In 1992, Amir Varick Amma was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on drug charges. Convicted of two nonviolent drug felonies, he was unfortunate to be sentenced under the Rockefeller drug laws – resulting in a harsh sentence typically reserved for murderers.

After drug law reforms were passed in New York in 2004 and 2009, a judge reduced Amma’s sentence. He was released after spending 19 years behind bars.

The newly budding industry’s employees are purpose-driven, highly motivated, and sometimes a little baked.

At first glance, MassRoots is just like any other technology company in America. The Denver-based social platform for marijuana enthusiasts boasts an open-concept, loft-style office filled with 33 talented programmers, developers, and sales staff.

But beneath the surface there’s something unique about working at a pot startup, and it has little to do with the fact that employees are often permitted to consume the substance on the job.

Everyone wants to work in the legal cannabis industry - and, according to the latest numbers from the Marijuana Business Daily, and increasing number of people are living the dream.

It's estimated that cannabis-related companies now employ 100,000 to 150,000 part and full-time workers nationwide in dispensaries, cultivation facilities, concentrates companies, testing labs and other, ancillary firms. To arrive at that figure, Marijuana Business Daily looked at the number of registered marijuana businesses, and and the average number of employees in each type of business.

While Californians consider legalizing recreational pot use, a few San Diego entrepreneurs are already casting their vote in favor of the state’s cannabis industry.

The group, called Canopy San Diego, is accepting applications for its pot-themed technology accelerator, a first for Southern California. The concept is to find and fund early-stage companies with ideas that can assist the state’s dispensaries and growers. That could range from water conservation tools to more optimal packaging; payroll software to analytics.

Robin Williams’ exuberant genius was always too much for the stage or screen to contain; spilling over into our lives, rattling our rib cages with uncontrollable laughter on approach to our hearts. Today would have been his 65th birthday.

Jim McAlpine’s plan to open the world’s first gym for marijuana enthusiasts is coming along well.

Pot-related businesses are having their moment in the United States, especially in the Bay Area, where McAlpine lives and plans to open his gym, Power Plant Fitness. Arcview Market Research estimates the size of America’s marijuana industry at a fast-growing $7.2 billion, and Y Combinator, the esteemed startup accelerator, made its first investment in a cannabis business—an “uber for cannabis” delivery app—in 2015. 

A First Nations band in Gaspé is hoping a proposed medical marijuana production plant in nearby Atholville, N.B., will translate into jobs for its members.

The Listuguj band council held an information session Tuesday evening on its potential partnership with the company behind the project, Zenabis.

Zenabis purchased the old Atlantic Yarns facility in Atholville in 2014 and has been trying to get the business off the ground ever since.

Zenabis has promised to create 400 jobs in the Campbellton area. (CBC)

But Health Canada has delayed approving the medical marijuana production licence, which has thrown the project into doubt, along with the 400 jobs its first phase is expected to create.

A squad of hungry, destructive police officers in Southern California are looking for new jobs after security camera footage caught them unlawfully raiding a dispensary's stash.

Three Santa Ana police officers who've pled not guilty to charges of petty theft and vandalism in connection with the May 2015 raid of Sky High Holistic dispensary in Santa Ana have subsequently been fired.

The officers were caught on tape eating evidence, insulting a patient in a wheelchair, and playing darts on the taxpayers' dime. The officers also attempted to destroy all security cameras in Sky High Holistic, but a hidden camera planted in anticipation of the raid captured the incidents.

As marijuana legalization looms on California’s horizon, employers are conflicted about their policies of drug testing.

If voters agree to legalize pot on November 8, business leaders and employment experts say employers can find themselves in trouble for asking an underling to pee into a cup. That common pre-work screening could violate an employee’s privacy regarding a medical condition. And, for potential employees, deciding whether to comply with drug testing often means a choice between refusing and not getting the job, or agreeing and being outed as a pot user.

A new Oregon program will require all workers in the recreational cannabis industry — including seasonal and part-time employees — to have a cannabis worker permit in order to maintain their spot in the industry. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) launched its online permit application system for the permits last week, according to The Bulletin.

Applicants must be at least 21 years old and will be tested on their knowledge of Oregon cannabis law, the safe handling of marijuana products, proper ID checks, and on recognizing the visible signs of cannabis intoxication.