Lawmakers are prepping for what could turn into a "marijuana-vote-a-rama" Wednesday, sources say.

Pot advocates expect lawmakers to introduce at least half a dozen marijuana-related appropriations amendments that would roll back the Justice Department’s authority to enforce drug laws around the country.

The marijuana amendments would handicap the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its fight with states over the enforcement of local pot laws.

“The politics have continued to shift in favor of marijuana law reform,” said Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority.

Washington State University researchers have found that the more hunter-gatherers smoke cannabis, the less they are infected by intestinal worms. The link suggests that they may unconsciously be, in effect, smoking medical marijuana.

Ed Hagen, a WSU Vancouver anthropologist, explored cannabis use among the Aka foragers to see if people away from the cultural and media influences of Western civilization might use plant toxins medicinally.

"In the same way we have a taste for salt, we might have a taste for psychoactive plant toxins, because these things kill parasites," he said.

In an earlier study, Hagen found that the heavier tobacco smokers among the Aka also had fewer helminths, parasitic intestinal worms.

ADDY, Wash. – Chris Van Hook bent over a shrub-sized marijuana plant at Mountain High Farm with a magnifying glass last month, looking for imperfections in the fan-shaped leaves.

A few of the fronds were “chewed on,” which is what Van Hook expects in a pesticide-free crop.

Pot grown at the state-licensed operation can’t be certified as organic because the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t recognize marijuana as a legal crop. Advertising it as organic would be a federal labeling violation, inviting hefty fines.

But if Mountain High passes Van Hook’s inspection, the Stevens County farm can advertise its product under the “Clean Green” label, an alternate certification Van Hook developed for pot growers touting the naturalness of their product.

James Hull recently went back to his roots as a 3rd generation horticulturist after a career in high-tech engineering.  The result? Catapult, a Marijuana-infused coffee which according to Hull makes you feel blissful and energetic at the same time.

It seems only natural that Hull runs his company, Fairwinds Mfg., just a few hours south of America’s coffee capital, Seattle.

(Catapult coffee from Fairwinds Mfg should not be confused with Fairwinds coffee from The Rogers Family Company which makes traditional coffee in California)

PIERCE CO - A new proposal that's in Pierce County Committee would lessen the rules in the county dealing with marijuana production, processing and retail sales.

The ordinance, sponsored by council members Derek Young, Connie Ladenburg, and Rick Talbert, would remove federal government authorization as a condition of approval for a marijuana-licensed business. It would also remove a requirement that limits marijuana retail sales to detached buildings.

Pot intercepts dropped 12 percent as Colorado and Washington opened stores.

The amount of marijuana detected in the national mail system surprisingly declined in 2014 as the world's first licensed recreational marijuana stores opened in two Western states, appearing to dash at least some predictions of chaos as other jurisdictions move to legalize the drug.

Data provided to U.S. News by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service show the number of marijuana parcels seized by inspectors fell more than 12 percent in fiscal 2014, with a coinciding decrease in the collective weight of contraband cannabis.

As a resident of Washington state, I've witnessed some big changes over the past decade -- but perhaps none bigger than the legalization of marijuana on a recreation basis.

Why legalize?
Approved by voters in the Nov. 2012 elections, Washington state joined Colorado as the first two recreation-legal states in the country. Since then, Oregon and Alaska, along with Washington D.C., have joined in legalizing marijuana for recreational, adult-use purposes.

The legalization of marijuana for recreational and medical purposes is significant for Americans for a number of reasons, but those reasons differ depending on whom you ask.

Two fast food workers in Washington have been fired after a marijuana advocate and another individual caught them on video accepting weed as payment for food.

Jonah Tacoma was ordering through the drive-thru at Frugals in Tacoma, Washington, last month when he offered to give the employees hits of marijuana in exchange for free meals.

“She said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ We started filming when we pulled up,” Tacoma told KOMO-TV.

Louisiana may be about to reform its harsh marijuana laws, but not Kansas; a Nebraska CBD cannabis oil bill dies, a Michigan legalization initiative goes back to the drawing board, the Germans and the Israelis grapple with marijuana policy, and more.

Marijuana Policy

SEATTLE (AP) - With Washington state overhauling its medical marijuana law, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray says the city is planning to shutter dozens of dispensaries.

Murray on Tuesday announced plans to require a new special business license for marijuana establishments, akin to those required for taxi operators and pawn shops. Under the mayor's plan, the businesses will be required to obtain the licenses by July 2016.

But just as the state's new medical marijuana law gives priority in licensing to dispensaries that were in operation before Jan. 1, 2013, so does Murray's proposal. Seattle officials say that by their tally, 54 of the city's 99 medical marijuana storefronts opened after that date or have been operating without a city business license.