In recent weeks, anti-marijuana advocates have been pushing polls they say show a majority of people in Colorado and beyond are cooling on cannabis legalization. But Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project and a primary proponent for Amendment 64, which legalized limited pot sales in Colorado, doesn’t see a new groundswell of opposition.
| Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. |
Yesterday during a debate with Republican gubernatorial rival Bob Beauprez, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper described Colorado voter’s legalization of marijuana as “reckless.” In response, Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, calls Hickenlooper a hypocrite — and that’s not all.
The Marijuana Enforcement Division has approved an updated set of rules for the recreational and medical marijuana industries. Many of the changes appear to be procedural and mostly clarify existing processes for things like converting a medical dispensary to a recreational or dual-use shop.
The timing was key, as new recreational marijuana producers can begin selling their own cannabis. And as of October 1, grows no longer need to be directly tied to a specific recreational dispensary — meaning they can wholesale to any state-licensed entity.
The Rocky Mountain Hemp Association is a non-profit that works as an advocate for the hemp industry in Colorado, with particular emphasis on the actual growth of the plant on farms. So it is especially fitting that it is raising money by auctioning a guitar autographed by Willie Nelson: Noted advocate of both farms and hemp (and its byproducts).
The guitar went on the market last week. The bidding is up to $2,000, and the estimated value has been set at $10,000. You have fifteen days, if you’re so inclined.
Patients with THC in their system were less likely to die from traumatic brain injuries than those without it. Those were the findings of researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, released this week.
And according to the scientists, it’s not a coincidence.
| Sunburn O.G. |
With less than a month to go before November elections that could bring the legalization of limited amounts of cannabis for adults 21 and up, the New York Times has stepped in to the mix with an editorial endorsing the pot policies.
“Opponents of legalization warn that states are embarking on a risky experiment. But the sky over Colorado has not fallen, and prohibition has proved to be a complete failure. It’s time to bring the marijuana market out into the open and end the injustice of arrests and convictions that have devastated communities.”
| JackstonStormes.com |
| Jackson Stormes. |
Jackson Stormes is one of the thousands of children in this country suffering from Dravet syndrome, a rare form of severe epilepsy that causes constant seizures and, generally, means a painful, poor quality of life for the children who have it. But for many, hope can be found in a low-THC, high-CBD cannabis extract that all but stops the seizures and allows kids to live a much more normal life. Sadly, Jackson hasn’t been able to access the high-CBD medicine where he lives in New Jersey, because that state’s program is being bogged down by inept program management and state leadership who would rather it all just go away says his mother, Jennie Stormes.
So with few other options, the Stormes family is uprooting and moving to Colorado where they know nobody, have no jobs but know that there is at least some hope for their son.
| Just say no to Sheldon Adelson. |
With a net worth of $37 billion, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has donated another $1.5 million to the No On 2 campaign (or, Drug Free Florida) — the biggest medical marijuana opposition in the state of Florida. He had helped kick off the campaign when he donated $2.5 million to get things started back in June.
The 80-year-old Adelson, who has been a big-time contributor to conservative campaigns throughout his life, is chairman and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which runs the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. Oh yeah, he has also funded drug addiction clinics in Nevada and Israel and believes pot to be a gateway drug. Broward-Palm Beach New Times has more.
Would the proposed Amendment 2 — Florida’s bid to legalize medical marijuana on this November’s ballot — really let convicted felons sell pot with no penalties? That’s what a new statewide ad urging voters to turn against the proposition claims, with an ominous voice intoning that “Even felons and drug dealers could be caregivers.”
Of course that’s not really true. Could is the operative word, because the amendment gives legislators six months to set rules on how medical pot would actually work. If it’s not already obvious that GOP-controlled Tallahassee isn’t likely to leave such glaring loopholes for caregivers, a group headed by a former Florida House speaker has released a proposed set of guidelines on how to regulate the drug. Riptide has the full story.
| Keith Bacongo-Flickr edited by Toke of the Town. |
The legalization of recreational marijuana will be a huge issue on your 2016 ballot in California. It’s a presidential year, and pro-pot forces are expecting a larger-than-normal turnout at the polls. The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project already made waves in recent days by announcing it would “begin raising funds to help place the measure on the November 2016 ballot.”
But the MPP wasn’t the first organization to eye the November, 2016 ballot in California, and it certainly won’t be the last.