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You may or may not be aware of it, but Washington is fast approaching the first anniversary of recreational marijuana becoming legal in the state and doors opening on stores throughout the state to provide all manner of smokable, edible, rub-able pot products. 

We're going to have some stories about the first year of legal recreational weed in a few weeks, and we'd like to know what readers think about legalization, as well as their own histories with (or without) marijuana. We've set up a totally anonymous and short survey for readers to take to let us know. You can find the survey right here, and we'll be giving $25 gift cards to four lucky responders to dine at some of the area's best local restaurants as thanks for helping us out. 

So go take the survey right here! And if you'd like to win a gift card, leave us your email on the survey — we'll keep it a secret and just use it for contest purposes. 

We'd also like to hear any great stories from the first year of legalized recreational marijuana. Whether you tried pot for the first time yourself, or had a cousin slip a pot brownie to grandma, we'd love to hear about it! You can tell us your story right here. Again, totally anonymous, but we are asking for your email so we can verify your story. 

Thanks for taking part!

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email jaket@inlander.com.

Washington is approaching the one-year anniversary of I-502 kicking in and making recreational marijuana stores legal in the state. We're currently working on some stories to commemorate the birthday, and as part of that we're asking readers to share some stories from the first year of legalization, and to take a survey about their marijuana habits (including not using it at all). 

Please help us out! You can click right here to take our quick and easy 15-question survey. It's totally anonymous, although you can share your email with us if you're willing to chat with a reporter for a potential story

And you can click right here to tell us any unusual, funny or scary stories from the first year of legalized weed in Washington. Again, totally anonymous, although we'll need your email to verify your story. 

As added incentive, we'll be picking four people at random from our survey to win $25 gift cards to local restaurants from among the folks who share their email with us. 

Many thanks to those of you who took the time to fill out our totally unscientific survey about Washington's first year with legal, recreational marijuana stores. If you haven't done it yet, please do! You can find our marijuana survey right here, and it's just 15 questions long, so it won't take long at all. And it's totally anonymous. 

In addition to the survey, we'd like to hear your stories, in your words, about the first year of legal recreational marijuana in Washington — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the hilarious. 

Did you learn anything new? Did you find out edibles are NOT your thing? Did you find a pot brownie perfect for getting through Thanksgiving dinner with the family — or for sharing with grandma? Did you meet someone famous on a munchie run? 

Go right here and tell us your story for potential use in an upcoming issue of the Inlander! 

Any stories we use will be anonymous, but as you'll see, we need your name and email to confirm. Again, go right here and write us a tale of your experiences with legal pot the past year. 

Washington state is coming up on the one-year anniversary of recreational marijuana stores first opening their doors. The Inlander would like to know about the habits and attitudes of our readers when it comes to all things pot-related, so we put together a little survey. It's a short one, just 15 questions, and all your responses will be anonymous — although, if you're game for talking to us about your experiences during the first year of recreational legalization, there's a place for you to indicate as much at the end of the survey. 

We'll be collecting responses for the next two weeks, so tell your friends and pass it around! We'll also be picking four random responders to win $25 gift cards to some great local restaurants. 

You can start the survey right here!

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com

Dating fellow marijuana users is about to get easier.  

On Tinder, it’s pretty much the norm to include a small menu of drinks one likes to consume. Assuming one consumes drinks, which most people on Tinder apparently do. Occasionally, someone might mention 420, but that’s not the norm, and you’d do a lot of swiping trying to match up exclusively with those who announce without inquiry that they smoke weed, dab, or whatever else is de rigueur these days.

"I never knew when or how to tell a guy I used," says marijuana-smoking matchmaker and relationship coach Sandra Harmon. "It was never a deal breaker, but I could tell men who liked me weren’t happy when they found out I smoked."

Harmon is getting ready to launch a new marijuana dating service, M-Date, by the end of the summer to help others struggling to connect with other marijuana-friendly singles. Of course, if you only want to date people who partake in marijuana, you can already arrange that from the comfort of your couch. In April 2014, My420Mate.com became the industry pioneer; their website isn’t too attractive but founder Miguel Lozano says they’re 83,000 users strong and growing. There’s also the Tinder-like HighThere smart phone app that launched earlier this year. HighThere features a glossy interface and thoughtfully forces users to select their typical energy level when stoned. Users also declare what way they consume their marijuana, so dates aren’t broken up by logistical road-blocks like “Wait, your diet doesn’t allow brownies?” 

As weed-based dating becomes more common, here's what you need to know:

Does the world need this? The market for these services is potentially huge: according to the World Health Organization, 147 million people use marijuana globally; nationally, marijuana use went from 14.4 million people in 2007 to 18.9 million in 2011, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and in post-legalization Washington, sales at recreational marijuana retailers are climbing every month.

Is it possible to meet weed-loving singles in the real world? Yes, it is. In the olden days (last year, even) people met through friends or by hanging out on their weed dealer’s couch. Harmon suggests Washington women looking to meet weed-consuming guys the analog way head down to their local recreational marijuana shop and “pick a man, turn toward him, look at him for three seconds, smile and look away. It’s dynamite.”

What is fun to do on a marijuana-assisted first date? “It’s just a normal first date,” says Harmon. “If you were in some place and both used, or if you both used at home before the date, it makes things a little more comfortable. You’re ready to smile, ready to enjoy art and music and each other.”

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com.

Here are this week's headlines in weed news: 

Santa Claus is a medical marijuana patient who wants the drug to be legal in the North Pole.

A Kansas woman is facing a 30-year prison term after her son mentioned his mother’s use of medical marijuana in a drug education class.

The pot tourism industry in Colorado continues to grow with a 420-friendly ranch opening up next month.

If Chris Christie were president, he’d put an end to legal marijuana in Washington and Colorado.

Marijuana is safer than tobacco, according to a UCLA prof.

Smoking it might also keep away parasites.

The Wall Street Journal says to just say no to buying stock in marijuana companies.

Weed lawyers now have their own professional association.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued guidelines on pesticides on weed.

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com

In case you haven’t heard, there’s an election coming up. One of the positions voters will weigh in on is city council president. Ben Stuckart, who currently holds the position, is being challenged by John Ahern, an 80-year-old former Republican state representative. 
While Ahern says that his central issue is improving the business climate in Spokane, he’s repeatedly called for a moratorium on the sale and production of marijuana in Spokane, an idea that Stuckart opposes.

In order to get a better handle on what both candidates think about marijuana, we called up both requesting interviews on the subject. We wanted to give Ahern the first opportunity to lay out his views on weed because he brought it up in the first place, but he never called back. So here is a lightly edited interview with incumbent Council President Ben Stuckart on marijuana.

Inlander: What do you make of having a moratorium on marijuana?

Stuckart: I think it’s bad for two reasons. I think the first reason is that because it goes against the will of the voters of the city of Spokane. The yes vote [for legalization] in the city was 57 percent. So I think the city of Spokane spoke loud and clear that they would allow the legalization, processing and production of marijuana.

The second reason is because it’s a job killer. The research I have done shows that in the city there are 41 businesses with licenses, that economic impact of the sale from July of last year through the end of April was $5.3 million in sales, $1.3 million in excise taxes, $66,639 in local sales taxes.

We called all 41 businesses, and a conservative estimate of seasonal, part-time and full-time employees is 1,500 people. So I think to put a moratorium on it would absolutely hurt our economy immensely and be a job-killer.

You supported I-502, right?

Absolutely. I went to a campaign event with [TV personality and marijuana legalization advocate] Rick Steves and did not hesitate to come out as pro-legalization.

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com

In Denver, a 420-friendly hotel has opened up to cater to visitors who want to enjoy the state’s marijuana, reports The Cannabist. The lack of places for visitors to smoke marijuana has plagued the newly legal marijuana industries in Washington and Colorado, and its owners have balconies that allow guests to light up, along with other amenities.

Don’t give your students pot brownies.

Don’t put synthetic marijuana on the cops’ pizza.

Don’t sell pot on the Internet.

Maybe marijuana doesn’t help people commit crimes after all. 

In Massachusetts, a report issued by a state health agency suggests that medical marijuana is contributing to opioid addictions. Medical marijuana supporters are contesting the finding.

Speaking of Massachusetts, you can be fired for using medical marijuana, which is the case in other states.

The PBS NewsHour has a look at efforts to legally challenge Colorado’s pot laws.

It’ll be legal to possess marijuana in Oregon beginning July 1. The Eastern Oregon city of Pendleton has updated its nuisance code to include pot smoke. A letter from a reader of the East Oregonian says it makes sense to ban farts next.

Half of Seattle’s medical marijuana dispensaries will likely be shut down as a result of a new state law.

An appeals court in Oregon has ruled that a U.S. Postal inspector and Portland police can’t intercept packages that they suspect contain weed.

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com

Last week, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (soon to be the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board) announced that it would be conducting stings on recreational pot stores, sending in young investigative aides to try and purchase marijuana without an ID indicating that they were 21 years of age.

The board has announced the results of its first round of compliance checks finding that of the 22 stores in Skagit, Snohomish, Kitsap, Pierce and Cowlitz counties, only four took the bait.

Here’s other news:

The Texas Legislature has passed a bill allowing for the very limited medical use of marijuana.

Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is open to relaxing laws regarding marijuana.

You could have been taller if you hadn’t smoked all that weed as a prepubescent boy.

In Indiana, you still can’t grow weed, even if you’re a Rastafarian.

Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at jaket@inlander.com.

Washington pot retailers, beware of young people coming into your stores.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board (soon to be the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board) has announced that it’ll be sending 18-to-21-year-old “investigative aides” into recreational pot shops to test to see that they are checking the IDs of potential customers before selling marijuana. According to a statement from the board, the investigative aides will tell whoever is working the counter that they forgot their ID or will present IDs that show they aren’t old enough to buy pot.

Indiana’s First Church of Cannabis plans on testing the state’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act by holding a service on June 1, the day the controversial law goes into effect, that will include public smoking of pot for religious reasons, reports U.S News.

Could Texas really be the next state to legalize pot? A Texas legislative panel has passed a measure that would legalize pot in the state, but the Houston Chronicle reports that it’s unlikely to make its way to the governor’s desk. The bill’s sponsor is state Rep. David Simpson, a Longview Republican, who makes his case for legalization from a Christian perspective.

“As a Christian, I recognize the innate goodness of everything God made and humanity’s charge to be stewards of the same,” he writes in an opinion piece. “In fact, it’s this reason that I’m especially cautious when it comes to laws banning plants. I don’t believe that when God made marijuana he made a mistake that government needs to fix.”

Lawmakers in Texas are also considering two other marijuana-related bills that would decriminalize the drug and allow cannabidiol oil to be used for medical purposes. A group called Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy is running this ad to support the bills.

Have you ever wondered what Morgan Freeman thinks about marijuana. The Daily Beast decided to ask him. He replied:

They used to say, ‘You smoke that stuff, boy, you get hooked!” says a chuckling Freeman. “My first wife got me into it many years ago. How do I take it? However it comes! I’ll eat it, drink it, smoke it, snort it! This movement is really a long time coming, and it’s getting legs—longer legs. Now, the thrust is understanding that alcohol has no real medicinal use.

Forbes has a ranking of the cheapest weed in the country. Washington state doesn’t have the cheapest, but it comes close.

Here is Alex Trebek telling Howard Stern a story about eating hash brownies.