The New West Summit at the Hyatt hotel in downtown San Francisco looked similar to other business conferences held there throughout the year. Men and women in business suits hurried around, people huddled in corners talking shop, and unembellished booths showed off varied graphs and charts.

But every once in a while, conference goers got hit with a strong waft of marijuana.

That's because this summit was all about weed. At their booths, companies displayed glass urns filled with buds, cannabis-laced chocolate bars and different kinds of vape pens and bongs. Yet among the firms touting this typical pot paraphernalia, there were other kinds of businesses dealing in marijuana: tech startups.

The North American Marijuana Index has gained 105% over the past three months, buoyed by expectations that California and several other states could vote to legalize recreational weed this November.

The North American Marijuana Index closed at $125.53 on Friday, down 5.6%. The index finished higher for the week and has tripled since the beginning of the year.

Top gainers on Friday included General Cannabis Corp (CANN), Grow Condos Inc. (GRWC) and MassRoots Inc. (MSRT).

The big day for Californians is less than one month away. On Nov. 8, millions of registered voters will be headed to the polls to decide whether or not Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational marijuana within the state and impose a 15% tax at the retail level on consumers, will pass or fail.

A review last week by the Washington Post shows a statistically insignificant majority in favor of legalizing so-called “recreational” marijuana in the five states that will be voting on it on election day: California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Maine, Arizona. The five states were obviously specifically selected by the pot lobby as the next to join the Portlandia states of Oregon and Washington, as well as libertarian Alaska, and the new spring-break destination Colorado as the only states to completely decriminalize marijuana.

Asset forfeiture is a serious concern for cannabis businesses across the United States. The government has the authority to seize assets involved in the manufacture, importation, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance, such as marijuana, and in the past decades it has not shied away from using this power. What’s more, property seized by the government under suspicion of criminal activity does not have to be returned even if a conviction is never obtained. For cannabis business owners, this can mean losing their homes and cars. But even investors and landlords involved in cannabis businesses are subject to risk.

Canopy San Diego, Southern California's only seed-stage accelerator program for technology and business infrastructure companies that support the legal cannabis industry, is pleased to announce the companies participating in their inaugural cohort. As an accelerator, Canopy San Diego invests cash, mentorship, and services to accelerate the development of their portfolio companies. Canopy San Diego does not invest in companies that directly grow or sell cannabis and its derivatives.

The Canopy San Diego accelerator program consists of a 16-week cannabis-specific business accelerator program that is designed to accelerate business development and prepare the portfolio companies to raise outside capital upon graduation in early February.

What you need to know about Canna Vine.

Pot wine has been around ever since people decided they wanted to be tipsy and high at the same time (in ancient China, it was said to have been used for pain relief), but it’s lately gotten more official by entering the marketplace. The latest is a product called Canna Vine, a commercial marijuana-laced wine from winemakers in California.

There are a few things Andrea Brooks wishes she’d known before getting into the cannabis industry.

It’s been almost one year since Brooks founded Sava, an e-commerce platform for hand-crafted cannabis goods in San Francisco, California.

As nine states prepare to vote on recreational or medical marijuana legislation in the upcoming U.S. election – and prospective cannabis professionals in those states gather in growing numbers on the sidelines – Brooks considers it more important than ever to share what she’s learned about the challenges (and the joys) of operating within this complex and ever-evolving industry.

When Lisa Mastramico needed relief for her ailing tabby, Little Kitty, she turned to an unlikely source: marijuana.

At 12 years old, the cat had arthritis. For a long while she spent her days hiding in a closet, where Ms. Mastramico had built her a bed of plush blankets. After trying various supplements that proved ineffectual, she went to a meeting for Women Grow, an industry group for cannabis entrepreneurs.

She was not sold on the idea right away. “My concern was that it’s not my place to get my cat high,” said Ms. Mastramico, the director of a public access television network in Long Beach, Calif.

A California lawmaker is pushing to get rid of the Drug Enforcement Administration's pot eradication program, arguing it's fiscally irresponsible to spend millions burning up marijuana plants at a time when several states are legalizing the drug. 

Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat, proposed an amendment to a fiscal 2016 spending bill that would cut the DEA's $18 million budget for the program in half. It would redirect $9 million to fund programs that help children who are victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

“Next year, I will bring another amendment to eliminate the program completely,” Lieu said in a written statement.