Medical marijuana is growing in New York but it remains unclear just when patients will be able to obtain the drug.

State health officials insist the program is on track to open in January — the timeframe stipulated in the 2014 legislation that legalized medical marijuana in New York.

Five companies were chosen last summer to grow and distribute marijuana in New York. Each grower is allowed to operate up to four dispensaries.

Teddy Scott, co-chief executive officer of marijuana grower PharmaCann, said he does not expect his Bronx dispensary to open until late January but was not concerned about the program getting off to a slow start.

“Everybody is doing something exceptional,” Scott said. “It is not just us, it is all of the licensees and the state… You should see these systems and to put them in as quickly as we have, it is amazing.”

Source: Medical marijuana program launch remains unclear – NY Daily News

Adilas420 consultants are available to help with the application writing and organization process. Ask an Adilas420 consultant for help with your application by clicking here.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission early Monday opened the state’s online application system for marijuana licenses.

The agency initially planned to staff a call center with staff and policy experts to take questions from people completing applications, but Sunday’s winter storm prompted the state to close its Portland office buildings Monday.

Source: Oregon opens application process for marijuana licenses | OregonLive.com

Motion-capture software is also one of the fastest growing industries?! How could we incorporate motion capture into Adilas software marijuana? For monitoring plants? For Security? Distribution? Imagine the ways… should we ask the Adilas developers to start working on it?

Cider production. Motion-capture software. Telehealth services. Marijuana. Here are the sectors that are projected to see the greatest spikes in revenue in 2015.

Source: The 5 Fastest-Growing Industries in the U.S. | Inc.com

A factory once owned by Hershey in Canada now makes products that offer a slightly stronger buzz than a milk chocolate kiss. The site in Smith Falls, Ontario, has 168,000 square feet that is licensed by the government for medical marijuana production. Tweed’s sales could reach C$100 million a year for its many home-grown varieties and blends. Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg

Source: Growing Green: Weed From an ex-Chocolate Factory in Canada – Bloomberg Business

“The ArcView Group, which sells research data to industry investors, says legalization of recreational use in California could more than double the national marijuana market – currently estimated at $2.7 billion in annual sales in states with legal medicinal or social use. But the Golden State initiative is merely another unfolding chapter in the fast-evolving market for marijuana-related businesses in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Canada and beyond.

Though many investors remain hesitant to fund marijuana cultivation, they’re putting money into startups that provide services for cannabis businesses. The industry also is attracting top talent from technology, banking and finance.”

Read more from the Source: Tech mavericks see green in burgeoning marijuana industry | The Sacramento Bee

California’s new medical marijuana laws were supposed to provide more structure and clarity for the state’s loosely regulated, billion-dollar industry, but in the past few weeks, dozens of municipalities have ignored that intention by moving quickly to ban delivery and other activities codified by the legislation. Advocates and legislators hope the bans are only a minor setback in the effort to show federal regulators and voters that California — the first state to legalize medical marijuana two decades ago — can provide order to a medical weed sector that has been haphazardly regulated. Having a well-regulated medical marijuana system in place could help voters feel more confident that California will be able to manage a system of recreational marijuana for adult use, which is expected to be on the November ballot.

Advocates had hoped that the new regulations would make cities and counties more secure in being able to treat the cannabis industry like any other business, complete with requirements and regulations and a fee structure.

Read more from the Source: Glitch in new marijuana law has some California cities scrambling – San Francisco Chronicle

It is important for small start up businesses getting into the marijuana industry to keep control of their own data, progress and contributions to their communities. Consumers will appreciate their neighborhood markets and locally grown products as long as they are educated. America’s recent rebel against “big agriculture” supports this concept.

“Rick Steves offered up that advice in an interview he did with KUOW a few weeks back. The comments came as Rick Steves was discussing the need for Washington State to add a home cultivation provision to its marijuana legalization law. As it stands right now, Washington is the only state to legalize marijuana but yet not allow home cultivation.”

Source: Travel Guru Rick Steves Has The Best Advice For Fighting ‘Big Marijuana’ | The Weed Blog

“According to the Cannabist, Mountain High Suckers’ products tested positive for imidacloprid and myclobutanil, pesticides Hickenlooper has called a “threat to public safety” and that the state has banned for use on marijuana.

Back in November, Colorado’s Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered the destruction of any marijuana treated with unapproved pesticides or any product made with that marijuana.

Nearly 100k packages of edibles present threat to public health.”

“Big Data is the new IT buzzword. Companies are spending on Big Data, but how do the use it to make better decisions, work more productively and take better actions? How does a company go from spending on big data to making it a competitive advantage for their business?”

Checkout this Forbes article on the big deal about big data. As pioneers in the medical marijuana industry, it is up to us to collect and maintain the data and information needed to best build the success of the industry.

Read more directly from the Source: The Big Deal About Big Data And What It Means For IT And You – Forbes

“Online applications become available Jan. 4 for recreational marijuana outlets. This includes six types of permits, from growers, processors and wholesalers to retailers and laboratories.

The number of applications are unlimited, Mark Pettinger, Oregon Liquor Control Commission spokesman said, unlike Washington which capped its retail licenses.”

“The whole focus of this it to have a dialogue between the two parties, essentially us and the applicant, because we want them to be successful,” Pettinger said. “It won’t be enforcement, it will be education and compliance we will be focusing on.”

“Once recreational marijuana stores begin opening, possibly by October 2016, the tax rate will drop from the original 25 percent rate. The state will collect 17 percent, and there’s a 3 percent local option.”

Read more from the Source: Oregon Local News – New year brings changes to state marijuana program