This is going to be a transformative year for the United States. Not only are we set to vote in a new president for the first time in eight years this November, but we could also see the most rapid expansion of marijuana ever, with eight states now set to vote on recreational or medical cannabis initiatives or amendments this fall.

What's at stake

The expansion of the cannabis industry was initially put in motion 20 years ago when California approved a compassionate use law for medical marijuana. Today, half of all U.S. states have approved a medical marijuana law. The two most recent approvals came from Pennsylvania and Ohio, which used the legislative process to pass medical cannabis laws.

A ballot question on whether marijuana can be sold recreationally in Massachusetts can appear on the November ballot, the Supreme Judicial Court announced in an opinion Wednesday.

However, the court also ruled that the title and one-sentence statement describing what a “yes” vote would mean were misleading — leaving out the full array of “marijuana products” that would be legalized — and said it should be amended by the Attorney General and Secretary of State offices.

Acceptance of marijuana seems to have reached a tipping point in the United States. Four states and the District of Columbia have already legalized it, half the states have medical marijuana laws now (two-thirds if you count the CBD-only states), and as many as a half dozen states, including California, could vote on legalization in November.

Public opinion polls now consistently report majority support for legalization nationwide, and pot is increasingly moving from newspapers' crime pages to the finance and culture sections.

Seasoned leadership from tech giant EMC and Sun Microsystems joins quality control and data analytics company serving legal cannabis industry.

If you asked seasoned tech executives Richard Corley and Doug Wood six months ago if their careers would lead them to the booming legal cannabis industry they would have certainly said, “Not likely!”. 

Enter Orange Photonics founder, Dylan Wilks, an expert in spectroscopy and chromatography. “In order to scale our upcoming cannabis analysis platform, integrate hardware with cloud-based data analytics and expand our potential customer base, we needed individuals with a diverse set of corporate, business and product related skills. The individuals we found have been there and done that, again and again.” 

Science is starting to understand what marijuana smokers have known for years: how marijuana helps sleep. Because of this understanding, doctors are now able to legally prescribe marijuana for sleep disorders in seven states.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most active marijuana ingredient that affects sleeping patterns. We’ll look into exactly how marijuana aids sleep, delve into how our brains work, and offer insights on this fascinating subject.

Sleep Disorders and Marijuana

Sleep disorders include:

The campaign over whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana use is heating up, as opponents of a legalization referendum warned at a news conference Thursday that edible marijuana products could pose a danger for unsuspecting children.

Standing before a table covered with THC-infused candy, cookies, soda and other edible products, state Rep. Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury), of the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, warned that similar products would flood the market, should voters approve a proposed referendum in the fall.

Kane said she fears the products would be especially enticing to children.

Legalizing recreational marijuana is one step closer to becoming a reality here in Massachusetts and four different companies have applied for medical marijuana dispensary licenses in Amherst.

Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana say they plan to file more than 25,000 voter signatures with city and town clerks by the Wednesday deadline. Only 10,792 certified signatures are required at this stage, but sponsors of ballot initiatives typically try to gather much more in case some signatures are disqualified for various reasons.

Could recreational marijuana use be legalized in Massachusetts?

Those who say “yes” plan to file more than 25,000 voter signatures with city and town clerks by a Wednesday deadline, thereby clearing one of the last hurdles to secure a spot for their proposal on the November ballot.

Only 10,792 certified signatures are required at this stage, but sponsors of ballot initiatives typically try to gather much more in case some signatures are disqualified for various reasons.

Supporters of other proposed ballot questions tell The Associated Press they also have collected enough signatures to easily exceed the threshold.

Marijuana legalization has been growing like a weed for the past two decades, but 2016 could prove to be its most monumental year yet. Although marijuana has gained 24 state approvals for medicinal use, and four states have legalized its recreational use, we could see up to 12 separate approvals for the currently illicit drug in November.

This expansion is especially important because current President Barack Obama has suggested that the best way to get the attention of Congress is to continue legalizing the drug at the state level. Doing so would eventually force lawmakers to reconsider the federal government's current Schedule 1 stance on the drug.

A group dedicated to keeping marijuana illegal has launched an effort to convince city councils across the country to actively oppose measures to end cannabis prohibition that are expected to appear on at least five state ballots this November.