In April 2016, Mike Williams took the app he and his team built and sold it on eBay. Less than a year after the acquisition, Thinkbox is back with a new app, and this time, it’s all about weed.

When the legalization of recreational cannabis, Prop 64, passed back in November, it didn’t take long for enterprising individuals to start thinking about new business opportunities. 

“Right now, it is like a free for all,” said Williams. “There are a lot of domain experts that are trying to leverage technology fast to gain a foothold in the space, but on the other side there are a lot of people that are afraid to get into the space.” 

After raising a heated debate in the Nebraska legislature in its past two sessions, medical marijuana will again be a point of interest in the Capitol when Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln proposes a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state of Nebraska.

This bill will be similar to previous bills that have been introduced by Sen. Tommy Garrett in the past two years, but have not been passed. Garrett did not win his bid for reelection this past November.

Last year, the bill was killed after lawmakers voted to end a filibuster 30-49.

This year, however, there are 17 new senators and a public opinion that some senators think is largely in favor of passing a law to legalize medical marijuana.

The legal marijuana business has created a multibillion-dollar industry, including some interesting side ventures and spinoffs, and even unlikely entrepreneurs have found lucrative niches.

Among them are Deb Baker, a retired high school teacher, and Barb Diner, a former marketing executive, who both live in Denver and have been friends for 27 years. The two had found the relaxed retirement life a bit dull, so they would often bat around ideas that might be interesting to pursue and that could supplement their income.

In 2014, the nascent entrepreneurs saw a niche to be filled — child-resistant marijuana containers that would comply with Colorado’s newly mandated regulation.

For local jurisdictions, cannabis farming can generate significant new tax revenues, create jobs and help reverse course for the region’s declining agricultural sector.

On Jan. 25, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors is expected to consider all commercial activities related to cannabis – including commercial farming. As a local cannabis farmer, I applaud the board for putting this issue front and center.

The local farmers I’ve talked to think the time is ripe.

In the last 16 months, the state has enacted two laws that create a legal path forward for commercial cannabis farming – the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, and the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. The state is scheduled to issue its first licenses in January 2018.

Looking to get into Washington state’s retail cannabis market? For $50 million, you can start out at the very top.

That’s the pitch from owners of Main Street Marijuana and Uncle Ike’s, the two top-selling cannabis retailers in the state. The pair announced this week that both companies, six storefronts in total, are officially on the market.

The owners aren’t exactly desperate to get out, Uncle Ike’s owner Ian Eisenberg told Leafly. But for $50 million, they wouldn’t say no.

“Everything’s for sale at the right price,” Eisenberg said. “We always have interest, and if anybody’s serious, at least they can avoid a lot of wasted time.”

The arrival of 2017 will bring many changes to the country, including falling marijuana prices in states that have legalized a recreational market. Cannabis users may cheer this news, but it heralds the start of an enduring budgetary headache for states that tax legal marijuana sales based solely on price.

Joel Schneider had a long and successful career as a lawyer on Wall Street. "I practiced law for 30 years and hated it."

So once his kids graduated from college, he decided to pursue his passion: Pot.

Now he runs three Bud+Breakfast hotels in Colorado.

"There is no place like this," he said while giving a tour of his first B&B in Denver, a 7,000 square foot home built in 1892 that gives new meaning to "high end."

The six suites range in price from $299 to $399 a night. Guests have included musicians and former NFL players, as well as cannabis fans ages 21 to 80, who enjoy the well-appointed rooms, fully stocked bar, and meals prepared by a chef.

Justice Department officials have completed their review of more than 16,000 clemency petitions filed by federal prisoners over the past two years and sent their last recommendations to President Obama, who is set to grant hundreds more commutations to nonviolent drug offenders during his final days in office. 

“Everyone has killed themselves here to get the final recommendations to the president,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said in an interview. “We were in overdrive. We were determined to live up to our commitment. It was 24-7 over the Christmas break.”

Denver has started work on the nation's first law allowing marijuana clubs and use in public places such as coffee shops or art galleries. But the details about what those pot clubs would look like are very much in the air. Here's what we know, and don't know, about the looming pot clubs headed to Denver:

WHEN WILL THE POT CLUBS OPEN?

Applications are available Friday, but the city has no deadline for issuing the licenses, which will cost $2,000 a year. An informal workgroup made up of police, restaurants, state health authorities and marijuana activists is meeting to suggest regulations for the city licensing authority, but the final call will be made by city regulators.

Patricia Rosi told members of the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday she sees enough room in the state for medical and recreational marijuana uses.

The head of Maine’s largest purveyor of legal, medical marijuana said on Wednesday that she also supports the regulated, recreational use of marijuana by people over 21 and the creation of a market to satisfy their demand.

In November, that’s just what Maine voters approved when they narrowly voted yes on Question 1, a citizen referendum that allows for the creation of a recreational marijuana industry in the state. This week, state lawmakers are beginning to consider how to implement those new rules.