Legalization of Marijuana on November ballot in Ohio

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by bro, Sep 16, 2015.

  1. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    The north dakota guys fucked up. It probably won't pass, and mostly because of the way it's written. Going to be a wasted attempt imo.
     
  2. PSU12

    PSU12 The Grand Experiment
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    Was hoping New Jersey would have something in place by now.
     
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  3. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    Maine Gives Potential Marijuana Consultants An Extra Week

    AUGUSTA, Maine - Consultants hoping to advise Maine on recreational marijuana sales have extra time to apply.

    The deadline is Thursday for those applying to guide state agencies as they craft adult-use marijuana regulations and review Maine's medical marijuana program.

    Mainers in 2016 voted to allow adult-use possession and retail sales of marijuana.

    Adults over 21 can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. But lawmakers delayed sales, which won't become legal until agencies pass regulations and get legislative approval.

    Maine must start accepting recreational marijuana applications 30 days after regulations are adopted.

    Department of Administrative and Financial Services spokesman David Heidrich recently said rulemaking will begin once a consultant is hired.

    Heidrich estimates a contract will be signed in December and start January.

    http://www.mainepublic.org/post/maine-gives-potential-marijuana-consultants-extra-week#stream/0
     
  4. M'ark Pepperonio

    M'ark Pepperonio Free mahi mahi! Free mahi mahi!
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    In Maine, the system now actually is pretty easy to navigate despite being in a legal grey area. Delivery services are abundant, quick, and easy to find using weedmaps or Craigslist. Hopefully whatever happens next doesn't become more burdensome or restrictive.
     
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  5. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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  6. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Thank you Michigan. See you guys in about a year.
     
  7. Goose

    Goose Hi
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  8. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Explain your comment. Adults don’t use intoxicants?
     
  9. Goose

    Goose Hi
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    They do, I’m one of them. There are bigger issues our party needs to tackle.
     
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  10. LuPoor

    LuPoor Cuddle with the homies watching Stand By Me
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    There's an awful lot of things that go on a party platform, and people are capable of looking at more than one thing at a time. Marijuana legalization would absolutely juice turnout, we've seen this time and again when medical or recreational comes up on ballot measures.
     
  11. Goose

    Goose Hi
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    Sure, I don’t disagree with it being on the platform. Major? No thanks
     
  12. Bo Pelinis

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    Do you realize the impact of marijuana legalization on our criminal justice system?
     
  13. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    marijuana use is consistent across all races. Yet minorities are arrested at a WAYYYYYYYYYY higher rate than whites for it

    it is an issue that impacts many layers of society and could really help Democrats. It is a real opportunity to economically empower the people most negatively impacted by the war on drugs. And it can lead to real change in the criminal justice system. Not embracing this as a major part of the party's platform is gonna be a huge missed opportunity
     
  14. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    3 More States OK Easing Their Marijuana Laws: Michigan, Utah, Missouri

    Voters in Michigan approved a ballot measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana on Tuesday, and two other states — Missouri and Utah — endorsed medical marijuana laws. Voters in North Dakota didn't partake, rejecting a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use.

    There are now 33 U.S. states that have legalized marijuana to some degree, and recreational pot use is now legal in 10 states, along with Washington, D.C. But possessing, selling or using marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

    Coming into the Nov. 6 vote, both Michigan and North Dakota already had medical marijuana laws in place. Utah and Missouri didn't have far-reaching legislation on the books, though Missouri had lightened the potential penalties for first-time offenses.

    Marijuana legalization advocates welcomed the news from Michigan, the first Midwestern state to approve recreational marijuana. Backers called it proof that a wide variety of Americans want the country's marijuana laws to change.

    "I think it's safe to say federal laws are in need of an update," Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. He added, "We hope the results of this election will inspire Congress to finally start addressing the tension that exists between state and federal marijuana laws in our nation."

    member station Michigan Radio, which adds that Proposal 1's backers will now focus on trying to expunge criminal records related to nonviolent marijuana cases.

    In Missouri, St. Louis Public Radio reports that Amendment 2 would impose a 4 percent tax on sales of medical marijuana, with the funds used to pay for the program. Any overage would go to the state's veterans commission. The station adds, "For the most part, there was no opposition arguing against the idea of medical marijuana."

    North Dakota's Measure 3 would have required "the expungement of all marijuana-related convictions," Prairie Public Broadcasting reports. But critics said it went too far. The North Dakota Association of Counties opposed the measure, saying it lacked limits on how much marijuana one person could grow. It also said the state is still struggling to implement the 2016 measure that legalized medical use.

    In Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert and key legislators were already working to frame a medical marijuana bill that is similar to Proposition 2, with the intention of passing it regardless of how Tuesday's vote turned out, Utah Public Radio reports. Those backing the plan to approve medical use include the Mormon church.

    https://www.npr.org/2018/11/07/6651...g-their-marijuana-laws-michigan-utah-missouri
     
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  15. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    So a dispensary shop popped up down the street from where I work here in Tulsa, but I thought the state shot it down? Can anyone explain to me what the deal is?
     
  16. LuPoor

    LuPoor Cuddle with the homies watching Stand By Me
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    Lol there's like 3 on that one mile stretch of 15th. It wasn't shot down, they just put a few extra rules on it
     
  17. blind dog

    blind dog wps
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    Are the extra rules friendly to out of state residents wanting recreational?
     
  18. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Gotcha. I thought the state basically spit in the face of the voting body and turned it all. Do you know what all the changes are/were?
     
  19. LuPoor

    LuPoor Cuddle with the homies watching Stand By Me
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    So there was an immediate amendment passed after the vote that banned smokeable weed, said a pharmacist had to be present, and said they couldn't be within 1000 ft of a church or school, which would eliminate basically all of oklahoma. The special session eliminated all that shit. I don't think there's any real substantial changes from the ballot initiative, other than employers now can fire you over urinalysis. They've been selling licenses since September.
     
  20. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Well hot damn. :popcorn: to all the crazies
     
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  21. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Polled 19 college students today on if they thought it should be legalized nationwide; not a single person opposed :shocker:

    This is different from when I first started doing this 8 years ago though. College age people were always in favor on average but you'd have a few holdouts. Anecdotally seems like the camel's back is completely broken at this point with the young generation.
     
  22. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    Retail sales close as independent labs cleared to test Massachusetts marijuana, state regulators say

    Two independent laboratories can begin testing marijuana and marijuana products as Massachusetts readies for the opening of retail pot shops.

    The commission said Wednesday that MCR Labs LLC in Framingham and CDX Analytics in Salem were told they're allowed to commence operations. The labs are key parts of the marijuana supply chain in Massachusetts, since state law requires testing of marijuana products.

    The labs now have three calendar days "to coordinate opening day logistics with their host community, local law enforcement" and others, the five-member commission said in a release.

    "When Massachusetts voters legalized adult-use cannabis, they communicated a desire to purchase products that are safely regulated and properly tested," Shawn Collins, the commission's executive director, said in a statement.

    "The Commission has done scrupulous due diligence to make that vision a reality and ensure licensed independent testing labs maximize public health and public safety," he added.

    Three marijuana retailers have received final license but are waiting on certificates to commence operations: New England Treatment Access in Northampton, Cultivate in Worcester County's Leicester, and Pharmacannis Massachusetts in Wareham.

    All of them also operate medical marijuana dispensaries in those communities. According to the commission, if a medical marijuana dispensary obtains a marijuana business license, it can transfer existing marijuana inventory for recreational sales if they can show the substance or products have been tested by either of the two labs.

    Retail pot shops are expected to open later this month, Steve Hoffman, the chairman of the Cannabis Control Commission, told reporters last week.


    https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/11/independent_labs_can_start_tes.html
     
  23. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    This process seems to take longer than if actual stoned people were doing it
     
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  24. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    bought a vape pen this evening. So I am now well on my way IMO
     
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  25. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    I haven’t made this jump yet but I think I’ll invest. Any suggestions?

    I am afraid I’ll get confused shopping for the cartridges/wax/oil. Buying flower is so easy. But getting rid of the harshness would be good
     
  26. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    Oil won’t give you the exact same effect as flower :twocents: The convenience is nice though
     
  27. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    I always have edibles to get high high. And my pipe.

    Would like to take a hit or two to chill/get sleepy on a rough weekday
     
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  28. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    To me the oil gives you one of those weird super head highs where you can like forget for a second you’re even high. It def goes good with a couple drinks. But you can fuck up and toke it too much and get the spins
     
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  29. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    I feel like if this happened to everyone, nobody would use vapes.
     
  30. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    It’s only happened to me once. Might have just drank too much. But when I thought about it the next day, I was like hmmm I did keep dragging on that pen. It’s easier to forget how much you’ve smoked when there’s no bowl to cash out
     
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  31. blind dog

    blind dog wps
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    I rarely get stoned. But I do have a vape pen that I hit once or twice before I go to bed. I have insomnia problems and I drink too much. The vape pen curbs both dramatically and it's so damn discreet. 10/10 will vape again
     
  32. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    vape pens are for travel/concerts IMO

    all my friends seem to have Puffco vape pens. They are pretty trendy in NYC from what I can tell. I got a Jupiter Liquid 6 because it was the cheapest one that was still supposedly compatible with most cartridges. Seems like it will be perfect

    a very small reason why I prefer flower is because all the other stuff like oils, extracts and waxes confuse the hell out of me. I am kind of like Hank Hill in that I like the old reliable. But from what I can tell the distillate and refined CO2 cartridges are what I will be looking for

    a good breakdown of some of the commonly available options below

    https://www.terravidahc.com/blog-1/...live-resin-vs-distillate-vs-co2-vs-disposable
     
  33. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    Democratic House flip may mean full legalization of marijuana in nation’s capital

    Residents of the nation’s capital get no vote in Congress, but the Democratic takeover of the House may come with a consolation prize: recreational marijuana shops.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), fresh off her reelection victory, said Wednesday she plans to introduce legislation early next year to legalize the sale of marijuana.

    Voters in 2014 passed a ballot measure legalizing the possession of marijuana in small amounts. But House Republicans have blocked the city from spending money to regulate and tax marijuana.

    That means District residents over 21 can legally grow and use marijuana, and possess up to two ounces. But it must be used and grown on private property and cannot be exchanged for money, goods or services. Residents cannot buy marijuana as they can in six states that have legalized the drug, and the District is not able to tax transactions, losing what could be millions in revenue annually.

    The District has several dispensaries for registered patients who use medical marijuana.

    But with Republicans losing control of the House, local elected officials hope the federal restrictions against recreational marijuana will end and that full legalization can commence.

    “We will prepare a tax-and-regulate scheme to present to the council at the beginning of the next year,” said Bowser at a city hall news conference outlining her second-term goals.

    “We have an untenable situation in the District,” the mayor continued. “As long as we have the ability to possess marijuana, which is our law, we also need the ability to procure marijuana legally, which we don’t have now.”

    She declined to offer further details.

    Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) has already introduced legislation authorizing the city to license pot retailers.

    But there’s no guarantee congressional hurdles will disappear. And there’s a complex path ahead before marijuana stores could open.

    The restrictions on the District’s spending come as part of annual budget negotiations between the House and the Senate.

    Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) is behind the anti-marijuana restrictions on the D.C. budget. But now that he will be in the minority, he probably won’t have the votes to push it through the House. A spokesman for Harris did not return a request for comment.

    House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who is set to lead the panel overseeing District affairs, say they will oppose the anti-marijuana rider.

    That means the future of the District marijuana laws hinges on a Republican Senate.

    “The Senate doesn’t seem to care much,” said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s nonvoting representative in the House. “Let’s see how much they much they care now.”

    She said it would be tougher to remove the other GOP House restriction on the District, which prevents it from using local funds to provide abortions to low-income women. Norton said pressure from antiabortion groups would make that difficult to reverse. But she hasn’t seen similar pressure on Senate Republicans regarding the city’s marijuana laws, particularly because some represent states that have legalized pot.

    The anti-marijuana rider could be removed as early as next month, when a budget deadline is looming, but those prospects are dim, as Republicans are still in control of the House until January.

    More likely, the issue would come up again in negotiations over the budget that takes effect on Oct. 1, 2019. If the Senate were to include D.C. marijuana restrictions in its spending bill, the issue would be part of negotiations between legislative leaders when they resolve differences.

    Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he favors regulating the sale of marijuana — calling existing laws an “impossible paradox” — but worries the mayor may have jumped the gun. Some believe the congressional rider prohibits lawmakers from even considering legalization measures.

    “If mayor sent down the bill, the first thing I would have to do is talk to my lawyers about whether and how we can proceed,” said Mendelson. “Am I supportive of moving forward with regulating? Yes, I am. It’s a question of how soon.”

    Grosso says the city should go ahead and start debating full marijuana legalization despite the restrictions on the books. He and other advocates believe marijuana shops could open as early as 2020.

    “I believe we should act as if Congress isn’t there and suffer the consequences, whatever they might be,” Grosso said. He offered a potential upside: “If they did come after us, it would be good PR for statehood for the District of Columbia.”

    As timing has it, Norton also plans to push for a floor vote on a bill granting statehood to the District.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...3762d0-e2ba-11e8-b759-3d88a5ce9e19_story.html
     
  34. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    Michigan eyed as bellwether for legal pot in Midwest

    DETROIT — Michigan is aiming to build a potentially lucrative industry from the ground up with passage of a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.

    It could do more by serving as a model for the rest of the Midwest — and possibly beyond.

    Michigan is the first Midwestern state to legalize recreational marijuana, with voters Tuesday passing a ballot measure that will allow people 21 or older to buy and use the drug. Including Michigan, 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana; North Dakota voters decided this week that recreational pot wasn’t for them.

    At least one other state, Missouri , passed medical marijuana initiatives, joining Michigan and about 30 others. Supporters of a Utah medical marijuana initiative that was on Tuesday’s ballot had declared victory, but the race was still to close to call Wednesday afternoon.

    “Michigan is going to be a bit of a bellwether,” said Douglas Mains, a Michigan attorney with Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP who, as a former policy and legal adviser for state House Republicans, helped draft the first bills to amend Michigan’s medical marijuana law passed a decade ago.

    Mains said Michigan’s progress in building its marijuana sector will be closely watched, particularly by neighbors. He cited Ohio , which allows marijuana for medical uses but rejected a 2015 legalization measure, and Illinois, where the governor-elect supports legalizing pot.

    “Those states are going to look to Michigan, see what problems it encounters and revenue it generates,” Mains said. “It would not surprise me if either or both has this on the ballot in 2020.”

    The Michigan law takes effect in about a month, 10 days after the election is certified. People age 21 or older will then be allowed to have, use and grow the drug, but the process of establishing regulations for its retail sale and issuing licenses will go into 2020.

    The measure, which was endorsed by a national organization of black-owned businesses and a group of retired Michigan law enforcement officers, will create a state licensing system for marijuana businesses and allow cities and townships to restrict them. Supporters say it will raise roughly $130 million in additional tax revenue each year that will go toward road repairs, schools and local governments. They also say it will allow for greater regulation of pot usage and for police to focus on more pressing problems.

    Opponents, including many law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, chambers of commerce and religious groups, said legalizing marijuana would lead to increased use by children, drug abuse and car crashes. They also said Michigan’s proposal would be too permissive by allowing people to have up to 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of the drug on them and up to 10 ounces (284 grams) at home.

    Mains said establishing the regulatory and retail framework for recreational pot should be easier because of the work that went into sharpening the skeletal, ambiguous medical marijuana law passed in 2008. For example, a 2016 law aimed to address confusion surrounding the legality of dispensary shops that opened after initial passage. He said Michigan policymakers also worked to create a regulated system for medical marijuana “that could be pretty easily replicated for a recreational system.”

    Proponents of recreational marijuana laws find greater acceptance in states where medical use has been authorized and a market has developed, Mains said.

    “I think it does change attitudes of the electorate,” he said. “Enough people had been familiar with the medical system and had seen that the sky wasn’t falling.”

    Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group that opposed the initiatives in Michigan and North Dakota, said money is the driver of the growth.

    “I think the marijuana industry is champing at the bit to really spread all across the country. This is about one thing and one thing only, and that’s money — for them,” he said. “They want to get rich. It’s just like the tobacco industry. It’s like pharma. Michigan is seen as a gateway to the Midwest. They failed in Ohio, so they came to Michigan and prevailed.”

    Gretchen Whitmer , Michigan’s Democratic governor-elect, said Wednesday that “a lot of states have moved forward,” and she’s expecting to learn lessons from them.

    “I want to make sure that our children don’t have access to recreational marijuana, but I also want to make sure we collect those taxes and that they are spent as the voters intend them to be,” she said.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...0e7098-e24f-11e8-ba30-a7ded04d8fac_story.html
     
  35. The Banks

    The Banks TMB's Alaskan
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    I thought teenagers had the vape pen/juul market cornered?
     
  36. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    The high is different that regular buds. But like TC said, the convienience and stealthiness of the vape is top notch.
     
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  37. 40wwttamgib

    40wwttamgib Fah Q, Ohio
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    Never been more proud of the state of Michigan.
     
  38. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    :fap:

    After Long Wait, First Legal Pot Shops In Massachusetts To Open

    NORTHAMPTON (AP) — With its youthful vibe and eclectic mix of culture, a small Massachusetts city seems a logical site for the nation’s first legal recreational marijuana sales east of Colorado.

    An existing medical marijuana dispensary in Northampton — nestled in Massachusetts’ scenic Pioneer Valley — plans to open its doors within days to anyone 21 or older looking for products ranging from pre-rolled joints to cannabis-infused edibles, creams, lotions and cooking oils. A second store in the small town of Leicester could also open at or around the same time, while dozens of other retail applicants await final licensing approval from state regulators.

    The initial openings come two full years after Massachusetts residents backed legalization, a vote hailed by a burgeoning cannabis industry eager to expand its geographic base beyond the several western U.S. states where recreational marijuana is sold.

    Massachusetts is projected to see sales of at least $1.8 billion and as high as $5 billion annually, industry leaders predict.

    But the road to legal sales has been a long and tedious one. The original target date of Jan. 1, 2018, was almost immediately pushed back six months by the Legislature, Then the July 1 date came, and went and still no stores were cleared to open. Frustration grew among would-be businesses and consumers alike.

    Officials in many communities, including some where a majority of voters had approved legal recreational marijuana, kept pot shops away through moratoriums or zoning restrictions, or by demanding a steep price from cannabis businesses in exchange for signing host community agreements.

    Not Northampton, which appeared to roll out the welcome mat. While about 54 percent of all Massachusetts voters supported the 2016 referendum, 73 percent in Northampton gave their blessing, one of the widest margins anywhere in the state.

    “It’s already counter-culture. It’s like their customers are already here,” said Steve Morin, a 68-year-old retired delivery truck driver and Air Force veteran who lives in Springfield, Massachusetts. He visits Northampton frequently and described himself as an occasional marijuana user who may shop in the store when it opens.

    “It will be good for tourism,” he added.

    The city’s bustling downtown sports trendy restaurants and coffee shops, bookstores, galleries and a performing arts center. Northampton is home to Smith College, an elite liberal arts school for women and one of several colleges and universities — including the 30,000-student University of Massachusetts flagship campus — within a 10-mile radius of the city. Most undergrads, however, aren’t old enough to buy marijuana legally.

    New England Treatment Access, which operates the dispensary, is hoping for the distinction of being the first commercial pot shop to open east of the Mississippi.

    “There exists a marketplace for marijuana right now in Massachusetts and it’s our job as a regulated industry to over time displace the current illegal, untaxed and untested industry with one that is controlled, regulated, taxed and tested,” said Norton Albaraez, the company’s director of government affairs.

    Anticipating long lines forming when the store first opens, NETA has worked closely with police and city officials on traffic and parking issues, and retained former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis — who became a national figure in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings — as a security consultant, Albaraez said.

    Public safety isn’t a major concern for Northampton residents like Anthony Bernardo.

    “It’s in plain view now so I’m happy about that,” said Bernardo, a 36-year-old professional musician, as he pushed his young son in a stroller through a city park. “For years, I’ve been feeling that marijuana is no more of a danger to society than alcohol.”

    Massachusetts hopes to sidestep supply problems and other early pitfalls experienced in legal states, and most recently in Canada, where consumers endured rampant shortages after sales began last month.

    California, which kicked off recreational sales on Jan. 1, remains in a challenging transition period as it attempts to transform what was once a largely vast, illegal market into a multibillion-dollar, regulated economy.

    Like Massachusetts, many areas of California have banned commercial pot activity. Initial tax collections have been well below projections and a shaky supply chain has customers looking at barren shelves in some shops.

    Washington state launched legal marijuana sales in mid-2014, shortly after Colorado, following a lengthy scramble to license growers, processors and stores, all of whom had to contest a gantlet of regulations ranging from what pesticides they could use to local zoning rules. Only four stores opened on the first day of sales, with customers waiting in long lines to pay exorbitant prices for marijuana also in short supply.

    Among the concerns as recreational sales begin in Massachusetts are those of medical marijuana patients, who fear they’ll be pushed to the back of the line as dispensaries cater to their new and more lucrative customer base.

    “Our immediate concern is to have rules in place to make sure patients can access these facilities,” said Michael Latulippe, development director for the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance who sits on the state’s cannabis advisory board.

    A separate area inside the Northampton store will be reserved for customers registered in the state’s medical marijuana program, and they will not be forced to wait in the same lines with recreational customers to enter the building, Albaraez said.

    Medical marijuana users are also exempt from paying the combined 20 percent state and local tax on pot.

    https://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/11/08/massachusetts-marijuana-shops-northampton-leicester-pot/
     
  39. Schadenfred

    Schadenfred Well-Known Member

    What's the timeline on Michigan actually starting to sell legal recreational weed?
     
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  40. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    When will marijuana be legal?
    Ten days after the election results are certified, which should be by early December. But marijuana won’t be commercially available for sale until probably early 2020, in part because the state must still put regulations in place and issue licenses for recreational sales. “It’s not going to be an earth-shattering change,” said Jeffrey Hank, the East Lansing attorney who was one of the leaders of the effort to get the legalization question on the ballot. But after certification, “adults will no longer be arrested for simple possession and use of marijuana.”

    https://www.freep.com/story/news/ma...ana-results-election-legalization/1835297002/
     
  41. Schadenfred

    Schadenfred Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
     
  42. Schadenfred

    Schadenfred Well-Known Member

    Since it will be legal to grow, possess, and consume for about a year until it will be legal to sell, I wonder if Michigan could go the DC route of "gifting" in the meantime.
     
  43. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    #293 Cornelius Suttree, Nov 16, 2018
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2018
  44. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    I might go out to Leicester on Tuesday just for the heck of it. I have tons of bud right now but whatever. Will just kind of laugh at the rec lines and then go through the med entrance with no wait #blessed

    https://whdh.com/news/marijuana-stores-in-massachusetts-get-green-light-to-open-next-week/

    BOSTON (AP/WHDH) — Two marijuana stores in Massachusetts were given the green light to begin selling to recreational customers next week, making them the first commercial pot shops in the eastern United States.

    The Cannabis Control Commission said Friday that New England Treatment Access, in Northampton, and Cultivate Holdings, of Leicester, were authorized to open in three calendar days.

    The Northampton store quickly announced it would open at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Cultivate said it would open the same day at 10 a.m.

    The announcement ends a long wait for commercial sales to begin in Massachusetts. The state’s voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana by adults 21 and older in 2016, but it’s taken more than two years for state legislators and regulators to reach the point where the first stores can finally open.

    The target date for retail sales had been July 1.

    The “commence operations” notice from regulators requires the stores to wait three days before opening so they can coordinate with local officials and law enforcement. The openings are expected to draw big crowds, based on the experiences of other legal U.S. states and Canada when they first launched recreational sales.


    “This signal to open retail marijuana establishments marks a major milestone for voters who approved legal, adult-use cannabis in our state,” said Steven Hoffman, chairman of the cannabis panel, in a statement. “To get here, licensees underwent thorough background checks, passed multiple inspections and had their products tested, all to ensure public health and safety as this new industry gets up and running.”

    Legal marijuana advocates, who had complained about the slow pace of regulatory approvals in the state, cheered the news Friday.

    “We can rightfully squawk about state delays and problematic local opposition, but the fact remains that we’re the first state east of the Mississippi to offer legal, tested cannabis to adult consumers in safe retail settings,” said Jim Borghesani, a spokesman for the group that led the ballot question to legalize recreational pot.

    Borghesani called it a “historic distinction” for Massachusetts.

    Recreational marijuana is currently sold in the western states of Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California and Nevada. Maine voters also approved a legalization question in 2016, but stores in that state are not expected to open until next year at the earliest.

    The stores authorized to open next week in Massachusetts currently operate as medical marijuana dispensaries and have pledged to continue serving registered patients.


    New England Treatment Access “looks forward to providing legal marijuana to our customers, but we want our patients to know that we will never waver from our commitment to them and their needs,” said Norton Albaraez, a spokesman for the company.

    The store has a separate area for medical marijuana patients, and they will not have to wait in the same lines with recreational customers to enter the facility.

    The company has already had ongoing discussions with local officials about traffic, parking and other public safety issues when the store opens, Albaraez said.

    Officials shared the following tips for prospective marijuana users:

    • It is illegal to use marijuana while operating a vehicle. Adults should make plans for sober transportation when at risk of becoming impaired by marijuana or marijuana products.
    • Like alcohol, consumers cannot have an open container of adult-use marijuana or marijuana products in the passenger area of a car while on the road or at a place where the public has access.
    • Consuming marijuana or marijuana products in a public place is prohibited, as is smoking marijuana in any area where smoking tobacco is prohibited.
    • Per transaction, a retailer cannot sell more than one ounce of marijuana or five grams of marijuana concentrate – which are also the possession limits in Massachusetts – to an individual who is age 21 or older.
    • It is unlawful to carry marijuana or marijuana products across state lines or federal borders.
    • The impairment effects of edible marijuana may be delayed by two hours or more. Start low, go slow.
     
  45. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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  46. duc15

    duc15 Hey Nong Man
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  47. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    Rep. Joe Kennedy III: It’s time to legalize marijuana at the federal level

    The first recreational marijuana shops in the commonwealth of Massachusetts are opening their doors Tuesday, two years after Massachusetts resoundingly voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana. It’s a familiar trend across the country, where popular support for marijuana has surged. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have now legalized marijuana in some form — three on Election Day just this month.

    I’ve remained skeptical.

    My reluctance to embrace legalization stems primarily from one place: my ongoing work with the mental health and addiction communities. I’ve seen the devastating effects of drugs that are used and abused. I’ve met family after family torn apart by addiction. And I’ve heard — repeatedly — from mental health advocates on the frontlines who have grave concerns about what access to marijuana might do for those prone to abuse. They worry about research showing marijuana can be addictive, particularly for adolescents.

    At the same time, I’ve heard from others who see marijuana quite differently. The parent whose epileptic child needs marijuana to calm her seizures. The veteran whose trauma it eases. The black teen arrested for smoking a joint while his white friends did the same with impunity.

    Over the past year, I’ve worked to rectify these perspectives. I’ve read, I’ve researched, I’ve had countless conversations with people on both sides. One thing is clear to me: Our federal policy on marijuana is badly broken, benefiting neither the elderly man suffering from cancer whom marijuana may help nor the young woman prone to substance use disorder whom it may harm. The patchwork of inconsistent state laws compounds the dysfunction. Our federal government has ceded its responsibility — and authority — to thoughtfully regulate marijuana.

    This needs to change. Given the rapid pace of state-level legalization and liberalization, I believe we must implement strong, clear, and fair federal guidelines. To do that requires us to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and legalize it at the federal level.

    Since 1970, marijuana has been included in the CSA as a Schedule I drug — those that have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse — along with heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.

    Given the FDA’s recent approval of prescriptions derived from marijuana, other countries’ recognition of its legitimate medicinal uses, and lower rates of addiction than alcohol or nicotine, this classification is hard to justify. And the failures of the resulting federal prohibition are stark.

    We see it in our criminal justice system, where skin color dictates how likely you are to be arrested and charged for marijuana possession — despite equal use by people of all races — which devastates families and communities of color.

    We see it in our system of health care, where our country lags woefully behind in research needed to ensure that the use of marijuana — whether medical or recreational — meets the highest health and safety standards as outlined by the FDA. The Schedule I classification of marijuana makes clinical research difficult, if not impossible, to pursue on American soil. At least 15 American companies have fully moved their clinical trials to Israel, where research on marijuana is better supported.

    And we see it in states like my home state of Massachusetts, where pervasive conflicts between federal and state laws disadvantage all stakeholders involved. Banks fear a crackdown on transactions with marijuana suppliers and dispensaries because they are still illegal under federal law, leaving the state-law-abiding businesses no choice but to operate with cash-only transactions. Career placement agencies in Springfield that benefit from federal dollars can’t point job seekers down the block to the marijuana dispensary that’s hiring. Affordable housing developers in Foxboro can’t lease to marijuana retailers without fear of losing funding.

    As long as marijuana remains regulated by the CSA, the federal government is barred from rectifying these failures or acting with any oversight authority as states move ahead with reform at record pace. So a broken, patchwork system flourishes in our country today with no federal guardrails — like the ones we have for alcohol and tobacco — to protect public health and safety and ensure equal justice.

    Legalization would restore the federal government’s ability to regulate a powerful new industry thoroughly and thoughtfully. It would allow us to set packaging and advertising rules, so marketing can’t target kids. It would help set labeling requirements and quality standards, so consumers know exactly what they’re buying. It would ensure that we can dedicate funding to encourage safe use and spread awareness about the risks of impaired driving. And it would create tax revenue for research on mental health effects, safe prescription drugs, and a reliable roadside test.

    My concerns about the public health impact of marijuana remain. But it has become clear that prohibition has wholly failed to address them. I believe legalization is our best chance to actually dedicate resources toward consumer safety, abuse prevention, and treatment for those who need it. It is our best chance to ensure that addiction is treated as a public health issue — not a criminal justice one.

    Legalization is not a cure-all. Risks remain and regulatory vigilance is required. Criminal justice inequities will persist until adequate state-level reforms are sought nationwide. But legalization would guide states choosing to move forward with strong and clear national standards meant to ensure that all Americans are protected fully and equally.

    Joe Kennedy III has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District since 2013.

    https://www.statnews.com/2018/11/20/joe-kennedy-legalize-marijuana-federal-level/
     
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  48. Cornelius Suttree

    Cornelius Suttree the smallest crumb can devour us
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    both dispensaries served well over a thousand customers on day one....in Leicester and Northampton. Lol come on Dems please don't drop the ball on this one

     
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  49. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
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    I love the use of the term "served" here as that's also what drug dealers call it
     
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  50. bro

    bro Your Mother’s Favorite Shitposter
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    My god.

    Anyway, Colorado did over a million on day 1. Step it up Massachusetts