Colorado first state in country to finalize rules for recreational pot

[Source: John Ingold, The Denver Post]

In 136 small-type pages, Colorado this week became the first state in the country to adopt final rules for recreational marijuana businesses.


The rules, released late Monday, cover everything from pot shop licensing to inventory tracking to marijuana packaging to advertising. They also represent the most comprehensive effort to date to take the once all-illegal marijuana market and harness it into what supporters say will be controlled, refined legitimacy.

Applications to open a recreational marijuana store can be filed starting in only three weeks. The first stores are expected to open around Jan.1, 2014.


Among the highlights of the rules:

• All marijuana stores, cultivation facilities and marijuana-infused products makers must be licensed and pay fees ranging from $2,750 to $14,000.
• Until October 2014, recreational marijuana stores must grow themselves almost all the pot they sell.
• All businesses must use the state's forthcoming online inventory tracking program to document their marijuana's journey from cultivation to processing to sale.



Complete story: Colorado first state in country to finalize rules for recreational pot

California Legalization On Deck for Marijuana Policy Project

[Source:East Bay Express; David Downs]

The nation’s largest marijuana policy organization announced Monday it will throw its weight behind a major effort to legalize cannabis in California in the 2016 general election. The Marijuana Policy Project plans to work with a broad coalition of local advocates and leaders in California to pass an initiative that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. A February Field Poll showed that 54 percent of Californians support taxing and regulating pot.

"The Golden State has long been a leader when it comes to compassionate and fiscally sound marijuana policies,” stated Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “The majority of Californians support making marijuana legal for adults, and they are going to make it a reality soon.”

Full read here: California Legalization On Deck for Marijuana Policy Project

Pot advocates post billboard near Broncos' stadium

[Source: The Associated Press - Wtop.com]

Marijuana advocates are trying to grab some attention from the NFL's season opening game in Denver.

The Marijuana Policy Project wants the league to stop punishing players for using marijuana. It's put up a billboard near Sports Authority Field at Mile High for Thursday night's Denver Broncos-Baltimore Ravens game.

The sign asks the NFL to "stop driving players to drink." Marijuana supporters have long insisted that drinking poses a bigger danger than pot.

Denver's All-Pro linebacker Von Miller will miss Thursday's game and five others for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The reasons are confidential. But The Denver Post has reported that Miller tested positive for marijuana and amphetamine use during his rookie season in 2011.

Full story: Pot advocates post billboard near Broncos' stadium

What States are Likely to Sell Legal Marijuana Next???

[Source: The Huffington Post - Nick Wing ]

Attorney General Eric Holder gave a green light on Thursday to two states whose efforts to legalize marijuana had been locked in by legal uncertainty for more than nine months. With that announcement, Colorado and Washington -- both of which passed pro-pot initiatives at the polls last November -- can now proceed with establishing a framework for the taxation and regulation of legal weed for adults.

The administration's decision holds clear and immediate implications for the two states, both of which had been hesitant to act too quickly over concerns that the government might decide to enforce federal law, which still considers marijuana an illegal substance.

But the move also, and perhaps more importantly, throws open the gates for other states to pursue similar pot legalization efforts, so long as they include "strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems." Experts on both sides of the issue have already said they expect to see movement come quickly.

Find out what the possible next 10 States are to Legalize Pot: What States are Likely to Sell Legal Marijuana Next???

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Congress to Hold Hearings on State and Federal Marijuana Conflict

[Source:Erik Altieri, NORMLCommunications Director]

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has scheduled a hearing to address the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

“It is important, especially at a time of budget constraints, to determine whether it is the best use of federal resources to prosecute the personal or medicinal use of marijuana in states that have made such consumption legal,” Senator Leahy stated, “I believe that these state laws should be respected. At a minimum, there should be guidance about enforcement from the federal government.”

The hearing is scheduled for September 10th and both Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole have been invited to testify.

The hearing comes after 20 states have approved of the medical use of marijuana and two states have legalized it for recreational use. The Department of Justice had promised clarification for these states regarding how, or if, the federal government intends to respond, but has thus far failed to provide any clear policy or guidance. It is the hope of Senator Leahy these hearings will address the concerns of these states and provide them a way to move forward with their state approved marijuana laws

See more at: Meeting on State and Federal Marijuana

New Jersey Governor: Ease access to kids' medical pot

[By ANGELA DELLI SANTI and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press]

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie agreed Friday to give chronically ill children easier access to medical marijuana, but he was unwilling to go as far as state lawmakers wanted. 

The Republican governor conditionally vetoed a bill on the topic, saying in the document, "Parents, and not government regulators, are best suited to decide how to care for their children." 

He said he agreed with provisions that would allow production of ingestible forms of pot at state-approved dispensaries and to allow dispensaries to grow more than three strains of the drug. But he struck a part of the bill that would have dropped a requirement that a psychiatrist and pediatrician sign off before children are allowed medical marijuana. He said he wanted to keep in some safeguards for young patients. 

The bill now goes back to the Legislature. If lawmakers make the changes Christie requested, it will become law. It was not immediately clear when lawmakers may take it up, but the state Senate does have a voting session scheduled for Monday. 

Sen. Nick Scutari, one of the sponsors of the bill, said he's pleased that children would be given access to edible marijuana in strains appropriate for their medical needs, but concerned that psychiatric review is an unnecessary hurdle for parents. He said he will review the conditional veto before discussing with fellow lawmakers how to proceed. 

Finishing reading full article here: New Jersey Governor: Ease access to kids' medical pot