When Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in November to legalize recreational marijuana, Josh Miller saw this as a sign that his time had finally arrived. 

The Rhode Island state senator has a reputation among colleagues as a cannabis crusader — a battle that, so far, he’s lost. For the last three years, Miller introduced legislation to legalize recreational pot, and for the last three years, his efforts have died in committee hearing rooms.

But now, in a turnaround, some of Miller’s colleagues are signaling an interest in legalized weed — and raking in the tax dollars that come with it.

A medical marijuana initiative that had been in the works since 2015 won’t be on the ballot in 2018 after the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office did not receive petitions by last Tuesday’s deadline.

Nonetheless, medical marijuana supporters said they will continue to push for legalization of medical marijuana in Wyoming.

The deadline for the petition was 18 months after the petition began in 2015.

While the Wyoming chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) helped with the signature drive, the organization was not the official sponsor of the petition.

In just a few months, Parachute will be home to Colorado’s first drive-through marijuana shop. Tumbleweed, owned by Green Cross Colorado LLC, has won approval for drive-up sales out of a former carwash, across the street from Tumbleweed’s primary location. 

While the decision to repeal Parachute’s ban on marijuana establishments in June 2015 stirred months of controversy, the revenue pot sales has generated is critical to the town. 

At a Rifle Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon in February, Parachute Mayor Roy McClung said that personal feelings aside, without legalized recreational marijuana, the town’s economy would have been in serious trouble. 

From marijuana-laced candy to body lotion infused with marijuana, this controversial plant is becoming a big business in the United States as more states make it mainstream. 

Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is now legal in 28 U.S. states for either medical or recreational use. Of those states, four of them legalized recreational marijuana last November, including California. At a dispensary in Los Angeles, the experience for customers is more similar to a trip to the winery or high-end retail store. 

There are cannabis plants on well-lit display and available for a smell test, as well as other edibles. It’s an effort to dispel pot’s stigma and normalize its use.

Opposition to legal marijuana is dropping in Texas, with fewer than one in five respondents to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll saying they are against legalization in any form.

Support for marijuana only for medical use has dropped over the last two years, but support for legalization for private use — both in small amounts or in amounts of any size — has grown since the pollsters asked in February 2015.

Hundreds of couples lined up for the Cannabis Wedding Expo in Littleton for its second year Sunday.

Although most people probably have not heard of a cannabis wedding, that's not so for 1,000 people who are cannabis curious or already connoisseurs. At the Cannabis Wedding Expo, vendors work to marry marijuana with holy matrimony.

The sold-out event was held at the Falls Event Center and brought together more than 70 cannabis-friendly companies with hundreds of couples who want to incorporate weed into their weddings.

Event organizers said they created the event because they were turned away from other traditional wedding expos for trying to incorporate cannabis.

Under a new program at a nursing home in New York City, medical marijuana will be used to help treat residents for various illnesses.

The alternative to prescription drugs will be available at Hebrew Home's dispensary for residents to buy and consume on their own.

Ruth Brunn, 98 has accepted cannabis as a solution to the excruciating pain caused by neuropathy. She has cut down on her prescribed pain medication, morphine because marijuana pills have worked well for her.

“I don’t feel high or stoned,” she said while talking to the New York Times. “All I know is I feel better when I take this.”

The Canadian cannabis industry has continued to be a bright spot for cannabis investors and 2017 has already provided investors with strong investment returns.

This sub-sector of the cannabis industry has been on fire since July 2016 with the increased interest fueled by the anticipation that Canada will become the first G-7 nation to legalize recreational cannabis.

All Eyes on Legislation this Spring

One of the highly anticipated events of 2017 is the tabling of legislation as it relates to a legal recreational cannabis program. This development is expected to take place in the spring.

With all the excitement in the recreational marijuana space, it is hard for growth oriented investors to ignore this new market. Society has become more liberal with the idea of legalizing marijuana. Two polls from April 2015, found that the majority of Americans, 53%, were in support of this idea and it can be seen from the map below how the States have slowly began this process. Marijuana stocks in Canada and the USA have been rising since their respective elections.

One of New Mexico's top-grossing medical cannabis producers, The Verdes Foundation, implemented Wednesday a new system to help cut energy use at both of its locations.