Alternet.org | Californians Doug and Catherine Snodgrass are suing their son’s high school for allowing undercover police officers to set up the 17-year-old special-needs student for a drug arrest. In a video segment on ABC News, they say they were "thrilled" when their son -- who has Asperger's and other disabilities and struggled to make friends -- appeared to have instantly made a friend named Daniel.

Npr.org | Colorado is set to become the first U.S. state to regulate and tax sales of recreational marijuana, after lawmakers approved several bills that set business standards and rules. Legislators expect enforcement of the rules to be paid for by two taxes on marijuana — a 15 percent excise tax, and a 10 percent sales tax.

TokeSignals.com | This Makes 4 Times: Senators Remain Unconvinced That Marijuana Impairs Like Alcohol. Washington state voters seemed OK with instituting a THC blood limit for drivers when they approved limited legalization measure Initiative 502 last fall. But Colorado lawmakers seem to want a little more proof. A blood limit for drivers was rejected on Monday in the Colorado Senate for the fourth time. Skepticism on the applicability of alcohol-style THC blood limits helped defeat even a watered-down form of the measure.

SummitDaily.com | How about some good news today? This year, reports Time magazine, drug cartels in Mexico stand to lose $1.4 billion. Why? Because Colorado and Washington decriminalized recreational marijuana in November. American taxpayers have been financing a drug war with costs past comprehending, and without measurable gains. Now here come voters in two states who have hit organized crime where it really hurts.

The Joint Blog | In an applaud-worthy and eye-opening showing of bipartisan support, Hawaii’s Senate voted today, unanimously, to approve Senate Bill 472 to decriminalize cannabis possession. The measure would make possession of up to an ounce no longer an arrestable misdemeanor offense, but instead a civil infraction of no more than $1,000.

Liberty News | In an interview with Canadian news magazine Maclean’s last week, Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama’s Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, stated that despite recreational legalization in Washington and Colorado, they would still go after distributors and growers in both states.“You’ll continue to see enforcement against distributors and large-scale growers as the Justice Department has outlined. They will use their limited resources on those groups and not on going after individual users,” said Kerlikowske, who is also a former Seattle Police Chief.

AP | An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a hefty federal pot tax. While passage this year could be a longshot, lawmakers from both parties have been quietly working on several bills, the first of which Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jared Polis of Colorado plan to introduce Tuesday, Blumenauer told The Associated Press.

Huffington Post | In a promotional video for a new documentary on the passage of Amendment 64 in Colorado on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo, Congressman Tom Tancredo went even further than just speaking out in favor of marijuana legalization -- he agrees to smoke marijuana with the film's creator, comedian Adam Hartle.

Denver Post | Passage of Amendment 64 has given life to a group of zealous enthusiasts who can barely contain their passion for the leafy green substance. No, not pot. The fanatics get their kicks from buzz-free hemp. A genetic cousin to marijuana, hemp is a look-alike plant with one key difference. It contains almost no THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that makes users high.

TheColoradoObserver.com | Colorado pot advocates were anything but mellow Thursday as former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) unveiled a national and state effort to highlight the public-health drawbacks of marijuana. Kennedy, a scion of the prominent Democratic family from Massachusetts, announced the launch of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), described as a bipartisan alliance aimed at promoting science-based marijuana information for public-policy development.

Coloradoan.com | Marijuana is legal in Colorado for people 21 and older to use, possess, distribute and cultivate in limited quantities after Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday signed a declaration formalizing voter-approved Amendment 64. “This is a truly historic day,” said Mason Tvert, co-director of the campaign to pass the measure. “From this day forward, adults in Colorado will no longer be punished for the simple use and possession of marijuana.”

Reason.com | The Obama administration is strategizing how to fight legal pot in Colorado and Washington, reports Charlie Savage of The New York Times. While "no decision" is "imminent," Savage reports that senior level White House and Justice Department officials are considering "legal action against Colorado and Washington that could undermine voter-approved initiatives."

RollingStone.com | When voters in Colorado and Washington state legalized recreational marijuana in November, they thought they were declaring a cease-fire in the War on Drugs. Thanks to ballot initiatives that passed by wide margins on Election Day, adults 21 or older in both states can now legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana. The new laws also compel Colorado and Washington to license private businesses to cultivate and sell pot, and to levy taxes on the proceeds.

ActivistPost.com | When the people of Colorado voted to legalize recreational marijuana on Election Day, there was immediate speculation as to how the federal government would deal with how it conflicted with federal laws. So far there has not been an official response from the White House or the Department of Justice, and the waters remain as murky as prosecution of medical marijuana has been.

Norml.org | Voters in Colorado and Washington on Election Day decided in favor of ballot measures that remove criminal and civil penalties for the adult possession of cannabis. The votes mark the first time ever that voters have decided at the ballot box to abolish cannabis prohibition. In Colorado, 55 percent of voters decided in favor of Amendment 64, which allows for the legal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and/or the cultivation of up to six cannabis plants by those persons age 21 and over. Longer-term, the measure seeks to establish regulations governing the commercial production and distribution of marijuana by licensed retailers. Initial returns show the measure passing with 54 percent support.