Legalization from coast to coast, and beyond… Price collapse worries Colorado dispensaries… Health… Opinion… and more.
LEGALIZATION
Cannabis now legal in Alaska // JuneauEmpire.com “One can now carry up to an ounce in public — consumption in public is still illegal — and one can give another person without remuneration up to one ounce or up to six plants with three flowering.”
Recreational use becomes law in nation’s capitol // WashingtonPost.com You can smoke it, but you can’t buy it. That’s what Congress says.
Jamaica legalizes cannabis // Huffingtonpost.com Growing up to five plants is allowed, and having up to two ounces of dry cannabis will be a petty offense for those charged.
LEGISLATION
Two marijuana bills introduced in Congress// news.yahoo.com "Colorado has demonstrated that regulating marijuana like alcohol takes money away from criminals and cartels, grows our economy and keeps marijuana out of the hands of children," says Representative Jared Polis of Colorado, one of the sponsors.
Two marijuana bills introduced in Sacramento // Leginfo.legislature.ca.gov SB303 would authorize destruction of “seized substances” that might be illegal, providing two pounds are retained as evidence (current laws calls for ten pounds). SB305 would increase prison time for certain activities involving concentrated cannabis, such as manufacturing them “where a child under 16 is present.”
Medical marijuana bill introduced in Utah // SFgate.com “I think this is especially good as an alternative to opiates," bill’s sponsor says. “We have seen that when this is available, overdoses go down.”
COPS & COURTS
The effects of Prop. 47 on the street // LATimes.com Drug arrests are down in Los Angeles, and property crimes are up. (See related story in “Opinion.”)
School drug arrests up in Colorado // USAToday.com Middle-school drug violations are the highest in a decade. “School officials acknowledge marijuana has long been a problem, legal or not” - contrary to Representative Polis’ statement (See first story in "Legislation").
BUSINESS
Over supply could spell trouble for Colorado dispensaries // mmjBusinessDaily.com Existing dispensaries fear small growers will “flood the wholesale market and the price of marijuana is going to collapse.”
HEALTH
Marijuana smoking raises risk of stroke // Newsroom.heart.org “Since recent studies support a link between marijuana use and stroke, doctors need to be aware of this association especially when dealing with younger stroke patients who may reuse marijuana after a stroke.”
Cannabis a hundred times safer than alcohol: Study // Newsweek.com “Results confirm that the risk of cannabis may have been overestimated in the past,” this report says. “In contrast, the risk of alcohol may have been commonly underestimated.”
ANALYSIS
Is America’s legal pot experiment working? // http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/0221/Legal-marijuana-experiment-in-two-states-Has-it-worked-video “Polls suggest a majority of Americans support legal pot, and as many as five states could legalize recreational marijuana in 2016. What might the trend mean for America? Washington State and Colorado are beginning to offer clues.”
OPINION
State Assembly scurries to block loopholes in Prop. 47 // SacBee.com Measure has merit, but has opened “mindlessly broad changes in our criminal laws,” and San Francisco officials are to blame, says Dan Walters.
President Obama, evolve your views on pot - Bill Maher // Alternet.org There’s precedent from other Presidents.
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