A medical marijuana dispensary in the Denver area doesn’t have any more impact on its neighborhood than does a coffee shop or a drugstore, according to a recent study released by the University of Colorado Denver. Not only that, but residents don’t perceive a dispensary as an undesirable use of a storefront.
These findings counter the constant negative messages coming from law enforcement and anti-cannabis crusaders. And apparently, even the researchers were shocked by the results.
Doubts about whether demand for recreational marijuana would cover the cost of the program put in place to regulate its sale appear to have been unfounded, at least during its early stages.
Evidence comes via Governor John Hickenlooper, who’s come up with a plan to spend recreational-pot tax revenues: $4.5 million this fiscal year and a heaping $99 million the next. But proponents of the amendment that made such sales possible are aghast at his proposal, which they call anti-pot and pro-booze.
The South Carolina legislature has cannabis on their minds and seem to be okay with industrial hemp, but don’t think they are coming close to actually legalizing pot anytime soon.
A bill allowing South Carolina farmers to grow industrial hemp moved through a state Senate agriculture panel Thursday with little opposition and a lot of support. Meanwhile, state Sen. Tom Davis filed a bill that would allow doctors to recommend CBD-rich oil to patients with seizure disorders.
| Dr. Steven Jenison. |
Minnesota may be closer to legalizing medical marijuana than anyone realizes. At a press conference earlier this year, Gov. Mark Dayton reiterated his opposition to medical marijuana and argued that “objective information” was needed in the debate, seeming to slam the door shut.
But a couple weeks later, some legislators and public health advocates met privately with Dr. Steven Jenison, the first director of New Mexico’s medical marijuana program, to talk about the potential challenges of implementing a similar program in Minnesota. Seriously.
The Minneapolis City Pages did the digging and has the complete story.
A little more than half of Arizonans are in favor of legalizing marijuana, according to the latest poll on the subject.
The Behavior Research Center’s Rocky Mountain Poll asked more than 700 Arizona residents whether they believe the sale of marijuana should be made legal. Fifty-one percent were in favor, and 41 percent were opposed. Phoenix New Times has the full story.
The effort to legalize marijuana in Missouri has suffered a setback as the state’s leading legalization group, Show Me Cannabis, has decided to postpone its ballot-initiative efforts until the 2016 elections instead of going for it this year.
The decision comes after weeks of phone polling indicated that 51 percent of likely Missouri voters in 2014 opposed legalization, compared to 45 percent who approved. Those numbers are far below the 60 percent that John Payne, the executive director of Show Me Cannabis, has said would be necessary for the group to put the money and organizing effort into what what would be a monumental victory for this mostly conservative Midwestern state.
The Riverfront Times has more.
In a move chided by most medical marijuana patients and just about every medical marijuana collective owner in the state, the Washington state House last night approved a bill that would eliminate medical pot shops as they currently exist and force patients into a heavily-taxed recreational system.
House Bill 2149 passed by a vote of 67 to 29 last night, has been billed as a way to help keep federal agents out of Washington as well as a way to help funnel more tax revenue through the recreational system. The measure also decreases the total amount of plants patients can grow at home from 15 down to six and drops possession limits from 24 ounces to three.
Just two months after filing title language for a ballot initiative legalizing limited amounts of cannabis with the state, the Drug Policy Alliance says they will not be moving forward with their California proposal in 2014. According to one spokesman for the campaign, 2014 was a “trial run or dress rehearsal for 2016”.
And they aren’t alone. Longtime activist Ed Rosenthal says he’s no longer pursuing his ballot measure any longer either.
| Carly Melin. |
Just about everyone who’s met privately with Minnesota’s top cops to talk medical marijuana has walked away from negotiations using the same two words — brick wall.
“They had blanket opposition to marijuana reform,” State Rep. Carly Melin (DFL) told us last month while we were researching a story about the upcoming legislation. “There were no provisions in the bill they could support and they weren’t willing to work with us at all.”
Minneapolis City Pages has the details.
| Big photos and more below. |
Late last month, Denver Westword reported that a potentially groundbreaking case involving medical marijuana patient Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic fired by DISH after a positive drug test, is headed to the Colorado Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Colorado branch of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) is developing drug-testing guidelines for employees, whether they’re patients or recreational users — and members on this mission are using a progressive policy in Boulder as a starting point. Details at Westword.com