Watch 8:01
Why the legal marijuana industry is now struggling with diversity and inclusion
As marijuana legalization expands across the country, who is benefiting from the blossoming industry? In most cases, it is a very different population from that which has previously borne the brunt of marijuana criminalization. Millions are still dealing with scars…
Is CBD legal? Here’s what you need to know, according to science
If you buy or sell CBD, you could be breaking the law. These science lessons can explain why.
Watch 8:41
Marijuana has become big business. So why are small growers struggling to survive?
As marijuana has been legalized in states across the country, investors have identified a major business opportunity. Still, the cannabis market isn’t all easy money. In California, new companies are scaling up operations, but some smaller ones fight to survive,…
Watch 9:22
Does marijuana hurt or help your brain? Scientists rush to study the drug’s impact
As national attitudes and laws around cannabis use have evolved, so have the commercially grown strains of the plant. Some marijuana varieties today contain levels of THC, the drug’s psychoactive compound, as high as 50 percent, compared to around 5…
Across the country, more state laws are aligning with voter attitudes about recreational use of marijuana. The wave of cannabis legalization has had a significant influence on individuals, communities and governments, and driven the development of a burgeoning commercial industry.
And it’s not about older, more conservative Americans being replaced by younger generations who are more familiar with marijuana.
As more states legalize recreational use of marijuana, edible forms of the drug are also becoming increasingly popular. But little research has been done on potential complications of consuming the substance, and some scientists believe they can cause hallucinogenic reactions.
An analysis of more than five years of Medicare Part D and Medicaid prescription data found that after states legalized weed, the number of opioid prescriptions and the daily dose of opioids went way down.
A neurobiologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York thinks cannabidiol -- one of the two main compounds plucked from the marijuana plant -- might hold the potential to curb cravings for heroin and other opioids.
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