This year alone there have already been more than 50 legislative initiatives around the country aimed at legalizing or decriminalizing medical or recreational marijuana. 

With medical marijuana now legal in 23 states — and recreational weed legal in four — the conversation about pot will only continue to buzz. Soon, weed as research, as medicine, and as business may no longer be a taboo topic.

But what parts of the country talk the most about marijuana? Denver may be the first to come to mind, since it was the first to legalize recreational use, but a new report from Aizman Law Firm finds this isn’t always the case. The law firm decided to see what U.S. cities mentioned weed on social media the most, so it analyzed geotagged Instagram posts hashtagged with the phrases #weed, #maryjane, #marijuana, or #420.

Is cannabis the next Internet? That's the bold claim made by Tokyo Smoke CEO Alan Gertner. 

The former head of an Asia-Pacific-wide sales team at Google saw his life change after a Ghanian tour guide told him, “You either work on something you love, or work because it supports the people you love.”

After hearing this, Gertner quit Google. His former philosophy - “Work hard, get promoted, make more money.” - left him unfulfilled.

If you’re looking to give up marijuana and possibly cigarettes as well, a group of researchers at the University of Washington would like to hear from you.

The Innovative Programs Research Group, an organization in the UW School of Social Work, is recruiting people 18 and older for a free marijuana and tobacco treatment trial. The study is aimed at adults who are regularly using both substances, want to quit marijuana and are willing to consider kicking the tobacco habit as well.

Many of my firm’s cannabis clients are raising money right now. Out-of-state investors looking for a place to deploy capital are looking hard at Oregon (which recently abolished residency requirements to participate in its cannabis industry), and some are already starting to lay the groundwork for pending recreational legalization in Nevada and California. Even more established markets, like Washington and Colorado, are seeing an uptick in corporate entities trying to bring in new money.

Legal marijuana sales in Spokane County topped retail sales of wine and kitchen staples such as bread and milk last year.

That’s according to sales numbers from the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board and a survey of household expenses conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Not all marijuana sold in Spokane County is consumed by county residents. State law allows the 17 state-licensed pot shops in the area to sell to anyone older than 21, regardless of where they live.

But with monthly sales topping $5 million for the first time in March, retailers in the county are selling marijuana at an ever-quickening pace – on track to top receipts at area bookstores, museums and live music venues, according to figures released by the Washington Department of Revenue.

A marijuana testing lab in Poulsbo, Wash., is at risk of losing its license after state auditors found suspicious results and practices.

The Seattle Times reports that auditors have recommended that Testing Technologies lab not be allowed to operate, saying the lab showed consistent inaccuracies in testing data and a disregard for good laboratory practices and sound scientific methods.

The state Liquor and Cannabis Board on Wednesday approved emergency rules to figure out how the state can suspend a lab or impose graduated penalties. Before, the board could summarily suspend a lab, but it was unable to penalize a lab for less egregious violations.

Labs specializing in marijuana product safety testing are gearing up for a new July 1 requirement to test cannabis products for pesticides. The state Department of Health regulation will force licensed growers of medical marijuana to screen products before distribution. 

Confidence Analytics in Redmond now has the first known technology in Western Washington to conduct such tests. The machine cost the lab $500,000 and is a more precise screening technology able to detect pesticides in the parts per billion. 

Scientists believe the testing is so powerful it will give new insight into the chemical make-up of each strain and produce new and useful information for growers.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday convened a hearing of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control to investigate whether the Justice Department has been derelict in its enforcement duties on marijuana.

In the words of Grassley, "The Department of Justice decided to all but abandon the enforcement of federal law relating to the possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana."

Smoking marijuana in public or in clubs was banned permanently on Tuesday by the District of Columbia's city council, reversing course for a second time.

Council members in the U.S. capital voted 7-6 to approve the measure, a spokeswoman for Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said. A second vote will be needed to finalize it.

Two months ago, the council voted unanimously to create a task force to study the licensing of marijuana clubs and ending the ban on public consumption of pot.

A law that took effect in February 2015 allows adults to possess small amounts of marijuana and grow and consume it at home. The District bans the sale of marijuana, but public smoking has become common as arrests have dried up.