Nearly a year into marijuana legalization in California, top law enforcement officials are fighting a proposed rule allowing pot deliveries anywhere in the state. Meanwhile, one cannabis industry leader agrees with their concerns.

Matt Lucero of Buddy’s Cannabis in San Jose has been in the business for nearly a decade. And business is booming for him, even as state and the county pass new laws on the industry. “It’s a steady, continued growth,” Lucero said.

While Lucero said he makes certain to follow the law, he’s aware that many others are not. “The black market is alive and well. And right now delivery drivers are the way that the black market is getting their product to folks,” Lucero told KPIX 5.

California will soon have one of the world’s most tightly-regulated marijuana markets, as the state in the next few weeks launches a long-awaited digital tracking system intended to follow every plant grown and sold through the licensed cannabis industry.

Many licensed marijuana business owners are applauding the so-called “seed-to-sale” tracking system as a way to cut down on competition from the state’s still-massive black market.

But many also say a lack of information about how the new tracking system will work — and the abrupt shift from what has been a fairly lax attitude about tracking product — is causing chaos in a fledgling industry that’s reeling from hefty new taxes and regulations.

Because of a lack of insurance options, cannabis businesses are particularly vulnerable.

Federal law keeps the cannabis industry from flourishing. Aside from a lack of banking, cannabis businesses are also prohibited from being fully insured, thus making them extremely vulnerable.

Good news for California. The state's adult cannabis market is estimated torake in $7.7 billion by 2021, according to leading cannabis researchers ArcView Group in partnership with  BDS Analytics.

There’s a badge on her uniform, possibly a gun on her hip, and her arms are spread a little, suggesting she’s ready for anything. You might think that you’re looking at a police officer walking a beat.

But what you’ve seen on billboards and, more recently, the internet is an effort by MedMen Enterprises of Culver City to remind you that marijuana users come from all walks of life. They can be cops, nurses, teachers, scientists, construction foremen and grandmothers. All these people appear in MedMen ads that also feature the word “stoner” with a line drawn through it. As in, let’s get rid of this.

Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) today announced that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has granted approval to import a cannabinoid study drug into the United States from Canada for a clinical trial at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) examining its safety, tolerability and efficacy for Essential Tremor (ET).

The prospect of vans loaded with pot delivering to homes in quiet Morgan Hill makes Police Chief David Swing uneasy.

Like most cities in the state, the upscale San Jose suburb has banned pot shops. But now, as California considers a proposal to allow marijuana businesses to send home-delivery vans into communities where retail stores are prohibited, Swing and others in law enforcement say they are preparing for the worst.

“This will make it easier and more lucrative to rob a delivery person than a liquor store,” said Swing, who is president of the California Police Chiefs Assn. He notes drivers would be allowed to carry up to $10,000 in cash. “Robberies are the tip of the iceberg. They can lead to other crimes, including aggravated assaults and homicides.”

In the era of legal cannabis, regulations are the name of the game, but stringent potency and purity tests across the state are keeping nearly 18 percent of cannabis products from hitting the dispensary shelves, according to state-provided data.

A little more than 1,900 marijuana samples failed tests through Aug. 29. While small numbers of failed products came from pesticide contamination or E. coli, the vast majority were found to have a different amount of THC than what was listed on the label.

Some dispensary representatives say the testing policies are holding products to a tight standard and leaving a small margin for error. The products must test within 10 percent of the product’s claimed potency, according to the state’s rules.

On a big red billboard above Los Angeles, an elderly woman strikes a jaunty pose. She sports stylish sunglasses and bright lipstick. Beside her, the bold epithet “stoner” has been crossed out and replaced with “grandmother.” “Who is she?” I wondered when I saw the ad, which graced the skyline for three weeks this April.

As it turns out, her name is Barbara Rubin, and, in addition to enjoying cannabis-infused chocolate, she’s an avid hula-hooper with a Ph.D. I learned her backstory on the ad campaign’s dedicated website, Forgetstoner.com, which also features profiles of other cannabis aficionados, including a designer, a police officer, and a former offensive lineman in the NFL.

Even the most ardent marijuana lovers can’t deny it: The plant, at least to some noses, stinks.

Marijuana odors have triggered lawsuits against cannabis companies. They’ve also led residents to try to block commercial operations from coming to California and the other eight states where recreational cannabis is legal and, increasingly, big business.

Odor has sparked some neighborhood friction, too, as marijuana smoke drifts from one apartment or yard to the next. There are products on the market that claim to test for smells, block all odors from wafting out of indoor operations, and even help control the stench of outdoor marijuana farms.