The U.S. government inched closer to recognizing marijuana as medicine earlier this month when a federal research organization changed its tune on cannabis. The National Institute on Drug Abuse - which controls cannabis research in America - offered a more progressive stance on medical marijuana in a recent update to its webpage.

Recent polling shows majorities of nearly every demographic in the U.S. favors changing federal law regarding marijuana.

A recent poll from Quinnipiac University found a big division among Americans about legalizing marijuana at the federal level.

A large majority favored the idea. Asked if marijuana “should be made legal in the U.S.”, 59 percent said “yes” while 36 percent said “no.”

However, the poll found a real dividing line when it came to two groups:

Before she could become a top aide for President Obama, Alyssa Mastromonaco had a close call with the FBI.

It was Friday, October 5, 2008, and I was having a panic attack. I was working as the director of scheduling and advance for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and we were rounding the corner into the final month before the election. But the crisis before me in the Chicago headquarters that day had nothing to do with a bad debate performance, derailed travel schedule, or staff member saying something stupid to a reporter. I was freaking out because I love to smoke weed.

Wednesday's big legislative hearing on legalizing pot in Connecticut may have more to do with the state's huge money problems than with the issues surrounding marijuana use.

The bill to legalize recreational cannabis calls for a total state tax on pot sales of 30 percent, and the plan's supporters say that could bring in $100 million a year to help solve projected billion-dollar deficits.

In 1992, a discussion about buying marijuana was pretty straightforward. Back then, it was illegal and socially stigmatized. Walking into a storefront to buy it was pretty much out of the question — unless you happened to be connecting thru Amsterdam. Most transactions occurred on street corners or back alleys, and payment was in cash.

Four years later, in 1996, the situation regarding marijuana legislatively changed dramatically, when California passed Proposition 215 and legalized marijuana for medical patients. Over the next two decades, 28 states have also legalized marijuana for medical use (apart from a handful of early adopters, the bulk of the medical states have legalized in the last ten years).

Vaping: You've seen it everywhere. You've seen vapers blow dense clouds with great satisfaction. You've seen vape shops, which advertise "e-juice" and strange-looking accessories. 

You know what's deadlier than weed? Well, almost everything. But for the sake of comparison, let's put the slandered plant up against SWAT raids involving suspected weed dealers. According to data put together by the New York Times, at least 20 such raids since 2010 have turned deadly.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has issued its first recall of recreational marijuana.

The OLCC says samples of Blue Magoo marijuana contained a level of pesticide residue that exceeds the state limit.

The Capital Press reports the marijuana was grown by Emerald Wave Estate and sold at Buds 4 U in Mapleton, a community 45 miles west of Eugene. The OLCC said people who bought the pot should dispose of it or return it to the retailer.

At least, that’s the news coming out of Washington state.

So far, marijuana legalization isn’t having a big effect on the number of teens using pot in Washington state.

That’s the takeaway from a recently released state-run survey of 38,000 high school students in Washington state. Based on the state’s numbers, teen pot use remained relatively flat after Washington voted to legalize marijuana in 2012 and allowed legal pot shops to open in 2014.