Last February, a group of pot advocates and enthusiasts started plotting a cannabis festival focused on policy, not recreational use. Now, after more than a year of planning, the National Cannabis Festival is coming to D.C. on April 23. Held on the festival grounds at RFK Stadium, the full-day bash features De La Soul as the headlining act, with earlier performances by Jesse Royal, Congo Sanchez, Backyard Band and Nappy Riddem.

The festival's other components -- an education pavilion and fairs dedicated to advocacy and vendors -- make it clear the inaugural event isn't only about cool music and good vibes. In partnership with more than 20 advocacy groups, the event celebrates the loosening of cannabis bans.

As more states decriminalize recreational use of marijuana and expand its medical applications, concern is growing about inconsistent and inaccurate dosage information listed on many products, including brownies and other edibles. But now scientists report that they have developed a technique that can more precisely measure cannabis compounds in gummy bears, chocolates and other foods made with marijuana. They say this new method could help ensure product safety in the rapidly expanding cannabis retail market.

The researchers present their work today at the 251st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

D.C. legalization leader reschedules 4/20 to protest Obama.

A warning about the fragility of marijuana reform from comedian Bill Maher, right, inspired activists in Washington, D.C., to plan an April 2 smoke-out in front of the White House. The protest is being led by Adam Eidinger, shown at left presenting a peace pipe to staffers of Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

President Barack Obama may smell something familiar on April 2 when marijuana activists inspired by comedian Bill Maher host what they believe will be a massive act of civil disobedience in front of the White House.

Meet the rabbi and former hospital administrator who now run a pot dispensary.

More than a year has passed since District voters legalized marijuana. On Feb. 26, 2015, it became legal for adults to possess up to two ounces of marijuana and cultivate up to six plants in their home. As a result, marijuana possession arrests decreased a whopping 98 percent from 2014 to 2015, dropping from 1,840 to just 32. In addition to the massive drop in marijuana possession arrests, it is worth noting that cumulative arrests for all marijuana offenses, including sales, also dropped 85 percent in that time.

Managing risk and understanding industry dynamics

It’s difficult to speculate on the dollars that exchange hands in the underground marijuana sales market. If Colorado is any indication, however, bringing those transactions above ground and making them legal can inject unprecedented revenue into the pockets of governments, businesses, and individuals.

The Colorado Department of Revenue reports that licensed and regulated marijuana stores in the state sold $996,184,788 worth of recreational and medical cannabis in 2015.

Erin Flammer has been thinking of growing some marijuana.

While in most U.S. cities that would be illegal, the management consultant, 34, lives in D.C., and decided she might take advantage of a law, enacted almost exactly a year ago, allowing individuals to cultivate up to six plants — no more than three that are mature at any one time — in their homes.

But first, she had to ask her roommates.

Flammer shares a group house in Petworth with three others. “I don’t know if any of us use marijuana except for maybe one,” she says. “It would just be something to gift to people.”

None of her roommates had an issue with growing some plants in their backyard. “We all know the legal amount,” she says.

One year since legalizing marijuana in Washington, D.C., during a warm break in the weather this past Saturday, the prestigious Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. added another historic milestone to its reputation as host of the Capitol CannaShow, the largest local business and advocacy-focused cannabis conference in the nation’s capital.

With over 2,000 attendees, vendors, and volunteers over the course of the day, it was the largest locally sourced cannabis conference and expo on the District has ever seen to date.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2016

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- February marks the one year anniversary of cannabis legalization in D.C. and 2015 has seen an economic boom in the legal marijuana sales – 5.4 Billion dollars, according to a new report by Arcview Market Research and New Frontier.

On February 20th the Capitol CannaShow is bringing together D.C's marijuana movement's key advocates, lawmakers, and cannabusinesses at the renowned Mayflower Hotel in the first locally-sourced cannabis exposition and conference.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the use of medical marijuana as an alternative to the powerful opioid painkillers that kill thousands of people each year.

In a letter to CDC chief Tom Friedan, the Massachusetts Democrat also asks the agency to look into “the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths.”

From a public health standpoint, Warren is right. There is a lot of potential here. Here’s a rundown of what the research has shown so far: