One of the biggest selling points of Colorado’s Amendment 64 that voters approved in 2012, legalizing the sale and consumption of marijuana for recreational use, was the idea that cannabis would be treated like alcohol in both regulation and consumption. In fact, the bill was literally named “The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012.” While the state has generally done a fine job of abiding by the spirit of the law, one issue has proven to be more complicated than the others: Public consumption.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A man serving a life sentence for non-violent marijuana offenses is now being released from prison, according to his son. According to a WDAF-TV report Jeff Mizanskey should be released within 10-25 days.   He was told Monday morning that he has been granted parole.

Mizanskey has served more than 20 years in prison for repeat marijuana offenses. He is now 62-years old. Governor Jay Nixon commuted his life sentence in May.

He was arrested during an undercover drug bust in Sedalia in 1993. He was sentenced in 1996 under the state’s Prior and Persistent Drug Offender Law, which is a three-strike system.

In our latest interview, Ganjapreneur heard from Chloe Villano, a serial entrepreneur from Colorado and founder of the nation’s first state-licensed cannabis university, Clover Leaf University. Chloe’s cannabis business expertise goes well beyond that, however: she’s also a widely-recognized and acclaimed marijuana business consultant with Clover Leaf Consulting and the founder of the Cannabis Business Awards. Through her consulting, Chloe has been working around the nation to establish leading compliance measures that have been recognized throughout the U.S.

For growers who are looking at the potential for cannabis production but are trying to get a sense for the regulatory lay of the land – know that 2016 could be a watershed year for cannabis legalization.

That belief was echoed at the Cannabis Business Summit held recently in Denver, Colo., where many of the nearly 2,000 attendees felt that if California legalizes recreational (or “adult use”) marijuana, as looks likely, it could set up a domino effect for much of the rest of the country.

Recently, a petition demanding the British government put the issue of cannabis legalization up for a debate managed to collect more than enough signatures over the course of just four days to force Parliament into action. Meanwhile, in the United States, a similar petition was launched around the same time on the White Houses’ We The People website that has barely garnered enough support to even be considered a threat to the sanctity of Uncle Sam’s prohibition model.

Although the topic of cannabis legalization often focuses on what is going on in the grand scheme of North American politics, the recent push to legalize weed in the United Kingdom suggests that the British population may actually be hungrier to win the fight against prohibition than their American counterparts.

The marijuana industry has been fighting an uphill battle for decades, but in recent years you could argue that it's been winning.

The marijuana movement pushes forward

Following decades of little to no support for a sweeping nationwide legalization of the currently illegal drug, nearly two-dozen states (and Washington D.C.) have passed legislation for medical marijuana since 1996. Taking it one step further, four states (and Washington D.C.) also allow consumers to purchase marijuana from licensed shops for recreational use.

Why the sudden change of heart on the part of consumers and states?

Sharpe is a policy analyst with Common Sense for Drug Policy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reforming drug policy and expanding harm reduction. He lives in Arlington.

Most of the medical marijuana patients in Connecticut are being seen by a handful of doctors, whose role is to certify patients’ eligibility and send them to one of the state’s six dispensaries.

That’s the case even as state Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan Harris has launched a public service campaign to increase the number of doctors registered in the medical marijuana program.

Only 239 doctors have signed up as of July 23, Harris said, up 17 from the beginning of the campaign of radio and print public service announcements, although Harris said he couldn’t determine any connection between the increase and the campaign itself.

Mike Graham moved from row to row of his roughly 20,000 marijuana plants Wednesday afternoon, describing how his production and processing business is looking forward to the harvest.

“We’re moving right along here, and we’re excited to have a full season,” he said. “And have a season where we’re operating according to our own schedule.”

Graham is the proprietor at Natural Mystic Farms on Naneum Road, a state-licensed recreational cannabis producer-processor.

The plants grow in rows above ground, under hoops workers can tarp over to limit sunlight and stimulate flowering and create a greenhouse-like environment.