The Colorado General Assembly has been in session for less than two weeks, but lawmakers are already hard at work and have introduced more than 200 bills so far.

A key part of a bill's success or failure is how much money it would cost taxpayers and where the money used to fund the initiative would come from. Since 2014, one of the easiest targets for funding has been marijuana tax dollars.

Cannabis consumers make more money, spend more time outdoors, volunteer more and are generally more happy about life, according to a recently released study. Is smoking cannabis the key to happiness?

According to BDS Analytics, the “well-adjusted lifestyles seen among cannabis consumers serve as a common theme in the findings in the company’s series of reports, called ‘Public Attitudes and Actions Towards Legal Cannabis’.” The data firm conducted the study in California and Colorado. Research is under way in Oregon and Washington.

Industry observers expected that the marijuana legalization trend in the U.S. would hurt liquor sales, but a new study from a booze trade association says that hasn't been the case in the three states where weed has been legal the longest.

Overall industry trends remained consistent, according to the Distilled Spirits Council, which did the study. Spirits sales went up in the three states – Colorado, Oregon and Washington state – although wine and beer stayed on their mixed to negative course.

"At this point, we've seen no impact on spirit sales from legalized recreational marijuana," said Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council.

In just a few days, Denver will hit the five-year mark for the country's first commercial cannabis market. Jan. 1 is the anniversary of legal and recreational marijuana in Colorado. As Denver approaches the milestone, the city shared the following statistics looking back over the years:

President Donald Trump has vocally supported efforts towards marijuana reform, although nothing has actually been passed since he took office. But one Republican senator says he's still committed to those goals, writes Joseph Misulonas. 

Despite many states legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, the Drug Enforcement Administration -- an agency under the Justice Department -- still considers it a Schedule 1 drug. That puts it on the same list as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

A group of patients, families and activists are now appealing a decision in a lawsuit against the Justice Department in a push to get marijuana off that list. They hope it will pave the way for marijuana legalization across the country.

The relationship between bees and cannabis is making headlines in both the scientific and entrepreneurial world. And it just may be a match made in heaven.

Case in points: A recent experiment shows that hemp may produce a needed pollen source for stressed-out bees. And an Israeli company is marketing honey made by bees who are fed cannabidiols.

Both represent unusual bee-related stories, even by the standards of an insect that has provided many strage stories and unsolved mysteries through the years.

More than 10,000 Denver convictions for low-level marijuana possession from before the drug was legalized in Colorado are likely to be erased, but Colorado Springs has no plans for a blanket amnesty.

“For too long, the lives of low-income residents and those living in our communities of color have been negatively affected by low-level marijuana convictions,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said recently in a statement. “This is an injustice that needs to be corrected, and we are going to provide a pathway to move on from an era of marijuana prohibition that has impacted the lives of thousands of people.”

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers disagrees that marijuana convictions from the prohibition era should be wiped clean.

With the year coming to a close, a new Democrat-controlled legislature will soon take over the state. This means a few laws that have struggled in previous sessions could finally get moving.

Many speculate that marijuana legislation will play a big part in the upcoming session, including one idea that was voted down in early 2018: a pilot program to allow certain Colorado cities from testing out a marijuana delivery service.

It failed to pass with a Republican majority senate but now with a Democratic majority and a Governor-elect who is open to expanding the industry that may change.