As a whole, the marijuana industry has come a long way in a short amount of time.

When medical cannabis was first legalized in California in 1996 for compassionate use, support for nationwide legalization of the drug was only around 25%, per Gallup. A decade ago, just a third of Americans polled supported full legalization efforts. Yet in Gallup's most recent poll, 58% of respondents favored legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. In separate polls on the legalization of medical cannabis alone, favorability often exceeds 80%.

Cannabis regulation comes in different forms throughout the world. We showcase Portugal, Netherlands, and Colorado in their approach to cannabis regulation.

Drug possession, use, and distribution are under different regulations throughout the world. Most of the countries make a difference when it comes to so-called soft and hard drugs. Hard drugs are loosely defined as drugs with an unacceptable degree of addictiveness (physical addiction) and/or physical harm.

Cannabis falls under the domain of soft drugs, as there is minimal physical harm even when used irresponsibly and the addiction caused in heavy users is still only psychological. As such cannabis regulations in the world are usually less harsh than those for let’s say heroin or cocaine.

U.S. News Updates

Alaska

There is no doubt that the legal cannabis business is booming. In August, the Oregon Department of Revenue announced that it had collected more than $25 million in taxes on cannabis sales in the first six months of 2016. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) had previously estimated only $18.4 million in taxes in the entire first two years of sales. That means so far this year Oregonians and our visitors have consumed more than five times the amount of legal cannabis than the state expected.

The wholesale price of marijuana in Colorado has continued to plummet since recreational use of the drug was legalized in 2014, according to a report by Business Insider on Sept. 1.

Data from Tradiv, a marijuana distribution platform, shows the price of one pound of marijuana has decreased by approximately 40 percent between October 2015 and August, from $2,400-$2,600 to $1,400-$1,600.

An increase in overall product supply is the main culprit for Colorado’s marijuana growers who are taking a hit in profit margin now, each being virtually unlimited in how many plants they can grow.

urban-gro, the product solutions expert for the commercial Cannabis cultivator, is featured among the industry’s foremost cultivators and business leaders at the following events. Presenting the company’s expertise in commercial grade LED and HPS grow lighting systems, integrated pest management (IPM), automated fertilization / irrigation solutions and water treatment solutions, urban-gro executives and team members will participate as exhibitors, panelists and speakers.

Justin Shepherd, a former employee at a Kohl's in Calfornia, is suing the department store chain for wrongful termination. Shepherd says he worked at Kohl's for years before he was diagnosed with acute and chronic anxiety. Shepherd received a recommendation for medical marijuana from his doctor. Shepherd didn't notify the company that he had started to use it for his illness, but in 2012 Kohl's its personnel policies to include exceptions to its drug testing for employees in certain states, like California.

Out here, in this unincorporated community of 30,000, there are miles of barren scrub-brush dotted with wild sunflowers. Low-slung houses sit on East Gun Powder Lane and North Cougar Drive. There’s a Walmart Supercenter, a Little Caesars, a Safeway with a small Starbucks tucked inside.

And, throughout the area, a revolt against retail marijuana sales smolders in a state awash in $1 billion of legal pot.

Four years ago, Coloradans voted to legalize marijuana for adults, and gave individual localities the opportunity to decide if they would allow retail marijuana shops.

Colorado is expected to reach another national first on cannabis Wednesday when state agriculture officials show off the first domestic certified hemp seeds.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has been working for years to produce hemp seeds that consistently produce plants low enough in the chemical THC to qualify as hemp and not its intoxicating cousin, marijuana.

Hemp production was authorized by Congress in 2014. But farmers who want to grow it must have state certification to raise the crop. The industry estimates that fewer than 7,000 acres are being grown nationwide this year.

Colorado is the first state to certify hemp seed, which means the seed has been proven to be genetically pure and to produce hemp and not marijuana.