Seattle, population 669,000, has 50 growers/processors and 42 stores. Portland, population 620,000, has 75 growers/producers and 164 stores. Denver, population 664,000, has 310 growers/processors and 220 stores. The Denver citizens are debating whether they might have too many marijuana operations, especially when they are clustered in poorer and minority neighborhoods. This clustering was an unanticipated result of the marijuana regulations and...

91 million dollars in cannabis sales in March beats February sales by 10 million dollars. This growth is because the unregulated medical marijuana market is being folded into the recreational program run by the Liquor and Cannabis Board. By July 1 this project should be complete. The state of Washington gets 37% of this money. The feds get their share without allowing deductions for cost of business, and of course all these transactions are done...

I follow marijuana de-prohibition efforts in the west, but also country-wide. 24 states have some form of legal marijuana, but the others have been looking at the subject during their legislative sessions. When edibles come up, every state wrestles with a solution to this perceived problem. Edibles are food made with marijuana extracts, mainly THC. They are much preferred by medical marijuana "patients", are becoming very popular with...

It was a great spring day, clear as a bell and maybe even some warmth. Very nice. I have a family of swallows setting up housekeeping on my shed. You see, every lot has a shed, which makes for a lot of blank walls to look at. I told my neighbor to feel free to decorate the side of my shed they're forced to look at, which they did with some wall hangings. Then, about a week ago he put up a bird house, and it looks like a pair of swallows are...

The Denver Post bought samples of marijuana products and had them tested for pesticide residue, which showed disturbing results. The city then stepped in and began testing, resulting in a lot of recalls. The "pure, organic, medical" claims growers were making weren't true all the time. But Colorado didn't test marijuana, they didn't have approved labs. They didn't even test for THC content, which for the consumer is like buying a bottle of...

My cardio doctor thinks all is well, and no changes to my meds are necessary. He wants to see me again before I leave in the fall. And he explained something I noticed a while ago: I don't have a pulse in my wrists. The nurse tried hard, to no avail. Well, they took the artery out of my left arm that gives the pulse, and the one in the other arm is blocked. Well, that answers that question. Gee, I hope I'm never in the situation where someone...

Washington and Colorado require anyone with a financial interest in a cannabis be a state resident. Oregon never included this requirement, likely due to the close business relationships with Californians. Alaska decided to allow out of state money, and Washington just recently changed their law to allow non-residents. It's given as a sure thing that a California initiative to legalize recreational cannabis will collect the signatures, pass the...

I've had a few days of sun so it was easy to drive around and check things out. Very little has changed since I left. The boat yard is chock full of the big commercial boats in the Alaska fleet. It's the welders and steel workers getting the hours now. There aren't that many wooden boats in the yard. Normally I'm here when the plants are blooming, but since I'm here much earlier, I get to watch it happen. And another surprise bonus for arriving...

Two weeks ago I landed in Ashland as a rainstorm came in. Today I crossed the Columbia and the sun came out for the first time since then. I spent two weeks covering I-5 in Oregon, mainly by waiting out storms in pricey RV parks. I liked Ashland a lot. And I always enjoy Eugene, but it was very wet there. Tomorrow I'll go to Chimacum (I'm writing from Kelso). Sunshine expected for the next two days, and given what they've had in rain lately, it...

I'm at one of those next to the freeway rv parks for a few days to wait out a rainstorm. The forecast is dismal this weekend, but I'd rather be stopped in Eugene than most other places. Bookstores, for one thing....

Southwest Oregon and Northwest California are considered the premier cannabis growing region in the US. They've been supplying marijuana, breeding marijuana, and developing useful technologies for over 50 years. Since marijuana was "legalized" in Oregon, the folks in the growing and selling business are operating under temporary rules set by temporary laws and administered by two separate agencies. To my eye, I don't see any consistent...

Last year in March and April there were more sales of marijuana than alcohol in Aspen. I guess that shows that skiing or riding when drunk is a lousy idea, but doing it stoned is great. The city gets a portion of the state taxes collected on cannabis products.