the genie is out of the bottle. There is too much money in this to stop it. Sessions can try and slow it down but that’s all he is gonna do.
the priority certification phase of the recreational marijuana licensing process started on Monday here in Mass Spoiler Applications are currently open to business given "priority certification." Included in this category are medical marijuana dispensaries that already underwent the permitting process and "economic empowerment" applicants - applicants who have "experience in or business practices that promote economic empowerment" by working with communities with high drug arrest rates. Multiple dispensaries have expressed interest in serving both medical and recreational marijuana users. "We've got our incorporating documents, financial statements, operating agreements -- all that stuff -- ready to go," Norton Arbelaez, director of government affairs for New England Treatment Access, which operates dispensaries in Brookline and Northampton, told the Boston Globe. The applications will remain closed to this group until May when Massachusetts will begin accepting applications from small businesses including craft marijuana cooperatives and independent testing labs. Applications will open further to marijuana retailers and transporters in June. There are 22 registered medical marijuana dispensaries open for sale currently in Massachusetts serving just over 47,000 patients. http://www.masslive.com/business-ne...recreational_marijuana_licensing_has_beg.html
I'll just keep hanging out here in Alabama and maybe by the time I'm dead, one of the state senators will consider bringing up the possibility of a referendum to debate the feasibility of marijuana legalization at a luncheon.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/20/health/canada-legalizes-marijuana/index.html Recreational marijuana use will soon be legal in Canada after the Senate passed a "historic" bill on Tuesday with a vote of 52-29. Canada is only the second country in the world -- and the first G7 nation -- to implement legislation to permit a nationwide marijuana market. In the neighboring US, nine states and the District of Columbia now allow for recreational marijuana use, and 30 allow for medical use.
Recreational marijuana now legal in Vermont https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/marijuana_now_legal_in_vermont.html Spoiler It is now legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in Vermont, as long as you don't smoke in the car, in a public place, or on Lake Champlain, which is a federal waterway. The Green Mountain State on Sunday became the ninth state in the nation where recreational cannabis is legal for adults. Gov. Phil Scott quietly signed Act 86 in January, then asked the Legislature to attend to "more significant issues faced by Vermonters in their daily lives," according to the Burlington Free Press. Scott in May of 2017 vetoed an earlier legalization bill. The new law lets people grow two mature marijuana plants and four immature plants per housing unit, and the plants must be in a secure enclosure screened from public view. Renters will need clearance from their landlords to either grow or smoke at their apartments. Growers whose plants yield more than an ounce can keep the extra pot at home, but still can't leave the house with more than an ounce. Anyone who takes that ounce and, say, sells joints at the farmer's market, would be committing a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Vermont Public Radio. Other rule infractions could result in civil citations and fines. Under the law, cannabis may not be sold. The Governor's Marijuana Advisory Commission is expected to recommend a system for licensing the marijuana market by the end of 2018. Act 86 doesn't apply to Vermont's medical marijuana program, with its 5,000 registered patients, who can legally have two ounces of usable marijuana. Vermont lawmakers were the first to pass a bill to legalize marijuana. Eight states, including Massachusetts and Maine, did so through voter referendums. 1 In 5 Mass. Adults Have Recently Used Marijuana Recreationally, Study Finds http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/20...a-before-it-became-legal-here-are-the-results Spoiler Twenty-one percent of adults in Massachusetts have used recreational marijuana in the last 30 days, says a new study from the state on recreational pot use. That's among the highest, if not the highest, rate in the nation. Vermont had close to 18 percent in the latest federal analysis, from 2016. The Massachusetts report was requested by state legislators in advance of legal cannabis sales. It looked at overall use, how adults consume marijuana, how often they drive while under the influence, hospitalizations and the economic impact. Young adults are driving the high use rates in Massachusetts. Half of all 18 to 25 year olds who responded to the survey say they smoked or vaped the drug, or ate a marijuana-laced edible, in the past month. "Those numbers are off the charts," said Steven Davenport, an assistant policy researcher who focuses on marijuana at the RAND Corporation in Boston, "just massively higher than those you see recorded in data sets like the National Study on Drug Use and Health." The most recent data from that national survey puts marijuana use for 18 to 25 year olds at 28 percent. Some cannabis industry analysts adults, young and old, may be responding more honestly in Massachusetts now that possession of up to one ounce in public is legal for those 21 or older. Some physicians say the young adult use numbers are a call for more education. Dr. Kevin Hill says marijuana may be less risky than alcohol or opioids, but use is not necessarily safe. "If you use cannabis, it's going to affect your ability to drive," said Hill, the director of addiction psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "And young people should be aware that if they're using cannabis in a chronic way that if may affect their ability to think critically and may affect your brain's function moving forward." More than half of 3,022 recreational marijuana users surveyed said they see few if any risks to using marijuana for recreational purposes. Most smoke their cannabis, but 40 percent used it in other ways. There are differences by race, gender and geography: 26 percent of residents who used marijuana in the last 30 days are men; 17 percent are women Overall use is highest in western Massachusetts: 30 percent 71 percent of adult users are white; 12 percent are Hispanic; 7 percent are blacks; and 3 percent are Asian Thirty-four percent of recreational marijuana users reported driving under the influence of marijuana. But it's not clear whether adults felt impaired by that influence. "Nowhere in this study do they say that drivers are impaired on the road or that impairment has caused any increase in accidents," said Jim Borghesani, a cannabis industry consultant who was the spokesman for the 2016 legalization campaign. Study author Marc Nascarella says marijuana affects drivers differently. He advises police to assess a combination of factors when possible. "It's measuring exposure to the substance, it's measuring the timing of that exposure and their ability to operate a vehicle," Nascarella said. "It's a fairly complicated task that law enforcement is challenged with right now." State legislators who asked for this report also requested information about how much money the state can expect to raise from recreational sales. The answer: $215.8 million during the first two years. Local tax revenue will range from $233,498 to $2.8 million and assumes that 65 percent of marijuana users will switch from illegal to legal purchases. Borghesani predicts more people will shift to legal sales. "If you can buy something safely and legally, why would you buy it in an unsafe or illegal environment?" he said. The experience of some, but not all states, suggests use will increase in Massachusetts with legalization. Davenport says it will be important to track not just whether more adults buy cannabis, but how often they are using and the intensity of their use. "If you think about what generates harms in cannabis use, you see the most harms borne by heavy [daily] users, not regular users," he said. And Davenport says sales are shifting to extracts with higher concentrations of THC "that carry public health concerns." Hill says he's glad to see the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission develop a research office that will follow-up on this baseline data. He urges including the effects of cannabis on psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, ADHD or schizophrenia in future studies. "It's very exciting and people want to talk about who's going to get licenses and things like that, but you don't want public health to take a back seat," Hill said. For medical marijuana users, the report surveyed 6,934 Massachusetts adults. The major takeaways: The majority used cannabis 21 days out of the last month, and spent $240 for the month 65 percent of the patients smoked; 62 percent vaped; and 51 percent used edibles 10 percent reported driving under the influence
just catching up on some stuff. I don't eat sleep and breathe politics like seemingly everyone else on here but it seems Democrats would be smart to push hard for nationwide legalization as part of their pitch to voters this fall and looking ahead to 2020. But there just does not seem to be any type of movement on that front. That's so sad because it would be an easy way to get people to vote The next state to legalize marijuana could be . . . North Dakota? Spoiler Supporters of marijuana legalization in North Dakota have submitted more than 18,000 signatures to the secretary of state in support of a measure that would fully legalize the drug, well above the 13,452 signatures required to put the question on the November ballot. Like a recent successful medical-marijuana measure in Oklahoma, the effort has largely flown under the radar, with no financial backing from national drug policy groups such as the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project. And like Oklahoma, North Dakota is a deep-red state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. Those factors could make for a tough sell for voters in November. But if the measure qualifies for the ballot, supporters are hoping a pitch based on criminal-justice reform will carry them to victory in a state where marijuana users have some of the nation’s highest odds of getting arrested — and face some of the nation’s toughest criminal penalties if they do. The bill, as written by supporters, would legalize the possession, sale and use of marijuana for North Dakotans 21 and older. It would also expunge previous marijuana convictions from North Dakotans' criminal records. The measure leaves a lot of open questions: It places no limits on possession, for instance, and doesn’t set up any sort of regulatory structure for the sales it would allow. Supporters say that’s by design. “We leave our bill wide open so the legislature can do their job — regulations, taxes, zoning, whatever,” said Cole Haymond, an adviser to the Legalize ND campaign. “This bill is by far the most progressive yet most conservative marijuana legalization bill that will be on any ballot across the country.” Haymond shared internal polling conducted by the campaign showing that as of February, 46 percent of North Dakota voters supported the measure, 39 percent opposed it and 15 percent were undecided. North Dakota has one of the lowest rates of marijuana use in the nation. Fewer than 10 percent of state residents used the drug in 2016, according to the federal National Survey on Drug Use and Health, putting it at 47th among the 50 states plus the District of Columbia for marijuana use. But the relatively few North Dakotans who do use the drug have some of the nation’s greatest chances of getting arrested for it. In 2016, for instance, 61,000 North Dakotans used marijuana at least once, while 2,513 of them were arrested for simple marijuana possession, according to FBI crime data compiled by NORML, a pro-legalization group. That works out to a rate of 41 arrests per 1,000 users, the second-highest in the United States. By contrast, neighboring Minnesota arrests marijuana users at a rate of 7 per 1,000. In Vermont and Massachusetts, marijuana arrest rates were less than 1 per 1,000 even before those states legalized use of the drug. Data from the North Dakota attorney general’s office shows that marijuana arrests made up an ever larger share of total arrests in recent years. From 1990 to 2013, marijuana arrests increased from 1.7 percent of all arrests to 6.9 percent, meaning roughly 1 in every 15 arrests in North Dakota was for a marijuana offense. Data from more recent years isn’t directly comparable with those numbers, because of changes in reporting methods. North Dakotans also face particularly stiff penalties if they are caught using marijuana. Possession of less than an ounce is considered a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days of jail time and a $1,500 fine. Possession of anything over an ounce is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The North Dakota secretary of state still needs to certify the signatures for the measure to qualify for the ballot. Either way, national marijuana policy groups say they’re keeping an eye on what happens in the state in the coming months. “Grass-roots efforts like the one in North Dakota are inspiring important public dialogue about the benefits of adopting an alternative policy that treats marijuana more like alcohol,” said Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project. “It remains to be seen whether it will qualify for the ballot, but there is no doubt it has advanced the conversation and the movement toward ending marijuana prohibition, both in North Dakota and nationwide.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...tate-legalize-marijuana-could-be-north-dakota
this is very encouraging. Especially the note at the end about steps being taken to prevent federal interference at the state level Cuomo Administration Report Backs Marijuana Legalization In New York Spoiler The administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who until recently referred to marijuana as a "gateway drug," released a state Health Department report on Friday that says the "positive effects" of legalization "outweigh the potential negative impacts." "Numerous NYS agencies and subject matter experts in the fields of public health, mental health, substance use, public safety, transportation, and economics worked in developing this assessment," the 75-page document says. "No insurmountable obstacles to regulation of marijuana were raised." "Regulation of marijuana benefits public health by enabling government oversight of the production, testing, labeling, distribution, and sale of marijuana. The creation of a regulated marijuana program would enable NYS to better control licensing, ensure quality control and consumer protection, and set age and quantity restrictions." The report estimates that legal marijuana sales could generate between $248.1 million and $677.7 million in revenues for the state in the first year, depending on tax and usage rates. Cuomo first announced the state legalization study during his annual budget address in January. At a press conference on Friday, he said that he had not yet reviewed the new report. The release of the pro-legalization state document is the latest in a series of cannabis moves the Cuomo administration has made since actress Cynthia Nixon, who is campaigning on an anti-prohibition platform, announced a primary challenge against the incumbent. On Thursday, for example, the Health Department enacted emergency rules allowing the use of medical cannabis for any condition that would normally be prescribed opioids. Last week, the state Department of Financial Services and the governor released guidance encouraging banks to work with medical cannabis and hemp businesses. The new Health Department report says that cannabis legalization comes with the "potential for substantial tax revenue...which can be used to help support program initiatives in areas such as public health, education, transportation, research, law enforcement and workforce development." The document notes that cannabis criminalization has historically disproportionately impacted communities of color and that ending prohibition "will address this important social justice issue." A Quinnipiac poll released in May found that 63% of New York voters, and 71% of the state's Democrats, support marijuana legalization. Also in May, the Democratic Party of New York adopted a resolution endorsing cannabis legalization at its convention. The statewide push for legalization comes shortly after local cannabis enforcement reforms were announced in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) ordered the NYPD to stop arresting people for smoking marijuana in public, and several borough district attorneys have said they will stop prosecuting such cases. But de Blasio has so far refused to endorse legalization. Meanwhile, New York’s two Democratic U.S. senators — Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — support ending cannabis prohibition and are sponsoring congressional legislation to remove federal impediments to state reforms. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomang...rt-backing-marijuana-legalization-in-new-york
pretty much legal in Brooklyn and Manhattan to possess small amounts this is very nice: New York City set out to change its marijuana enforcement policy in May after The New York Times reported that blacks, who make up 24 percent of the city’s population, were eight times more likely to be arrested on low-level marijuana charges than whites, who are 43 percent of its population. Soon after, Vance and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said they would scale back marijuana-related prosecutions and police convened a group to study the policy with input from academics, community leaders and others. Gonzalez said his office has already seen a drastic drop in marijuana-related cases sent to court, prosecuting only the most egregious offenses. In January, the office tried 349 marijuana cases. In June, it had declined all but 29. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...383b84-95b6-11e8-818b-e9b7348cd87d_story.html Spoiler NEW YORK — Caught in New York City with a doobie or a dime bag? The consequences you’ll face vary from borough to borough. Manhattan on Wednesday joined Brooklyn in declining to pursue most cases in which people are accused of smoking or possessing small amounts of pot in public. But those kinds of cases are still being tried in Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx, underscoring a stark divide among the city’s five elected district attorneys. As the city moves toward decriminalization and state leaders grapple with potential marijuana legalization, where you light up a joint in the Big Apple can be the difference between a criminal record and a slap on the wrist. Chris Alexander, of the decriminalization advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance, said the lack of a uniform, citywide prosecution policy echoed the racial and economic disparities seen in marijuana-related arrests. “We’ve long had a two-tiered system here,” Alexander said. Police officers in Manhattan will start issuing criminal summonses instead of making arrests for public marijuana smoking starting Sept. 1. People who are on parole or probation and have open warrants, have violent criminal histories or fail to show identification will still be arrested. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. estimated his office’s new policy will cut marijuana cases in the borough from about 5,000 per year to fewer than 200 per year, about a 96 percent reduction. Vance cited research showing “virtually no public safety rationale” for arresting and prosecuting pot smokers. He said he saw inherent unfairness in a system in which smoking a joint could cost someone a job, college admission and immigration status. “We are removing ourselves from the equation,” Vance said. New York City set out to change its marijuana enforcement policy in May after The New York Times reported that blacks, who make up 24 percent of the city’s population, were eight times more likely to be arrested on low-level marijuana charges than whites, who are 43 percent of its population. Soon after, Vance and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said they would scale back marijuana-related prosecutions and police convened a group to study the policy with input from academics, community leaders and others. Gonzalez said his office has already seen a drastic drop in marijuana-related cases sent to court, prosecuting only the most egregious offenses. In January, the office tried 349 marijuana cases. In June, it had declined all but 29. Brooklyn prosecutors are still pursuing cases against people posing a threat to public safety, creating a nuisance such as smoking on a bus or subway train or involved in criminal activity. Manhattan prosecutors say they’ll also take on cases against people posing a public safety threat and marijuana sellers. Kevin Sabet, the president of the anti-legalization organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said the declined-prosecution policies prove “we can change laws and practices without commercializing another Big Tobacco advertising pot gummies to our kids.”
My buddy in Brooklyn uses some app and has weed delivered to his house whenever he wants it. Effectively legal there.
61% of Americans say weed should be legal per a poll that was released in January http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/05/americans-support-marijuana-legalization/ in a couple months Utah will vote on medical weed and Michigan will vote on recreational https://www.sltrib.com/news/politic...te-nominating-law-says-top-election-official/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/lo...eational-weed-michigan-voters-2018/677531002/ Cuomo set up a working group to write a bill implementing recommendations from the state Department of Health to legalize and regulate cannabis https://www.vox.com/policy-and-poli...-marijuana-legalization-governor-andrew-cuomo
Before it was recreationally legal in California (I’m sure it still works like this for medical) my friends older brother in SF told me there’s an app where you can FaceTime a doctor and they would prescribe you weed. He said the entire process between the doctors visit and delivery took about 30 minutes.
and let's go New Jersey!! https://www.app.com/story/news/loca...ion-craig-coughlin-legal-weed-wctc/899595002/ Spoiler New Jersey legal weed advocates just got a major supporter on their side. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, on Friday said he was in favor of making New Jersey the 10th state to legalize marijuana for adult use. Until recently, Coughlin had been less enthusiastic about the prospects of New Jersey marijuana legalization than Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, both of whom have have called for legalization. "For folks who don’t want to legalize it, I understand their view. But I would ask, are we satisfied with the status quo," Coughlin said on his regular "Speak to the Speaker" radio segment on WCTC 1450 AM. "Use of marijuana is still a constant. Three out of five drug arrests are for marijuana. African Americans are three times more likely to get arrested for marijuana," Coughlin said. "We’re trying to address those things and I think, if you got the right bill, we’ll go ahead and try to pass it.” A USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey investigation on Wednesday reported that nearly 11 percent of all arrests in New Jersey are for marijuana possession, the highest percentage in the state. Over 32,000 arrests occurred in 2016, according to the FBI's Uniform Criminal Reporting program. Learn who's most likely to be arrested in a video at the top of the page. Last week, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told municipal prosecutors to adjourn all marijuana cases until Sept. 4. In the meantime, he's organized a group of state and local law enforcement, social justice and municipal officials to guide him on how to handle marijuana in the future. Coughlin called the move a "de facto decriminalization, at least in the short run." Coughlin on Friday acknowledged that he had met with both supporters and opponents of New Jersey marijuana legalization. One group included representatives from New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy, which has advocated for decriminalization instead of full marijuana legalization. At an editorial board meeting with the Asbury Park Press on Tuesday, NJ RAMP policy adviser Ijeoma Opara advocated for New Jersey to decriminalize marijuana and study its effects before turning toward legal weed. "We don't support people getting arrested for marijuana use. But with legalization, you're now commercializing marijuana. You're creating new, innovative ways to use marijuana and increasing access to marijuana," NJ RAMP policy adviser Ijeoma Opara said on Tuesday. Watch NJ RAMP's sit-down with the Press in a video below. But in his radio segment, Coughlin dismissed decriminalization as a "scheme" that doesn't work. "It doesn't change the fact that it would still be illegal to sell it but not illegal to possess it, which is kind of an odd conundrum," he said. "Beyond that, I think what it does is allows the bad guys — the bad actors — to have a client base that doesn't have any risk." His change of heart appeared to come after traveling to Colorado, which began selling legal weed for recreational purposes in 2014. He visited marijuana dispensaries and cannabis growing operations, in addition to meeting with law enforcement, local officials and doctors. "I recognized that this is a real industry," Coughlin said. "It's not just a couple of guys growing pot in the backyard and selling it out the front door. That’s not at all what it is."
fucking finally almost to the point where rec sales can begin in Mass 2 Testing Labs Get Licensed, Moving Mass. Closer To Legal Pot Sales Spoiler Massachusetts is now a key step closer to the belated first legal recreational pot sales in the state. The Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday approved provisional licenses for two independent testing labs — CDX Analytics, of Salem, and MCR Labs, of Framingham — the first labs to get approval. The lack of labs to test recreational marijuana has in part led to the slow rollout of pot shops in Massachusetts. Because while recreational marijuana sales have been legal in the state since July 1, by law nothing can be sold until it's tested first by a licensed lab for safety. Thursday's licenses mean that could now soon change. But before the labs can operate, CDX and MCR — which already operate as medical marijuana testing labs — need a final recreational license. "They’re already operational so my hope is that it will be a relatively quick turnaround until they come back to us and say they’re ready to be inspected and get the final license," commission Chairman Steve Hoffman said Thursday. "So I think we’re still talking about the same time frame [for recreational sales], which is it's going to be late summer or early fall." Back in June, the commission moved to prioritize the review of license applications for labs. At that point, regulators had not received any completed licenses for independent testing labs. Some labs have pushed back against criticism that they're holding up recreational marijuana sales, pointing to unclear guidance over the difference between testing of medical and recreational pot. They've also pointed to concerns over fees tied to community host agreements, which are required for all recreational marijuana licenses. The commission has already approved provisional retail licenses for several medical marijuana dispensaries, but none can sell recreational marijuana products until they're tested by a licensed lab. Regulators have also already approved several licenses for cultivators, manufacturers and other retailers. There are currently 112 license applications under review by the commission, including the two testing labs approved Thursday and a third lab that's still pending approval. http://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2018/08/23/recreational-marijuana-massachusetts-testing-lab-licenses
hey Democrats, push for this across the nation please Connecticut voters support 59 - 36 percent allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use. https://poll.qu.edu/connecticut/release-detail?ReleaseID=2564
Recreational marijuana effort falls short in Oklahoma Spoiler OKLAHOMA CITY — An effort to place recreational marijuana on Oklahoma’s general election ballot in November has fallen more than 20,000 signatures short. Secretary of State James Williamson announced Monday that his office determined that supporters of the initiative gathered nearly 103,000 signatures for State Question 797 . The group needed more than 123,000 signatures for the proposed constitutional amendment to qualify for a public vote. Supporters want to amend the constitution to allow adults over the age of 21 to legally use marijuana. Williamson’s office sent a report on its findings to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which will review the information and make a final decision on the group’s effort. Williamson announced last week that a separate state question to constitutionally protect medical marijuana also fell short of the signature requirement. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...01feae-a532-11e8-ad6f-080770dcddc2_story.html Corona brewer boosts stake in marijuana producer for $4B Spoiler The parent company of Corona beer and other alcoholic drinks is expanding its partnership with a Canadian pot producer, betting on the continued growth in the medical and recreational cannabis markets. Constellation Brands Inc. said Wednesday it’s buying 104.5 million shares worth $4 billion in Canopy Growth Corp., boosting its stake in the company to 38 percent after its existing warrants are exercised. The companies said the investment is the largest one to date in the cannabis sector. Constellation originally invested in Canopy last October. Constellation will also get nearly 140 million new warrants it could exercise over the next three years. If it does so, Constellation will own a majority stake in the Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company. “Constellation’s investment in Canopy is a large bet at a very rich price, which can only be justified if the company proves that it can benefit from the changing environment for cannabis in Canada and beyond,” said Linda Montag, senior vice president at Moody’s. Canopy plans to use the investment to build or acquire assets worldwide in the markets that allow medical marijuana. Constellation said the deal will add to its earnings starting in fiscal 2021. The Victor, New York-based company added that it won’t pursue other mergers, acquisitions or stock buybacks for up to two years until after the Canopy deal closes. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...c9e2da-a0b7-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html
At The Ballot Box: These Four States Could Legalize Some Form Of Marijuana In November Spoiler Election Day is less than three months away, and voters in four states will have the opportunity to weigh in on marijuana policy. Those ballot initiatives, combined with the Vermont Legislature’s passage of a non-commercial legalization bill in January, Oklahoma’s passage of a medical marijuana ballot initiative in June, and the potential for New Jersey to become the first state to legalize adult-use sales and production through a state legislature, could make 2018 one of the biggest years for cannabis reform yet. With many contested House and Senate races across the country, cannabis is also shaping up to be a major campaign issue. Here’s a look at the ballot initiatives in those four states: North Dakota, Michigan, Utah, and Missouri. North Dakota — Adult Use If the initiative drafted by Legalize ND passes, North Dakota would set the record for the shortest wait between legalizing medical marijuana and allowing adults over 21 to possess and consume the plant. This is because North Dakotans only approved medical marijuana in 2016, passing that ballot initiative with a whopping 64% in support. While two cultivators and eight dispensaries will eventually be allowed to open, the state is still implementing the law and patients don’t currently have any legal access points. This makes the campaign somewhat reminiscent of Massachusetts, which passed medical marijuana in 2012 and then legalized adult use in 2016. While some observers thought this was too short of a wait, I and the other members of the committee that drafted the adult-use initiative pushed forward, and Question 4 passed with 54% support. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much polling on the issue in North Dakota, but a survey conducted in June found a plurality of voters in support, with 46% in favor of legalization, 39% against, and 15% still undecided. Nationally, support for legalization has reached 64%, so this initiative passing is certainly within the realm of possibility. Should it come to fruition, North Dakota would be the most conservative state in the country to adopt full legalization, potentially paving the way for future red-state legalization and providing Republican politicians political cover to come out in favor of reform. Michigan — Adult Use Michigan ballots will also have a question on marijuana legalization, thanks to the great work of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Unlike North Dakota, Michigan has a robust medical marijuana industry that’s been operating since voters approved an initiative in 2008. Because the original law did not provide for state licensing of marijuana businesses, the industry began as a “gray market” with hundreds of businesses in varying degrees of compliance with the law. But lawmakers fixed that in 2016, passing a bill that regulated the market and added protections for patients and the public. With such a long history of operating medical marijuana businesses, Michigan voters are likely comfortable with regulating marijuana in their communities. If the North Dakota campaign is similar to Massachusetts, Michigan’s closest analogue would be California, another state with a long history of quasi-regulated medical marijuana sales. And residents of the Great Lakes State seem to be just as supportive of legalization as their West Coast counterparts, with polls showing 61% support for the initiative. Utah — Medical While 30 states now have workable medical marijuana programs, activists in the remaining 20 states are still pushing for reform. This includes the Utah Patients Coalition, which has succeeded in qualifying an initiative that, if passed, would allow patients with certain conditions to access cannabis. Fitting with Utah’s conservative politics, the initiative is not as broad as those in many other states—for example, patients would only be allowed to grow their own cannabis if they live more than 100 miles from a dispensary. Smoking marijuana would still be banned, meaning patients would need to rely on edibles, tinctures, vaporizers, or other means of administration. Polling shows the initiative with a healthy lead, with one finding 77% supportand another measuring support at 72%. Clearly worried by these strong numbers, opponents of the initiative seem to have given up on persuading voters and are focusing their efforts on preventing the vote altogether. One recently-filed lawsuit claims that allowing medical marijuana would violate Mormons’ religious beliefs, with prohibitionists asking the court to remove the question from the ballot. This is widely seen as a “Hail Mary” with no real chance of success, so it seems very likely that Utahns will get to pass this initiative in November. Missouri — Medical Voters in the Show-Me State will also get to weigh in on medical marijuana this fall, but it’s certainly the most complicated campaign of the four states. That’s because three competing initiatives all qualified for the ballot, and voters will get to vote yes or no on each one. This opens the door to some potential complications. If medical marijuana supporters only vote for their preferred initiative, and against the other two, that could split the vote and lead to none of them passing. However, if supporters vote for all three, then multiple initiatives could pass and the courts will need to sort out what actually becomes law. Technically, the initiative that passes with the most votes would become law, but this second scenario becomes more complicated because two of the measures are drafted as constitutional amendments while the third would be a change to statutory law. Should this play out, implementation may unfortunately be mired in court battles for the foreseeable future. New Approach Missouri’s initiative is the most comprehensive of the three, giving doctors the authority to decide what patients qualify for medical marijuana. It sets a reasonable tax rate of 4%, and is a constitutional amendment. The question drafted by Find the Cures would also be a constitutional amendment, but is much more restrictive, as it specifies a list of qualifying conditions and includes a 15% tax. The third question, promoted by Missourians for Patient Care, would simply be a change in statute rather than the state constitution. While it has the lowest tax rate at only 2%, it also specifies a list of qualifying conditions rather than leaving that decision to healthcare providers. Other states While those four states are the only confirmed marijuana policy questions for November’s ballot, activists in other states are still working to qualify. Organizers in Oklahoma have been gathering signatures for an adult-use initiative, but appear to have collected fewer than necessary to make it onto the ballot. A group in Ohio, who had been aiming for a 2018 vote on adult-use legalization, is now planning for their vote to occur in November 2019. If voters in all four states approve their questions, 2018 will end with 32 medical marijuana states and 11 that allow cannabis for adults. This would add even more momentum to the movement for national reforms, and could be among the final straws that break the back of federal prohibition. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kriskr...e-form-of-marijuana-in-november/#bdf95405c957
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...on-measure-qualifies-for-november-ballot/amp/ A poll earlier this year found that North Dakota voters support legalizing marijuana by a margin of 45% to 39%, with 15% undecided.
Coke could be looking at cannabis-infused products down the road Spoiler The Coca-Cola Company said Monday it is “closely watching” the expanding use of a cannabis element in drinks, another sign cannabis and cannabis-infused products are getting more acceptance in mainstream culture and a harder look from long-established pillars of American business. The statement came after reports the beverage giant was in talks with a Canadian cannabis company to create a health drink infused with cannabidiol, a naturally occurring non-psychoactive compound derived from the cannabis plant. Shares of the company, Aurora Cannabis Inc., closed up nearly 17 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the report. Spokespeople for the companies declined to comment on the report but acknowledged their interest in that segment of the cannabis market. Cannabidiol, or CBD, does not produce the high commonly associated with marijuana. It is believed by many to have anti-inflammation and pain-relieving properties, and numerous CBD-infused products have emerged recently. Aurora spokeswoman Heather MacGregor said her company “has expressed specific interest in the infused-beverage space and we intend to enter that market.” A Coke spokesman said the beverage giant has made no such decision. “Along with many others in the beverage industry, we are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world. The space is evolving quickly,” Coke spokesman Kent Landers said. Coke’s interest is another indication of the growing acceptance of cannabis by established companies and of the importance of Canada to the development of those businesses. Marijuana becomes legal across Canada on Oct. 17. Cannabis companies from the U.S. — where marijuana remains illegal at the federal level — have flocked to Canada to raise funds and establish businesses there. American companies interested in making a play in the cannabis space can try things out in Canada without risking doing something illegal at home. Constellation Brands, a giant spirits company that counts Corona beer among its labels, bought a multibillion-dollar minority stake in Canopy Growth, a Canadian medical marijuana producer. Coca Cola’s statement shows the company has learned from its past missteps picking up on new drink trends, said Ali Dibadj, a senior analyst at AllianceBernstein with an expertise in U.S. beverage and snack food companies. “The company has been caught flat-footed in the past in not keeping up with trends in beverages. They missed the energy drink phenomenon, they missed — and then had to buy into — the functional waters like Vitamin Water and coffee,” Dibadj said. “I think what they’re saying is what they should be saying on this very new and emerging beverage.” But testing the waters of cannabis-themed drinks could backfire, he said. Many Americans aren’t intimately familiar with the cannabis plant and might not understand that CBD has no psychoactive properties. Hemp and marijuana are both cannabis plants, and both contain CBD, which can be extracted as an oil that can be added to everything from dog food to hand lotion to drinks. “I think you have to be very, very careful with this as a large brand. There are different viewpoints on a product category, and you don’t want to offend too much,” Dibadj said. “You don’t want to be too far ahead on any curve.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...195e58-bade-11e8-adb8-01125416c102_story.html Over 3,000 low-level marijuana offenses were thrown out in Manhattan last week Spoiler NEW YORK — Over 3,000 low-level marijuana cases were thrown out Wednesday as Manhattan's top prosecutor furthered a shift away from arresting and prosecuting many people for small-time pot offenses in the nation's biggest city. Misdemeanor and violation-level pot possession cases that had sat open for as long as 40 years were dismissed in a matter of minutes after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. asked a court to scrap 3,042 warrants for people who missed court dates and to toss out the cases themselves. He recently decided to stop prosecuting many minor pot possession cases and argued it made sense to spare people potential arrests in old ones. "If anyone was brought in today on one of these warrants, my office would dismiss the case," the Democrat said. He called the mass dismissal "something that is off-script but actually serves the interests of justice enormously." None of the people charged in the cases was there to hear Criminal Court Judge Kevin McGrath wipe them out. Some may long since have forgotten about the cases. "You can drive down the West Side Highway at 75 miles an hour, and you'll get a ticket . but if you are found smoking a marijuana cigarette, you'll be arrested and put in cuffs" and held for up to 24 hours before going to court, Vance said at a news conference. "The offense, in our opinion, does not justify that level of enforcement." New York allows marijuana-derived medications for some conditions, but recreational pot remains illegal, although Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed a panel to draft legislation that could legalize it. Meanwhile, New York City has been easing policing of minor pot possession, which spurred more than 50,000 arrests a year as recently as 2011. Last year, there were 17,880, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. A 2014 city policy called for police to issue summonses citing violations, instead of making misdemeanor arrests, for most low-level marijuana possession cases, though not public pot smoking. As of Sept. 1, officers also have been directed to issue tickets in most marijuana-smoking cases. City prosecutors have previously agreed on voiding vast numbers of warrants, if not focusing on marijuana ones. Brown, Gonzalez, Vance and Bronx DA Darcel Clark together prompted courts to nix over 640,000 violation-level warrants in one day last year for such offenses as littering and open-container drinking. Staten Island DA Michael McMahon called that initiative "unfair to those citizens who responsibly appear in court." https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/09/12/us/ap-us-erasing-marijuana-convictions.html
South Africa's top court rules that adults can use weed in private Spoiler JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s top court says adults can use marijuana in private. The Constitutional Court on Tuesday upheld a provincial court’s ruling in a case involving Gareth Prince, who advocates the decriminalization of the drug. Prince says cannabis should be regulated in the same way as alcohol and tobacco. Government authorities have said cannabis is harmful and should be illegal. The top court says an adult can cultivate cannabis in “a private place” as long as it is for personal consumption in private. It says the right to privacy “extends beyond the boundaries of a home.” The court says it would be up to a police officer to decide if the amount of marijuana in someone’s possession is for personal consumption or dealing. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...9214ea-bb2d-11e8-adb8-01125416c102_story.html
Alright so I'm in Ohio in about a month.......can I go to yellow springs and buy weed at a store yet?
first recreational sales in Mass. could be days away Spoiler More than two months after recreational marijuana sales became legal in Massachusetts, the first wave of retailers is still working to open to the public. But the first sales could happen soon. Eleven potential marijuana shops are awaiting site inspections, the last step before they can seek final approval of their business license applications from the Cannabis Control Commission, Massachusetts’ marijuana authority. The soonest a marijuana shop may get its final business license is Sept 20, at the next public meeting of the commission. The body will vote on applications of any businesses that have already completed physical site inspections and staff fingerprinting. The commission says it has begun scheduling some inspections. Dick Evans, a Massachusetts attorney who's long pushed for the legalization of marijuana, said he thinks some retailers will line those up in time to get final approvals on Sept. 20. “I think that’s realistic,” Evans said. “We expected to see them (approved) in August. Of course, there's always complications. I think we shouldn't fret the delay too much because we’ve been waiting for several decades, and we can wait a few weeks more.” After this month’s meeting, the next for businesses to seek final approval from the commission will be Oct. 4. Here’s what you need to know while you wait: Where Can I Buy Adult-Use Marijuana? The nearest shop to Connecticut could open about half an hour from the state border. Cultivate, a medical marijuana dispensary in Leicester, was also the first retailer to receive a provisional license from the commission in early July. In central Massachusetts, businesses are also hoping to locate in Northampton and Easthampton. The rest of the potential shop locations would be a hike from Connecticut: Amesbury, Brookline and Salem around Boston, Fall River, Wareham and Plymouth on the coast, and Greenfield and Lowell up north. But the list of potential marijuana businesses is long. As of Sept. 6, there were more than 2,550 license applications started in Massachusetts to grow, transport, test, produce or sell adult-use marijuana or marijuana products, according to the commission. Of those, 125 applicants have submitted all of their required paperwork, including 38 that are seeking retail licenses, the commission says. Why The Slow Rollout? An advocacy group for Massachusetts marijuana growers says local approvals have caused longer-than-expected delays for sellers. Shops must reach an agreement with their local municipality before their business license applications will be considered by Massachusetts. And local zoning boards and town councils must approve site plans for dispensaries within their municipal limits. The state plans to levy a 6.25 percent sales tax and 10.75 percent excise tax, and leave to the discretion of municipal officials an option to levy a local tax of up to 3 percent. But the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council argues that some towns are using the agreement process to demand more than the legal cap on local businesses’ gross sales. Peter Bernard, president of the council, said his organization plans to sue to compel the Cannabis Control Commission to review agreements between marijuana shops and their towns. “It’s not a question of if, it’s a matter of when,” he said. He added, though, that most of the delays were to be expected. Potential marijuana businesses, local governments and the commission have to follow a highly complicated process, Bernard said. “If we have more than three or four places (for recreational marijuana sales) open by Thanksgiving, I’ll be surprised,” he said. “But I don’t think (the commission’s) dragging their feet. It’s just such an arduous process.” Can A Business Open Immediately After Getting A Final Business License? Yes, assuming the shop has met all other requirements, like paying its business license fee. There is also an additional requirement for existing medical dispensaries adding recreational marijuana sales at the same location. They must get a waiver from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health allowing them to divert some of their plant inventory to recreational marijuana. Who Can Buy Recreational Pot In Massachusetts? Anyone over 21 can buy marijuana for adult use after showing proof of age. But to enter a medical dispensary, you must have a medical marijuana card from Massachusetts. Can I Bring Nonmedical Cannabis From Massachusetts Into Connecticut? No. Connecticut’s state police, who patrol the highways, have said they will continue to monitor for marijuana use with DUI checkpoints and stops. What Can I Smoke In Massachusetts, And Where Can I Smoke It? You can legally possess and grow nonmedical marijuana. You can also give it away, as long as you receive no money or services in exchange. If you're 21 or older, you can carry up to an ounce of marijuana in the state, although no more than five grams can be in concentrate form. You cannot smoke marijuana in public places, and a police officer can give you a citation for smoking in your car. http://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz-mass-marijuana-dispensaries-update-20180912-story.html
we need the people of Michigan to step up. Getting a flyover state on board would be huge State board confirms ballot language for marijuana legalization Spoiler LANSING — On Sept. 6, the State Board of Canvassers approved official ballot language for the recreational marijuana legalization proposal. Known officially as Proposal 1, language was limited by law to 100 words to indicate to voters the ramifications of the proposal and how both individuals and the state would be affected if successful. The language states: “A proposed initiated law to authorize and legalize possession, use and cultivation of marijuana products by individuals who are at least 21 years of age and older, and commercial sales of marijuana through state-licensed retailers.” This proposal would: • Allow individuals 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for personal consumption. • Impose a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residences and require amounts over 2.5 ounces be secured in locked containers. • Create a state licensing system for marijuana businesses and allow municipalities to ban or restrict them. • Permit retail sales of marijuana and edibles subject to a 10 percent tax, dedicated to implementation costs, clinical trials, schools, roads, and municipalities where marijuana businesses are located. • Change several current violations from crimes to civil infractions. On June 5, the legalization initiative was officially approved to appear on the November ballot. Josh Hovey, communications director for the pro-marijuana Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol — the group that collected about 365,000 signatures to appear on the ballot in the first place — said that the state never has an easy job “taking a full law and boiling it down to 100 words.” “They had that heavy lift in front of them,” Hovey said. “I think what they came up with is fairly neutral language summarizing the key tenets of what we’re proposing.” That is, he said, the stopping of unnecessary criminal arrests and employing a taxed system available to benefit individuals 21 and older, as well as local governments and the state as a whole. He added that “more strong regulations” could have been listed as part of the proposal, including the fact that businesses will still have the authority to drug test their employees; that outdoor consumption, in places like city streets and public parks, is outlawed; and that driving under the influence would remain illegal. Also, it means the state has the authority to ensure that businesses do not market marijuana-related products toward children. “That just means we’ll have to get out and do more to educate the public on what is and is not in (the) proposal,” he said. Scott Greenlee, president of the anti-legalization group Healthy and Productive Michigan, agreed with Hovey and said the state has a difficult task boiling down an approximate 6,500-word proposal into 100 words, adding, “It leaves so much ambiguity.” Much discussion of this proposal has centered on how money would be allocated to schools, roads and municipalities — similar to successful proposals that have passed in states such as Colorado. While Hovey admits that the ballot language does not break down allocations, he said it does state that net proceeds would go toward those three areas. “That’s a key piece of the proposal,” Hovey said. “It also makes clear that the first dollars go to implement the law. That’s important because it shows it will pay for itself. It’s funded through the collection of tax dollars, not costing (the) state extra money.” Greenlee, however, said there should have been more detail on tax allocation, calling it a “favorable estimate” for proponents of this proposal. He said law enforcement and administration costs are not mentioned, and that $200 million levied from a successful vote would only be just a small percentage of the statewide budget. He added that the 10 percent tax would be the lowest of any states that have legalized recreational marijuana, while the 2.5 ounce limit would be the largest amount for possession. He said the black market won’t go away, noting that drug cartels could irreparably change the state scene. “Overnight, Michigan will become the marijuana capital in America and you won’t want to know who your neighbors are,” Greenlee said. With the election less than two months away, Hovey and his coalition are speaking at statewide events and incorporating a “very strategic and robust” campaign to make sure voters are educated on the proposal’s ins and outs. “We’re feeling very confident,” Hovey said. “Most polls show that roughly 60 percent of voters think prohibition is a failure and they support taxation and regulation. … I think we’re at a very good starting point.” Greenlee said other polls — which he admitted are not always trustworthy, mentioning the 2016 presidential election — have the proposal failing. He thinks the average as of now is “probably 50-50.” “Some are seeing perceived benefits and some are seeing problems. … I know people who are marijuana users who think that marijuana should be legal, yet they are not voting for this proposal because they think it’s inherently flawed,” Greenlee said. https://www.candgnews.com/news/stat...ot-language-for-marijuana-legalization-109890
Was just in Yellow Springs this weekend and saw several friendly looking guys who would be able to help you out. Unfortunately we can't buy it in stores here yet.
Hiked Glen Helen a few weeks ago and got some young’s dairy afterwards, but anyway the Glen reeked of pot a few times.
Saw a bunch of CBD drinks at a food show I was just at. No doubt there will be corporate $$$ pouring in when the feds finally make a decision regarding CBD legality. Personally I think it's out of the Feds control now that it's being pursued by corporate power.
finally almost god damn there only took two damn years 'We're weeks away' from Massachusetts marijuana retail shops opening, Cannabis Control chairman says Spoiler With the Cannabis Control Commission approving final licenses for retail pot shops in Northampton and Leicester, its chairman says their doors are expected to open soon. "I think we're weeks away," Steven Hoffman, the chairman, told reporters. "And I think we've been pretty clear about what has to happen." The stores must still meet a number of conditions before opening, such as ensuring they're in the state's tracking system and getting waivers from the state Department of Public Health, since they're in the same location as medical marijuana dispensaries. Cultivate in Leicester and New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Northampton, which both run medical dispensaries, were the first two in the state to receive final retail licenses for recreational marijuana at the commission's meeting Thursday. "I think it's a big milestone but you know it's going to be an even bigger one when the stores actually open," Hoffman said. If they open in the coming weeks, they'll become the first retail marijuana shops on the US east coast. Asked for his answer to critics who say the Cannabis Control Commission is taking too long to allow the opening of retail pot stores, Hoffman joked, "Gee, I haven't been asked that question before." July 1, a target date for the opening of retail marijuana shops, came and went, though commission staff has churned through applications and forwarded to commissioners 38 provisional licenses, before the votes for final licenses Thursday. Massachusetts voters broadly legalized marijuana for adult use through a ballot question in November 2016. "We're doing it right, I'm very proud of the way that we're doing it. We're being careful, we're being thorough," Hoffman said of the commission's pace. "In the long term this is going to be in the best interests, I believe, of the citizens of the state of Massachusetts." As for final licenses for independent lab testing and transport, Hoffman acknowledged they're a "critical part of the puzzle." He said they hope to take those up at the next meeting of the commission. Amanda Rositano, director of operational compliance for NETA, said the company is expecting demand for their products once they open. "We're doing everything we can to prepare," she said. Four the five members of the Cannabis Control Commission voted in favor of the final licenses for Cultivate and NETA. Commissioner Shaleen Title abstained from the votes, saying she had an issue with some host community agreements and excessive payment proposals. She has said some cities and towns are seeking too much money from marijuana companies, and some of the agreements do not comply with the state law, a position backed by top state legislators who were involved in re-writing Massachusetts marijuana laws. https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/10/were_weeks_away_from_massachus.html
we are weeks away from the November elections and I still have not seen Democrats making a big deal about legalization efforts. A lot of these police shootings involve the victim being pulled over or arrested for marijuana possession. If people are serious about bringing about social justice, then you cannot drag your feet on reforming marijuana laws. Oh well, there's always 2020 New rulings on medical marijuana use go against employers Spoiler HARTFORD, Conn. — Health care worker Katelin Noffsinger told a potential employer that she took medical marijuana to deal with the effects of a car accident, but when a drug test came back positive, the nursing home rescinded her job offer anyway. A federal judge last month ruled that the nursing home, which had cited federal laws against pot use, violated an anti-discrimination provision of the Connecticut’s medical marijuana law. It was the latest in a series of clashes between U.S. and state laws around the country that came out in favor of medical marijuana users trying to keep or obtain jobs with drug-testing employers. The Connecticut decision was the first ruling of its kind in a federal case and followed similar recent rulings against employers by state courts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Earlier rulings had gone against medical pot users in employment cases by state supreme courts including those in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington over the past few years. Advocates hope new the new decisions are a signal of growing acceptance of cannabis’ medicinal value. “This decision reflects the rapidly changing cultural and legal status of cannabis, and affirms that employers should not be able to discriminate against those who use marijuana responsibly while off the job, in compliance with the laws of their state,” said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a pro-marijuana group. Noffsinger, of Manchester, sued Bride Brook Health & Rehabilitation Center in Niantic in 2016. She had been offered, and accepted, a job as recreation therapy director at the nursing home, contingent on her passing a drug test. She told the nursing home that she took synthetic marijuana pills — legally under state law and only at night — to treat the post-traumatic stress disorder she developed after the 2012 car accident. But the company rescinded the job offer after the drug test came back positive for THC, the chemical in marijuana that gets people high. As a federal contractor, the nursing home worried that it could be cut off from that revenue if it employed somebody who tested positive. On Sept. 5, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer in New Haven ruled Bride Brook discriminated against Noffsinger based solely on her medical marijuana use in violation of state law. He denied her request for punitive damages. The case is now heading to a trial on whether Noffsinger should receive compensatory damages for lost wages from not getting the job. A lawyer for the nursing home, Thomas Blatchley, declined to comment. Noffsinger’s attorney, Henry Murray, said Noffsinger would not comment on the lawsuit. He said Noffsinger has taken another job in the health care industry that doesn’t pay as much as the Bride Brook job. In his ruling, Meyer said the federal Drug Free Workplace Act, which many employers including federal contractors rely on for policies on drug testing, does not actually require drug testing and does not prohibit federal contractors from employing people who use medical marijuana outside the workplace in accordance with state law. The decision will likely be used in arguments in similar cases elsewhere, said Fiona Ong, an employment attorney with the Baltimore firm of Shawe Rosenthal. “This is a very significant case that throws the issue in doubt for many of these federal contractors,” Ong said. “It’s certainly interesting and may be indicative of where the courts are going with this.” Thirty-one states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam now allow medical marijuana, while 15 others have approved low-THC-level products for medical reasons in certain cases, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Nine states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational pot. Only nine states including Connecticut, however, specifically ban employment discrimination against medical marijuana users, who could continue to face difficulties in obtaining or keeping jobs in the 41 other states, employment lawyers say. In Massachusetts, the state’s highest court ruled last year that a sales and marketing company wrongly fired a worker after her first day on the job after she tested positive for marijuana, which she used under the state’s medical marijuana law to treat her Crohn’s disease. Also last year, in Rhode Island, the state Supreme Court said a college student was wrongly denied an internship at a fabric company where officials refused to hire her after she acknowledged she could not pass a drug test because she used medical marijuana. In both cases, the two women told the companies during the hiring process that they used medical marijuana, but would not consume it while on the job. The American Bar Association called the Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island cases “an emerging trend in employment litigation” and cautioned employers to consider state medical marijuana laws when analyzing their drug use and testing policies. Several bills are pending before Congress that would undo marijuana’s classification as a controlled substance with no medicinal value. But Armentano, of NORML, said it is unlikely they will go anywhere while Republicans control Congress. Some employers, though, have dropped marijuana from the drug tests they require of employees, saying the testing excludes too many potential workers in a challenging hiring environment. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...819e6c-c65b-11e8-9c0f-2ffaf6d422aa_story.html
Polling in Michigan shows 62-35 support behind it. It’s Proposal 1 on this year’s ballot https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...-november-ballot-proposals-strong/1526518002/
Same article I linked also shows strong support behind Proposal 2 which would create a non-partisan commission to do all congressional redistricting, and Proposal 3 which is for same day voter registration and no-reason absentee voting. Would be great if any of the 3 passes but hooo boy if all 3 pass
Didn't like the straight ticket provision on Prop 3, but the rest is all good. Sending in my ballot on Monday.
Thank heavens I can easily drive to Kansas where weed drugs are “fully illegal” and I can feel safe from a moment or two.
Mormon church backs deal to allow medical marijuana in Utah Spoiler SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon church joined lawmakers, the governor and advocates to back a deal Thursday that would legalize medical marijuana in conservative Utah after months of fierce debate. The compromise comes as people prepare to vote in November on an insurgent medical marijuana ballot initiative that held its ground despite opposition from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gov. Gary Herbert said he’ll call lawmakers into a special session after the midterm election to pass the compromise into law regardless of how the initiative fares. If it passes, it will be revised under the terms of the deal. It if fails, the Legislature would consider a law under the new framework. The agreement in such a conservative state underscores the nation’s changing attitude toward marijuana. Medical use now is legal in more than 30 states and also is on the November ballot in Missouri. So-called recreational marijuana goes before voters in Michigan and North Dakota. If passed, it will be a first for a Midwestern state. The Utah-based faith had opposed the ballot proposal over fears it could lead to more broad use, but ranking global leader Jack Gerard said they’re “thrilled” to be a part of the effort to “alleviate human pain and suffering.” Though it still must go to a vote, the deal has the key backing of both the church and leaders of the Republican-dominated Legislature, who said the regulations in the hard-won agreement have their seal of approval. Unlike the ballot initiative, the compromise won’t allow people to grow their own marijuana if they live too far from a dispensary. It also doesn’t allow certain types of edible marijuana that could appeal to children, like cookies and brownies. “I will do everything in my power to ensure this compromise passes in the special session,” said Utah Senate president Wayne Niederhauser. Medical marijuana advocates are backing the deal to avoid wrangling and uncertainty that could continue if the ballot initiative passes. “There will be medical cannabis here in our day in Utah,” said advocate DJ Schanz. The two sides agreed to scale back media campaigns supporting and opposing the ballot measure known as Proposition 2. Not all medical-marijuana advocates were convinced: Christine Stenquist with the group Truce said she remains skeptical about the deal and urged continued support for the ballot proposal. Smoking marijuana would not be allowed under the ballot proposal . It instead allows edible forms, lotions or electronic cigarettes. While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposed the ballot measure, leaders also made first-ever public statement supporting the use of medical marijuana if prescribed by a doctor and dispensed by a pharmacy. The church’s positions carry outsized sway in its home state. The faith had long frowned upon medical marijuana use because of a key church health code called the “Word of Wisdom,” which prohibits coffee as well as alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...819474-c81b-11e8-9c0f-2ffaf6d422aa_story.html
This afternoon I picked up a strain called Grady's Cure. I think the name is lame but wow it's beautiful and has some amazing medicating properties
I really hope that’s right but that’s a 600 person WDIV poll and I’ve heard some recent statewide polls aren’t as positive.
Marijuana backers look for Midwest breakthrough in November Spoiler LANSING, Mich. — Backers of broad marijuana legalization are looking to break through a geographic barrier in November and get their first foothold in the Midwest after a string of election victories in Northeastern and Western states. Michigan and North Dakota, where voters previously authorized medical marijuana, will decide if the drug should be legal for any adult 21 and older. They would become the 10th and 11th states to legalize so-called recreational marijuana since 2012, lightning speed in political terms. Meantime, Missouri and Utah will weigh medical marijuana, which is permitted in 31 states after voters in conservative Oklahoma approved such use in June. Even if Utah’s initiative is defeated, a compromise reached last week between advocates and opponents including the Mormon church would have the Legislature legalize medical marijuana. “We’ve kind of reached a critical mass of acceptance,” said Rebecca Haffajee, a University of Michigan assistant professor of health management and policy. She said the country may be at a “breaking point” where change is inevitable at the federal level because so many states are in conflict with U.S. policy that treats marijuana as a controlled substance like heroin. “Generally, people either find a therapeutic benefit or enjoy the substance and want to do so without the fear of being a criminal for using it,” Haffajee said. Two years ago, voters in California approved a ballot measure creating the world’s largest legal marijuana market. Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Colorado and Nevada are other Western states with legal marijuana for medical and personal uses. On the other side of the country, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana, and every other Northeastern state has approved medical marijuana. In Michigan, surveys show the public’s receptiveness to marijuana legalization tracks similarly with nationwide polling that finds about 60 percent support, according to Gallup and the Pew Research Center. The Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project was the driving force behind successful legalization initiatives in other states and has given at least $444,000 for the Michigan ballot drive. “The electorate is recognizing that prohibition doesn’t work. There’s also a growing societal acceptance of marijuana use on a personal level,” said Matthew Schweich, the project’s deputy director. “Our culture has already legalized marijuana. Now it’s a question of, ‘How quickly will the laws catch up?’” added Schweich, also the campaign director for the Michigan legalization effort, known as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Midwest voters have considered recreational legalization just once before, in 2015, when Ohio overwhelmingly rejected it. Supporters said the result was more back lash against allowing only certain private investors to control growing facilities than opposition to marijuana. Proponents of Michigan’s measure say it would align with a new, strong regulatory system for medical marijuana businesses and add roughly $130 million annually in tax revenue, specifically for road repairs, schools and municipalities. Military veterans and retired police officers are among those backing legalization in online ads that were launched Tuesday. Critics say the Michigan proposal is out of step and cite provisions allowing a possession limit of 2.5 ounces (71 grams) that is higher than many other states and a 16 percent tax rate that is lower. Opponents include chambers of commerce and law enforcement groups along with doctors, the Catholic Church and organizations fighting substance abuse. Randy Richardville, a former Republican legislative leader and spokesman for the opposition group Healthy and Productive Michigan, said adults — even those without serious health problems — already can easily obtain pot under the state’s lax medical marijuana law. The ballot proposal, he said, would lead to a more “stoned” workforce, car crashes and crimes, and increased health risks for teens. “This has nothing to do with a citizens’ initiative with a whole bunch of people out there that said they would like to smoke marijuana recreationally and responsibly,” Richardville said. “This is a special interest group that put up a lot of dollars so that they can sacrifice our kids’ futures to make more money.” Dr. Donald Condit, an orthopedic surgeon in Grand Rapids who is helping lead physicians’ opposition, said few doctors see a problem with, for example, terminal cancer patients using marijuana to ease their pain. But people should think harder about full legalization because marijuana is becoming “very, very potent” and “this stuff could hit the teenage developing brain like a ton of bricks,” he said. Backers counter that teens’ use of marijuana has not increased in states that already have approved recreational use and point to the drug’s other benefits, like as a safer substitute for painkillers amid the deadly opioid epidemic. “It’ll take the scourge of the old days when drug dealers sold heroin and crack and methamphetamines and marijuana — it was all lumped together” said Stu Carter, who owns Utopia Gardens, a medical marijuana shop in Detroit. “Now we can pull that away from that illegal drug world and make it much safer for the consumer.” In North Dakota, legalization faces an uphill battle. No significant outside supporters have financed the effort, which comes as the state still is setting up a medical marijuana system voters approved by a wide margin two years ago. The medical marijuana campaign in predominantly Mormon Utah, which has received $293,000 from the Marijuana Policy Project, was jolted last week when Gov. Gary Herbert said he will call lawmakers into a special postelection session to pass a compromise deal into law regardless of how the public vote goes. Medical marijuana also is on the ballot in Missouri and while the concept has significant support, voters may be confused by its ballot presentation. Supporters gathered enough signatures to place three initiatives before voters. Two would change the state constitution; the third would amend state law. If all three pass, constitutional amendments take precedence over state law, and whichever amendment receives the most votes would overrule the other. An organizer of one amendment, physician and attorney Brad Bradshaw, said it is unclear if having three initiatives could split supporters so much that some or all of the proposals fail. “A lot of people don’t really even have this on the radar at this point,” he said. “They’re going to walk into the booth to vote and they’re going to see all three of these and say, ‘What the heck?’ You just don’t know how it’s going to play out.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...c2c58a-cbc6-11e8-ad0a-0e01efba3cc1_story.html
Canada getting me hard More than 100 pot shops set to open as Canada legalizes weed Spoiler DELTA, British Columbia — Mat Beren and his friends used to drive by the vast greenhouses of southern British Columbia and joke about how much weed they could grow there. Years later, it’s no joke. The tomato and pepper plants that once filled some of those greenhouses have been replaced with a new cash crop: marijuana. Beren and other formerly illicit growers are helping cultivate it. The buyers no longer are unlawful dealers or dubious medical dispensaries; it’s the Canadian government. On Oct. 17, Canada becomes the second and largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace. Uruguay launched legal sales last year, after several years of planning. It’s a profound social shift promised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fueled by a desire to bring the black market into a regulated, taxed system after nearly a century of prohibition. It also stands in contrast to the United States, where the federal government outlaws marijuana while most states allow medical or recreational use for people 21 and older. Canada’s national approach has allowed for unfettered industry banking, inter-province shipments of cannabis, online ordering, postal delivery and billions of dollars in investment ; national prohibition in the U.S. has stifled greater industry expansion there. Hannah Hetzer, who tracks international marijuana policy for the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, called Canada’s move “extremely significant,” given that about 25 countries have already legalized the medical use of marijuana or decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot. A few, including Mexico, have expressed an interest in regulating recreational use. “It’s going to change the global debate on drug policy,” she said. “There’s no other country immediately considering legalizing the nonmedical use of cannabis, but I think Canada will provide almost the permission for other countries to move forward.” At least 109 legal pot shops are expected to open across the nation of 37 million people next Wednesday, with many more to come, according to an Associated Press survey of the provinces. For now, they’ll offer dried flower, capsules, tinctures and seeds, with sales of marijuana-infused foods and concentrates expected to begin next year. The provinces are tasked with overseeing marijuana distribution. For some, including British Columbia and Alberta, that means buying cannabis from licensed producers, storing it in warehouses and then shipping it to retail shops and online customers. Others, like Newfoundland, are having growers ship directly to stores or through the mail. Federal taxes will total $1 per gram or 10 percent, whichever is more. The feds will keep one-fourth of that and return the rest to the provinces, which can add their own markups. Consumers also will pay local sales taxes. Some provinces have chosen to operate their own stores, like state-run liquor stores in the U.S., while others have OK’d private outlets. Most are letting residents grow up to four plants at home. Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, won’t have any stores open until next April, after the new conservative government scrapped a plan for state-owned stores in favor of privately run shops. Until then, the only legal option for Ontario residents will be mail delivery — a prospect that didn’t sit well with longtime pot fan Ryan Bose, 48, a Lyft driver. “Potheads are notoriously very impatient. When they want their weed, they want their weed,” he said after buying a half-ounce at an illicit medical marijuana dispensary in Toronto. “Waiting one or two three days for it by mail, I’m not sure how many will want to do that.” British Columbia, home of the “B.C. Bud” long cherished by American pot connoisseurs, has had a prevalent marijuana culture since the 1970s, after U.S. draft-dodgers from the Vietnam War settled on Vancouver Island and in the province’s southeastern mountains. But a change in government last year slowed cannabis distribution plans there, too, and it will have just one store ready next Wednesday: a state-run shop in Kamloops, a few hours’ drive northeast of Vancouver. By contrast, Alberta expects to open 17 next week and 250 within a year. No immediate crackdown is expected for the dozens of illicit-but-tolerated medical marijuana dispensaries operating in British Columbia, though officials eventually plan to close any without a license. Many are expected to apply for private retail licenses, and some have sued, saying they have a right to remain open. British Columbia’s ministry of public safety is forming a team of 44 inspectors to root out unlawful operations, seize product and issue fines. They’ll have responsibility for a province of 4.7 million people and an area twice as large as California, where the black market still dwarfs the legal market that arrived in January. Chris Clay, a longtime Canadian medical marijuana activist, runs Warmland Centre dispensary in an old shopping mall in Mill Bay, on Vancouver Island. He is closing the store Monday until he gets a license; he feared continuing to operate post-legalization would jeopardize his chances. Some of his eight staff members will likely have to file for unemployment benefits in the meantime. “That will be frustrating, but overall I’m thrilled,” Clay said. “I’ve been waiting decades for this.” The federal government has licensed 120 growers, some of them enormous. Canopy Growth, which recently received an investment of $4 billion from Constellation Brands, whose holdings include Corona beer, Robert Mondavi wines and Black Velvet whiskey, is approved for 5.6 million square feet (520,000 square meters) of production space across Canada. Its two biggest greenhouses are near the U.S. border in British Columbia. Beren, a 23-year cannabis grower, is a Canopy consultant. “We used to joke around all the time when we’d go to Vancouver and drive by the big greenhouses on the highway,” he said. “Like, ‘Oh man, someday. It’d be so awesome if we could grow cannabis in one of these greenhouses.’ We drive by now, and we’re like, ‘Oh, we’re here.’” Next to Canopy’s greenhouse in Delta is another huge facility, Pure Sunfarms, a joint venture between a longtime tomato grower, Village Farms International, and a licensed medical marijuana producer, Emerald Health Therapeutics. Workers pulled out the remaining tomato plants last winter and got to work renovating the greenhouse as a marijuana farm, installing equipment that includes lights and accordion-shaped charcoal vents to control the plant’s odor. By 2020, the venture expects to move more than 165,000 pounds (75,000 kg) of bud per year. Some longtime illegal growers who operate on a much smaller scale worry they won’t get licensed or will get steamrolled by much larger producers. Provinces can issue “micro-producer” licenses. But in British Columbia, where small-time pot growers helped sustain rural economies as the mining and forestry industries cratered, the application period hasn’t opened yet. Sarah Campbell of the Craft Cannabis Association of BC said many small operators envision a day when they can host visitors who can tour their operations and sample the product, as wineries do. Officials say they intend to accommodate craft growers but first need to ensure there is enough cannabis to meet demand when legalization arrives. Hiccups are inevitable, they say, and tweaks will be needed. “Leaving it to each province to decide what’s best for their communities and their citizens is something that’s good,” said Gene Makowsky, the Saskatchewan minister who oversees the province’s Liquor and Gaming Authority. “We’ll be able to see if each law is successful or where we can do better in certain areas.” British Columbia safety minister Mike Farnworth said he learned two primary lessons by visiting Oregon and Washington, U.S. states with recreational marijuana. One was not to look at the industry as an immediate cash cow, as it will take time to displace the black market. The other was to start with relatively strict regulations and then loosen them as needed, because it’s much harder to tighten them after the fact. Legalization will be a process more than a date, Farnworth said. “Oct. 17th is actually not going to look much different than it does today,” he said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...0bb884-cc4f-11e8-ad0a-0e01efba3cc1_story.html
you aren't fiscally responsible if you oppose legalization Colorado Marijuana Sales Exceeded $1B Through August Spoiler DENVER — A Colorado reports shows marijuana sales in the state have exceeded $1 billion as of August of this year, with tax revenue from those sales reaching $200 million. The Denver Post reports the state Department of Revenue report indicates medical and recreational marijuana sales are on track to break last year's record of more than $1.5 billion. This year's combined sales reached the billion-dollar mark at the earliest point in the four years recreational marijuana has been legal in the state. Total Sales through August 2017 reached more than $996 million. According to the Marijuana Enforcement Division's 2018 Mid-Year Update, the industry's hot spots are in Denver, Boulder, El Paso and Pueblo counties, growing 80 percent of all plants in the state as of June. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/10/18/us/ap-us-colorado-marijuana-sales.html Opponents speak out against Mich. pot legalization proposal Spoiler Advocacy groups and community leaders are voicing their opposition to a measure on the ballot in November’s general election that asks Michigan voters to decide on legalizing recreational marijuana use. Proposal 1 “supports the very issues that are harming our neighborhoods and killing our families,” said Kamilia Landrum, deputy executive director of the Detroit Branch NAACP. “Legalizing marijuana does not help our education system. … It would not provide more jobs, it would take them away. It does not lead to better heath care. It puts our health in danger.” She and other officials spoke out against the proposal during a news conference Tuesday in Detroit led by Healthy and Productive Michigan, a committee working to defeat the measure at the ballot box. Those involved argue that passing the proposal could lead to more crime while failing to offer solutions to social justice issues as supporters claim. “It doesn’t address expungements, incarcerations," said Monica Anthony, a consultant with Healthy and Productive Michigan. "It doesn’t address the employees and how they’ll be impacted.” Proponents say it would align with a new, strong regulatory system for emerging medical marijuana businesses in the state and add roughly millions annually in tax revenue, specifically for road repairs, schools and municipalities. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol recently announced that the nonpartisan Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency estimates Proposal 1 would generate$105.6 million from sales tax and $182.3 million in excise tax in 2023. Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a bipartisan alliance addressing policies on the drug, argues those gains could be dwarfed by costs associated with traffic accidents, lost workplace productivity and health issues. He also cited provisions allowing a possession limit of 2.5 ounces that is higher than many other states. As for products, “there are no limits on potency,” said Sabet, an author, consultant, former adviser to three U.S. presidential administrations. “.... It’s really a poorly written initiative.” The Rev. Horace Sheffield, who represented the Detroit Association of Black Organizations and said he was once an addict, feared the effect on young people. “This further imperils our youth who already are economically disadvantaged. It also stymies their educational pursuits,” he said. “… This is not a drug that should be legal.” Healthy and Productive Michigan has said 73 county sheriffs, 56 county prosecutors, the Michigan Catholic Conference Board of Directors and the Michigan State Medical Society support defeating the proposal. As opponents spread their message through robocalls, billboards and other means, public support for the measure remains high. In Michigan, surveys have shown that the public's receptiveness to marijuana legalization tracks similarly with nationwide polling that finds about 60 percent support, according to Gallup and the Pew Research Center. A recent Detroit News-WDIV survey of 600 likely voters showed 62 percent embraced it. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Meanwhile, Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol officials say the proposal would create a state-regulated system of licensed businesses dedicated to the drug. “Our goal is to regulate business and make sure the black market is decimated and we take marijuana off the streets,” said Josh Hovey, a spokesman for the group. “We think this proposal is a smart use of tax dollars in terms of redirecting law enforcement resources. ... It’s going to stop denying people future opportunities for education and employment just because they have a petty possession charge.” He argues that the measure does not allow the drug to be used openly and publicly. Addressing critics’ assertions about higher crime, Hovey pointed to Washington State University researchers, this year finding that marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington did not hurt police effectiveness, and clearance rates for some offenses improved. “That’s a direct impact on the quality of life in our community,” Hovey said. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...st-mich-pot-legalization-proposal/1735903002/
It has been a big year for marijuana policy in North America. Mexico’s supreme court overturned pot prohibition last week, while Canada’s recreational marijuana market officially opened its doors in October. Stateside, recreational marijuana use became legal in Vermont on July 1, Oklahoma voters approved one of the country’s most progressive medical marijuana bills in June, the New York Department of Health officially recommended legalization to the governor and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands legalized recreational use. Now, legalization advocates are hoping to build on these successes with a number of statewide ballot measures up for consideration Tuesday, including full recreational legalization in two states and medical marijuana in two more. Here’s a rundown of what the measures say and where the polling on them stands. Michigan: Recreational use Michigan voters will consider a Colorado-style recreational bill that would legalize the sale and use of marijuana for individuals over the age of 21. Michigan’s bill is more permissive than the law in other states: It would allow individuals to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana at any given time (most other states allow one ounce) and would allow them to grow up to 12 individual plants for their own consumption (most other states permit six). The latest polls all show the measure passing with a comfortable margin. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer supports legalization, while Republican candidate Bill Schuette released a statement saying he does not “personally support legalizing recreational marijuana but as governor he will respect the will of the voters.” North Dakota: Recreational use North Dakota’s ballot measure came out of nowhere, taking much of the marijuana policy world by surprise. The initiative was engineered by local marijuana reform advocates, with no initial assistance from the big national players such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Marijuana Policy Project. As a result, the measure doesn’t follow the template for recreational marijuana programs set up in other states. It places no limits on possession, and legalizes the sale and commercialization of the drug without setting up a regulatory structure to govern those sales. Supporters say they expect the legislature to iron out those details if the bill passes. The measure would also expunge the criminal records of individuals with prior marijuana convictions. The polling on the measure is all over the place, with two surveys fielded at roughly the same time in October yielding opposite, lopsided results: One showed the initiative passing 51 percent to 36 percent, while the other showed it failing with 65 percent opposed. With numbers like those, it’s hard to predict how this one will shake out. Missouri: Medical use Missouri voters will consider not one, not two, but three separate medical marijuana initiatives at the polls. The measures differ on some details, like how much to tax medical pot and whether patients are allowed to grow their own plants. The one with the broadest range of endorsements from national drug policy groups as well as local newspapers is Amendment 2, which is similar to other states' medical policies: Doctors would be able to recommend marijuana for a number of specified ailments, and patients would be able to obtain the drug either through a dispensary or by growing it at home. Polling on the issue has been scant, but a survey in August showed that voters supported, in general terms, an amendment to the state constitution that would legalize medical marijuana. If two or more of the measures pass, it’s likely that the measure that receives the most votes will go into effect. Utah: Medical use Utah voters will weigh in on medical marijuana, but the eventual result is essentially a foregone conclusion. In October, supporters and opponents of the medical marijuana measure struck a compromise: The governor would convene a special session of the legislature immediately after the election to craft a more limited medical marijuana bill, regardless of the ballot item’s outcome. Backers of the ballot measure agreed to the compromise proposal because in Utah, legislators have the power to overturn statutory ballot initiatives with a majority vote. “If Proposition 2 passed without any agreement on next steps, patients may have been left waiting years to access legal medical cannabis,” said the Marijuana Policy Project’s Matthew Schweich in an October statement. “This compromise eliminates that uncertainty and ensures legislative leaders are committed to making the law work.” Other medical marijuana supporters are unhappy with the proposed compromise bill, which is more limited in scope than medical marijuana programs in other states. It doesn’t allow patients to grow their own plants, and only allows for smoked marijuana in a few circumstances. Other jurisdictions There are also a handful of miscellaneous bills being considered at the local level: Voters in a number of Ohio cities will weigh in on measures to decriminalize marijuana use, which would essentially treat minor infractions like a speeding ticket. Some Wisconsin towns, meanwhile, will hold nonbinding referenda on whether marijuana should be legalized for medical or recreational use. Activists hope the results will help persuade Wisconsin legislators to consider legalization at the state level. https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...-is-ballot-tomorrow-where-its-most-likely-win Spoiler
there's a hope with the likely new MN Governor who supports it he'll try to get it done quickly no ballot initiatives here so its trickier than some states