As a part of our special feature series highlighting some of the more promising companies operating in the cannabis industry. Part of that is digging into some of the strongest public companies currently out there, so we've taken a closer look at the operators in the cultivation and retail sector with an eye towards what might make for the strongest potential investment. Granted, some of these are micro-cap companies in the very early stages of their growth story and facing a relatively uncertain future in terms of their regulatory environment, so there is clearly a lot of risk associated with investing at this stage.

When Tiffany Wu first entered the cannabis industry in March, she noticed that Asian Americans involved in the industry were few and far between — a trend the 28-year-old says was made even more apparent after she attended the Marijuana Business Conference and Expo, one of the nation's largest cannabis trade shows attracting thousands of advocates and industry professionals, in Las Vegas in November. 

"ANYTHING IN FAVOR OF GIVING MORE ACCESS TO PATIENTS IS SOMETHING WE ARE GETTING BEHIND. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO NEED THIS."

"I personally saw maybe less than 15 Asian Americans during my three days there," Wu, a San Francisco Bay Area business attorney specializing in the cannabis industry, told NBC News. 

Want to take a bite out of the American obesity epidemic? Legalize medical marijuana.

That's the counterintuitive finding of a new study in the journal Health Economics. Researchers from San Diego State University and Cornell University found that at the state level, passing a medical marijuana law (MML) "is associated with a 2 percent to 6 percent decline in the probability of obesity." Over the longer term, this effect could be even larger. Tally it all up and according to the study's authors, "we estimate a back-of-the-envelopeper-person reduction in MML-induced obesity related medical costs of $58 to$115 per year."

Preliminary studies reveal harmful effects of highly potent cannabis, but causal links remain unclear

On the street it’s called skunk for its intense, pungent odor. But the smell isn’t the only thing that’s strong about this type of marijuana. These increasingly popular strains contain high levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive substance in cannabis that causes its euphoric effects. Several new studies have noted the rapid rise in marijuana potency and raised questions about the risks it poses to users.

With recreational marijuana sweeping the nation, startups and investors are finding new ways to cash in on the green revolution.

California’s Silicon Valley is leading the way with tech companies fighting to alter the public’s perception of the marijuana smoker from the ’60’s Rasta stoner to a sleek millennial-inspired user.

This isn’t your parent’s marijuana and the growing industry is ripe for exploitation and many new startups are hoping to take advantage of the relatively open playing field.

Once a back alley operation, the legal marijuana industry has blossomed into a $3 billion powerhouse complete with its political special interest group.

HempMeds and Kannaway will be showcasing the products to anti-aging doctors at A4M World Congress, due Dec. 10-13.

Medical Marijuana (OTCMKTS:MJNA), an investment holding company, said its portfolio companies HempMeds and Kannaway LLC are showcasing their newly expanded hemp cannabidiol (CBD) oil product lines at the 23rd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine.

By Ricardo Baca

The marijuana industry has a pesticide problem.

A couple of recent developments have focused attention on the newly legal marijuana industry in several states and the potential for those new businesses to have an enormous impact on the shape of legal marijuana as it is rolled out in several new states. There is a lot of money involved in the industry, and money always plays a role in politics.

Money Has Always Been a Factor

You probably don't need me to tell you that smoking anything while you're pregnant isn't recommended. Inhaling smoke into your lungs (whether that's cigarette smoke, marijuana smoke, or even bonfire smoke) is never going to be considered healthy. Period. Smoke caused from the combustion of marijuana is still filled with toxins and carcinogens — and inhaling toxins and carcinogens hurts your lungs and the fetus.

DENVER, Dec. 7, 2015/ Weed Wire/– Canna Security America (CSA) (OTCBB: CSAX) the leading extensive security solutions company catering to companies in the certified marijuana industry, is delighted to announce that it has actually finished its merger and begun to trade as a public company.