The war on marijuana continues even at mid-point of 2016 – the year that California voters will end the marijuana prohibition in the state. While California voters get set to vote to legalize the recreational use of pot, there are good signs and bad signs around the state as the Pot Wars continue.

Right now, a majority of Californians favor legalization.

The Drug Enforcement Administration had previously banned research on medical marijuana, even calling it "a joke." But for a parent of a patient who needs to use marijuana for medical purposes, for them to have a normal life, there is nothing ridiculous about it.

As featured in a video from ATTN, Yvonne Cahalane, a mother of a cannabis patient, shares her story. Her son would have as many as 10 seizures a day; but after introducing marijuana, he gets to enjoy three months with no seizures at all.

Lack of Research

On April 17, Pennsylvania became the latest state to pass medical marijuana legislation, which will take effect this month. And recently Ohio’s House of Representatives has passed a plan to permit medical marijuana in the state.

Company Reports 700% Revenue Increase & Opening of 2 Additional Marijuana Super Stores.

Marijuana and Cannabis opportunities shows no signs of slowing down as experts forecast the market to top $7 Billion by the end of 2016 in a recent Forbes article with companies aiming to take advantage through new storefronts to reach more consumers.  Brick and mortar cannabis stores are becoming increasingly common throughout the United States as the industry swells behind increased acceptance and surging revenue.

When Colorado voted to legalize recreational marijuana four years ago, one of the move's chief critics was Gov. John Hickenlooper.

The moderate Democrat said that if he could "wave a magic wand" to reverse the decision, he would. Then he called voters "reckless" for approving it in the first place, a remark he later downgraded to "risky."

“Colorado is known for many great things,” Hickenlooper said. “Marijuana should not be one of them.”

But the governor’s views have softened. During a recent panel discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, he said that despite opposing the legalization of pot, his job was to “deliver on the will of the people of Colorado.”

Why the change?

Leading packaging provider implements scalable technology to accommodate increasing demand in rapidly growing $6.7 billion market.

Kush Bottles, Inc. (OTCQB: KSHB), a premier supplier of packaging solutions and accessories for the legal cannabis industry, announced the launch of the marijuana industry's first online system that allows customers to design custom-branded packaging solutions. This tool will make it easier for customers to place orders, which is expected to lead to a higher conversion rate and a better ROI.

 A few years back, the heavy-equipment manufacturer JCB held a job fair in the glass foyer of its sprawling headquarters near here, but when a throng of prospective employees learned the next step would be drug testing, an alarming thing happened: About half of them left.

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson is planning on introducing a motion that will direct city staffers to explore a ballot measure that would ask voters to amend marijuana dispensary rules and possibly legalize back-end cannabis businesses in town.

Wesson's motion asks city attorneys and other staffers to weigh ballot language that would "extend Proposition D's gross receipts tax to all marijuana-related businesses."

Proposition D, approved by voters in 2013, outlaws weed retailers but gives limited legal immunity 135 or fewer dispensaries that had been registered with the city since 2007. The motion is expected to be introduced at tomorrow's City Council meeting, Wesson's office says.

With the cannabis industry expected to thrive in some states California is the next up to offer cannabis courses to help those looking to get into the industry. UC Berkeley will be offering a course on cannabis journalism this summer that will take writers through the rigors of writing and reporting professionally for a fairly new industry. 

The course is taught by Katya Cengel that will give emphasis on cannabis journalism by David Downs, a leading journalist currently working with the likes of Culture Magazine, Wired, SFGate and contributing author of Beyond Buds.

While there is increasing evidence that medical marijuana could be a viable alternative to opioids in terms of pain management, a new report indicates that Congress is still not prepared to give the scientific community the green light to dig any deeper into this progressive concept.

Earlier last week, the U.S. House Rules Committee voted against two proposed amendments that would have required a special pain management task force to consider how weed might be used as an alternative or in conjunction with prescription painkillers.