Along North-east Sandy Boulevard in Portland, Oregon, there’s a stretch known as the “Green Mile”. Here, medical marijuana dispensaries are budding. Almost two years ago, when Matt Walstaller opened Pure Green in the area, there was only one competitor. Today there’s close to 10.

In the beginning business was booming, recalled Walstaller. But last autumn, Pure Green’s traffic started to slow.

“Then we looked at the numbers. There was a couple thousand new medical cardholders, but two or three times as many stores as there had been the year before,” said Walstaller.

Men were more likely to support marijuana legalization than women.

It's been almost two years since Colorado regulated recreational marijuana for sale, and according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Friday, a majority of the state's voters support the decision and say its outcome has been good.

Fifty-five percent of Colorado voters surveyed support the law that legalized marijuana in 2012 and officially regulated the sale of the drug in 2014. Forty-one percent stand opposed. Slightly over half of Coloradans think the outcome has been good for the state, while 39 percent say it's been bad. 

An article earlier this week in the Sacramento Bee grapples with the new issues facing cannabis farmers now that state laws have finally been passed to regulate the marijuana market. While the current laws only deal with medical cannabis, it is no secret they are intended to be in place to help California transition out of the medical marijuana only model. (2016 is widely expected to be the year the Golden State legalizes recreational cannabis.)

“People should be focused on the business, not hanging out and getting high” insists Carter Laren, co-founder of marijuana startup funder and incubator Gateway, which launches today in Oakland, CA. But even if you’re stoned, you should be able to see the opportunity here. Marijuana prohibition is coming to an end, and massive businesses will grow in its place. Gateway wants to seed them.

After the passage of Measure 91 and the beginning of early retail sales, the recreational marijuana market is booming, according to industry leaders, who told GoLocal last month that sales have doubled since stores could begin selling to the general public. Now, marijuana business groups are pushing for more growth by allowing business owners to let customers consume marijuana inside their walls.

Currently, Oregonians can only smoke marijuana while on private property. In October, Sgt. Peter Simpson, with the Portland Bureau of Police, told GoLocal that patrol officers will still be on the lookout for those who smoke in public places, such as parks, streets or outside bars or restaurants.

With high-profile investors taking interest in legal cannabis businesses, it’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. HerbFront, the nation’s first real estate exchange platform for the legal cannabis industry, offers clients the tools they need to take advantage of new opportunities in their states.

Celebrities like Seth Rogen, Nick Lachey, Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson have been in the news recently for their forays into the industry. If HerbFront had been around in 2011 when talk-show host Montel Williams opened his California dispensary, he would have had all the real estate options he needed at his fingertips.

The Ford Motor Company has created a unique body suit that simulates the effects of driving under the influence of illegal drugs. The aim is to educate young people about the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of drugs.

Ford developed the suit together with scientists from the Meyer-Hentschel Institute in Germany to simulate some of the effects of popular drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin and MDMA (commonly known as Ecstasy). Physical effects include slower reaction time, distorted vision, hand tremors and poor coordination.

Worried too few consumers know about pot recalls, Denver officials require companies use social media to flag the public

Denver health officials are requiring marijuana companies that recall products tainted with unapproved pesticides to use websites and social media accounts to alert consumers.

The move comes amid concerns that few customers are learning about nine recalls the city has announced affecting tens of thousands of items across dozens of product names.

Just three of the companies involved told their customers directly, a Denver Post check of their social media accounts showed.

States laws may prevent black farmers from growing medical marijuana

In Montana, a man was arrested for possessing about as much marijuana as it would take to roll a joint. Montana is a fairly conservative state, so it's not a surprise. But what was surprising is when it came time to fill the jury slots, the judge could not find one single person willing to convict a man over a small amount of marijuana. And it continues to show the ridiculousness of marijuana laws throughout the U.S.: