Denver’s status as the country’s legal cannabis capital is in jeopardy now that California has started recreational sales, but one study shows that the Mile High City wouldn’t just take a step back if the rest of the world followed suit — it would become irrelevant. There are some questions about how the study’s figures apply to Denver, though.
Search Results: legalizes (51)
The world’s smallest island nation is banning alcohol and legalizing cannabis. Members of the Nauruan Parliament approved a measure legalizing the sales, cultivation, use and possession of marijuana for adults on the island with a fifteen to four vote.
Nauru now joins Uruguay as one of the two nations to outright legalize the plant. Government offiials say the hope to boost travel to the extremely remote island, which has been almost entirely decimated by 50 years of phosphate strip mining.
| Bernard Gagnon. |
Utah parents of children suffering from severe seizure disorders can now obtain CBD-based medicines for their children thanks to a bill signed into law yesterday by Gov. Gary Herbert.
The only catch: the parents can’t purchase the oil anywhere in Utah, nor can they grow plants to make the oil themselves. Instead, Utah lawmakers are forcing the families to travel out of state, purchase the oil, then break federal and local laws bringing it back home with them.
Portland, Maine has legalized the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for adults over 21, with more than 70 percent of voters in the city giving their approval to the measure.
While certainly a step in the right direction, the bill was mostly symbolic. Marijuana cultivation remains illegal, and 2.5 ounces of cannabis was already among the lowest civil penalties in the city. The legalization does eliminate up to $600 in fines for those caught with 2.5 ounces or less, however.
Since Arizona voters legalized medical marijuana at the polls two years ago, fewer teens in the state are trying pot, according to a study published recently by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission.
According to the study [PDF], 28.7 percent of students surveyed admitted to using marijuana at least once, reports Stephen C. Webster at The Raw Story. That figure represents a drop from 29.9 percent in 2010. Medical marijuana legalization took effect in Arizona in 2011.
While about one in nine students who admitted using cannabis claimed they got it from a medical marijuana patient or caregiver who received it legally, the vast majority said they got it from friends, at parties or at school. The only category students cited less often than medical marijuana cardholders was “home,” but teens also cited “home” as the second most common place they got dangerous prescription drugs for illicit use.
| Zazzle |
A story which went viral on the Web today — indicating that Sweden had bravely forged ahead of its Scandinavian neighbors and legalized cannabis — appears to be a hoax.
One story on JustPaste.It, headlined “Sweden legalizes and regulates cannabis,” created a bit of a stir (and a storm of page hits) on social media networks.
However, the story, which linked to no confirming sources and listed as its source “420 Dagbladet, Stockholm, December 19, 2011,” could not be confirmed anywhere else and seems to have no validity.
“420 Dagbladet,” which would mean “420 Daily Newspaper,” doesn’t even appear to exist, either as a website or as a print publication.
| Photo: EUCON |
| Can you say marijuana tourism? As soon as Saipan legalizes marijuana — which it almost did this week — the stoner dollars will start pouring in, mine included. |
Ahhh… Sugar white beaches and sugar-frosted sticky buds.
A tropical Pacific island paradise almost just legalized weed — and no passport is required to visit from the United States, since it is a protectorate. While that stony dream may have just suffered a setback, it lives on and may soon be put up for a popular vote.
The House passed the marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday, but at least five of nine senators are lukewarm to the idea of legalizing marijuana in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), which includes Saipan, Tinian, Ascuncion and Rota islands in the Pacific. This probably means the bill is doomed, reports Haidee V. Eugenio at the Saipan Tribune.
| Photo: Dave’s blog of random shit |
| Federal medical marijuana patient Irv Rosenfeld smokes a joint in front of the Capitol Building |
The D.C. Council on Tuesday approved amendments to a medical marijuana law first passed in 1998 by 69 percent of District voters. Congress had blocked implementation of Initiative 59 for more than a decade, until it lifted its ban last year.
With Tuesday’s vote, the District of Columbia joins the 14 states across the country which already allow qualified patients to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest.
“Today marks a long overdue victory for D.C. voters and potentially thousands of chronically ill residents who will benefit from legal access to medical marijuana,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project.
The president-elect may not be a hardliner, but he’s surrounded himself with them.
Here’s your daily round-up of pot-news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek.
The all-but-final Election Day tally is California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine legalized REC, whileFlorida, Arkansas, and North Dakota legalized MED.
Arizona rejected a REC measure. Montanans voted to allow a MED industry, though it remains contentious.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R), a legalization opponent and former DEA chief, said the process requires federal input. “It’s an example of the states innovating in a risky area, and certainly the states are leading on this, but we’re to a point that the federal government is going to have to readdress this,” he said. “This does not call for a state-by-state solution, it calls for … a national solution.”
This is an early indication that the cannabis industry will be harder for the Donald Trump administration to ignore than it was for the Obama administration.
Vice president elect Mike Pence (R) has replaced New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as head of Trump’s transition team. Both are known for their hardline stances against legalization, as is former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a possible attorney general in the administration.
Several pieces speculate on what a Trump presidency means for legalization. Here are three: The Cannabist, MJBiz, Reveal (Center for Investigative Reporting).
Drug Policy Alliance head Ethan Nadelmann said, “the federal government retains the power to hobble much of what we’ve accomplished…The progress we’ve made … will be very much at risk when Donald Trump enters the White House.”
Vivian Azer, a stock analyst with Cowen, predicts cannabis will be a low priority for Trump.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D.-Ore.), probably pot’s best friend in Congress, said he thinks the industry’s priorities for banking and tax reform could both pass a Republican Congress under President Trump.
The industry would rather see it younger.
Here’s your daily round-up of pot-news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Download WeedWeek’s free 2016 election guide here.
In Ottawa, a city public health board said the legal purchase age for REC should be 25, citing brain development. Bruce Linton, CEO of major grower Tweed, said the age should be 19, same as the drinking age in most of Canada.