For new cannabis users, the urge to push the limit may seem like a fun idea until things start going haywire. It’s important to have some sort of clue about what direction to go in when heading into unfamiliar territory, whether it’s first timers getting their kicks in Washington or Colorado or folks who haven’t had the opportunity to indulge in their favorite plant for quite awhile.

As Washington on Sunday marks the third year of legal recreational marijuana, monthly sales have grown from about $3 million to more than $57 million in November.

Nov. 25 – the day before Thanksgiving – was a record day at the state’s 188 recreational pot stores.

That day, some $3.5 million worth of marijuana and marijuana-infused products were sold, according to the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, which tracks sales and tax collections. That’s almost $500,000 more than any previous day’s sales, and about $1 million higher than the daily sales average for the last three months.

Whether that means more people were relaxed for a holiday dinner with family or more out-of-state guests were testing out the novelty of buying legal marijuana isn’t clear.

Ellensburg’s two recreational marijuana shops — Cannabis Central and The Green Shelf — could both begin selling medical-grade marijuana on July 1, 2016.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board approved both shops for medical endorsements, which would allow them to sell higher-grade marijuana products to patients when the recreational and medical markets merge on July 1.

Rob Hendrix, who owns Cannabis Central, said it is the responsibility of recreational shops to step up and offer medical marijuana, especially in Kittitas County where there are so few medical dispensaries.

Weed laws have been a hot-button issue in the United States for the last decade. States have been passing bills left and right regarding whether marijuana can be used for recreational or medical purposes or both. And in many cases, the state says you cannot use it at all.

Cops received a tip that a shipment of drugs would be coming in from Seattle, and found 290 pounds of marijuana and mushrooms in a shipping container.

Seattle sent a slew of drugs our way — more than 290 pounds of marijuana and mushrooms.

Cops seized a shipping container on the Brooklyn waterfront loaded with wacky weed and other drugs, law enforcement sources said Saturday.

Cops found the container at a Maspeth Ave. dock in East Williamsburg near the Newtown Creek on Wednesday after Homeland Security tipped them off that a cargo container full of drugs was coming to Brooklyn from Seattle.

On Thursday evening, cops watched as two men and a woman pulled up in a U-Haul truck and a Hyundai.

The Science of Cannabis Institute Hopes to Offer the State's First Accredited Program for Medical Marijuana Consultants

A couple Saturdays ago, I took a class for the first time in years. It wasn't to relearn algebra (although I have definitely forgotten it), but to become a certified cannabis worker. The four-hour course, which is offered by the Science of Cannabis Institute (SCI) and is held on the University of Washington campus, is the first of its kind in Washington State, part of a growing cannabis education industry. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently announced that it would create a medical marijuana consultant certification program, and SCI hopes to be the first accredited institution to offer it.

State government has in recent weeks stamped 142 retail marijuana licenses with a medical endorsement that will let them cater to patients come July 1.

The value of an endorsement for the roughly 65 percent of pot shops who have received one won’t be fully known, though, until more rules are set for Washington’s newly consolidated medical and recreational marijuana system. 

“If it did come to fruition, we could significantly expand our business,” said Jim Sulton, owner of one of the stores with an endorsement, A Bud and Leaf in Olympia. 

Today, he said, he’s limited by restrictions surrounding Washington’s 2012 legalization of recreational marijuana. “We can’t say this will cure this or this will help alleviate that,” he said.

It wasn’t that long ago that thousands of people were arrested for marijuana annually in Washington D.C.. 2,346 people were arrested for marijuana in Washington D.C. in 2011. Washington D.C. voters approved marijuana legalization during the 2014 Election. As a result, marijuana arrests in D.C. are down. Way down. As of November 6th (the most current data available), there have only been 7 arrests for marijuana in D.C.. Per the Washington City Paper:

It was during an endless drive home from a camping trip in eastern Washington that entrepreneur Adam Stites came up with his latest product. "What would happen if I infused heavy cream with cannabis, then mixed it with my coffee?" he mused. ("My VW van doesn't go very fast, so I have a lot of time to think," Stites explains.)

He road-tested the idea as soon as he got home. So strong was the first dose, Stites woke up 13 hours after chugging a single cup. Nonetheless, his professional interest was piqued. Soon he set up Mirth Provisions to sell a commercial version of his creation: marijuana-infused cold-brew coffee, dosed up with 20 milligrams of THC per serving. Waggishly named "Legal," it's the ultimate wake and bake.

DENVER — Every seat filled, the little tour bus navigates the busy streets of booming Denver, whisking its passengers to a glassblowing demonstration. Or they can choose a painting class. Or a cooking lesson. Or visit a farm.

If this sounds like a comparatively unexciting way to see the Mile High City, look closer. Or, better yet, take a whiff.

This party bus is filled with smoke and happy people, and smells like an art-school dorm. The tattooed glassblower is crafting high-priced bongs and pipes. The cooking class is for gourmands who want to flavor their cuisine with an herb you probably don’t have in your spice rack. The painters’ creativity is whetted by weed. And the farm is the 40,000-square-foot “cultivation facility” of one of Colorado’s top cannabis producers.