Word to the wise, or rather, to this woman arrested after advertising illicit weed business on Snapchat: don’t do this.

A woman arrested after advertising illicit weed business on Snapchat reminds us that very few things are private anymore.

In the age of social media, anybody can be, for lack of better terms, anything. A pseudo-celebrity, a faux-model, or even an unspecified ‘entrepreneur’.

Apparently, it has even facilitated the transition to becoming a bottom of the barrel weed dealer.

Scientific evidence confirming the medicinal properties of cannabis is getting harder and harder to ignore, and even conservative, Republican-dominated states are beginning to show support for medical marijuana.

This week, Republican legislators in Tennessee proposed a bill to legalize oil-based medical marijuana, and on the very same day a Nebraska state senator proposed a ballot measure to let the state vote on allowing medical cannabis.

A Nebraska-based company signed Thursday the first contract to supply US-grown hemp fiber to a sustainable apparel company, according to an investor close to the deal. 

Bastcore, LLC, purchases raw hemp grown by US farmers and has a proprietary process for converting hemp stalks into commercial materials, for textiles, composites, and energy production. 

"This fiber supply contract marks a historic milestone in the U.S. Hemp Industry, and particularly for American-made hemp textiles, since the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill," Bastcore CEO John Lupien said in an announcement obtained by Business Insider.

Sure, it's the pun of all puns, but the marijuana industry really is growing like a weed. According to cannabis research firm ArcView, the North American legal-cannabis market saw sales increase by 34% in 2016 to $6.9 billion, and they're liable to grow by an average of 26% a year through 2021. That's a nearly $22 billion market up for grabs, and investors certainly want a piece of that pie.

By Joseph Misulonas - Everyone knows one of the most common side effects from smoking marijuana is getting the "

Like one of the ghostlike baseball players of "Field of Dreams," researcher Ismail Dweikat strode through the rows of 9-foot-high sorghum in search of an unusual field in farm country.

Behind a thick screen of green stalks lay a research plot that’s been three years in the making in Nebraska.

“Can you smell it?” asked Dweikat as he stepped into a 30-by-60-foot field of cannabis.

Not just any cannabis, but the state’s first test plot of industrial hemp, a cousin of marijuana that has none of the properties to get someone high, but plenty of uses that might translate into an alternative cash crop for the state’s farmers.

“Corn is king in Nebraska — no one is going to give up corn for hemp — but at least hemp would give you a third option,” Dweikat said.

A federal appellate panel on Wednesday blocked the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma from challenging Colorado’s marijuana legalization law, saying their claims should be directed to the U.S. Supreme Court—a venue that has already refused to hear their fight.

While the tension between state and federal laws has created a difficult situation for cannabis users, there’s another factor that is complicating the changing attitude towards weed: hospitals. Though it isn’t legally mandated, many hospitals won’t allow people who use weed to be placed on organ transplant waiting lists.

Lawmakers in about two dozen states have proposed bills this year to ease their marijuana laws despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions' warning that he could crack down on pot, a major change from the Obama administration, which essentially turned a blind eye to the state legislation.

Bills have been introduced in 17 states this year to make recreational pot legal for adults, while five others are considering voter referendums on the issue. Sixteen states have introduced medical marijuana legislation, 10 are considering decriminalizing the drug and three are considering easing their penalties. An effort in Wyoming to decriminalize the drug failed this session.

When it comes to high-growth industries, there's very little, if anything, that can top the marijuana industry. In just 21 years' time, more than half of the country has legalized access to medical cannabis, and over the past four-plus years, we've witnessed eight states (along with Washington, D.C.) legalize recreational pot.