Pot dispensaries clouding medical marijuana's image

Medical marijuana started as a grass-roots movement among AIDS patients and still caters to medical patients, but increasingly it's also turned into a party
Maureen O'Hagan and Jonathan Martin
The Seattle Times (US)
Saturday, October 7, 2012

med-marijuana-seattleSeattle's first-ever Medical Cannabis Cup — part gourmet weed contest, part trade show, part smoke-in — showcased the entrepreneurial drive and explosive growth of the local medical-marijuana industry. From dispensaries offering dozens of marijuana varieties to new potency-testing labs to makers of cannabis-infused capsules and candy corn, storefronts displaying the trademark green cross dot nearly every Seattle neighborhood. The city estimates there are at least 150 marijuana-related businesses here, more ubiquitous than Starbucks.