Lawmakers say they need more time to make medical marijuana work.

North Dakota lawmakers are claiming they need for more time to implement the state’s new medical marijuana program.

According to the Associated Press, a joint session was recently held between the House and Senate in an effort to prolong the state's total prohibitionary standard.

Democrats and Republicans are blown away by the fact that marijuana legalization was actually approved in the election last November, are now trying to apply the brakes in order to give state health officials and law enforcement time to get up to speed.

2016 is a year that will live in infamy, but one clear winner across the board was cannabis. The United States watched as eight more states legalized cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, and the ripple effect of legalization has been felt throughout the globe. 

Revel in these states' and countries' cannabis victories and look to the future with renewed optimism. What will 2017 bring? We can't wait to find out! 

North Dakota voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of medical marijuana, and lawmakers are grappling with launching the program. But patients are about to learn that legalization does not mean insurance will cover the cost.

Major health insurers in North Dakota have said they will not provide coverage for medical marijuana, which voters approved in the November election by a margin of almost 64 percent, citing what they say is inadequate evidence of its effectiveness.

“We don’t cover it in Minnesota nor will we in North Dakota,” said Greg Bury, senior manager for public relations at Medica. “We don’t believe the efficacy has yet been established.”

ArcView Market Research released their annual cannabis market summary, and the numbers are staggering for the legal marijuana industry. In their 4th edition of The State of Legal Marijuana Markets they report that an amazing 30% growth rate occurred in the industry, which makes it the fastest growing industry in the country by far. The pace is even greater than the dot-com era, which grew at only a 22% rate.

MA voters have approved the legalization of recreational marijuana, making it the first state on the east coast to do so. As of this morning in ME, the "yes" vote leads by less than 1 point with 98% of precincts reporting.

Kevin Sabet, an ex-presidential drug policy adviser who is now leading the national anti-legalization association Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said, "We'd like [Trump] to enforce the law".