Among the host of uncertainties they face, cannabis industry entrepreneurs might wonder if they can patent marijuana products -- after all, they are still illegal at the federal level.

It may come as a relief then, to find out that the US Patent Office has been issuing cannabis-related patents since 1942.

Nearly 1,500 cannabis patent applications have been filed, more than half in the last 25 years.

About half of the requests were approved and some of those have expired, leaving about 500 currently active cannabis-related patents.

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Julie Weed ~ Forbes.com ~