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Paying employees who work for a cannabis employer should be no different than any other employer, with one exception. One BIG exception. Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, on par with heroin and LSD and a violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), making many companies nervous about doing business with this industry. This includes banks, insurance companies and payroll processing services such as ADP, Paylocity, and Paychex.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is finalizing the rules for growing hemp, and small farmers worry that the cost and minimum planting requirements will exclude them from a potentially lucrative crop.

Hemp farmers must use least a quarter acre and must grow at least 1,000 plants, according to a draft of the rules, which are expected to be finalized in January. State officials say the rules are unlikely to change before then.

License and application fees are expected to total hundreds of dollars.

Cannabis stocks were a sea of red again on Monday, with Aurora Cannabis tumbling another 15% following disappointing earnings and MedMen down 23% on news of job cuts and asset sales.

The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, -4.35% was last down 4% with 26 of its 36 member stocks trading lower. The ETF has fallen for six straight days and is now down 35% in the year to date.

Image Source: AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The US Congress is apparently taking a second look at potentially legalizing marijuana. A vote to federally license this type of drugs will take place next week. 

It is no secret governments have no love lost for marijuana. 

Many consider it a threat to society, even though it also provides significant benefits in certain cases.

Legalizing marijuana is always a topic of substantial debate. 

Thailand is ramping up medical marijuana legalization efforts that will soon allow all Thais to cultivate six cannabis plants in their homes and sell their home-grown harvest to the government, to turn into medical marijuana.

“We are in the process of changing laws to allow the medical use of marijuana freely,” said recently-appointed Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in Bangkok on Wednesday. “We have high confidence that marijuana will be among the major agricultural products for Thai households. We are speeding up the law changes. But there is a process to it.”

Image Source: Farmer Don Kruger is growing hemp for the growing CBD market in the U.S. Here, he examines a flower on a 22-acre field he planted on Sauvie Island in northwest Oregon. (Hal Bernton / The Seattle Times)

SAUVIE  ISLAND, Ore. — On a foggy November day, farm workers take clippers to a field of bushy green plants, snipping tops full of flower buds dotted with flecks of sticky resin.

By the end of the day, the cuttings dry inside a southeast Portland warehouse, hanging  from tall plastic trellises like aromatic curtains.

Former Vice President Joe Biden this weekend came out against legalizing marijuana on a federal level because he claims the substance could potentially be a "gateway drug." Hours later, progressive Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued against the 2020 frontrunner's stance.

EUGENE, Ore. — We’ve come a long, long way from your older brother’s pot brownies. Yeah, those ones with visible chunks of cannabis flower. Did they even work?

Today’s refined edible cannabis doesn’t necessarily look or taste anything like the plant, and chefs are incorporating it into a staggering array of sweet and savory foods and drinks, from soups and sauces to sodas, beer and butter, all in controlled-dose servings.

And though these experiences still mostly appeal to a niche diner, the concept is entering the mainstream.