It’s high time medical marijuana was made legal throughout the land. Mexico has the right idea, but Vermont and Massachusetts are both having problems getting legal pot passed and properly taxed in their respective states. Plus, conflicting data comes out on whether the affects of weed cause more car accidents. Read on!

¡Mexico Legalizes Medical Marijuana!

Wow! Big news for our south-of-the-border neighbors: Mexico has made medical marijuana legal. President Enrique Peña Nieto published the popular bill—which passed in April and received widespread support—this week. Nieto, who was once a staunch opponent to legalization, has since changed his mind and called for a shift in attitude towards global drug policies about cannabis-as-medicine. Regulations will start to roll out in about six months. With Sessions attacking medical here in the U.S., and the health care monstrosity that might get passed in Senate next week, we might want to high tail it over to Mexico before that fence gets built.

...But Vermont and Massachusetts Are Still Having Some Issues

Vermont’s roller-coaster story of the little marijuana legalization bill that could ended with a “couldn’t”—the bill, vetoed by the governor last month, was blocked by House Republicans and now won’t be brought up again until 2018. Better luck next time around!

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, the Senate passed a bill that calls for a major overhaul of the voter-approved recreational measure that passed in November. Legalization advocates are pissed because the bill raises taxes on cannabis products from 12 to 28 percent—which, they say, is so high that it will push weed back into the black market (for comparison’s sake, Colorado’s sales tax on cannabis is 10 percent, in addition to their state sales tax rate of 2.9 percent, and Washington state’s tax structure is a little different; there is no additional sales tax charged, but there is an excise tax of 37 percent for retailers and producers that they pass along to consumers).

Do High Drivers Cause More Car Crashes?

There seems to be conflicting reports on the role that pot plays in car crashes. A study by the American Journal of Public Health examining car accidents in Washington and Colorado found no significant increase in motor vehicle fatalities when compared to other states.

But another study published by the Highway Loss Data Institute on Wednesday found a 3 percent increase in crashes in Washington, Colorado and Oregon, where weed is legal, compared to other states where it’s not (like Wyoming, Idaho and Nevada). The study used data from about 2.5 million insurance collision claims in these states from 2012 to 2016.

Of course, it’s hard to directly compare two studies with two completely different data sets and sources. Also, we’re not sure from the insurance reports if drivers mixed weed with alcohol, which would have negatively impacted their driving ability even more.

PNC Bank Closes the Marijuana Policy Project’s Account After 22 Years

This was spurred by the fear that the Trump administration will start penalizing marijuana businesses in states where marijuana is legal. Uncertainty is in the air, and banks want to stay out of the messy business of being tied to what may once again become an illegal industry.

Cop Uses Marijuana Smell as the Excuse for Why He Took Philando Castile’s Life

Absolutely disgusting:

"And I thought if he’s, if he has the, the guts and the audacity to smoke marijuana in front of the five-year-old girl and risk her lungs and risk her life by giving her secondhand smoke and the front seat passenger doing the same thing then what, what care does he give about me. And, I let off the rounds and then after the rounds were off, the little girls was screaming."

The Stranger Asked Seattle Mayoral Candidates about their Favorite Strains

Which candidate likes the body buzz of Aliens on Moonshine? Which one is laying off the weed to focus on boxing? The answers may surprise you! (Or, they may not!)

No CBD for Canadian Dogs

Leafly Senior Editor and longtime Stranger contributor David Schmader got the scoop: because Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations do not apply to vets or animals, so dogs suffering from ailments like osteoporosis and epilepsy can’t get CBD products to help with their pain. A dog-gone shame!

Let’s watch this video of one dog named Silby’s miraculous transformation brought on in part by CBD oil, because Friday.