Cannabis is enjoying a major public-image improvement. After all, we've learned that the THC in marijuana has medicinal uses, while the plant fibers in hemp have countless uses in manufacturing. The legitimacy of marijuana is growing as states legalize it and corporations invest substantial resources in cannabinoid research and development.

No matter your stance on cannabis, you should get to know the world's most high-profile plant. So here are some facts and figures on marijuana that may surprise or impress you:

The nation’s employers have a problem, according to a new report in the New York Times—they can’t find enough workers who are capable of passing a drug test. Fortunately, for some of these companies, this is a problem with a very simple solution: Stop drug-testing your workers.

Lawmakers will take another shot this week at allowing doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical marijuana, reigniting a smoldering debate over veteran access to the drug.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said he will propose the change as part of the department’s annual budget bill during a vote on the House floor expected as early as Wednesday.

The Senate was also set to vote on its version of the department’s annual budget bill, which includes the same proposal by Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

The proposals to give veterans access to medical marijuana through the VA in states where it is legal put Congress on the verge of making a major policy shift for the second year in a row.

Louisiana is poised to officially become the 25th state to legalize medical marijuana. On May 16, the state senators approved the House's revisions to a bill that would officially allow patients to access marijuana for medicinal uses. The bill is now headed to the desk of Governor John Bel Edwards (D), who has said he would sign it and thereby make medical marijuana officially legal in Louisiana.

The modern American landscape seemed like a pipe dream just a decade ago. The White House is occupied by a person of color, marriage is no longer confined by Judeo-Christian concepts of love and cannabis has gone from being a despicable “gateway drug” to a legitimate component of the economies of several states. 

One can only admire the evolution underway in the world of cannabis agriculture and consumption. As soon as American innovators saw the budding legitimacy of big-time cannabusiness, they got to work ushering in a new age of grow and intake technology to meet and even create demand.

Consumption 2.0

Thanks to marijuana, some Colorado students will have an easier time paying for college.

The Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation, in Colorado’s Pueblo County, is distributing scholarships to 25 students this year, USA Today reports. The grants, which amount to $1,000 each, are being funded by cannabis taxes.

The federal government and most states are throwing away $28 billion in yearly tax revenue by not legalizing marijuana, according to a new analysis from the Tax Foundation, an independent think tank.

The bulk of that revenue -- $20.5 billion of it -- would accrue to states through the collection of excise taxes on marijuana sales, general sales taxes, and income and payroll taxes levied on workers and businesses in a mature legal marijuana industry.

The federal government would take in another $7.5 billion, primarily from income and payroll taxes, and $500 million in excise taxes if marijuana were to be taxed the same way tobacco is.

Throughout my human resources career I have done a lot of recruiting. Recruiters have many different ways to source candidates. My favourite? When someone I know recommends an applicant. 

This works well for two reasons. First, the person who is referring the candidate is likely familiar with my business and has a basic understanding of what I'm looking for. Second, when they recommend someone they are putting their name on the line, so the candidate comes with a built in recommendation. 

That's great for the recruiter. What about the candidate?

There are more cannabis businesses that actually touch the plant than there are microbreweries in the United States. 

Of the estimated 21,000-33,000 companies involved in the cannabis industry, according to the latest data collected by the Marijuana Business Daily, 7,000 - 11,000 of the companies listed are dispensaries, recreational stores and wholesale cultivators.

And that's a conservative estimate. "The actual number of businesses could be much higher, given that many companies work with a variety of industries and might only have a client or two – or one project – in the cannabis industry," says the MBD. 

"It took me getting into the weed business to actually put on a suit," laughs Duncan Cameron at the Denver grow he oversees. As chief production officer at Colorado dispensary Good Chemistry, Cameron has given tours of the company's 20,000 square-foot grow to businesspeople and politicians in the era of legal cannabis. Often, his role requires him to dress up. Today, he sports a Good Chemistry t-shirt.