We've done quite a bit of reporting on medical marijuana over the past couple of years and recently ran this story on Bend's marijuana collectives. The issue isn't always easy to understand, given all the gray area that exists in Oregon's medical pot laws.

But Oregon Capitol News came out with this video yesterday that weighs the benefits of a medical marijuana dispensary system in Oregon and is a good starter for those looking to understand this often complex issue.

Today, The Seattle Times published an editorial stating that Washington state House Bill 1550, a law that would legalize and tax marijuana in the state deserved a hearing in the house Ways and Means Committee.

This comes just one week after the paper -- the largest daily in the state of Washington -- published another editorial last Friday that made a level-headed, reasonable case for ending marijuana prohibition in the state. Among other reasons, the editorial says that legalization could yield as much as $300 in tax revenue each year.

Why are these editorials significant? Well, The Seattle Times is hardly a radical publication. In fact, it's the publication of record for that state and reflects what appears to be a changing attitude toward marijuana amongst the general population (not just certain subcultures) in our region.

There's a good chance nothing becomes of this bill, but it should nonetheless be interesting to keep an eye on Washington in the coming months.