FOUNTAIN VALLEY – The medical marijuana business is still unwelcome in Fountain Valley.

Recently enacted state laws require cities to spell out restrictions regarding marijuana, and over the past two weeks, Fountain Valley officials have done just that.

On Nov. 12, the city’s planning commissioners unanimously recommended an ordinance banning all cannabis activity and cultivation. The City Council agreed with that recommendation Tuesday night, voting 4-1 to expressly prohibit marijuana enterprises. Councilman Mark McCurdy voted against the ordinance.

“A lot of cities are having to do this right now,” said Matt Mogensen, Fountain Valley planning and building director. “It’s just a housekeeping measure.”

Keith McCarty surveyed the sharing economy before he conceived his mobile-app startup last year. Uber and Lyft covered rides. GrubHub, GRUB 3.01 % Munchery, and other apps handled food, and Postmates delivered everything else. So Mr. McCarty looked for something just as consumable, deliverable, and profitable but not already taken.

He settled on pot.

Technology in the trade generally stops at Microsoft MSFT -0.81 % Excel for planning and record-keeping. Now it is joining the data revolution.

Beginning in 2012, four states and the District of Columbia have voted to legalize marijuana. By this time next year, that number could well double, and then some. National polls consistently show majorities in favor of legalization, with a recent Gallup poll showing 58% support—tied for the highest level in the poll’s history.

That doesn’t mean legalization is inevitable in any given state, as the case of Ohio demonstrated earlier this month. There an initiative led by non-movement investors who sought monopolistic control of commercial pot cultivation got trounced despite spending millions of dollars.

SAN DIEGO — Alicia Tucker’s hand rested on her oxygen tank as she listened to a representative from Altai – a company that produces marijuana edibles – talk up a gourmet display of pot-infused bon bons at PotLuck, a medical cannabis expo.

Five years ago, Tucker, a 43-year-old Temecula resident, would have scoffed at the idea of using medical marijuana. But that was before her genetic lung condition progressed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which makes her breathing difficult. 

Her treatment originally included steroids, steroids and more steroids, she said. At one point, she was on 19 medications. Then a friend suggested she explore marijuana as an option. 

OAKLAND, Calif. — Jean Kennedy has a BS in biology and a master’s in special education. Now, she’s trying to decide what to do with her third degree: a certificate of achievement from Oaksterdam University, the Harvard Business School of marijuana.

“I’m Italian,” said Kennedy, 56, a retired high school biology teacher with graying hair and a heavy New York accent. “You know Italians, we grow tomatoes. Maybe I’ll grow some plants.”

Horticulture 102 is one of the many subjects Kennedy studies at Oaksterdam, whose storefront campus is set amid the hip cafes, restaurants and cannabis dispensaries of downtown Oakland. Founded in 2007, the school sees itself as a training ground for citizen advocates in the fight to legalize marijuana.

More than 200 people packed the Willits Community Center on November 5 for an educational event hosted by the Small Farmers Association, which focused on “Laws, Regulations, and Legalization,” and the range of different requirements for cannabis farmers and businesses’ hoping to come into compliance with several new regulations and permits approved this year.

SAN JOSE, Calif., November 17, 2015 /MJbizwire/ – ZPCC launched medicinal cannabis-infused gourmet teas, offering the world’s first totally water-soluble cannabinoid infused beverage delivering fast-acting, reliable doses for an unparalleled medicinal experience.

ZPCC unveiled its products at the 4th Annual Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, November 11-13, at the Rio Hotel & Casino.  ZPCC teas are currently available in select premiere dispensaries in California.

Jean Kennedy has degrees in biology and a Master’s in special education. Now, she’s trying to decide what to do with her third degree: a  certificate of achievement from Oaksterdam University, the Harvard Business School of marijuana.

“I’m Italian,” said Ms Kennedy, 56, a retired high school biology teacher with graying hair and a heavy New York accent. “You know Italians, we grow tomatoes. Maybe I’ll grow some plants.” 

Horticulture 102 is one of the many subjects she studies at Oaksterdam, whose campus is set amid the hip cafés, restaurants and cannabis dispensaries of downtown Oakland. Founded in 2007, the school sees itself as a training ground for citizen advocates in the fight to legalise marijuana.

The eight licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakland, California have banded together to limit the number of dispensaries in the city in a bid to consolidate their grip on the legal marijuana market.

A document obtained by BuzzFeed News shows that those eight dispensaries hired a lobbyist in July and last month announced that they would be forming the Oakland Dispensary Council to advocate on their behalf, raising questions about the extent of the cannabis industry’s growing spending power and political influence.