for medical marijuana.

“It’s going to create more jobs, it’s going to generate some tax revenue for the state and municipalities,” said Callton.

Their position on marijuana is hardly the only difference between Canada's prime minister and the president-elect of the United States.

But when Justin Trudeau's government introduces legislation to legalize cannabis this spring, it could spark problems between Canada and the U.S., particularly since Donald Trump has indicated he will keep pot illegal at the federal level.

Here's a look at what could change in Canada-U.S. relations once Canadians start lighting up legally.

Border control

Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Wash., predicts a boom in his business after Canada legalizes marijuana -- though it's one he has a hard time feeling happy about.

Changing marijuana laws aren’t necessarily making weed more welcome in the workplace.

For now, many employers appear to be sticking with their drug testing and personal conduct policies, even in states where recreational marijuana use is now permitted. Others are keeping a close eye on the still evolving legal, regulatory and political environment.

Voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada voted Nov. 8 to approve the use of recreational marijuana, joining Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, where it had previously been legalized. (A recount of Maine’s close result is scheduled.) More than two dozen states have medical marijuana programs.

But the drug is still against federal law.

Uncertainty about the city's proposed commercial medical marijuana ordinance has created an uneasy situation for Jeff Nemeth.

Nemeth is CEO of a cannabis testing facility called ACT Laboratories Inc. Nearly $200,000 has been invested in his business that's been located in a light industrial corridor between Cedar Street and Pennsylvania Avenue for over a year and a half. It generates a loyal following with state-registered caregivers and patients. It hosts monthly support group meetings of up to 50 people that are aimed to educate patients, family members and organizations.

And it could soon be on its way to Jackson.

A millwright who lost his job at the Terra Nova oil field — because of a tiny amount of marijuana found in his jeans pocket at the airport — did not violate his employer's anti-drug policy, according to the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court.

Justice Donald Burrage ruled Wednesday that the zero-tolerance policy was not violated because the man had forgotten the drugs were in his pocket, and did not intend to bring them to work.

Burrage's ruling came after an appeal by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union which challenged a January 2016 arbitrator's decision on the case. 

A summary of the facts said the man had been working on a call-in basis and had made more than 40 trips offshore before his dismissal in January 2014.

Look around and you'll struggle to find an industry that's more blazing hot than marijuana.

Back in 1995, not a single state had a law on its books legalizing medical cannabis or recreational pot. Today, following the November elections in which residents in eight out of nine states voted in favor of their state's marijuana initiative or amendment, there are 28 states with legal medical cannabis laws and eight recreational weed states.