An affordable luxury product, new cannabis cigarettes from Toast use elegantly decorated boxes inspired by the cigarette cases of the 1920s to inspire socializing and celebrating.

The legal cannabis market is exploding, with 30% growth in 2016 to $6.7 billion, and with it, the range of marijuana brands and products available—including buds, concentrates, oils, edibles, and beverages, to name a few. As with any consumer packaged goods product, as competition has grown, marijuana brands have begun using increasingly sophisticated marketing strategies to differentiate themselves on (the dispensary) shelf.

At a fine restaurant in Los Angeles, diners might encounter a sommelier who recommends a chardonnay with the fish or a cabernet sauvignon with the steak.

At a gourmet cannabis pop-up, the resident chef might serve a citrusy sativa (like the strain pink lemonade) with a citrus crudo or a heavier indica to make a person feel rooted before indulging in some wintery vegetables and lamb. It’s not about getting "high," cannabis chef Lauren Unger says, it’s about becoming “elevated.”

More than $140,000 has already been spent in the state as stakeholders seek a voice in how lawmakers regulate the lucrative recreational industry.

Retail sales of marijuana may still be a year away, but cannabis-related cash is already flowing at the Maine State House as businesses jockey to influence the policies that will govern the lucrative recreational market.

Between Dec. 1 and March 31, clients paid lobbyists more than $140,000 for representation on marijuana-related issues in Augusta even though lawmakers have only taken up a handful of the roughly 50 bills connected to the drug.

The New Brunswick government is moving ahead with plans to establish a thriving marijuana industry once the drug is legalized in Canada.

Premier Brian Gallant issued a statement Friday confirming that St. Thomas University in Fredericton will establish a new research chair on cannabis.

The government says the position is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada.

The premier says the research position is expected to provide data and scholarly interpretation to guide public policy.

University president Dawn Russell says more research is needed as the province prepares for a socially complex change.

The interplay between marijuana and technology is a story that’s been told a million times, but for some reason, everyone always leaves out the middle.

Generally speaking, the beginning and end of the process get all the attention. There’s the growing side of the story, with all the high-pressure sodium lights, variable wavelength LEDs, and hydroponic growing systems — and then there’s the consumption side: the concentrates, the vaporizer pens, and the Uber-style startups that will deliver a blunt directly to your doorstep at the push of a button. These are the stories you usually hear when the topic of cannabis tech comes up.

The legal-marijuana industry is on one heck of a run. Last year, five states legalized the use of medical cannabis for select ailments, pushing the number of states that have chosen to allow physicians to prescribe cannabis past the halfway mark (28 states). We also witnessed the number of recreational-pot states double to eight from four.

The result has been a steady increase in North American legal weed sales (including Canada, which legalized medical marijuana back in 2001). Cannabis-research firm Arcview estimated a 34% increase in North American legal sales to $6.9 billion last year alone.

An undisclosed medical marijuana company is looking at the former Dow Chemical Co. and Crane Resistoflex building at 4675 E. Wilder Road.Andrew Dodson | MLive File Photo  

A medical marijuana company has approached Bangor Township about investing $21 million to purchase and convert an old factory building into a grow and distribution facility.

But before the controversial industry comes to town, the township's board of trustees needs to throw its support behind it. A discussion takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, at Bangor Township Hall, 180 State Park Drive. It's unclear at this time if the board is going to make any formal decisions on the matter Tuesday evening.

If state officials have their way, the California Medical Marijuana Identification Card (MMIC) program will disappear.

The cards are not mentioned in recent proposed state regulations for the medical pot industry, and legislation put forth by the office of Gov. Jerry Brown would end the documents. "There is currently a legislative proposal that would delete the requirement for state-issued medicinal ID cards," according to an email from the California Department of Public Health, which overseas the MMIC program.

A new survey from Yahoo News and Marist College examines Americans' relationship with marijuana, and it shows some surprising signals about how far acceptance of the herb has come. Pot is no longer a dirty little secret, to be consumed furtively and hidden from friends and family, and it's no longer limited to the fringes.

Marijuana is going mainstream and is now part of everyday life for millions of Americans. Here are seven signs of weed's newfound normalization:

1. More American adults have tried marijuana than have not. The survey found that 133 million adults have tried pot, while 115 million have not.

For years, there have been rumors that North Korea is a "weed-smoker's paradise." Cannabis is said to grow wildly there, and people can reportedly buy it in large, bazaar-style marketplaces and smoke it wherever they like.