The first "cannabis campus" just opened in Portland

Last year, Oregon made a monumental move towards ending cannabis prohibition by becoming the fourth state to legalize marijuana production and sales for recreational adult use.

Currently, adults are able purchase recreational marijuana from a store but all cannabis on the market is currently produced and processed under Oregon’s medical marijuana system. On April 29, the transition from medical grows to recreational grows will begin as the state releases production licenses under the more regulated and transparent recreational laws.

As more states contemplate legalizing recreational marijuana, the businesses that pop up are going to need banking solutions. Fortunately for them, more US banks are becoming willing to dabble in the cannabis trade.

Over the last two years, the number of banks and credit unions open to dealing with marijuana businesses has increased by almost six times, the Associated Press reported, citing federal data. Back in March of 2014, only 51 banks and credit unions in the country were willing to deal with cash from pot businesses, but the number now stands at 301.

Oregon raked in $3.48 million from January recreational pot sales — the first month of the state's 25 percent tax — far outpacing the $3 million projected for the entire year.

Collecting those taxes is no simple task. More than half of Oregon's recreational pot dealers paying their taxes that month did so in cash, a symptom of the industry's yearslong struggle for banking access that's also a big security risk.

Think of it as the consumer buying guide of the future.

On Wednesday, Phylos Bioscience, an Oregon biotechnology start-up, will begin offering an online interactive guide that visually portrays the genetic relationships of almost 1,000 types of cannabis, otherwise known as marijuana.

The resulting visualization will offer anyone the ability to easily travel in cyberspace through a three-dimensional projection of the genetic information drawn from sequencing samples of the plant, which is increasingly being legalized for medical and recreational use in states throughout the country.

Tracking pot from seed to sale.

The state of Oregon is starting to train marijuana growers, processors and store on new technology to make sure marijuana stays legally in our borders. This uses the same kind of chip that pets get from the humane society.

It's the software that will put Oregon's pot market on the same level as any corporation-organized inventory, tracked delivery and point of sale records.

It's from a company called Metrc. Colorado uses it as well. Washington uses something similar.

A blue barcode starts in the soil. Inside the tag is a chip with a serial number that is read by an RFID scanner.

This year alone there have already been more than 50 legislative initiatives around the country aimed at legalizing or decriminalizing medical or recreational marijuana. 

The Oregon Health Authority on Monday reminded medical marijuana dispensary operators that they can't sponsor raffles or contests that include free pot as a prize.  

The bulletin was issued during the week of 4/20, the unofficial holiday of sorts for the marijuana set.

"Marijuana may not be given as a prize, premium or consideration for a lottery, contest, game of chance, game of skill or competition of any kind," according to the memo from André Ourso, manager of the state's medical marijuana program.

Ourso also reminded dispensaries that on-site marijuana consumption isn't allowed unless it's by an employee.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed an amendment that would let Veterans Affairs doctors discuss and recommend marijuana as a potential medical treatment in states where it is legal.

An addition to the fiscal 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies appropriations bill, the bipartisan amendment sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, would let VA doctors discuss marijuana as a potential medical treatment, similar to the allowances given civilian physicians in medical marijuana states.

The move marks the second time senators have tried to improve access to medical marijuana for veterans who are treated at VA medical facilities and want to use marijuana for medical purposes.

With medical marijuana now legal in 23 states — and recreational weed legal in four — the conversation about pot will only continue to buzz. Soon, weed as research, as medicine, and as business may no longer be a taboo topic.

But what parts of the country talk the most about marijuana? Denver may be the first to come to mind, since it was the first to legalize recreational use, but a new report from Aizman Law Firm finds this isn’t always the case. The law firm decided to see what U.S. cities mentioned weed on social media the most, so it analyzed geotagged Instagram posts hashtagged with the phrases #weed, #maryjane, #marijuana, or #420.