Reggie Gaudino is Vice President of Scientific Operations and the Director of Intellectual Property at Steep Hill, a national leader in cannabis science and technology.

Reggie recently joined our host Shango Los for a conversation about the genetic patenting of specific cannabis strains, the future of cannabis breeding, and how the involvement of big agriculture is going to shift the landscape of the entire marijuana industry.

Arrested last year at his Denver law office, a Colorado attorney facing federal charges in connection with an alleged illegal marijuana operation says he shouldn’t be prosecuted.

That’s because state law permits him to do what he did and a federal budget amendment bans the use of federal funds to pursue the case, says attorney David Furtado. In fact, a motion filed last week by his counsel alleges, it is the Department of Justice that is violating the law, because the budget amendment effectively nixes federal prosecution of marijuana businesses operating legally under state law.

When I dreamt of having children, I never thought I’d dream of the day my teenage son could legally use marijuana. When I was in college learning about The War on Drugs, I didn’t appreciate the history behind this substance. I certainly do now.

My son would likely benefit from marijuana. It might help stop his severe seizing, which would change all of our lives.

Unfortunately for us, marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, a class of drugs assumed to be highly addictive, dangerous and without medical value. Cannabis sits on this list with heroin and LSD, but there is no longer a consensus within the medical community that marijuana belongs on this list. And so even promising trials are very limited. The government isn’t listening to the doctors.

On a frigid March morning in downtown Albany, where church spires loom tall and traffic lights dangle from wires that stretch across intersections, a flurry of white-haired men in suits strolled down State Street. They were heading for Sixty State Street, the tony event space and banquet hall in the city's Downtown Historic District, where a team of busboys were hurrying to arrange pastries on silver trays in anticipation of the guests' arrival. Once they arrived, they mingled in groups, chatting over coffee and orange juice, shaking hands and exchanging business cards.

For Justin Trudeau, making the legalization of marijuana a key plank in his election platform was relatively easy. 

Now his government faces the complicated – and potentially controversial – task of regulating the distribution and sale.

These are not uncharted waters. A handful of American states have recently taken the plunge, and the experiences in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia provide examples of how marijuana sales could be introduced in Canada.

Just like in vegetable cultivation, the use of pesticides in growing cannabis is a growing concern for consumers, especially medical cannabis patients.

Silicon Valley’s technology and venture capital firms are starting to make big bets on legal cannabis. Whether it’s Y Combinator, Tao Capital, or TechCrunch Disrupt, pot is hot. 

More than a thousand CEOs, VCs, founders, and journalists will gather over the weekend of November 20 for the first-ever New West Summit, the cannabis industry’s first conference devoted to tech, money, and media, with a full two-day lineup featuring 20 panels, 60 panelists, and 36 exhibitors.

New York based LeafLink, a wholesale B2B marketplace for cannabis professionals, are aiming to launch their site by the end of the year after raising $750k in funding. You can learn more about LeafLink in their Q&A with CEO and Co-founder Ryan Smith below.

CINCINNATI — The sheer size of Tuesday’s crushing electoral defeat of marijuana legalization in the Buckeye State surprised political experts inside and out of Ohio. Despite a $20 million campaign, the proposed constitutional amendment, known as Issue 3, lost. Amid its smoking wreckage, six reasons emerge to explain what happened to Issue 3 — and what happens next.

With 99% of precincts reporting, the amendment was defeated 64% to 36%.

DENVER - Colorado voters approved Proposition BB in the Nov. 3 election, therefore deciding to let the state keep a surplus in pot tax revenue.

Proposition BB passed with 66 percent of votes in favor of it.

See election results here.

Colorado law required the vote because the revenue exceeded the initial estimate. The overall revenue was more than voters approved for a marijuana tax in 2013. TABOR requires a projection to be made in a tax’s first year.