John Hudak isn’t a politician, a legalization advocate, or a cannabis entrepreneur. He walks unrecognized through industry conferences. But in the past six months, he’s quietly become one of the most influential voices on national cannabis policy.

2016 is shaping up to be a big year for marijuana, but just how big has marijuana become in the world? 

23: The number of states that have legalized medicinal or recreational marijuana

49%: The amount of Americans who have tried marijuana before

84%: The percentage of Americans that now support medical marijuana

$996 million: The amount of revenue recreational marijuana bought in to Colorado in 2015

$135 million: The amount of tax colorado collected from marijuana sales in 2015

Over the same five-year period, cautions fell by 48% and the number of people charged for possession fell by 33%, according to a Freedom of Information request lodged by BBC Breakfast.

According to the figures, provided by 32 of England and Wales’ 43 police forces, arrests for cannabis possession dropped from 35,367 to 19,115.

Arrests for possession with intent to supply saw a minor increase however, from 4,934 in 2010 and 5,012 in 2015.

The Home Office said all reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated and where necessary taken through the courts.

"Decisions on individual investigations are an operational matter for Chief Constables based on the evidence available to them," a spokesperson said.

Heightened competition in the market for legal recreational weed is pushing prices down and firing up border wars across state lines. Competition is so steep in Washington state that cannabis revenue growth has slowed as Oregon ramps up its adult pot sales.

What's more, in Colorado and Oregon there's more interest from out-of-state investors entering the recreational pot business.

Then there's California, where voters will decide later this year whether to legalize recreational pot.

Yet for all the interest, the marijuana business remains fraught with risks and capital challenges.

Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton appeared on late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live last night where she was grilled by the host about her stance on cannabis legalization.

Kimmel casually asked Clinton why her approach on legalization isn’t quite as liberal as Bernie Sanders’ approach. Here was Clinton’s response in which she tells Kimmel that if made president she would let states continue to regulate themselves and would reschedule marijuana:

Last year the cannabis industry donated $18,500 to presidential candidates. Only $1,000 of that went to Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

Anyone with a modicum of perspective on the burgeoning cannabis business agrees that in years ahead, hindsight will look at these days like the era before the Gold Rush. Whereas the Gold Rush eventually peaked and dissipated, it seems unlikely that the cannabis industry will take that trajectory. But in both cases, the entrepreneurs early into the market will likely be the great success stories. The wild west businessmen who supplied the picks, shovels and dungarees to the gold rush prospectors did quite well. And the modern day equivalent is often an entrepreneur from the distaff side.

During his "town hall" with MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Wednesday, Donald Trump said "I'm getting some very negative reports" about the consequences of marijuana legalization in Colorado. He did not get more specific than that, except to suggest that "there's a lasting negative impact" if "you do too much of it."

The NFL has a strict policy on the use of marijuana, but one NFL player is making the argument that it’s not only needed, but a better solution for the consistent ailments that plague professional football players.

“Your job automatically gives you the symptom of chronic pain,” said Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, a member of the NFL since 2009. “You’re hitting each other as hard as possible every single day in practice. Your body is in pain a lot of time.”