The faded sign off a West Quebec road still points to an old garden centre.

But the greenhouses at the end of the peninsula in the Masson-Angers neighbourhood of Gatineau no longer grows the types of plants your average gardener buys in spring.

The former Botanix-Aux Jardins de La Pointe now houses the Hydropothecary, a small-but-growing medical marijuana production plant. It’s the first of its kind in Quebec.

``We get at least two or three cars showing up a day, saying, where do we get our flowers?” said Adam Miron, who co-founded the company with his brother-in-law Sébastien St-Louis.

Medical marijuana use continues to grow in Canada which has led to questions about whether it's appropriate to take it at work.

"There's still a lot of stigmatization out there," said employment lawyer David Whitten.  

"A lot of people are basing their thoughts and ideas on movies that came out in the '80s. We've come a long way since then and it's recognized just like any other medication," Whitten told CBC Radio.

Although Whitten said employers need to be more flexible when it comes to allowing workers to use weed at work, he does acknowledge there are occasions when an employer can ask a worker not to take their medicine.

When discussing medical marijuana, the conversation inevitably turns to whether the federal government or a state will legalize recreational use of the drug. 

That's not the case when you're talking to Josh Stanley, who has been called the "pioneer" of Colorado's medical marijuana industry. 

Stanley and his business, Citiva Medical, are focused squarely on the medicinal uses of the cannabis plant. With New York legalizing the use of medical marijuana, the company is looking to be one of five licensed growers of the drug in the state. 

For Stanley, the question is why move to New York? Why not stay in Colorado where he became a leading voice for the medical marijuana movement? 

In short, it's about science. 

Two young entrepreneurs are confident their business plan for a medical marijuana facility, set to launch within weeks in Masson, Que. will bring them success, and more importantly, relief to sufferers across the country.

Sebastien St-Louis and Adam Miron, both 31, are brothers-in-law and co-founders of the Hydropothecary -- a facility that will soon distribute medical marijuana throughout Canada.

"Like all good Canadian companies, this was an idea that was born around a campfire at a cottage," Miron told the Sun.

The concept has come a long way since it was first envisioned in July 2013, between the pair and childhood friend, Max Cyr who now serves as customer service manager for the company.

With states legalizing marijuana by popular vote, some politicians, including Boston mayor Marty Walsh and New Jersey governor Chris Christie, are still calling marijuana a gateway drug.

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.

Berkeley-based Steep Hill Labs Inc. is raising $5 million to expand into two states and Jamaica this year as well as pursue innovations in its testing equipment and genetics-related products.

Steep Hill, which employs 30 people, generated $1.2 million in revenue in 2014 and has raised $4 million since its founding in 2008. The company is taking advantage of the Jobs Act to raise its next round of financing from accredited investors, who meet SEC qualifications involving their annual income or net worth to participate in the offering.

According to what we are hearing, it seems that the decriminalisation of marijuana will do a great deal of good to Jamaica; but the primary purpose we are being told, if it comes in effect, will be for medicinal use.

We are also being informed that, marijuana is a very vital ingredient, pertaining to health, in which people can be cured of certain ailments, which seems to be true and has already been proved.

But, more important, one of the major concerns about this herbal stuff, is that it will open widely a door for vast employment, which will be very beneficial to the economy.

Another California tribe has announced its venture into the medical marijuana business. The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians in Thermal, about 32 miles southeast of Palm Springs, recently entered into a partnership with Red Crow, a Native-owned cannabis company that designs, builds, manages and finances marijuana growing facilities for medical purposes.

“We are an impoverished tribe with a small casino that is barely keeping its head above water. We don’t have the cash flow like other tribes that have found success,” Mary Belardo, executive assistant to the tribal chairwoman, explained the reason for striking the deal. “The whole concept has potential to be an economic boom for the tribe, if done properly.”

Surprisingly, none of these reasons are that it makes bass-heavy hip hop tracks sound great, or that it really brings out the best in pizza.

With recreational marijuana now legalised in two American states, political momentum is building up towards full legalisation across the pond.

Even here in the UK, experts are now speaking out in favour of the idea – in the hope that a political ‘domino effect’ leads to worldwide relaxation of anti-drug laws following the US’s lead.

Just in time for 4/20 – the pro-dope day being celebrated here as well as in the U.S. – here are some of the most persuasive reasons experts offer for why we should free the weed.

1) Weed is 114 times safer than alcohol