Talk about smoking the competition.

Sisters Aurora and Eden Ray not only sold more than 100 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies on Friday, they did something maybe no other Oregon Girl Scouts have ever done: sell the organization’s famous Samoas, Thin Mints, Tagalongs and other cookies outside a medical marijuana dispensary.

“It’s actually great to sell here at this place because none of our Girl Scouts have done this before,” said Aurora, 11, standing Friday afternoon with her sister and parents, Ralph and Belinda Ray, outside the Oregon Microgrowers Guild on Cross Street in Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood.

“We’re hoping to show people that we’re just trying to make a difference and help people and stuff,” Aurora said.

DPS officers estimated the 1,700 pounds of marijuana was worth $1.7 million.(Photo: Department of Public Safety)

Nearly 1,700 pounds of marijuana was discovered in a man's semi-truck after a Department of Public Safety officer pulled him over early Tuesday morning, according to a DPS press release.

The officer pulled over 64-year-old Nathaniel Fripp, from Lithonia, Ga., around 1:12 a.m. for a traffic violation and became suspicious during the stop, the statement said.

After getting permission, the officer searched the trailer, opened boxes stored inside and found 1,658 pounds of marijuana, according to DPS.

JUNEAU — After a far-ranging discussion about the dangers of driving a four-wheeler while high or hosting pot parties on a sternwheeler, a Department of Law official attempted to comfort senators by saying the sky has not, in fact, fallen since marijuana possession became legal under state law.

Deputy Attorney General Richard Svobodny told the Senate Finance Committee that Ballot Measure 2 going into law hasn’t dramatically changed things in Alaska and many concerns raised by the committee, like driving while high, are addressed by existing laws. And concerns about commercial marijuana, like pot parties, will be addressed through regulations.

Perhaps no factor has enabled the much-heralded urban renaissance more than declining crime rates. Through much of the 1970s to 1990s, inner cities were widely perceived as war zones, overwhelmed by addiction-fueled property crime and violence between drug dealers. This was not all just perception. The murder rate in now-thriving cities was much higher 20 years ago than it is today. In New York, there were 2,245 murders in 1990 versus 328 last year. Washington, D.C., went from 479 in 1991 to 105 in 2014.

Less than one week after D.C. allowed marijuana legalization to go into effect (against the wishes of vocal Republicans in Congress), the D.C. Council unanimously passed emergency legislation Tuesday to ban marijuana use at nightclubs and other places of business, even during private events.

In his seven years on Capitol Hill, Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has become known in some circles as a founding father of Congress’ burgeoning marijuana movement. The young (39), wealthy and openly gay congressman from Boulder, who’s been dubbed “Mr. Cannabis” by some in the pot industry, is the man behind a bill that would essentially decriminalize the drug nationwide, making him among a handful of legislators on the front lines of the push for federal marijuana reform.

Imagine for a second, the pain an NFL player feels after a brutal Sunday afternoon game. A game in which men weighing in upwards of 300 pounds crash into each other at high speeds. Then, imagine the amount of painkillers those same players must take just to get out of bed the next day.

At a recent conference, former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson talked about his use of marijuana as a painkiller during his six-year NFL career.

“It kept my brain clean,” Jackson said Wednesday during the Cannabis Business Executives Breakfast that kicked off a three-day conference titled “Sports, Meds and Money.”

Leslie Bosckor, co-founder of Nevada Cannabis Industry Association, is creating a similar association in New York.

As far as college-rooted practical jokes go, the on-campus digital traffic sign reading "SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY" at the University of Montana is right up there with the time a Los Angeles art student made the Hollywood sign read "Hollyweed." If you drove by the corner of Sixth and Arthur streets in Missoula on Monday morning you might have seen the prankster's handiwork, undoubtedly a shout-out to one of Dr. Dre's most memorable kiss-offs.

It’s never been easier to smoke weed in the United States than it is today.

Marijuana is now legal to use, possess and grow in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and — as of last week — the District of Columbia.

Rica Madrid poses for a photograph as she rolls a joint in her home on the first day of legal possession of marijuana for recreational purposes, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

18 more permit the limited use of pot for medicinal purposes and, by 2020, it’s predicted that the number of states with full legal use will nearly quadruple.