Legislation to bring together Washington’s two dueling marijuana systems is moving forward. As KUOW’s Amy Radil reports, the challenge may come in deciding which medical dispensaries get to stay open.

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Since Initiative 502 legalized marijuana in Washington in 2012, a number of issues have emerged that legislators are hoping to address this year. One is the competition licensed marijuana stores are facing from unlicensed medical marijuana businesses. Another is the difficulty finding legal locations for marijuana stores, which can’t be too close to parks and schools.

Philip Dawdy is a consultant to marijuana businesses. He says two bills moving forward this year seem poised to address those problems.

TRENTON -- With chants like "One! Two! Three! Four! Smoke, smoke, smoke some more!" a crowd of more than 100 people supporting the legalization of marijuana descended Saturday on the Statehouse in Trenton.

The "Spring Smoke Out" rally grew in intensity as it progressed through East State Street, culminating with the demonstration outside the Statehouse that included a few dozen people smoking marijuana in protest at 4:20 p.m.

"Who's ready to protest?" Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion called out to the crowd, eliciting a chorus of cheers. "We are!"

"Who's ready to smoke? Who's ready to vote?" Forchion yelled. "We are!" the group responded, cheering louder than before.

North Carolinians are increasingly backing a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in their state, momentum that advocates say could signal a turning point for lawmakers who have tried for years to push legal pot through the Legislature, but to no avail. About 150 people showed up Thursday outside the Statehouse in Raleigh to voice their support for House Bill 78, filed in February, which would allow patients with certain chronic ailments to access medicinal marijuana. The crowd included U.S. veterans with the group North Carolina Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (N.C. RAMP), according to WRAL-TV.

Virginia Tech is gearing up for research that could help establish an industrial hemp growing industry in the commonwealth under a new state law.

On Monday Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed into a law a bill sponsored by Del. Joseph Yost, R-Pearisburg, and for years championed by Montgomery County politician, farmer and businessman Jim Politis that will allow limited hemp cultivation through a permitting system — so long as it is affiliated with a university research program.

Tech released information on its next steps in a news release on Wednesday.

Worrying about teen drinking and drug use has kept many a parent up at night. With marijuana becoming increasingly available and legal in some parts of the country, the question has taken on new urgency: If teens are going to experiment, which is safer, booze or pot?

"The first answer always has to be neither," Dr. Aaron Carroll, a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, told CBS News. But then he acknowledges they're not exactly equivalent -- and he considers alcohol much more dangerous.

Kevin Sabet has become synonymous with the opposition to  marijuana legalization in the US. As a former drug policy adviser to the White House and co-founder, with Patrick Kennedy, of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), Sabet has long acted as a major counterpoint to pro-legalization groups like the Marijuana Policy Project and Drug Policy Alliance.

But it's been a rough battle for Sabet and SAM in recent years. Since 2012, four states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana by varying degrees, with Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon allowing retail sales and DC only permitting growing and gifting. The tide of victories appears set to continue: surveys show most Americans, particularly millennials, support legalization.

In order to make good use of the current market conditions, Hemp Inc (OTCMKTS:HEMP) has decided to launch a new flagship Nutraceutical product Green Smoothie Hemp Protein in the market. As per the reports, the announcement was made during the 1st Annual Ascent Expo that took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center recently.

What’s Next:

In an interview with Vice News this week, President Obama suggested that removing marijuana from the list of federally prohibited substances would represent “progress.” At the same time, he made it clear he’s in no hurry to see that happen. “Young people,” he said, “I understand this is important to you. But, you know, you should be thinking about climate change, the economy, jobs, war and peace. Maybe, way at the bottom, you should be thinking about marijuana.”

Last year, the National Cancer Institute — “the U.S. government’s principal agency for cancer research” — created a stir by publishing the truth: the molecules found in pot kill breast and lung cancers in lab tests. Marijuana remains a federally illegal, schedule 1 drug with “no medical use” and “a high potential for abuse”, so the NCI was pressured to take down the statement. But it remains.