The Ihm family has exhausted 21 different treatment methods to control the violent outbursts of their 8-year-old son, Ethan, who has a severe form of autism.

No drug has been successful and institutionalization is becoming a more likely outcome, said Ethan’s brother, Elliott.

But still exploring other options, the Ihm family organized a rally Thursday afternoon in downtown DeKalb to implore the Illinois Department of Public Health to allow them to consider another possible treatment for Ethan, medical cannabis.

Signs reading “Help Legalize Medicine” and “Honk for Hash” crowded the corner of Lincoln Parkway and First Street. By 4:30 p.m., about 15 supporters were holding signs.

The cannabidiol (CBD) market is estimated to grow by 700% by 2020, according to Forbes. A new report by market intelligence firm Hemp Business Journal projects that the CBD market will grow to $2.1 billion by 2020, an astronomical jump in value compared to last year’s CBD market of $202 million.

CBD is one of the more than 85 cannabinoids so far identified in marijuana and hemp. Unlike the better-known compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD is not psychoactive, meaning it won’t cause a high. Thousands of studies have shown that CBD possesses an array of therapeutic benefits, including antioxidant and neuroprotective properties.

One of the best questions to ask an entrepreneur is, “What’s the last great book you read?”

Whether on audiobook, ereader or tablet, or even on the ancient medium of paper, books offer a path to escape one’s own worldview and learn through the words and experiences of the author, making them a standard item in any forward-thinking entrepreneur’s home or laptop bag. 

Through talking with some of the cannabis industry’s top leaders, Cashinbis gets a lot of amazing book recommendations – some of them are cannabis-specific, and others are just great business books. 

No matter your stage in the game, we hope you enjoy the following suggestions for a stellar holiday reading list.

Living with chronic pain is challenging, especially given the recent changes to the CDC guidelines surrounding dosage recommendations for opioid medications. If all this has you wondering about other pain relief options—including medical cannabis—here's a guide to help you discuss the topic with your doctor.

If you suffer from a chronic medical condition and have not found adequate relief from pain and other symptoms using traditional medicines, you may be thinking about trying medical cannabis (also commonly referred to as medical marijuana) as part of your treatment strategy.

High energy costs and declining cannabis prices have many cultivators thinking about moving their indoor grows into greenhouses.

But once that decision is made, those cultivators must determine whether to buy a North American-made greenhouse or import one from the Netherlands, which has dominated the industry since the 1800s.

Though many believe greenhouses can produce a high-quality cannabis crop, cultivators still must weigh abundant questions about which type is best.

Are you driven by design features? Or do you seek better materials? Is it software that makes a difference to you? Or does quality of construction move you?

On Nov. 8, voters in California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine voted to legalize recreational marijuana, joining Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia, where it’s already legal.

This means some 67 million Americans will live in places where recreational pot is legal — an almost 300 percent increase. And this means huge new demand for electricity.

Utilities and state regulators can smartly manage this new energy demand by supporting energy efficiency investments, generating power on-site with clean distributed renewables and shifting consumption to times of low net load (the electricity demand minus the generation from solar and wind) to improve system efficiency and help integrate renewables.

Portland on Wednesday blessed "marijuana couriers" and other pot-related "micro" business types in a move to ease financial barriers for entrepreneurs.

The council voted unanimously to immediately adopt the additions and other changes to the city's marijuana code.

"Since the state regulations keep changing and the industry keep flourishing, we'll be coming back with multiple changes I'm sure," Commissioner Amanda Fritz said. "I look forward to that time."

Courier businesses can now produce marijuana and other cannabis products but they can sell it only through delivery.

We know it's not Christmas yet, but Santa brought a package from ClubM to the Civilized offices, and we just couldn't wait until the 25th. 

When Jackson County, Oregon, tried to ban medical cannabis cultivation on some rural land last April, farmers there adopted an unexpected defense: They threatened to sue for lost income. According to state law, local governments can’t stop rural landowners from engaging in agricultural activity without compensating them for the lost value of the banned enterprise.

These property rights laws are commonly invoked by developers, mining companies and other big businesses to get around burdensome regulations. But Portland attorney Ross Day, who is representing more than a dozen Jackson County farmers, says the law is tailor-made for cannabis. 

His supply chain strategy and brand equity are near-unbelievable. Four strategies you should copy from the world's jolliest entrepreneur.

Deriving business lessons from Santa Claus is difficult. Despite the ubiquity of the Santa Claus brand, little is known about the actual workings of the operation. Santa’s business is privately held; he prepares no publicly available annual reports and publishes no audited financial statements. (I did address a list of questions to “Santa Claus, The North Pole, Postal Code H0H 0H0.” An unsigned response simply asked me to continue believing in “magic.”)

In spite of this I’ve conducted a close analysis of Santa’s operations and have defined four sets of resolutions you can make that will benefit your business next year.