Gangsta rap is as eternal as the disparities that breed it. Our fascination with struggle is equally enduring. Today, the most compelling gangsta rapper working is Freddie Gibbs, an artist who tempers grizzled detail with a polished, effortless delivery. Over the last decade, the Gary, Indiana native turned L.A. transplant has moved from major label purgatory to independent stardom, releasing a torrent of powerful mixtapes before his first official album (ESGN) in 2013. Last year, he released Piñata, a universally heralded album that expanded the boundaries of the genre — featuring production from Oxnard, California’s prolific iconoclast, Madlib. Released late last month, Gibbs’ latest, Shadow of a Doubt, was greeted with rave reviews.

Activists still plan to push for better access

A state commission is backing Gov. Nathan Deal in refusing to support the cultivation and distribution of marijuana in Georgia for medicinal use.

“There’s no appetite for cultivation,” said state Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, a member of the Commission on Medical Cannabis. “Until you have a clear model … there are too many vague concepts about cultivation for me to be comfortable with it.”

Lawmakers last spring approved the use of cannabis oil to treat eight medical conditions, but the prospect of manufacturing and selling the drug in-state was left for the commission to review.

Over the course of The Future of Cannabis program, we've discussed the major opportunities this market presents to both businesses and investors that are able to establish their positions early. While the growing wave of legalization is the most significant catalyst of this generational opportunity, the market driver really stems from rapid organic expansion from passionate entrepreneurs. In fact, that's a distinct trait that the cannabis market shares with many of the disruptive industries we seen historically.

Last week the International Business Times ran a very interesting profile of Dan Riffle, who recently quit his position as federal policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project over his disquieting sense that the movement is becoming too centered on the interests of the businesses trying to make money in a slowly legalizing marijuana industry.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Efforts to legalize marijuana in California got a boost this week after competing ballot measures joined forces behind the stronger of the two, backed by billionaire Sean Parker, a former president of Facebook Inc.

The initiative has the support of Democratic Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform. Coalition board member Antonio Gonzalez, who is also president of the Latino Voters League, said the coalition withdrew its rival initiative after Parker's measure was modified to protect children, workers and small businesses.

Illinois officials say the state's first medical marijuana patients have purchased nearly $801,000 worth of cannabis during the program's first month.

Program director Joseph Wright announced the figures Wednesday. The numbers indicate Illinois has collected roughly $56,550 in taxes from wholesale sales of medical marijuana during the month. Marijuana wholesalers pay a 7 percent tax to the state.

Wright says licensed dispensaries have served 1,713 unique patients. That's nearly half the 3,600 patients who have been approved for the program.

Legal marijuana sales began Nov. 9 in Illinois. There are now 16 licensed dispensaries operating in Illinois.

The state’s second Native American-owned pot shop, Agate Dreams, opened yesterday in a nondescript building on the Suquamish reservation. As I drove past a sign for the grave where Chief Sealth rolls over every time we say “Seattle,” I found myself wondering how big of a deal this really was, given that we’ve already got tons of retail pot shops in Washington.

As more states allow for the use of medical marijuana, the University of Vermont is offering a course in the science of the drug — and the professors say they are challenged by a lack of research on what has long been a taboo topic.

Other institutions have offered classes in marijuana law and policy, but the university's medical school is likely the country's first to offer a full course on medical cannabis, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Other medical schools have touched on the topic.

DENVER — A major marijuana-infused manufacturing facility issued a voluntary recall Tuesday because of potentially unsafe pesticide residues in some product samples.

EPMM Colorado, which does business as EdiPure, said the recall affects 35,000 units of about 23 gummy and hard candy marijuana products.

The recall affects the following products:

“It will really help a lot of young men and women’s lives from being destroyed.”

Most people can come up with a slew of reasons to decriminalize or even legalize marijuana: It has proven medicinal benefits; it consistently accounts for fewer deaths annually than alcohol consumption; and many believe minorities are disproportionately persecuted for its possession.

But another case for decriminalizing marijuana is that it can reduce the strain on city resources by freeing up law-enforcement officials to focus on violent crimes, and also free up court resources by reducing the number of individuals circulating through the criminal justice system.