The medical marijuana market is expected to double in size by 2020 as clinical studies provide evidence that cannabis can safely be used as an alternative medicine. GW Pharma (GWPH) and PharmaCyte (PMCB), for example, are driving development of new cannabinoid drug candidates for serious diseases, including epilepsy and cancer, as potential alternatives to chemotherapy and other standards of care that are known to cause serious adverse events.

As Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepare for Super Tuesday, marijuana legislation has hit the headlines again. The Vermont Senate approved a bill Thursday that would allow people over 21 to carry one ounce and would create licenses for retailers and growers.

With Colorado having passed legislation legalizing marijuana in late 2012 and the Vermont House now considering  the Senate-passed bill, attention is now on the Democratic candidates' stances as both states prepare to vote Tuesday. 

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? One only has to look at the rift between the marijuana industry (aka, the unstoppable force) and the federal government (the immovable object) to get a good feel.

The unstoppable force and the immovable object
Two decades ago the idea of legalizing marijuana in any way was considered highly taboo. Then, in 1996, California became the first state to pass a law legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Some 20 years later we now have 23 states that have legal medical marijuana laws on their books, with four states (along with Washington, D.C.) allowing for the sale of recreational marijuana as well.

As the federal Liberals map out their plan for legalizing marijuana, they can look at how — and how successfully — a handful of other jurisdictions have overturned the prohibition of pot.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize marijuana. Within two years, each state set up a framework governing how retailers could start selling. 

But although the two states have much in common, they have different takes on key questions that Canada will have to consider, like whether residents will be able to grow their own plants as they can in Colorado, or whether laws should put limits on non-residents who buy marijuana here, like in Colorado — or leave the market open as Washington does.

DigiPath Inc. (OTCQB: DIGP), a provider of reliable testing, education, training, and news coverage to the cannabis industry, was recently featured in a Bank of America investment report titled Medical Cannabis Has High POTential: A Joint Biotech & Tools Primer.

In the report, Bank of America analysts single out cannabis testing as an area likely to experience enormous growth within the industry. The report suggests that cannabis testing could reach $800 to $900 million in size by 2020 as the $2.9 billion medical cannabis industry appears poised to at least double. Cannabis testing services and lab equipment should experience heightened demand as the industry matures.

The pineal gland – mythical seat of spirituality and consciousness, the site of the primordial “third eye” – has been of fascination to humanity since its function and importance were discovered. It is well-known that the pineal gland responds to psychoactive drugs, so what happens when we use cannabis?

What is the pineal gland for?

While undoubtedly important, the pineal gland does not possess mystical or supernatural properties, no matter how much some people would like to believe it. Even some great, renowned thinkers have fallen foul of magical thinking here, such as the scientist and philosopher Descartes, who described the pineal gland as “the seat of the soul”.

A new study released today in the New England Journal of Medicine says the number of tourists visiting Colorado's emergency rooms doubled the first year recreational cannabis became available in the state.

The study was conducted at an urban academic hospital in Aurora, Colorado, just outside of Denver. The authors confirmed their findings using data from more than 100 other hospitals in Colorado between 2011 through 2014.

The data shows visits to the ER from out-of-state residents doubled from 85 per 10,000 visits in 2013 to 168 per 10,000 visits in 2014. ER visits for folks from Colorado stayed around the same.

The world's population growth is straining the earth's water resources and that creates a huge opportunity for sustainable growers in the very near future, said Michael DeGiglio, portfolio manager of the Village Farms International (VFFIF) . 

"We will be building greenhouses, expanding our distribution model where we market for our partners who grow and we will also look at alternative crops," said DeGiligio, adding that marijuana might be one of those alternative crops once it is fully legalized in the United States. 

Pot. Cannabis. Mary Jane. The plant with psychotropic properties has a long pop culture presence — and an even longer record of use.

1. Pot. Weed. Mary Jane. Sticky-icky. Nicknames aside, much of the world calls the psychotropic plant by its scientific name, cannabis, and — until the early 20th century — so did Americans.

2. About a hundred years ago, however, the term marijuana became common in the United States, the result of anti-cannabis, anti-immigrant advocates trying to link recreational use of the plant to migrant workers from Mexico.

Meet the rabbi and former hospital administrator who now run a pot dispensary.