Ricardo Varona is accused of trafficking the drug in Southwest Miami-Dade

He claims he grew the plants to help ease his wife’s cancer-related suffering

A pot businessman testified the defendant’s operation was ‘amateur’

With its established medical and recreational pot industry, Colorado loomed large Thursday over the trial of a Miami man who insists he operated a marijuana growhouse only to help ease the suffering of his cancer-stricken wife.

Last year on 4/20, a group of liberal-minded Denverites gathered at a bakery for a brunch featuring pot edibles.

As drinks began to be served, a group of black-clad Denver policemen descended on the gathering and ordered everyone to disperse, according to Jane West, the event’s organizer. West, a 38-year-old mother of two, said she was charged with a criminal misdemeanor.

“I wasn’t planning on becoming a criminal,” she said. “I was doing everything i could to make this legit.”

The raid was a result of the ambiguity left in the wake of the passage of Amendment 64, which legalized the sale of marijuana in Colorado three years ago. But while sales are now legal, legislators have left it up to cities and counties to determine where and when it can be smoked.

The biggest winner to emerge from the 2015 TechCrunch Disrupt SF battlefield is pot.

Two companies working closely with the legal marijuana industry took the event’s Disrupt Cup as well as Runner-Up awards on Wednesday,the Upstart Business Journalreports.

Brooklyn-based company Agrilystwon the Disrupt Cup in the end for a service that helps greenhouse operators grow more efficiently through precise data gathered from sensors set up throughout the indoor grow area itself.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Michigan Court of Appeals decision upholding the conviction of a Kentwood man for violating the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act does little to clarify a law many see as confusing.

In fact, a local attorney who specializes in medical marijuana defense says it shows that the act is so convoluted and frequently misapplied that the only solution may be legalization at the hands of the voters.

John Christopher Placencia, 42, was arrested in Kentwood in the summer of 2012 on charges of selling marijuana and operating a drug house.

Huge news for drug reform and residents of Cook County. According to the county’s State Attorney Anita Alvarez, anyone caught with 30 grams of marijuana or less on their first or second offense will not be prosecuted. On a third offense offenders will be sent to drug schooling.

“What we are doing is simply not working,”

Alvarez said Monday morning.

She noted the huge waste time and money spent on cycling small time drug offenders in and out of the penal system, with the new approach based on “treatment instead of traditional prosecution.”

e cannabis industry is the latest trend that Silicon Valley companies are investing in, and for good reason.

Venture capitalists, or private investors who provide venture capital to promising business ventures, are really starting to see the green that this industry is creating. With four states utilizing the recreational use of marijuana, there is certainly profit to be made.

Venture capitalists are looking for any kind of tech company to make it easier to acquire or grow the product, and maybe even lead the tech-marijuana industry. Some of the cannabis-focused technology includes mobile apps, search engines, and on-demand services.

Meadow and Eaze are medical marijuana delivery services, intending on becoming the Uber of cannabis.

Well, It's Illegal If You're Under 21, and Your School Probably Doesn't Allow It on Campus...

Dear cannabis-using and cannabis-curious college students of 2015: You have now matriculated in one of the most weed-friendly cities in the United States. That could be a godsend or a problem for you in the years to come, but we'll get to that in a moment. For now, congratulations.

Oregon has been on the forefront of the cannabis industry for many years. After legalizing medical marijuana back in 1998 and recreational marijuana last year, the state has been a pioneer when it comes to important issues like reprieve for prior crimes. Measure 91 promises to open up a $450 million market for the state by 2020, according to New Frontier Financials projections, creating jobs, raising tax revenue, and yielding opportunities for investors.

Drug giant Pfizer is starting 20 clinical trials this year and more soon after on treatments to conquer cancer as it also seeks to gain leadership in one of the hottest, and most lucrative, areas of medicine.

A decade ago, the world's second-biggest drugmaker by revenue wasn't even a player in cancer medicine. Instead, it was known for erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra and blockbuster cholesterol fighter Lipitor.

New York-based Pfizer Inc. then chose to make cancer one of its core research areas, pitting it against cancer powerhouses including Novartis AG, Roche Holding AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Merck & Co.