Coloradans weigh whether the more liberal legal environment has freed pot users from one of marijuana’s worst side effects.

If you ask certain pot aficionados here, marijuana is “not a drug.” It certainly isn’t sold like one, now that pot legalization has swept through these spruce-dotted valleys like smoke through the neck of a gravity bong.

The tiny downtown area of this resort city, population 6,700, is home to six street-facing, bonafide pot shops. A gondola that ferries skiers up and down Aspen Mountain is referred to, lovingly, as the “ganjala.”

The state health department has reduced the fee it charges to obtain or renew a medical marijuana card from $75 a year to $5.

Department of Public Health and Human Services spokesman Jon Ebelt says the old fee brought in more money than was needed to operate the registry. The Billings Gazette reports the lower fee went into effect on Saturday.

Montana had about 13,000 medical marijuana cardholders in June, down from a high of about 30,000 in 2011.

Beginning on Aug. 31, Montana medical marijuana caregivers will be limited to three patients.

The annual Los Angeles Food Fest showcases the best of the city's vibrant and diverse food scene.

This year, MERRY JANE teamed up with New York City's Mikey Likes It, a pop-culture ice cream shop with a cult-like following. Together we present the ultimate cannabis-infused dessert!

Presenting MERRY JANE's Addiction, a cannabis-infused pistachio ice cream dish with toasted nuts, chunks of baklava, and between 7 to10 milligrams of CBD in each serving.

Team MERRY JANE was on site to educate festivalgoers on the difference between CBD, THC, and answer questons. 

Opponents of the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona filed a lawsuit Monday, asking a judge to bar the initiative from the November ballot.

The lawsuit comes as elections officials are verifying whether the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The lawsuit was brought by 13 individuals and groups, including Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk,  the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Republican Rep. Paul Boyer, a Tempe school board member, and others.

Within less than a year, as many as 50,000 marijuana growers in California could be required to obtain state permits for the irrigation water they consume. It is an unprecedented step aimed at preventing harm to the environment and other water users resulting from the rapid growth of marijuana cultivation in the state.

“Most of them are operating below the radar,” said Cris Carrigan, chief of enforcement at the State Water Resources Control Board. “As a result, we’ve gotten ourselves into an acute problem with streamflow and pollution associated with these activities.”

For those who have followed the music career of Snoop Dogg, it is no secret that marijuana appears to be his area of expertise.

That expertise was thrust into the spotlight on a celebrity episode of Family Feud, as the rapper faced off against boxing legend “Sugar” Ray Leonard. Of course, the topic for this round was “Name something grandma might do if she caught grandpa smoking marijuana.” Something like this should allow Snoop a grand opportunity for his team to move ahead right? Not so fast.

The Democratic Party just got a little more 420-friendly.

The Democratic Party on Saturday announced that it was endorsing a "reasoned pathway to future legalization," Slate reported.

Supporters hailed the move as a big win for Sen. Bernie Sanders

Colorado growers working with musicians to develop one-of-a-kind marijuana strains.

Pot is going the way of sneakers and snowboards.

As cannabis fights for a foothold in the U.S. economy, innovative weed growers are taking cues from a variety of industries — footwear, musical instruments, skis and snowboards, for example — and working with superstar musicians to develop signature marijuana strains, pro-model cannabis that sails off the shelves.

Colorado’s growers — captains of the state’s maturing cannabis scene — are leading the charge in this next stage of marijuana marketing that’s more partnership than endorsement deal.

What do the coffee business and the cannabis business have in common?

As it turns out, it's more than people might expect.

The CannaCloud vaporizer is billed as the "Keurig of Cannabis" — it's a device that heats marijuana to a specific temperature without burning the plant — because it really is just like its coffee-maker namesake. 

It employs a similar pod-based technology that helped grow Keurig into the multi-billion dollar coffee empire that it is today. 

The CannaCloud was even designed by the same firm that created the Keurig, Dave Manly, the chairman of CannaKorp, told Business Insider. (CannaKorp is the company that builds the CannaCloud). 

Most people don’t think of Marijuana and technology in the same breath.  We’re all very aware of the absolute explosion of technology and the recent boom in its popularity now that smart phones and other devices have become ubiquitous.  Marijuana likewise, has seen exponential advancements in how it is produced, processed and delivered.  It is the intersection of Marijuana and technology today that has led to the ever expanding Cannabis renaissance we are experiencing.