After watching the cannabis industry evolve for many years and taking it upon himself to learn all that he could about what he could personally offer to its growth, he jumped into this opportunity headfirst and hasn’t stopped exploring and making his mark on this space since he did. When he caught himself holing up in local hotel bathroom, feeling ridiculous as he blew the smoke from his joint into the toilet, he realized that there was something wrong with this picture.

Colorado has not only been at the forefront of the marijuana revolution through the state’s efforts to legalize recreational marijuana, but Colorado is also a leader in industrial hemp research. The University of Colorado Boulder has scientists studying industrial hemp for research purposes.

These efforts are being led by Nolan Kane, a geneticist who specializes in evolutionary biology. Right now, Kane is only allowed to grow strains. The rest of his research material is cannabis DNA, which is supplied by Colorado growers who extract it using methods he’s taught them.

A new business accelerator is helping startups find their way in the new legal pot market. Canopy, a Boulder-based incubator for pot entrepreneurs, is the first of its kind, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

Nearly a year and a half after recreational pot became legal in Colorado, there are now 550 retail stores, with dozens of big players, and even the business of marijuana can use a boost from some seed money.

English-born Harvard MBA graduate Roy Bingham, who worked in the banking industry, moved from Rhode Island to Boulder, Colorado, to be in the prime spot for a new venture.

He plans to analyze and sell sales data so pot shops know what's hot and what's not.

A Lakeland company behind Colorado’s tracking system for marijuana plants has accused a competitor of deceptive business practices.

Lawyers for Franwell say BioTrackTHC, based in Ft. Lauderdale, lies in publicity material and lies about Franwell in the media and communications to state regulators.

The purpose, according to documents filed by Franwell in federal court May 11, is to interfere with the Lakeland company’s $1.5 million Colorado contract and to sway officials to choose BioTrack for a competitive contract in Jamaica.

Job growth and pot growth are fueling record high lease rates and low vacancies in Denver’s industrial real estate market.

“Competition for industrial space in the Denver market is very aggressive,” said Dawn McCombs, senior vice president and industrial specialist at the Denver office of brokerage Avison Young. “The lack of quality options for tenants is driving rental rates higher than I have ever seen.”

Avison Young’s market report released this week shows that first-quarter lease rates averaged $7.47 per square foot, up 10 percent from a year earlier and the highest ever recorded for metro Denver.

CHICAGO — A colorful Denver businessman and city council candidate schemed to monopolize the new medical marijuana industry in Illinois, according to a lawsuit that has joined a parade of legal challenges from competing marijuana business applicants in the state.

Medponics Illinois filed the lawsuit Monday in Lake County. It claims Kayvan Khalatbari (KAY’-vohn Kahl-aht-BAR’-ee) and his Denver companies have controlling interests in more than three Illinois cultivation centers.

Colorado’s nascent hemp industry may get a boost from a grower’s plan to use hemp stalks for insulation. Baca County farmer Ryan Loflin said Monday he has formed a partnership with Hollis, Okla.-based Western Fibers for combining processed hemp stalks with recycled newspapers and cardboard to create wall and ceiling insulation.

Hemp is genetically related to marijuana but contains little or no THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana. Hemp has dozens of uses in food, cosmetics, clothing and industrial materials.

Ryan Fox, founder and chief executive of Denver-based cannabis producer Kindman, says the legal marijuana industry is still evolving and that current cannabis shortages reflect the sector’s growing pains.

Here in Colorado we recently completed the second annual “420” celebrations since the legalization of recreational marijuana in early 2014. And for second straight year, cannabis dispensaries in Denver and elsewhere were crowded with happy consumers during the 420 weekend; people from all over the country and around the world, ready and willing to take part in the festivities.

The unspoken rules of the “puff, puff, pass” ritual — including all of the steps it takes to toke up — are obvious to those who already partake. But for those just now starting to explore the world of weed, there’s a lot to learn.

Unlike many trends and businesses and that are emerging with legal marijuana, it might come as a surprise that etiquette has always been something that has had its place in smoking culture.

DENVER (CBS4) – A new law signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday requires medical marijuana caregivers to register with the state, and get a license if they sell more than 99 plants. But an amendment to the new law is the real story.

The amendment makes Colorado the first state in the country to allow medical marijuana in schools. Nearly 500 students in Colorado take cannabis for debilitating conditions. The amendment is named after one of those students whose mother led the fight for it.

As Hickenlooper signed Jack’s Amendment into law, Jack Splitt’s smile said all he couldn’t say. Splitt has cerebral palsy and just wants to go to school like any other kid.