Browsing: Legalize It

The head of the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control board says that Uruguay didn’t consult them before the country moved forward with the “surprising” legalization of limited amounts of cannabis earlier this month.
To that, Uruguayan president Jose Mujica says: bullshit, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone who was paying attention. Further, Mujica says he was open to talking about it with anyone and everyone who asked.

Marijuana possession (and soon purchases) are legal in Seattle, but public consumption remains verboten in Seattle much the same way as tipping back a bottle of beer in public. In that vein, Seattle City Council yesterday passed a law making marijuana toking in public a $27 fine – the same for illegal alcohol consumption.
Police, however, say they’ll most likely be issuing warnings “whenever practical” and would like to avoid writing the tickets if they can. We take that to mean that you’ll have to really/em> try to get the citation in most instances.

Big photos below.

With the January 1 kickoff for recreational marijuana sales in Colorado drawing ever nearer, we’re hearing more and more people within the cannabis community complaining about the city’s approach. A common perception is that Denver mayor Michael Hancock’s personal opposition to pot legalization is filtering down to city agencies and negatively coloring messaging, as epitomized by the unenthusiastic tone of the city’s official marijuana website. But a Hancock rep says nothing could be further from the truth and stresses the city’s efforts to make the launch go smoothly.
Denver Westword has the full story.

As long as the federal government continues to make it impossible for California’s biggest cash crop to find legal customers, the harvest will inevitably end up on the black market. Because it remains illegal for Golden State growers to export their plants to other states where it is legal to smoke cannabis for medical or recreational purposes under state law, a lot of folks unload their plants the old fashioned way–illegally.
The latest example: a coast-to-coast marijuana smuggling operation based out of San Diego that allegedly used the U.S. Postal Service to do the heavy lifting. Nick Schou at the OC Weekly has more.

New York state Sen. Liz Kreuger has introduced a bill that would legalize the possession, use and sales of limited amounts of cannabis for New York adults.
The bill would legalize the sales of up to two ounces of cannabis to adults 21 and up, but it would also legalize the possession and use of cannabis for all adults 18 and up – including a group of 18- to 20-year-old adults that have managed to be ignored so far in other state legalization measures.

The effort to legalize marijuana in Missouri continues as ten different legalization proposals have been sent to the Secretary of State Jason Kander’s office and are open for public comment.
But these aren’t just changes to laws. They’re changes to the Missouri State Constitution, similar to what Colorado has and done so in a way so no buzz-kill state legislator can try to repeal it. The Riverfront Times has the full story.

TokeoftheTown.com

Update 12/11/13 – 8:20 a.m.: Uruguay yesterday became the first country in the world to legalize and regulate cannabis sales as well as legalize the home cultivation for adults over 21. The Uruguayan Senate yesterday gave final approval to the proposed measure, passing the bill over to President Jose Mujica, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill passed with a 16-13 majority.
“Today is an historic day. Many countries of Latin America, and many governments, will take this law as an example,” Sen. Constanza Moreira said after the vote.

Yesterday, Denver city councilwoman Susan Shepherd predicted that an amendment allowing people to smoke pot on their front porches and front lawns — a reversal of a ban that seemed certain to pass — would be approved at a meeting last night, and she was right. The new rules sailed through.
Not so for another proposal that concerned Shepherd — one that would have prohibited smoking within 1,000 feet of schools even on private property, like a home. Denver Westword has the full details.

The Drug Policy Alliance Wednesday filed ballot initiative language last week that would legalize up to an ounce of pot and four plants for adults over 21 in California as well as allow for recreational cannabis sales with a tax of up to 25 percent.
But as of now, nobody seems willing to push it. According to a blog post at StopTheDrugWar.org last night, DPA officials say they aren’t sure if they are even going to push for the measure right now due to remaining shell shock from failure of 2010’s Proposition 19 that would have legalized recreational cannabis in the Golden State.

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