Mexico City Council is debating allowing private marijuana smoking clubs as well as the private cultivation of cannabis plants as a way of easing drug-related crime in the violence-torn nation.
While the idea makes perfect sense to supporters and anyone with a set of eyes who can see marijuana prohibition has failed, Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto says he’s against the measure and any legalization efforts.
The U.S. tiny island territory south of Florida is now considering allowing medical marijuana for various medical conditions, according to the Associated Press. The proposal would also allow for state-regulated medical cannabis dispensaries as well as giving patients the option of growing their own herb.
“Treating this strictly as something that should be punished has clearly not worked,” Rep. Carlos Vargas, the bill’s other author, told the AP.
Smoke a joint, go to jail? Not too much anymore. Not in California. In 2010, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law making possession of less than an ounce of weed a ticket-worth infraction.
Now State Sen. Mark Leno has seen his bill that would allow non-violent drug possession convicts to be tried as misdemeanor cases pass the state assembly this week. The law would expand the lax stance on having a little in your pocket (so long as you’re not a violent felon) to other drugs. LA Weekly has the rest.
The Washington Liquor Control Board, which is charged with regulating Washington’s emerging retail cannabis industry, released a new set of proposed rules Wednesday. Among (many) other things, the laws limit the number of dispensaries that will be allowed to operate in the state to 334.
Of the 334 shops, Seattle will have as many 21 according to Jake Ellison over at Seattle PI. King County has the potential for the most, with 61 stores. People can own up to three dispensaries or 33 percent of the local market, whichever comes first.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin yesterday says he is now open to discussing the regulation and legalization of limited amounts of marijuana for adult use following the announcement by the Justice Department that marijuana businesses will be allowed to operate in Colorado and Washington. But, he says Vermont should let those two states test the waters before Vermont takes the plunge.
“I think we should learn from Washington and from Colorado,” Shumlin told reporters yesterday. “But I don’t think we should let them get too far ahead of us.”
The newly-released federal policy on recreational marijuana has been as a go-ahead by many marijuana-related businesses who feel that
But according to Forbes writer Robert Wood, the new DOJ policies won’t do anything to change how the IRS views marijuana businesses as completely illegal enterprises, nor will it help protect marijuana business owners from violating federal tax laws.
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The Connecticut medical marijuana program can now officially move forward after proposed regulations for the newly-created industry were approved last night by the state General Assembly. The rules now head to the secretary of state for filing.
Officials say that within two weeks the new medical marijuana department will be accepting grower and retailer applications. Licenses should be issued at the start of the new year, which means medical marijuana dispensaries are at least five months away from being open.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy yesterday announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing to discuss the conflicts between state and federal marijuana laws next month.
Both medical and recreational marijuana laws will be on the table for discussion, notably whether or not state employees implementing the programs will be safe from prosecution however Leahy also feels that the state’s rights to enact recreational laws should be respected.
Has the U.S. Justice Department given approval for Colorado and Washington to move forward with implementing legal marijuana sales to adults over 21 by simply not saying “no”?
Colorado and Washington officials seem to think so, according to reports released this week from Talking Points Memo and the Huffington Post.
The New Jersey Senate has caved in to Gov. Chris Christie’s demands, altering a medical marijuana bill that would have eased access for suffering children to make it more restrictive.
The 34 to 1 vote means that children will have to have two doctors signing off on a child’s recommendation for medical cannabis, one of which has to be a child psychiatrist. The new bill also expands the available forms of medicated edibles, but limits those new forms to children only – a baffling move to anyone who has researched medical cannabis for even five minutes online could tell you.