The business of legal cannabis is booming, and as interest in the cannabis industry continues to grow, it’s no wonder that a wide range of cannabis conferences are popping up like weeds. Whether you’re a small business looking to expand your reach to more customers, an entrepreneur seeking new opportunities, or a firmly established organization making your presence known, cannabis conferences are a great way to network among like-minded individuals and find new business opportunities.

Virgin Group founder and billionaire Sir Richard Branson thinks that instead of raising cows, farmers in New Zealand should grow cannabis, he said in a recent interview with Newshub.

During a visit to the country to speak at a charity fundraiser, Branson said he predicts that within the next 10 years, marijuana use will be just as acceptable as drinking wine, he told Newshub. In New Zealand, it is currently illegal to grow, possess or use cannabis.

The federal government plans to legalize recreational use of marijuana next year and trade shows are popping up across the country but many are having a hard time getting the word out.

The Cannabis and Hemp Expo is coming to Calgary in May and some of the big broadcasters are saying no to its ads saying they can’t run them because it’s still illegal to promote pot in Canada.

It's the first year for the event and organizers say they’ve tried to buy ad time on major networks like CTV and Rogers, but the name they chose and their logo has brought up legal concerns.

The issues stem from the use of the word ‘cannabis’ and the depiction of a pot leaf in the logo.

The legalization of marijuana may cut into beer and other alcohol sales across Canada, a study by the firm Deloitte says.

"If marijuana is legalized in Canada, we will see a decrease in purchases of beer, wine or spirits. So that's something that the alcohol industry is going to have to understand and think about and try to anticipate what that means," said Mark Whitmore, who co-authored the study on recreational marijuana.

Some of the study's findings show that about 80 per cent of current cannabis consumers rarely mix the drug with alcohol and they're also drawn to marijuana for the same reason people choose alcohol: to have fun or help connect with others.

Beer sales fell up to 4.4% in U.S. 

- Grew revenue 20% and 72%, compared to Q4 2015 and Q3 2016, respectively
- Strengthened balance sheet by more than $5.5 million reflecting debt conversion and equity raise concluded in March 2017

Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA) reported its financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2016.

Federal legislators are working on a cluster of proposed laws aimed easing the growing conflict between state and federal marijuana laws, with a number of protections and new regulations that could impact cannabis consumers and businesses in California.

Several licensed marijuana producers have penned a letter to Ottawa, urging the federal government to allow them to brand their products and provide medical cannabis on a tax-free basis.

The seven producers - Tilray, Tweed, Mettrum, CannTrust, Green Organic Dutchman Holdings, RedeCan Pharm and Delta 9 Bio-Tech - are lobbying the government ahead of the week of April 10, when legislation legalizing recreational use of the drug is expected to be introduced.

A federal task force has recommended requiring plain packaging for cannabis and advertising restrictions similar to those placed on the tobacco industry.

Before the end of 2017, a five-acre site near Claresholm, Alta., will be full of greenhouses growing medical marijuana plants.

The industry is booming in Alberta, despite the plans for federal legalization of marijuana being more than a year away — making for a lot of excitement, as well as some concern.

Construction is set to begin in June for the 65,000-square-foot medical marijuana greenhouse, with room for expansion into the production of recreational products, once pot is legalized on Canada Day next year.

When the federal Liberals set a Canada Day 2018 deadline for marijuana legalization last weekend, they erected a new landmark in our country’s history. I do not refer to the proposed changes to the law; you would, after all, have to be crazy to take a Liberal promise of this kind to the bank. But whether or not the Liberals make their Cannabis Day target, its mere creation is bound to change the way we talk about pot.

Legalization is a reality now, something that has a birthday. Old canards, theories, and dreads are destined to get a last airing before we become preoccupied with concrete policy specifics — and then, when the unthinkable actually happens, we shall start having arguments based on actual data.

Opposite a bleak government building in suburban Ottawa, Canada, a barebones “cannabis clinic” – with just a cash register, jeweller’s scales and a glass counter – is doing a brisk trade. “Pirate! Muslim! Gangster! Yes! We all smoke!” shouts one teen as he high-fives the owner, Rohmi. He pockets his pungent bag and bounces out, giggling.

On the wall, there’s a menu listing today’s special: moonrocks – buds rolled in cannabis oil then dipped in powdered hash at C$40 (£24) a gram. There are cans of Canna Cola; potent, weed-laced gummy bears; a mound of gooey hashish smelling of dark chocolate, hops and pine resin.