Denver is magical at dawn. Along the western horizon, the snow-capped mountains are bathed in pink from the glow of the rising sun. The sky is turning purest blue. The air is crisp and clear, and you can see forever.

What a great place to get stoned. Which I intend to do, as soon as possible.

In Colorado, recreational marijuana was legalized on Jan. 1, 2014. Denver now has more pot stores than it has Starbucks. Anyone over the age of 21 can walk into a store and choose from hundreds of varieties of flowers, nibbles, marijuana-infused drinks, oils, ointments and pain patches, as well as a growing array of wax and other supercharged hard-core products. There’s even a sex lube for women, which promises to deliver the most mind-blowing experience of your life.

Marijuana's active ingredient can show up in tests even for nonsmokers, if they've had concentrated exposure to secondhand smoke.

That's one of the findings from the first comprehensive study on secondhand marijuana smoke since the 1980s, conducted by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In the decades since then, the potency of the drug, in its street form, has tripled.

Last week, the Legislature advanced a proposal that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. As proponents of legislative legalization of medicinal marijuana have made their case, I met with families who believe this proposal would benefit them and their children and listened carefully to their arguments and concerns. I sympathize with their circumstances, and I am supportive of efforts to treat their conditions with innovative medical solutions.

Commercial marijuana products confiscated by Oklahoma agents in one seizure in July. By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS May 16, 2015

After nearly 20 years on the job, Jim Jeffries, the police chief in LaFollette, Tenn., has seen his share of marijuana seizures — dry green buds stashed in trunks or beneath seats, often double-bagged to smother the distinctive scent.

But these days, Chief Jeffries is on the lookout for something unexpected: lollipops and marshmallows.

Recently his officers pulled over a Chevy Blazer driven by a couple with three children in tow. Inside, the officers discovered 24 pounds of marijuana-laced cookies and small hard candies shaped like gingerbread men, plus a tub of pungent marijuana butter perfect for making more.

Tyler Markwart, production manager of the Northwest Patient Resource Center, checks one of his marijuana dispensaries in Seattle. Texas legislators are debating a bill that would legalize marijuana on the grounds of religious freedom.

A bill to legalize marijuana on the grounds of religious freedom cleared a Texas House panel last week. What do you think of the religious freedom argument for legalizing marijuana?

George Pauksta, Sherman: Slippery slope here. What’s next, heroin, cocaine, meth religions? Kill black/white/Latino religions? Can anyone declare themselves a religion and get a pass? We’re dumb.

COLORADO SPRINGS — A disabled Sand Creek High School student was suspended Monday after school officials discovered medical marijuana in his lunch box, according to Gazette news partner KKTV.

Jackson Stormes, 16, has constant seizures because of Dravet Syndrome, which has left him severely disabled. His mother, Jennie Stormes, says cannabis is the only medicine that has stemmed the seizures. Instead of seizing for 30 to 60 minutes at a time, the episodes last only two to three minutes.

A health worker on Rikers Island was caught bringing contraband tobacco and marijuana into the prison complex, and when he was stopped he acknowledged he'd done it before, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint, made public Saturday by the Bronx district attorney's office, charged Richard Bustamante Quon, 42, with promoting prison contraband and official misconduct.

His arrest is part of an ongoing probe by the city's Department of Investigation into jails. Correction officials are trying to cut down on contraband, especially weapons, in part by tightening restrictions on the 300,000 people who visit Rikers inmates each year.

U.S. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have long been two of Congress’s most dedicated proponents of the war on drugs. They have opposed marijuana reform at nearly every opportunity and have harshly criticized the Obama administration for giving states room to implement legalization laws without federal interference.

But now the two anti-marijuana lawmakers are teaming up to press the federal government to make it easier for scientists to conduct research studies on the medical benefits of cannabis.

Is this the first step to legalising Marijuana in the UK?

The well to do town of Twickenham in South West London, home of England Rugby and plenty of upmarket properties, has opened its doors to the UK’s first Cannabis pharmacy. They are in fact the most famous medical Cannabis portal the Czech Republic, where the company first set up shop, and have branched out to the UK to breach the health and beauty sector.

In the fight for safe access to medical cannabis local and state-level action is always an essential step for progress. With so much of our success as a movement coming from state laws, an amazing 37 total state laws now allow for some type of legal medical cannabis use, it’s easy to forget about our nation’s capital.

This week offered some important reminders that victories are happening at the national level too. In fact as much progress as happens in the states, it’s absolutely essential that we work to ensure that the federal government doesn’t undermine state medical cannabis programs.

A Chance For A New Direction at DEA