Concerns about road safety are often cited as an argument against cannabis legalization. Now that seven years have passed since the historic votes by Colorado and Washington state to legalize, there is enough data for a statistical analysis of whether these fears are warranted — and one scholar has risen to the occasion. 

Nearly identical hemp bills have passed the Senate and House, giving Washington farmers the chance to catch up with growers in some other states.

The Senate voted 49-0 on Tuesday to lift restrictions on where hemp can be grown, where seeds can be obtained and how harvested plants can be used. The House last week embraced the same policies in a 95-0 vote.

“I’m excited. I’m still letting it sink in,” said lobbyist Bonny Jo Peterson of the Industrial Hemp Association of Washington. “I’ve been confident, but I’m still amazed it’s going the way it’s going.”

Dauntless, Inc., a Seattle-area software developer providing point-of-sale and tracking software to the cannabis industry, has acquired pot sales software company Soro.

The combined companies aim to create an all-encompassing platform serving growers, packagers, and retailers across the U.S., said Soro CEO Jerry Tindall.

There’s an old saying that ‘all politics is local’ and it turns out the same goes for marijuana prices. A new report from cannabis data company Headset looked at pricing trends from four key states that have fully legalized cannabis including two states with mature sales data and two fairly new states.

The study examines average item prices throughout 2018 and for the first two months of 2019. The sales data comes from customers who participate in store loyalty programs, as well as the $4.5 billion in transactions that Headset tracks.

The state-licensed cannabis industry gained over 64,000 new employees in 2018, and now employs over 200,000 full-time workers, according to data compiled by Whitney Economics and the online content provider Leafly.com.

Commenting on the new findings, NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said, “The federal government needs to deschedule marijuana to allow states to better and more fully benefit from the economic growth engine that is the legal marijuana industry. Further, state regulators need to ensure as this sector expands its economic benefits are shared by all, including and most especially by those who suffered most under the failed policy of criminal prohibition.”

A bill proposed by state Rep. Brian Blake of Aberdeen would allow marijuana on school campuses for students who require aid for medical conditions.

The state Legislature convenes today.

House Bill 1060 aims to permit students to consume medical marijuana on school property, aboard buses and while attending school-sponsored events.

Students would have to meet the demands of state law RCW 69.51A.220, which requires that health care professionals must authorize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Minors would receive treatment with the approval of their guardians.

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.

Amid a flurry of rumors regarding his possible run for the White House in 2020, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced a limited program to pardon misdemeanor cannabis convictions stemming from 1998 to 2012.

“We shouldn’t be punishing people for something that is no longer illegal behavior in the state of Washington,” said Inslee on Friday morning at the annual Washington State Cannabis Summit, an event held by marijuana business interests.

A few months ago it appeared the state of Washington was getting ready to ban a large number of marijuana candies and edibles, but a new decision will protect those products with new regulations, writes Joseph Misulonas.