The opening of a vast, albeit disjointed, North American cannabis market is driving investment in R&D and production.

Attitudes and laws are changing in drastic ways these days. One area where this is particularly evident is in North America’s growing acceptance of the use of medicinal and recreational marijuana.

Like many states, Illinois is in deep financial trouble. Looking at the latest audit,  its black hole has deepened to $9.6bn (£7.6bn) and, according to the state’s financial comptroller, the books are “abysmal”.

But there could be salvation at hand if it becomes the first state in the midwest to legalise and tax the recreational use of marijuana. Two Democrats in the state legislature have introduced a bill to change the law, arguing this could raise as much as $700m a year.

Should the bill go through, it would bring the number of states where recreational pot is legal up to nine. If you throw in Washington DC, then more than 80m Americans would be free to enjoy cannabis.

This week on The Plus Factor, we’re talking about an herbal ingredient earning a blazing reputation in the wellness world: marijuana.

Remember when cannabis had a not-so-healthy image? (Think red eyes and munchies.) Well, those days are fading fast, as the potent plant’s healing powers have started to attract some serious interest from wellness brands in all categories—food, beverage, beauty, and beyond.

What you need to know about legalization in 2018, from taxes to home cultivation.

Full legalization of marijuana appears to be on track for July 2018, which will make Canada just the second nation in the world after Uruguay to completely legalize the cultivation, sale and possession of the drug for medical and recreational purposes.

With lots still unknown before the legislation is unveiled, Canadians have questions about how legalized marijuana will work.

CBC News business reporter Jacqueline Hansen and cbc.ca writer Solomon Israel responded to some of those questions — and comments — during a live chat on Thursday. Here's a sample.

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. 

Consumers can trust what varieties of wine taste like regardless of the store they buy it from, and they could soon have similar expectations for strains of marijuana, say researchers at the University of British Columbia.

Prof. Jorg Bohlmann and a team of researchers have found 30 genes within the cannabis genome that determine the aroma and flavour of the plant.

The findings, published in the journal Plos One, are the first step toward creating flavour standards that can be replicated.

Bohlmann said with the legalization of marijuana on the horizon, there is a real need for standardization of the product when it comes to flavours and the strength of psychoactive compounds.

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.