For those who call Colorado, Oregon and Washington home, growing cannabis outdoors has become the norm. And in most cases, these growers couldn’t be happier with the quality of the bud that bloomed from soil and sunshine.

After marijuana was made legal in Colorado and Washington in 2012, many green thumb enthusiasts jumped on the chance to grow their plants outdoors. Soon people in Oregon were doing the same, and outdoor growing quickly became part of the norm. Marijuana though, as it would soon turn out, wasn’t the only thing wasn’t the only kind of cannabis plant that would be legal to grow.

BAS Research, recently granted California’s first medicinal marijuana manufacturing and research license, is teaming with Montel Williams’ LenitivLabs startup to begin developing, producing and marketing medical-grade cannabis products.

BAS’ goal is to replace the social stigma associated with cannabis by creating medical marijuana products with standardized dosing and proven efficacy. Its products are aimed at people with chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and serious conditions like cancer or epilepsy.

Quietly on election night, overshadowed by the epic battle between blue and red, the map of America grew greener. Voters in four states — California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine — chose to legalize recreational marijuana. In Florida, Arkansas, Montana and North Dakota, ballot measures passed allowing pot to be used for medical purposes. (Only Arizona bucked the trend, saying no to recreational weed).

About 60 percent of Americans now live in a state where cannabis is legal or soon to be legal in some form. And with marijuana use on a steady march toward normalization, if not outright national legalization, the booming cannabis industry appears bound for even greater growth.

In a report released Monday, global leaders denounced harsh responses to drug use, such as the mass killing of drug users in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, and called for worldwide drug decriminalization.

The report, Advancing Drug Policy Reform: A New Approach to Drug Decriminalization, is a product of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a high-level panel that includes former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; former presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Switzerland; and British philanthropist Richard Branson, among others.

Cannabis can stimulate appetite, reduce anxiety, and make you feel more emotionally open. So it's no wonder that some people would want to incorporate a little marijuana into their festivities and food over the Thanksgiving holiday.

A new review offers further insight into how long-term marijuana use might have a negative impact on mental health, after finding "substantial evidence" that the drug alters the brain's reward system to increase negative emotions and decrease motivation.

The study says there is sufficient evidence to suggest marijuana, or cannabis, reduces levels of dopamine in the brain - a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in learning, movement, motivation, emotion, and reward.

New technology will allow officers to test for marijuana on someone’s breath, and could save lives.

One version of the pot breathalyzer is being developed by a chemist at the University of California Berkely. Matt Francis has been working on the project for the last 18 months.  “We had to develop some new chemistry that can actually be done.  It was not obvious when we started that we could tag this.”  The technology would allow officers to be able to detect marijuana on someone’s breath and determine if they had smoked it recently.

Medical marijuana can be defined as the use of cannabis for treatment of certain ailments. It can be utilized for medicinal uses; however, the complete safety and efficacy profiling is till unavailable. Medical marijuana is available in various forms such as flower or concentrates, which is extracted in the form of oils, extracts or edibles. Packaging medical marijuana is a growing business and many companies offer holistic solutions to medical marijuana manufacturers. The key packaging modes available in the market include,

Although the United Nations international drug treaties have upheld an official prohibition against marijuana, the marijuana industry has spread across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Cannabis connoisseurs won’t be the only ones rejoicing if voters legalize recreational marijuana this election. Expect Silicon Valley’s burgeoning class of pot entrepreneurs to join the party.

Startups are cropping up throughout the Bay Area that put a signature valley spin on the well-established practice of selling marijuana, offering sleek on-demand delivery apps for users and high-tech software for growers and dispensaries. The business models are risky — marijuana is illegal under federal law and stigma around the drug prevents cannabis startups from scoring funding from many major investors — but with recent polls suggesting Californians are poised to expand marijuana consumption beyond medical use, experts expect cash to pour into the industry.