MPP Urges Denver Police to Allow Off-Duty Marijuana Use

6/17/2014

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Is it safer to get high than it is to get drunk?

This question has led to a dilemma in Denver, where police officers face a zero tolerance policy on marijuana despite the state-wide legalization of recreational marijuana in 2012 for adults aged 21 and older. Recently, the Marijuana Policy Project urged the Denver Police Department to allow officers of the law to use recreational marijuana as a safer alternative to alcohol, following an announcement made by Denver Police Chief Robert White, in which he conceded to be considering options for handling the department’s problematic alcohol abuse. “I’m concerned for the officers. I’m concerned for their wellness,” White admitted. “I’m concerned for our agency. We’ve worked extremely hard.”

In 2014, Denver has seen a series of officer arrests in which alcohol has played a key role. There are already seven officers accused of crimes so far this year, six of which directly involved alcohol abuse (by comparison, there were only four officers arrested in 2013). The Denver Post reports:

Incidents involving officers this year have included a veteran detective arrested on a child-pornography charge; another detective arrested on nine charges, including child abuse and domestic violence; and two officers accused, along with their wives, of getting into a drunken brawl involving allegations of swinging. Three others have been accused on driving under the influence, said Sonny Jackson, a department spokesman.

The Marijuana Policy Project contacted the Denver Police Department on Friday and suggested considering the potential benefits of lifting the department’s ban on off-duty marijuana use.

“Denver police officers know as well as anyone that alcohol use is a far bigger threat to public safety than marijuana use,” said Mason Tvert, MPP’s Denver-based director of communications. “Drunk and rowdy people cause them problems all day at work. It should not be a problem for them to relax after work by using marijuana instead of alcohol, if that’s what they prefer.” Tvert was also co-director of the 2012 initiative campaign to end marijuana prohibition in Colorado.

And, if the law prevents lifting the ban on off-duty marijuana use, the MPP suggests that “the [Denver Police Department] and other police organizations should lobby to change the law(s) in the interest of officers’ health and safety.”

“Coloradans now have the right to make the safer choice, and that should include our law enforcement officers,” argues Tvert. “Police organizations always lobby on issues that affect their members’ health and safety. This case should be no different.”

Sources:

http://www.mpp.org/media/press-releases/as-denver-police-department.html

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25950835/denver-police-chief-concerned-about-alcohol-abuse-officers

Photo Credit: Steve Rhodes

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AG Eric Holder Pushes to Reduce Sentences for Nonviolent Drug Offenders

6/12/2014

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The US Sentencing Commission approved a proposal last month that will reduce prison sentences for future drug offenders. Now, the Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, has announced its support for an additional initiative that would retroactively reduce prison sentences in a similar manner for thousands of nonviolent drug offenders currently serving time in federal prisons across the country — the retroactive proposal should go to a vote next month.

The proposal would reduce sentences for qualified inmates by an average of 23 months. Qualified inmates are described as those “who lack significant criminal histories and whose offenses did not include aggravating factors, such as the possession of a dangerous weapon or the use of violence.”

Somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 nonviolent drug offenders may be affected by this proposal, and if passed the reduction of prison sentences could save taxpayers $2.4 billion.

Holder, who announced his support for enforcing these changes retroactively in an official statement on Tuesday, described the proposal:

“If your offense was nonviolent, did not involve a weapon, and you do not have a significant criminal history, then you would be eligible to apply for a reduced sentence in accordance with the new rules approved by the Commission in April. Not everyone in prison for a drug-related offense would be eligible. Nor would everyone who is eligible be guaranteed a reduced sentence. But this proposal strikes the best balance between protecting public safety and addressing the overcrowding of our prison system that has been exacerbated by unnecessarily long sentences.”

With marijuana legalization movements gaining momentum and credibility across the nation, criminal justice reform has become something of a political platform for Attorney General Holder and President Obama. The new initiative is consistent with these efforts, which “seek to reserve the harshest penalties for the most serious criminals who pose the greatest threat to public safety.”

Sally Yates, US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, provided further information about the DOJ’s understanding of the situation. “We believe that the federal drug sentencing structure in place before the amendment resulted in unnecessarily long sentences for some offenders that has resulted in significant prison overcrowding,” she said, adding that “imprisonment terms for those sentenced pursuant to the old guideline should be moderated to the extent possible consistent with other policy considerations.”

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, there are currently 100,888 people serving federal time for drug-related charges, meaning that drug offenders currently make up 49.9% of federal prison inmates.

Sources:

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/June/14-ag-619.html

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jun/10/ag_holder_supports_making_federa

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/33344/ag-eric-holder-urges-reduced-sentences-for-nonviolent-drug-offenses/

Photo Credit: US Department of Education

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Jamaica Considering Marijuana Legalization

6/10/2014

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Believe it or not, cannabis is still technically illegal in Jamaica. In fact, the country’s first medical marijuana company, Medicanja, launched a mere six months ago.

However, inspired by successful legalization experiments in Colorado, Washington, and Uruguay, Jamaican farmers and some politicians have decided it’s time to legally capitalize on the culturally-entrenched industry: largely through the advent of popular reggae legend Bob Marley, Jamaica already has a powerful claim on cannabis culture — in fact, Jamaica-brand ganja might be the world’s most popular perception of marijuana.

Earlier this week, Rastafarian locals and ganja farmers gathered in downtown Kingston, the country’s capital, to discuss the road to legalization. They kicked off a project called Jamaica’s Ganja Future Growers and Producers Association, which hosted guest speakers from Jamaica, the USA, and Canada who talked about various benefits of the drug and how the marijuana industry is swiftly bandwagoning into a raging success story.

“The time has come to provide an opportunity for Jamaicans to benefit from the marijuana industry,” said Angela Brown Burke, mayor of Kingston and senator in Jamaica’s Parliament. Her husband, Paul Burke, heads the new ganja growers and producers association, and is also the general secretary of the PNP, the government’s current ruling party.

Phillip Paulwell, the leader of government business in Jamaica’s House of Representatives, announced a popular opinion earlier this year: “It is my view that decriminalization of the weed will become a reality this [calendar] year, arising from the Parliamentary debate and the support by the majority of the members.”

According to one study, most Jamaican’s (85%) believe that medicinal products should be created from the plant, while a smaller majority (66%) claimed to have used the drug themselves.

There is one major difference between the legalization plans of Jamaica and what was passed in Uruguay many months ago: mainly, Jamaican ganjapreneurs are pushing for legalization so they might capitalize on the ganja tourism industry, much like what we’ve seen in Colorado these past six months. In Uruguay, where marijuana was legalized across an entire nation for the first time earlier this year, tourists are not allowed to buy or use the drug.

“I do believe it may boost our economy, but I don’t think we should sacrifice our human capital to gain the marijuana dollar,” said Dayton Campbell, a physician and member of Jamaica’s Parliament. While Campbell does not oppose using marijuana medicinally, he believes that it should not be smoked for the health risks it poses to the body and developing brain.

However, marijuana advocates continue to lobby based on very clear projections, which indicate that increased tourism would result from legalizing Jamaica’s cannabis culture. One small-time grower predicted the rush for ganja tourism: “Thousands — if they know they can come into a ganja field and police wouldn’t arrest them — they would come. Hotels would be full of people. Everybody would benefit.”

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/06/08/jamaica-marijuana-ganja/9992405/

http://marijuana.com/news/2014/06/jamaica-could-soon-be-the-worlds-next-legal-marijuana-country/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/jamaica-may-decriminalize-marijuana_n_4874980.html

Photo Credit: Nicolas Oren

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US House Votes to Block the DEA on MMJ, Lobbyists Focus on Senate

6/05/2014

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Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a landmark vote to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from using federal funding to pursue medical marijuana users in those 22 states (and the District of Colombia) where it has been legalized. Representatives from around the nation voted 219-189 in an historic and bipartisan win for legitimate marijuana policy reform — arguably, marijuana’s first major and most resounding federal victory to date.

The appropriations amendment in question was presented by a Republican, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, who said that the amendment “should be a no brainer” for conservatives who value states’ rights. The amendment itself was sponsored by five Republicans and five Democrats: Reps. Rohrabacher (R-CA), Farr (D-CA), Young (R-AK), Blumenauer (D-OR), McClintock (R-CA), Cohen (D-TN), Broun (R-GA), Polis (D-CO), Stockman (R-TX), and Lee (D-CA).

Now, with the vote successfully passed through the House, public attention has turned to the Senate for another vote, which may take place as soon as next week. As Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), states:

“The U.S. Senate has an historic window of opportunity to take action on medical marijuana. The Obama Administration has already indicated a change to federal enforcement policy, and all we’re asking the Democratically-controlled Senate to do is make that policy binding.”

One man from Washington State, Larry Harvey, is traveling to Washington DC despite his impending federal trial to persuade the Senate to vote for a similar amendment against unnecessary federal prosecutions for marijuana offenses. Harvey himself is a victim of such a prosecution: he and several family members are being prosecuted in what’s become known as the “Kettle Falls 5” trial — the defendants were busted by the DEA for a medical marijuana grow operation that had existed entirely in compliance with Washington State laws.

Harvey is 70 years old and suffers from many afflictions, including heart disease and severe gout. Sadly, despite the Obama Administration’s claim that they do not target seriously ill patients, the Department of Justice has already spent more than $3 million trying to sentence Harvey and his companions to the mandatory minimum of ten years in federal prison. “It’s wrong what the federal government is doing to us,” he said. “I just want to make sure Congress knows what’s happening so they can fix the law and so there’s no more money wasted on cases like mine.”

Oregon’s Rep. Earl Blumenauer — who is a long-time proponent of legalization and has led many political efforts to further that aim — offered a compelling argument for changing the legislation:

“Those who suffer under current policies are not faceless. They are not statistics. They are our neighbors and live in our communities. They are the owners of small businesses that are so important to our economy, and patients with conditions — often desperate and painful — who have turned to medical marijuana to help them get through each day. They’re not the enemy, and it’s time we stopped treating them like it.”

Advocates for marijuana are working to get an amendment to the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill approved in time for a vote later this month. Even if the bill is approved, a House-Senate conference committee will be necessary to hash out political compromises between the two bodies of Congress.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/33051/federal-medical-marijuana-defendant-returns-to-washington-d-c-to-lobby-senate-ahead-of-imminent-vote/

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30949/facing-federal-trial-70-year-old-medical-marijuana-patient-to-lobby-congress/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/dea-medical-marijuana-house-vote_n_5414679.html

http://www.hightimes.com/read/us-house-bans-feds-policing-medical-marijuana-states

Photo Credit: Wally Gobetz

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Early Indications Suggest Legal Weed Won’t Destroy Life As We Know It

6/04/2014

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Well, it’s been five whole months since retail marijuana stores first opened in Colorado, and things are looking up. Barring a few unfortunate accidents, recreational marijuana appears to have had only positive effects on Colorado’s quality of life.

For starters, the Colorado coffers have been continually loaded with marijuana tax money since recreational stores first opened on January 1. Since the advent of marijuana’s legal market, Colorado has earned an approximate grand total of $12.6 million from the combined totals of recreational taxes, medical taxes, and marijuana licensing fees. And, as per the original wording of Amendment 64, Colorado school districts across the state will see direct benefits from that tax money. In fact, the Colorado legislature plans to spend at least $33 million of marijuana tax money on its public schools: specifically, there are plans to improve school nurse programs and increase public education about marijuana and other drugs.

Additionally, legalization has created thousands of new jobs: budtenders, growers, testing lab scientists, and security specialists — the list goes on and on, and people are scrambling to fill the positions.

Perhaps most exciting, however, is that the legalization of cannabis in Colorado reportedly coincides with a decrease in crime rates across the state. Clearly the age-old notion that correlation does not imply causation can be applied here, but doesn’t it seem logical that legalizing access to a plant that makes you happy, hungry, and also potentially sleepy would naturally lead to a decrease in criminal activity? Because that’s exactly how it looks: crime rates in Colorado have dropped an average of 10% across the board since January 1, stumping the marijuana skeptics that predicted pure gloom and doom from the outset of Amendment 64.

Meanwhile, officials and ganjapreneurs in Washington State have been trucking along with the launch of their own recreational marijuana market. Reports from the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) indicate that retail stores could open as early as next month. Licenses for producers and processors in Washington were first issued in March, and the state’s first crop of legal pot is likely approaching the time to harvest. And so far, despite a handful of cities electing for local moratoriums on the recreational cannabis industry, the commencement of Washington’s great legalization experiment is edging closer and closer without any legitimate cause for alarm.

So to all of the naysayers who ranted and raved about the inherent “dangers” of legal weed: you may now remove your foot from your mouth and kindly apologize. But if you have something else to say, just know that — after witnessing what really happened these past few months in Colorado — most people probably won’t want to hear it.

Sources:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/89165/colorado-s-marijuana-sales-keep-seeing-green

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/06/colorado-sells-19-million-cannabis-march-1-9-million-goes-schools-crime-10.html

http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_25725179?source=rss

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/6/3/washington-marijuanaban.html

Photo Credit: Matthew Kenwrick

 

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NY State Assembly Passes Comprehensive MMJ Bill, Again

5/29/2014

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The New York State Assembly passed a comprehensive medical marijuana bill last Tuesday, leaving NY poised once more to become the latest U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana.

The Compassionate Care Act, as it’s called, is a bill that would provide access to medicinal cannabis for thousands of patients suffering from serious, debilitating conditions across the state. Ultimately, the bill passed through the Assembly with overwhelming bipartisan support (91-34), making this the fifth time the Assembly has passed such a bill.

Kate Hintz from North Salem, whose daughter Morgan suffers from severe fits of life-threatening seizures, voiced an increasingly-common opinion among New Yorkers:

“I applaud the leadership of the Assembly in passing the Compassionate Care Act for the fifth time. But my family can’t keep waiting; every day we wait is another day of seizures that could take our daughter’s life. It’s time for the Senate to follow the Assembly’s lead and pass the bill before more seriously ill New Yorkers needlessly suffer or die.”

And Hintz is not alone in her sentiments. Donna Romana of Syracruse said, “As someone who lives with MS and seizures, I know medical marijuana can help alleviate my suffering and that of thousands of other New Yorkers. I hope the Senate will finally do the right thing and pass the Compassionate Care Act now.”

The Assembly has passed the Compassionate Care Act five times now in the last seven years, but discrepancies in the Senate have continually stalled the final vote on the Senate floor. The bill narrowly passed through the Senate Health Committee last week, and could be heading to the Senate Finance Committee as early as next week. Finance Committee Chair John DeFrancisco told reporters last week that he would allow the vote, provided that the Senate Leadership agrees to the notion.

Senator Diane J. Savino of Staten Island has sponsored a bill similar to the Compassionate Care Act in her chamber at the Senate, and, she has reportedly gained the support of as many as 40 senators, including many Republicans. Therefore, if Republican Senate Leader Dean G. Skelos allows the bill to go to a vote on the Senate floor, it is expected pass.

A poll taken in February found that 88% of New York voters favored the legalization of medical marijuana, an extremely high percentage considering the Compassionate Care Act’s perpetual struggles in becoming proper legislation. In fact, support for medical marijuana exceeded 80% in literally any gender, age group, or political party, demonstrating how truly bipartisan and popular medical marijuana’s legalization has become in New York.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a new program in January that utilizes a 1980 law to allow certain hospitals to dispense medicinal cannabis to patients. The Compassionate Care Act and its counterpart in the New York Senate is a much more expansive attempt at legalization, however, and the Governor has previously said that he will closely review any medical marijuana bill before signing it into law.

If New York’s Compassionate Care Act passes through the Senate and is signed by Gov. Cuomo, New York will become the 23rd state to legalize medical marijuana.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/32685/new-york-state-assembly-passes-comprehensive-medical-marijuana-bill/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/nyregion/assembly-backs-use-of-marijuana-for-illnesses.html?_r=0

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/05/new_york_state_assembly_passes_medical_marijuana_legislation.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/wow-lots-of-new-yorkers-are-into-medical-pot.html

Photo Credit: Josh Liba

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Canadian Company to Sponsor World’s First Clinical Trial of MMJ for Arthritis

5/27/2014

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The list of diseases that can reportedly be treated with marijuana has grown quite lengthy. However, scientific trials to determine the plant’s medical effectiveness in some such treatments have been extremely difficult and, due to legal restraints, all but impossible to carry out — until now.

A Canadian company called CanniMed has recently been approved by Health Canada, the federal department that helps Canadians maintain and improve their health, to run the world’s first clinical trials using medical cannabis to treat arthritis.

Arthritis is one of the most common conditions treated with medical marijuana. In fact, about one third of Canada’s 40,000 medical marijuana patients are using cannabis to alleviate pain caused by joint disease. Currently, such patients rely on medical marijuana purely based on anecdotal evidence. However, with the upcoming clinical trials, the world can look forward to finally seeing some hard, scientific proof that cannabis is indeed medicine.

CanniMed released a statement about the trials last week, stating that “With 36 percent of the patients registered in the former MMAR program suffering with symptoms of severe arthritis – the largest concentration of any disease area – we felt there was no option but to continue our clinical exploration within this important patient group.” The process of patient recruitment will reportedly be finalized in the coming weeks.

This development comes following a massive overhaul of the Canadian medical marijuana program in April, dubbed the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). The MMPR legalized the use of medical marijuana for Canadians who had it recommended to them by their doctors.

Despite recent legalization trends in both Canada and the U.S., however, the government and multiple medical organizations have agreed that more research is required, and clinical trials are the best option for research into marijuana’s unique medical properties.

“We are very pleased to see that a clinical trial specific to osteoarthritis of the knee has been registered with Health Canada,” explained Joanne Simmons, chief mission officer of The Arthritis Society. “Clinical research is the necessary first step to get us to where we want to go: more treatment options available for the arthritis community.”

CanniMed’s parent company, Prairie Plant Systems Inc., was on the forefront of Canada’s marijuana policy reform movement. As the company’s latest news release explains:

Prairie Plant Systems Inc. was the sole supplier to Health Canada under the former medical marijuana system for the last 13 years, and has been producing safe and consistent medical marijuana for thousands of Canadian patients, with no incident of diversion…. Our goal is to provide improved access for Canadians who rely on medical marijuana through scientific collaborations with external partners including academic institutions and healthcare professionals.

According to Brent Zettl, President and CEO of  both Prairie Plant Systems and CanniMed, the study should “determine not only the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis, but also… provide prescribing physicians with the clinical data they are looking for regarding dosing.”

What impact these trials may have on the global stage is, of course, entirely up for speculation. We can only hope that, as more research unfolds about the medical properties of cannabis, this era of prohibition will in turn continue to fade away.

Sources:

http://www.leafscience.com/2014/05/26/health-canada-approves-landmark-marijuana-trial/

http://cannimed.ca/blogs/news/14217941-first-medical-marijuana-clinical-trial-registered-with-health-canada

Image Credit: Brett Levin

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FBI to Reconsider Drug-Related Employment Requirements

5/21/2014

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In an ironic twist, the FBI is having to reconsider their employment requirements due to the increasing difficulty of finding qualified specialists in the cybersecurity field.

The Bureau was authorized by Congress to hire 2,000 new individuals this year. Currently, prospective FBI employees cannot have smoked marijuana for three years prior to employment, but that requirement is hurting the Bureau’s selection pool: it would seem that the nation’s best and brightest individuals, who are most capable of combating the influx of cybercrime we’ve witnessed in recent years, are also particularly fond of cannabis.

The loosening of its stance on marijuana would widen the FBI’s selection pool so that it may include the nation’s top computer programmers and hacking experts. As Director James Comey put it, “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cybercriminals, and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview.”

Mr. Comey was speaking during an annual conference in New York on Monday. When one attendee mentioned to Mr. Comey a friend who had neglected applying to the FBI because of their policy against prior marijuana use, the FBI Director said that the Bureau was currently “grappling with the question,” but ultimately admitted that the friend “should go ahead and apply” despite prior marijuana use.

This is not the first time the FBI has relaxed their hiring requirements in relation to drug use, particularly marijuana. The three-year rule was instated in 2007; prior to that, the FBI’s hiring policy disqualified any individuals who had simply used marijuana more than fifteen times, ever. The Bureau’s current policy also disqualifies prospective personnel who have used other illicit substances within the past 10 years, and also those who have distributed, produced, or transported illegal drugs of any kind — a ruling that appears unlikely to be reconsidered.

The FBI’s hiring policy is generally harsher than other federal policing agencies: the CIA, for example, says on its website that “illegal drug use prior to 12 months ago is carefully evaluated during the medical and security processing,” but it does not strictly disallow it.

Marijuana advocates will be pleased to see such institutions of authority continue this trend of growing enlightenment regarding drug policies. With cannabis fully legal in two states now, and medical programs either underway or poised to launch in a growing majority of U.S. states, many official organizations nationwide are being forced to reconsider their stance on marijuana use. The NFL, for example, announced in January that it would consider allowing its players to use medical marijuana if recommended by medical experts.

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304422704579574374286817550?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304422704579574374286817550.html

http://rt.com/usa/160320-fbi-employee-hires-marijuana-use/

Photo Credit: Ian T. Edwards

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DEA Chief Michele Leonhart Changes Attitude After Meeting With Eric Holder

5/19/2014

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DEA Chief Michele Leonhart has made headlines more than once this year for her publicized negative comments about the growing cannabis industry. Contrary to her continued prohibitionist agenda, the Obama administration (officially represented by Attorney General Eric Holder in this matter) has been letting legalization efforts proceed unhindered. In fact, as the Huffington Post reports, prison sentencing reform has become “a critical, second-term legacy item” for Holder and President Obama: they are striving to dial back a federal system that has sought to impose incredibly long sentences for even nonviolent drug-related crimes since the advent of the infamous War on Drugs. This effort culminates in the Attorney General’s recent initiative, the Smarter Sentencing Act.

Leonhart, however, has expressed an entirely different agenda. She has faced criticism for her refusal to acknowledge that marijuana is categorically less dangerous than other narcotics currently classified alongside it as Schedule 1 substances, such as heroin or LSD. Additionally, her decrying remarks have been publicly recognized as intentionally undermining the Attorney General and the President on this issue, and many have asked why her superiors have allowed such direct opposition from a subordinate.

Things came to a head recently, when Leonhart spoke to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the subject of mandatory minimum sentencing, emphasizing the system’s usefulness in granting legal leverage over defendants. This remark was recognized by some as a grim sign that the DEA’s chief administrator opposed the president’s plan to enact sentencing reform, and in fact supported legal strategies that directly employed tactics such as fear mongering and the unfair repression of citizen liberties. These concerns led to a conversation between Leonhart and Holder on the subject.

Following that conversation, the DEA released a statement expressing Leonhart’s public support for the reforms of the Smarter Sentencing Act, which will reign in the deployment of harsh mandatory minimum sentences against nonviolent drug offenders. “The Administrator believes mandatory minimums in general can be an important tool in DEA investigations, but she supports the Attorney General’s sentencing reform initiative to ensure those sentences are imposed appropriately,” read one section of the statement.

Leonhart’s admission, however, is contradicted by continued DEA efforts to impede all facets of the legalization movement. Recent headlines, for example, detail a scandal between the organization and the state of Kentucky, wherein the former was being sued by the latter for confiscating some 250 lbs. of imported Italian hemp seeds for the state’s fully-legalized pilot hemp program. The DEA ordered customs officials to impound the seeds and has physically endangered the state’s first hemp crop in decades. Earlier this year, Leonhart decried the president’s comments about marijuana’s physical harmlessness to a room full of sheriffs, and even claimed that the flying of a hemp American flag over the U.S. Capitol marked the lowest point in her career — she has since been informed such comments were inappropriate.

It would seem that the current administration has, for some reason, a certain attachment to the DEA’s current chief administrator: very little else would explain why she has retained her position despite continually expressing complete disregard for any alterations to the U.S.’s outdated drug policies and the persistently progressive opinions expressed by Attorney General Holder, President Obama, and the majority of the American public.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/16/michele-leonhart-dea-sentencing-reform_n_5319085.html?vsmaid=261

Photo Credit: Duncan Brown

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Marijuana Job Fair Website Encourages Citizens to Take the “High Road”

5/16/2014

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With the recreational cannabis industry well underway in Colorado, and Washington’s market soon to follow, more and more people are looking for work in retail, production, and other niches of the marijuana market. MarijuanaJobFair.com, a website dedicated to providing resources to those in search of a job in this new industry, has recently launched their efforts to connect employers with potential employees both online and in person.

In recent months, cannabis career fairs have attracted huge gatherings of hopeful applicants. In Denver, the vaporizer manufacturer O.PenVape recently hosted an event dubbed “CannaSearch” that attracted a line of visitors that wrapped around the block at the event’s opening. “This is just the first example of how enthusiastic the general populace is about the industry,” said a representative from MarijuanaJobFair.com. “So many people are sitting in cubicles at boring office jobs or standing behind counters at big retail chains: I wouldn’t be surprised if there is going to be a mass exodus of employees who would rather work in the cannabis industry.” If there were such a trend, of course, the competition would be fierce: there is a finite number of cannabis industry businesses, and most of them are likely very selective about who they hire.

The website itself is currently purely informational, though it alludes to future events and services that the group intends to offer. Visitors are encouraged to sign up for email alerts about progress on the website and updates on marijuana business events near where they live. The website also offers a list of brief descriptions of the different types of jobs that may be available, from grow supervisor, to “Budtender,” to social media marketing coordinator.

“We’re excited to offer a valuable service to both cannabis businesses and employees seeking work,” the representative said. “Big things are coming.”

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Colorado Symphony’s ‘Classically Cannabis’ Series Will Continue, Official Warning Heeded

5/14/2014

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In April, Denver’s Colorado Symphony announced a series of concerts titled “Classically Cannabis: The High Note Series,” which would be a bring-your-own-cannabis event at a local art gallery designed to stir up interest for the classical music scene with a younger and more diverse crowd.

Following the Symphony’s announcement, however, the Denver city attorney warned the Symphony that their event may be in violation of Amendment 64 (the reason for Colorado’s legalized recreational weed market), under which public consumption of marijuana is still illegal. Specifically, the letter stated that Amendment 64’s “immunity from prosecution under state and local laws granted for adult possession and consumption does not extend to smoking ‘openly and publicly or in a manner that endangers others.'”

The Symphony has since modified the structure of the series, which will now be an invite-only occasion. Here are the event’s final modifications:

· The Colorado Symphony has removed public information about Classically Cannabis from its website and agreed to refund all ticket purchases through May 12, 2014.

· Classically Cannabis will now be available by invitation only. Events will be limited to a closed list of VIP guests managed by Edible Events Co. No reservations or requests for invitations to the events will be accepted from the general public.

· In consultation with Mr. Martinez, the Colorado Symphony has also determined that it no longer needs the two special events permits it had previously applied for from the City of Denver because of the events’ private nature. Therefore, the Colorado Symphony is in the process of withdrawing the permit applications.

Originally, the concert series was open to the public ages 21 and over and would have cost $75 regardless of whether you planned on consuming marijuana or not. Now, however, it is a strictly private event and is therefore acceptable by the city’s standards. City attorney Scott Martinez said in a brief statement, “We are pleased the (symphony) revisited planned events and worked to come into compliance with state and city laws.”

The Symphony’s cannabis industry partner throughout the series is Edible Events Co., whose responsibilities include organizing the event and bringing in marijuana companies to sponsor the event. Current cannabis industry sponsors are Ideal 420 Soils, The Farm of Boulder, Gaia Plant Based Medicine, and Wellspring Collective. No cannabis products are to be sold at the event, but refreshments such as food and beverages will be available.

The first concert in the series is scheduled for May 23, featuring the symphony’s brass ensemble. Further programs have not yet been established for the other concerts, which are scheduled for July 18 and August 15.

It’s expected that the Classically Cannabis series will raise up to $200,000 for the Colorado Symphony. A recent Denver Post poll also shows that more than 65% of its readers approve of the Symphony’s partnership with the cannabis industry.

According to the Symphony’s blog,

“From the beginning, our goal has been to support fundraising for the Colorado Symphony and to reach out to a culturally diverse audience,” says Jerome H. Kern, Colorado Symphony CEO and Co-Chair of its Board of Trustees. “We’re pleased to present these events in a way that will allow us to pursue these goals and move forward with the business of operating the Colorado Symphony.”

Sources:

https://www.cpr.org/news/story/colorado-symphony-move-forward-marijuana-themed-concerts

https://www.coloradosymphony.org/Events/Classically-Cannabis

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/05/14/denver-accepts-colorado-symphonys-tweaks-to-pot-themed-concerts/

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/colorado-symphony-tries-to-address-denvers-marijuana-concerns-over-classically-cannabis-concerts05132014

Photo Credit: University of Denver

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How to Get a Job in the Marijuana Industry

5/13/2014

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Not long ago, talk of growing, producing, and selling cannabis was only ever discussed in the dark corner of some hazy backroom or basement. Now, the question has come out in the open: how do you make a career for yourself in the marijuana industry?

Obviously, the advent of legal recreational weed in Colorado and Washington, not to mention the legalization of medical marijuana in an ever-increasing number of states, has all but completely normalized this discussion, but the question remains fairly frequent as the industry unfolds in Colorado.

One of the most common comparisons being drawn is calling this emergence of legal cannabusiness the great “Green Rush,” equivocating the phenomenon with the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855. And if nothing else can be said about the mad scramble to occupy some part of the cannabis industry, you can at least count on there being some stiff competition, so properly preparing yourself is essential to finding success with this exciting new opportunity.

With legalization in effect, suddenly there are career options related to the industry sprouting up left and right. One important consideration about the cannabis industry is that not every job will be directly handling the product: there will be a rising demand for glass blowers, LED grow light manufacturers, and hydroponic engineers, for example, in addition to more expected positions such as budtender or marijuana producer. And if you keep your interest all-encompassing, it will be much easier to find a position that suits both you and your employer.

The following is a brief guide that will aid in your preparation and qualification for having a successful cannabis industry job interview:

Analyze your desired job before showing up for the interview. Research the company. Learn about their influence, and figure out when they got involved in the cannabis industry. Make a list of the skills your desired position will require, and be ready to explain exactly how and why you can fill that role.

You should know beforehand exactly which position you desire from your potential employer.  Don’t show up and just say, “Give me whatever you’ve got, sir!” because that makes you look desperate.  Instead, you want to express confidence, so when you say “I can be the best BudTender you’ll ever have,” they’re that much more likely to believe you.

Practice your interview! Practice with a mirror, practice with a friend, or even practice with your dog. The more you say the things you want to share in your interview, the better you’ll get at saying them. And, following a similar vein, make sure you have your interview clothes ready before the actual day of your interview. Even though the cannabis industry has sprouted from the counterculture of recent decades, showing up in cut-off jean shorts and a tie-die probably won’t help your chances.

Know what to bring to your interview! Typical things include extra copies of your resume or portfolio, a list of references, and a list of questions you have about the company. Also know what not to bring: don’t seem obsessive over your cellphone, don’t chew gum or bring your coffee for the interview, and… well, probably don’t bring your weed.

Before you leave your interview, ask your questions! If you express genuine interest in the company, employers will appreciate it. Listen carefully during your interview so that you will be prepared to ask some questions of your own if you didn’t prepare enough beforehand. The best job interviews will feel more like a conversation, and the best conversations are usually not very one-sided.

The nation’s first cannabis industry job fair, CannaSearch 2014, was hosted in March at O.penVape’s headquarters in Denver. The vaporizer pen company’s chief revenue officer Todd Mitchem said, “Inside the cannabis industry, we are focused on professional, qualified people — just like any other industry. We won’t be impressed if someone says, ‘I’ve been smoking all morning, I can still talk.'”

The fair drew more than 1200 hopeful job searchers, nearly twice the expected amount. If nothing else, that’s a sign that you’re not the only person out there mulling over the same question — how can I get in on this industry? — and that it’s time to make a plan to get yourself involved.

Sources:

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25331149/resumes-mdash-not-reefer-mdash-welcome-at-cannasearch

http://www.marijuanajobfair.com/2014/05/08/get-a-job-in-the-marijuana-industry/

http://photos.denverpost.com/2014/03/14/photos-inside-cannasearch-the-first-ever-cannabis-job-fair-in-colorado/#1

Photo Credit: Coleen Whitfield

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Lottery Results for Washington Marijuana Retail Licenses Are In

5/07/2014

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Last Friday, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) announced the results of lotteries held last month to determine who might receive licenses for owning and operating a retail marijuana store. The results are now posted to the public records section of the WSLCB’s website, they announced via email last week.

Lottery winners were chosen through an independent, double-blind process that took place April 21-25.

The rules of I-502 dictated that marijuana retail stores were to be limited by county, and the WSLCB established earlier in Washington’s transition from cannabis prohibition that the maximum number of marijuana stores statewide would be 334. In counties with more applicants than allotted retail stores, a lottery would determine which applicants were successful.

The lotteries produced ranked lists of applicants, categorized by region, which will be used throughout the rest of the licensing process. The lotteries themselves were carried out by the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center of Washington State University and Kraght-Snell of Seattle, which is a private sector audit firm. Both parties were contracted by the WSLCB to independently hold lotteries in districts where there were more applicants than licenses to be distributed.

There were 47 districts that did not need a lottery to determine which applicants may continue through the licensing process, but in the other 75 districts lotteries proved necessary. There were a total of 1,174 hopeful applicants taking part in the lottery system last month.

Entrepreneurs hoping to secure a marijuana retail store in the state of Washington, however, have been warned that making it through the lottery process does not necessarily guarantee getting a license. If an applicant fails to pass the rest of the licensing process, which includes a criminal background check and financial investigation, the WSLCB will pull their application and continue to the next ranked applicant on the list. Applicants are also responsible for having a location that is not within 1,000 feet of a school, park, or other area specified by I-502 as a place where children congregate.

The WSLCB has now begun processing the successful applicants for retail marijuana stores. The Board will soon be licensing producers, processors, and retail stores simultaneously. As of the end of April, there are currently 25 producer and processor licenses that have been distributed. The earliest that the Board expects to issue licenses for retail stores is no later than the first week of July, but it will likely be even longer before the first stores open and Washington’s fully-legalized recreational marijuana market is unleashed.

As was the case in Colorado’s early months of legalization, the Washington market is expected to start off slowly while the cannabis industry’s infrastructure is assembled and things begin to fall into place.

Photo Credit: Joe Mabel

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Restrictive MMJ Bill Passes in Florida

5/05/2014

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Lawmakers in Florida approved a bill last Friday that allows limited access to cannabinol (CBD) based medicine that can be used to treat chronic epileptic seizures, cancer, or other serious illnesses. Generally-speaking, CBDs have been considered to produce the painkiller effect of cannabis consumption, while it is the plant’s THC content that results in the user’s euphoric “high” experience.

Senate Bill 1030, as it’s called, passed through Florida’s House of Representatives on Thursday with a 111-7 vote in its favor, and on Friday it passed through the Senate with a 30-9 vote. The Senate originally passed the bill 36-3 in April, but had to vote on the issue again because of changes made in the House, which had amended the bill to allow low-THC cannabis to be used for treating cancer and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Republican Gov. Rick Scott has already agreed to sign the bill into law.

Florida’s bill is similar to other bills passed in Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Utah, Mississippi, and Wisconsin, in that it only allows access to one popular cannabis strain, Charlotte’s Web, which is known to have particularly low levels of THC and a very high CBD content.

The bill lays out a system wherein the state’s legal cannabis will be grown and distributed through five dispensaries run by preestablished nurseries.  The dispensaries will be closely monitored, and their growing of Charlotte’s Web shall be heavily regulated.

There remains skepticism from the broader community of cannabis advocates that these CBD-only bills might not be as beneficial as we hope, as none of the states who have passed the restrictive MMJ bills has yet to begin product distribution. Another proposed bill, the joint legislation Senate Bill 962 and House Bill 859, would have allowed further access to cannabis with both higher THC and CBD content. This bill would have permitted medical marijuana use for patients with a longer list of qualifying illnesses, as well, but lawmakers failed to take action on the bill before they adjourned their legislative session on May 2.

There is, however, an unrelated Constitutional Amendment that is anticipated at the ballot boxes in Florida this November.  The Amendment, which will require 60% of the vote or more to pass, will legalize medical marijuana in Florida for a much wider variety of patients. It would appear that the ballot proposal has very strong chances this November, with 88% of Florida residents expressing support for medical marijuana, according to a recent poll by Quinnipiac University.

Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers failed to pass a bill this session that would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, much like Colorado and Washington’s legalization laws from 2012. The bill would have legalized the personal cultivation of up to 6 cannabis plants and the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for recreational use.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30934/florida-lawmakers-approve-restrictive-medical-marijuana-bill/

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2014/05/medical_marijuana_support_at_8.php

Photo Credit: Diego Charlón

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Anti-Legalization Organizations Take Action Following Denver’s 4/20 Celebration

5/01/2014

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4/20 came and went this year in a flurry of legalization celebrations and pot smoke, but not everyone got their kicks out of the unofficial holiday, reports The Denver Post. Anti-marijuana legalization groups Smart Colorado and Project SAM acted swiftly in retaliation to Denver’s 4/20 celebrations, during which police issued 92 citations for public marijuana consumption despite a coordinated 4:20 p.m. toke-up by thousands of marijuana supporters.

The Justice Department announced earlier this year that it would not interfere with the legalized cannabis industries of Colorado and Washington, given a few stipulations such as marijuana not being distributed across state borders and not being made readily available to minors.

Nonetheless, some groups with ambitions for the continued prohibition of marijuana are continuing to fight. “The messages we are sending our youth are deeply concerning. Getting high is being encouraged, celebrated and glorified,” read one complaint by Rachel O’Bryan, spokeswoman for Smart Colorado. A statement from the organization targeted the disregard for state law demonstrated by 4/20 celebrators, and announced that Colorado’s cannabis industry, through inaction and a failure to prevent public consumption on 4/20, had “willfully betrayed many of their Amendment 64 supporters.”

“This past weekend we saw marijuana users and folks from the industry openly flouting the laws by consuming pot in public,” O’Bryan said in the statement. “If Denver can’t enforce its own ordinances because of the enormity of the task and lack of cooperation from the marijuana industry, then none of our residents or visitors are adequately protected.”

Additionally, on the day following the celebration, former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy said in a conference call with reporters that he’d already met with representatives from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and urged for federal intervention with marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado.

Kennedy presumedly presented data gathered by anti-legalization group Project SAM about Colorado that suggests a rise in marijuana-related problems in that state. One report showed a rise in marijuana-positive workplace drug test results. Another noted an increase in postal seizures in cases where individuals were attempting to ship marijuana over state borders. And yet another report noted two recent deaths in Colorado in which marijuana’s involvement is suspected: in one case, a man shot and murdered his wife after allegedly consuming marijuana along with other pharmaceuticals, and in the other case, a 19-year old jumped to his death from a hotel balcony after eating six times the recommended amount of pot cookies.

“The president and the attorney general, now that we’re getting this new information, have a better ground to say, ‘Well we gave this a chance. Now we’re going to change our approach here,’” Kennedy said.

Recent announcements from Attorney General Eric Holder in representation of the Obama administration, however, seems to demonstrate that opposite sentiments are present at the federal level. And even though DEA Chief Michele Leonhart is continuing her campaign against legalization, recent headlines have suggested that some sort of federal action toward marijuana law reform may not be too far off in our future.

Meanwhile, cannabis industry officials had undergone efforts to distance themselves from Denver’s expectedly-large 4/20 celebration.  The Marijuana Industry Group even released an official statement two days prior, saying that it was not connected to any of the celebratory events taking place that weekend. The news release also included warnings about the illegality of both public cannabis consumption and providing marijuana to minors.

Sources:

http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_25608602?source=rss

http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/04/21/the-white-house-should-reverse-legalization-and-other-post-420-complaints/10091/

Photo Credit: Jonathan Piccolo

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House Republicans Begin Combating DC Marijuana Decriminalization Law

4/28/2014

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Public eye turned to the nation’s capital last month when the District of Colombia passed a bill that decriminalized marijuana. Mayor Vincent Gray signed the bill into law on March 31, and marijuana enthusiasts waited with baited breath for the Congressional Republicans’ retaliation. House Republicans now appear intent on combating DC’s decriminalization legislation, and will be hosting a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Government Operations.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton will be defending her district’s marijuana law reform during the hearing in May. Norton is renown for her successful 11-year fight to remove Republican barriers that prohibited the District of Colombia from legalizing medical marijuana — now, four years later, she’s expressed surprise at seeing DC’s decriminalization law singled out in this fashion:

“It is appropriate for Congress to examine how the Obama administration will enforce the federal prohibition on marijuana in jurisdictions that have legalized or decriminalized it, as the subcommittee has done in two hearings this Congress. It is also appropriate to examine whether the federal marijuana prohibition preempts such local laws, but no local officials were called to testify at those hearings.”

And yet, on the other hand:

“It is inappropriate to hold a hearing on the local marijuana laws of only one jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, when 18 states have decriminalized marijuana, 21 states have legalized medical marijuana and two states have legalized marijuana.  There is nothing that distinguishes the District from these states except for Congress’s illegitimate power to overturn the democratically enacted local laws of the District.  What is clear is that the enforcement of marijuana laws here and throughout the country has a disproportionately unfair effect on African American men and boys, leaving them with criminal records that often cripple them for the rest of their lives.”

The bill in question decriminalizes possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, changing the penalty from potential jail time to a $25 civil fine — that’s lower than any other state in the union.  Since Mayor Gray signed the bill, it has been transferred to Congress for review and is currently undergoing a 60-day legislative review period.

Becca Glover Watkins, who is the spokeswoman for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, stated that the subcommittee’s justification for reviewing DC’s decriminalization bill is that it’s an “examination of tension between federal and local marijuana laws in many jurisdictions,” and that it comes in addition to an examination of the “tension between federal laws against marijuana use and distribution in places like Colorado.”

In order to overturn the bill, the House and Senate must pass a joint resolution and President Obama would have to sign it — considering that the DC council voted 10-1 to pass the bill, and that marijuana law reform has become one of the most popular political topics in US politics, that doesn’t seem very likely at this point in time.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30837/house-republicans-launch-attack-on-dc-marijuana-decriminalization-law/

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/04/23/republicans-may-overturn-dc-marijuana-decriminalization-law/

Photo Credit: Kevin Harber

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Alaska Marijuana Legalization Vote Delayed Until November

4/24/2014

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Alaska’s vote to legalize the production and retail sale of recreational marijuana has been postponed until November, officials announced on Monday. With this opportunity, Alaska is potentially set to become the third U.S. state to legalize recreational pot.

The measure was originally expected to go to the ballots in August, during the state’s primary election, but it was decided this week that the vote should be delayed. Lawmakers reached that decision because of a failure to adjourn this year’s legislative session within the standard 90 day allotment — and Alaska law requires that ballot initiatives go to voters after a minimum of 120 days following the session’s closure.

The ballot initiative would legalize the adult possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, legalize the cultivation of up to six plants for personal consumption, and it would allow the retail production and sale of cannabis and cannabis-fused products to adults aged 21 or older. Commercial cannabis ventures such as stores and production facilities would be subject to taxation — though personal grows and not-for-profit transfers of small amounts of cannabis will not be taxed. The measure does not amend Alaska’s current medical marijuana market.

Public marijuana consumption would still be illegal, but the penalty would be reduced to a civil fine (under current law, possession of less than one ounce of pot is considered a criminal misdemeanor and could mean a $2,000 fine or up to 90 days in jail).

“A bipartisan tidal wave of support for regulating marijuana like alcohol in Alaska has pushed this issue onto the ballot,” said campaign spokesman Taylor Bickford, “and we will be running an aggressive campaign designed to build momentum on that.”  And indeed, support for the movement does seem to be the popular opinion: a recent Public Policy Polling survey reflects that and gives further hope to marijuana activists. The survey, released in February, suggests that 55% of registered voters believe that “marijuana should be legally allowed for recreational use, that stores should be allowed to sell it, and that its sales should be taxed and regulated similarly to alcohol” — only 39% of survey respondents opposed legalization.

Alaska should not be alone in its vote on recreational marijuana this November: Oregon activists are now collecting signatures to see marijuana law reform on their ballot, as well. Florida is also to vote this year on a constitutional amendment that would open access to cannabis for medical purposes.

Across the nation, marijuana law reform has become a popular topic and, ironically, benefits from a wealth of bipartisan support. “There is more public dialogue about marijuana taking place than ever before,” said one spokesman for the Denver-based Marijuana Policy Project.  And with the recreational market exploding in Colorado, decriminalization efforts succeeding in Washington DC, and something like half the states in the union making moves to legalize a drug that’s still classified as a Schedule 1 substance by the federal government, 2014 is taking important steps to snowball itself into a great success for marijuana.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30777/alaska-marijuana-legalization-vote-postponed-until-november/

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/27722/alaska-marijuana-legalization-2014-ballot-initiative-certified/

http://regulatemarijuanainalaska.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/AK-Initiative-Text.pdf

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Whoopi Goldberg Advocates for MMJ Over Pharmaceuticals in Debut Cannabis Blog Article

4/22/2014

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In her debut article last week as a columnist for The Cannabist, an online, cannabis-oriented branch of Colorado’s The Denver Post, TV and movie-star Whoopi Goldberg confessed her deep and passionate love for a vape pen she’s named “Sippy.”

Two years ago, after quitting cigarettes, Goldberg writes that she first tried smoking a joint to help endure her painful case of glaucoma. Smoking cannabis straight, however, proved too harsh and uncomfortable of an experience, she explained, so a few months later her daughter introduced her to a magical thing: the vape pen. These days, Goldberg tells us, “Mostly it’s just she (Sippy) and I working through my pain. And her ability to help me live comfortably with glaucoma makes her one of the most important figures in my day to day.”

Glaucoma is an eye condition that damages the optic nerve, the thing responsible for sending visual information that’s collected by our eyes to our brain for processing. It can lead to permanent damage of the eye(s), and will cause blindness if left untreated (in fact, glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness in the world). Symptoms include intense headaches and a strong sensation of pressure building up behind the afflicted eye(s).  Goldberg describes her own run-ins with the pain, and how she’s learned to combat it with Sippy’s smooth, vaporized medical marijuana:

“These glaucoma-induced headaches come on like freight trains — like, BOOM, my head starts hurting, my eyes start bugging, my whole body starts to tense up. But then I find her, and it relaxes everything and calms everything. It helps my head stop hurting, and with glaucoma your eyes ache, and she takes the ache out. It’s wonderful.”

Goldberg explains that she’s not in it just to get high — rather, she believes that she has finally found an avenue of actual relief from her medical condition. “I used to take Advil by the handful for this very reason, and I don’t take Advil anymore — not for my eye.” In the end, Goldberg argues that “it‘s important for people to know that there are alternatives out there to pain management, and this one is particularly magical.”

Also, “a lot of the new pot is too strong,” she writes, so having the vape pen always helps keep her medication in moderation:

“If my headache is just starting, I know a short sip will take care of it. If the pressure inside my head is pounding, then two or three sips is a better prescription…. I can do this without hurting myself. It helps that I know when to do it. I have a day job where I need to be clear. But if I need it after the show, she’s there. And if I don’t feel any pain, she stays in my purse.”

The idea of having Goldberg write the column came shortly after she interviewed Ricardo Baca, Editor of The Cannabist, as part of her day job hosting ABC’s The View.  The two got along and she expressed unique interest in the industry, and was eventually selected over other celebrity candidates including Miley Cyrus and Michelle Malkin.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the accomplishments of Goldberg’s successful career, she is one of the only artists in the world to have won the Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony awards. Her column at The Cannabist is currently slated to be a bi-monthly publication.

Sources:

http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/04/17/whoopi-vape-pen-love-story-column/9571/

http://abc.go.com/shows/the-view/cast/whoopi-goldberg

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/04/17/whoopi-goldberg-to-pen-bimonthly-column-for-colorado-website-the-cannabist-on-her-marijuana-use/

Photo Credit: Cedward Brice

 

 

 

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Colorado Receives $3.2 Million in Marijuana Taxes for February

4/17/2014

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Colorado state, according to figures released by state authorities, earned $3.2 million in marijuana tax revenue during the month of February.  This is more than the $2.9 million that the state earned during January, which marked the advent of the state’s marijuana legalization experiment.

Although, while marijuana tax revenue did see an increase, the state’s projected $3.7 million in marijuana tax revenue for the month of February appears to have been an overshot. Nonetheless, reports maintain that Colorado’s recreational marijuana program is expected to generate $98 million this year, which exceeds the state’s initial estimates by 40%.

By the numbers, $1.43 million of Colorado’s marijuana tax revenue in February came from a special 10% sales tax on recreational marijuana; an additional $438,253 came from the state’s standard 2.9% sales tax. Medical marijuana sales, which are only taxed by the state’s generic 2.9% sales tax, produced just over $1 million dollars in revenue during the month of February—this is much more than the state’s $791,000 projection for the medical industry.

The 15% excise tax on recreational marijuana still seems to be less effective than first predicted: with a total of $339,615, the excise tax generated only 54% of February’s $739,330 expected revenue. In January, the marijuana excise tax only produced $195,318.

Denver County continues to generate the largest amount of marijuana tax revenue for the state of Colorado, where the 2.9% generic sales tax produced $483,432 from the medical market and $245,709 from the recreational market, and the special 10% sales tax for recreational added another $710,930.

Natalie Mullis is the chief economist for Colorado’s legislative Council, the agency tasked with providing the state with revenue forecasts. “It’s impossible to know, based on these first two months, how much revenue they’ll be in the future,” Mullis said, addressing why future revenues from the medical and recreational cannabis industries remain uncertain. “This isn’t representative of what revenues they’ll be a year, or even six months from now.”

The first $40 million—about 30% of the projected $134 million from total marijuana taxes—is already slated for helping to improve school districts across the state, which has been the plan for Amendment 64 all along. As far as Colorado’s overall state budget is concerned, legal marijuana’s tax revenues will only represent 1.4% of the state’s available general fund.

One Colorado company named Moody’s Investors Service has been closely monitoring the now-regulated market, and has said that legal cannabis sales in Colorado should shrink the black market and plug more tax payments into state coffers, but representatives are warning that, despite the growing buzz around marijuana legalization, these revenues are “still a very small fraction of the state’s overall budget. It’s not going to sway things too much in one way or another.”

While it certainly appears that marijuana tax revenues are starting off slowly, the new revenues are likely understated in the long term because many retail establishments were still unopened, growers had difficulty meeting buyers’ demand, and many localized jurisdictions had yet to issue the proper marijuana licenses.

Sources:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25532130/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenues-total-3-2-million

http://www.hightimes.com/read/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenues-32-million-february

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30674/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue-exceeding-expectations-by-40/

Photo Credit: Don Goofy

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How Cartels Suffer From Marijuana Legalization

4/16/2014

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The recent push for marijuana law reform, while popular with the majority of American citizens, has upset more people than just die-hard prohibitionists and the DEA: criminals, as well, are suffering as a result of legalization.

It’s often been said that the weed kids are smoking these days is much more potent than what their parents had back in the 70s, and that’s the truth.  In fact, between experimentation with medical strains and a better understanding of the plant and general plant-growing itself, the weed being produced in Colorado might be the strongest stuff on the planet.  According to the sheriff of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, “There is no place in the world where you can buy as strong marijuana legally as you can in Colorado.”

This has begun to pose a serious problem for drug cartels in Mexico, whose product—notoriously known as “brick weed,” the low-quality and high-quantity compressed mess of marijuana buds, leaves, and stems—cannot hope to compete with the quality and accessibility of legalized recreational or medical marijuana establishments in the U.S. “It’s not worth it anymore,” said Rodrigo Silla of Mexico’s Sinaloa State, who is 50 years old and has been growing marijuana illegally for his entire life, “I wish the Americans would stop with this legalization.” This year will be the first that Silla does not rely on illegal cannabis for his personal income.

That is not to say, though, that Mexican cartels will be fading from the marijuana business entirely: they’ve already demonstrated their willingness to bribe, extort, torture, and murder individuals to move their product across U.S. borders. Unfortunately, it’s an entirely unrealistic expectation that legalization and regulation could squeeze the major drug lords out of the market entirely. “Expect to see Mexicans come into the picture if they see an opportunity,”  informs Tom Gorman, the director of Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. “It’s a great resource for them: there’s little danger involved and extortion is one of their big ways of making money.”

However, legalization is not only affecting illegal Mexican growers: black market growers in the U.S. and Canada are struggling as well. The legal competition from both medical and recreational grows has become too steep for illegal growers to validate the risks of operating on the black market. “The market has collapsed. There is such an oversupply as a result of illegal cannabis grows and legal grows… that all kinds of people are out of business. The price has gone down and they can’t sell,” Canadian lawyer John Conroy explains.

Major Neill Franklin, a 34-year veteran of Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department, explains the very simple phenomenon: “The prohibition of drugs, just like the prohibition of alcohol, is what provides the tremendous profits to the criminal organizations that provide the drugs on our streets.” And as that prohibition slowly slips away, so will the absurd profit margins of illegal marijuana growing.

Ironically, it seems that the only folks left complaining about legalization these days—from Mexican drug cartels and their slipping grasp on the marijuana market, to DEA Chief Michele Leonhart and her thinly-veiled campaign to keep funds flowing for this grossly misguided war on drugs—are those people poised to lose a lot of money when prohibition officially ends.

Sources:

http://www.hightimes.com/read/legal-marijuana-killing-demand-brick-weed

http://www.leafscience.com/2014/04/11/marijuana-legalization-hurts-organized-crime/

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Obama Administration Willing to Work with Congress to Reschedule Marijuana, Holder Says

4/09/2014

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The national conversation about marijuana legalization took a new turn last Friday when Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration would be willing to work with Congress on rescheduling marijuana from its current Schedule 1 status.

Rescheduling the drug is far from actual legalization, but it would certainly ease the process of researching marijuana’s medical properties, and it would allow marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions.

“We’d be more than glad to work with Congress if there is a desire to look at and reexamine how the drug is scheduled, as I said there is a great degree of expertise that exists in Congress,” the Attorney General said. The announcements came during Friday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, and Holder declared “It is something that ultimately Congress would have to change, and I think that our administration would be glad to work with Congress if such a proposal were made.”

The announcement came specifically in response to a question from Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, whose inquiry about the Justice Department’s resource expenditures in Colorado and Washington demonstrated that marijuana was being treated very differently than other Schedule 1 substances, though technically no legal differentiation exists. Schedule 1 is supposedly reserved for dangerous drugs with “a high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use,” even when used under strict supervision. Diaz-Balart argued that, if the Obama administration really believes that marijuana doesn’t belong among other Schedule 1 substances, “wouldn’t it make sense to come to Congress with some recommendations, some changes… if nothing else, to give certainty and consistency, and the American people would understand that the law is applied with certainty and consistency?”

Bill Piper, the director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, has commented on this development, stating that “Rescheduling would be a modest step in the right direction, but would do nothing to stop marijuana arrests or prohibition-related violence.” He further argued, “Now that the majority of the American public supports taxing and regulating marijuana, this debate about re-scheduling is a bit antiquated and not a real solution to the failures of marijuana prohibition.”

Nonetheless, the Obama administration has suffered many criticisms regarding marijuana’s need for rescheduling since January, when the president admitted to believing that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol. Not only is marijuana less harmful “in terms of its impact on the individual consumer,” he said, but its prohibition grossly undermines racial equality and demonstrates the painful inequalities of our current justice system; he also claimed that the legalization experiments in Colorado and Washington should be allowed to run their course without federal interference.

Critics of marijuana’s placement in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have argued many times that a substance deemed safer than alcohol by the president himself does not deserve to be legally equivalent to harder drugs such as ecstasy or heroin, which are also Schedule 1 substances.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30514/ag-holder-obama-administration-willing-to-work-with-congress-to-reschedule-marijuana/

http://reason.com/blog/2014/04/07/when-holder-says-congress-can-reclassify

Photo Credit: US Embassy

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WSLCB Approves Lottery Process for Retail Pot Shops

4/07/2014

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The Washington State Liquor Control Board announced via email last week that the lottery process for licensing retail pot shops has been approved. The lottery drawing begins on Monday, April 21st and will continue for the rest of that week. The lottery will produce a list of successful applicants that the WSLCB will use in continuing the retail licensing process. The Board expects that the first retail licenses will be issued no later than the first week of July.

Initiative 502 charged the WSLCB with limiting the number of retail marijuana stores by county, and the agency settled on a total of 334 retail establishments across the state.  The most populated cities will be allotted a maximum number of stores, with any additional to be spread across the rest of the county.

In the event that there are more applicants than there are licenses allocated to a region, the state will use another lottery system for ranking the applicants. The WSLCB has arranged for the Economic Sciences Research Center of Washington State University and the accounting firm for Washington’s Lottery, Kraght-Snell of Seattle, to independently manage lotteries in counties where necessary.

The Board warned that even those selected as successful applicants are not guaranteed to receive a license: “There are multiple requirements for licensure such as the applicant must pass a criminal history and financial investigation as well as have a location that is not within 1,000 feet of a school, park or other area specified by Initiative 502 as places where children congregate,” the email said.

Interested entrepreneurs had the option to apply for pre-qualification during the weekend of Feb. 21-23, 2014.  According to the Board,

“Applicants had 30 days to return the basic documents necessary to be eligible for the lottery including verification of: their personal criminal history, their age being 21 or older, that they are Washington State residents, that their business was formed in Washington State, and that they have a location address with a right to real property. A letter of intent to lease was acceptable to be eligible for the lottery.”

The WSLCB licensing staff is still reviewing the applicants, though they did note that “despite repeated notices and reminders to applicants, roughly 25 percent did not return the required documents at all. Of the returned packets, anywhere between 20-50 percent are incomplete, thus disqualifying them from the retail lottery.”

In Colorado, the state has allowed retail cannabis establishments since January 1st. The state government there reportedly raised a grand total of $2.4 million in marijuana tax revenue during its first month of legalization, with an additional $1.4 million in medical marijuana taxes. The Washington government predicted at I-502’s passing that it would receive nearly $2 billion in state revenue through to the fiscal year of 2017, but predictions about the cannabis industry have notoriously been confusing: like that one time when Washington officials thought that state residents smoked half as much weed as they actually do.

Sources:

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/ballot/2012/I-502_Worksheet.pdf

Photo Credit: Brett Levin

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Oregon Lawmakers Drop Proposed Ban on Sugary Medibles

4/03/2014

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Oregonian dispensaries and medical marijuana patients can rest easy knowing that popular cannabis-infused edibles such as cookies, brownies, and hard candies are, for the most part, safe from a recently-proposed ban.

Last month, Oregon lawmakers presented a new set of medical marijuana rules that would have prohibited the sale of sweet medibles.  The ban was intended to prevent the sugary medicine from being exposed to children, who are sometimes tempted by the conventional appearance of most edibles, but the proposal upset the MMJ community so much that—after plenty of emailed complaints—Oregon officials have decided to rethink their strategy.

In a new set of rules released on Monday, the Oregon Health Authority now seeks only to ban medibles that are made or packaged in such a way that they might be appealing to children. Brightly-colored treats shaped like animals, toys, or other conventional candies will not be allowed. Medicine must also only be sold in child-proof containers without brightly-colored labels or cartoony decorations. “Medicine isn’t candy, and it shouldn’t look like candy,” explained Tom Burns, the Director of Pharmacy Programs for the Oregon Health Authority.

Burns admitted that it was the perturbed emails they received that convinced lawmakers to reconsider the ban, after reportedly hundreds of medical marijuana advocates electronically voiced their concerns that the proposal would harm some patients who either cannot smoke or simply require the more lasting effects of edibles.  Oregon dispensaries have claimed that about 15-20% of their sales are generated through edibles, but nonetheless they prematurely pulled the products from store shelves in preparation for the ban.

Overall, marijuana-laced edibles have frequently become targets for lawmakers across the U.S. In 2011, Colorado Republicans tried and failed to ban edible products from dispensaries. In 2013, Michigan lawmakers ruled that edibles infused with cannabis extract were illegal under the state’s medical marijuana laws. And in New Jersey last fall, Gov. Chris Christie had to sign an amendment allowing edible products for use by minors only (the state’s original marijuana regulations didn’t allow the sale of medibles in any context). The proposed Oregon ban would have been the first, however, to specifically target sugary edible products.

Some Oregon business owners are still voicing concern about the most recent rules update. Laura Brannan, who runs Elbe’s Edibles in Portland, told the Assosciated Press that she was having problems finding opaque, child-proof containers that would satisfy the new rules. Having them specially-made would be a “$250,000 problem,” an issue that she says would surely put her business under.

Generally-speaking, Oregon’s dispensaries are still a relatively new development for the state’s medical marijuana program, which, prior to last year, had been purely run through private arrangements between patients and state-registered caregivers. Oregonian marijuana advocates are now hoping that cannabis will be legalized for recreational use this year, with two separate campaigns working to accomplish that goal.

Sources:

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2014/30428/oregon-officials-drop-proposed-ban-on-medical-marijuana-edibles/

http://mmjbusinessdaily.com/oregon-businesses-prepare-for-edibles-ban/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oregon-businesses-prepare-for-edibles-ban

Photo Credit: Pauly McGuire

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Colorado Government Cracks Down on MMJ

4/02/2014

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The state of Colorado has begun a thorough investigation of the medical marijuana industry, which will quite likely result in a serious crackdown on the growing options of medical marijuana caregivers in that state.

The Colorado Health Department announced on Friday that it will be contacting doctors and asking them why they have recommended that some patients exceed the six-plant limit currently in place for medical marijuana patients, when six well-tended cannabis plants can easily produce an arguably substantial amount of medicine for a single person.

The investigation primarily targets medical marijuana caregivers, who are individuals tasked with growing marijuana for patients incapable of growing their own. Colorado has about 3,300 caregivers growing cannabis for approximately 8,500 patients. It is important to note that there are more than 100,000 registered MMJ patients in Colorado, though most individuals obtain their marijuana from dispensaries.

Under current law, the maximum that Colorado’s caregivers can grow is a total of six plants per patient, but with a doctor’s recommendation a caregiver can apply for a waiver that allows them to grow additional plants for patients who may need higher quantities of medicine. The investigation’s goal is to learn exactly how and when doctors have determined that “greater amounts were medically necessary to address the patient’s debilitating medical condition,” as the rules in Colorado’s constitution state.

Dr. Larry Wolk is the Colorado Health Department’s executive director, and he claimed the investigation was prompted because “We need information.” Since medical marijuana laws were passed in Colorado fourteen years ago, the state government has seemed relatively indifferent on this issue—but now that regulated recreational sales have begun, however, it seems possible that concerns over the medical marijuana market tampering with the recreational industry’s economy have grown.

Wolk also unveiled a proposed bill last Friday that would place much tighter restrictions on caregivers. The bill would make the six-plant limit a hard cap, with no waivers available for additional plants per patient, and it would also limit each caregiver to only five patients—currently, there is an application process for taking on more patients, and right now there are 24 caregivers with more than five patients. There is even one caregiver who serves 82 different patients.

There has been outrage expressed in Colorado in response to the Health Department’s proposed changes; one medical marijuana supporter even yelled “Fascist!” during Dr. Wolk’s announcements on Friday. According to caregiver James Clark Jr., who is providing for 25 different patients because there are so few caregivers in his area, “This is criminal. This is mean. This is hurtful to people who are very sick.”

MMJ advocates claim that sometimes more than six plants per patient is necessary for caregivers to make powerful edibles or concentrates, which are often better for treating some patients’ ailments.

There is also an argument that these changes are the result of complaints from Colorado law enforcement officials, who have often claimed that the caregiver/patient relationship allows an easy and quasi-legal source for black market marijuana sales.

Sources:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25443826/colorado-crack-down-medical-marijuana-patients-and-caregivers

http://www.leafscience.com/2014/03/31/colorado-begins-crackdown-medical-marijuana-providers/

Photo Credit: Rusty Blazenhoff

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