Tag: legalization

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National Marijuana Arrests Have Tripled Since 1991

This disturbing trend does not reflect the growing national acceptance of pot. While the national call to legalize marijuana—both medical and recreational—is higher than ever before (and includes more than half of American voters), you wouldn’t know it by looking at the issue from a law enforcement perspective. The number of marijuana arrests have more than doubled since 1991, and as a percentage of arrests, they have more than tripled. As Christopher Ingraham pointed out in a recent Washington Post article, this makes for a somewhat confused climate as far as the status of marijuana. On one hand the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy is trending toward a more tolerant attitude in handling drug use. (On the ONRCP’s website you can read […] Read More

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House Voted (Twice) to Allow Marijuana Banking Services

Democrats were joined by a growing faction of Republicans. In a stunning change of tone on marijuana policy on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives voted on a pair of measures affecting the legal marijuana businesses in Washington and Colorado and medical marijuana businesses in 23 states and Washington DC. Almost all Democrats were joined by a growing faction of Republicans in approving the access to legitimate banking services. The House also quashed an attempt to stop the Department of Treasury from allowing banks to do business with legal marijuana firms. “Though this isn’t as flashy a win as some other drug policy reforms of recent years, banking regulations have been one of the most significant obstacles to creating a well-run, safe legal marketplace,” said […] Read More

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Florida Moves to Legalize Low-THC Medical Marijuana, Is Recreational Pot Next?

Those with cancer and other severe ailments can keep small amounts of low-THC medical pot. Floridians are poised to legalize medical marijuana for some patients, but there’s wide support to legalize it for recreational use as well. If medical marijuana is legalized, it would make Florida the first southern state allow it. Currently, only Colorado and Washington allow recreational use of marijuana. A Quinnipiac University poll shows that 88% of Florida voters said they approve of marijuana for medical use, with only 10% opposing legalization. Moreover, those who responded to the poll said that they would support laws that would allow people to keep small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. Some 53% were in favor, while only 42% were opposed. Among younger voters, legalized recreational […] Read More

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One Death Doesn’t Mean Marijuana Edibles Are Dangerous, It Means We Need Better Education and Labeling

Regulation keeps them from being an iffy proposition The recent death of a 19-year-old exchange student has led to a surge of concerns about the safety and regulation of edible products in Colorado. Levy Thamba of the Republic of Congo allegedly ate marijuana edibles in Denver during spring break with friends in March, then jumped from a hotel room balcony later that night. Thamba’s is the first death officially related to “marijuana intoxication” on a coroner’s report since Colorado legalized marijuana in January 2013. While Thamba’s death is tragic, it is not a realistic indication of a larger public threat. Thamba’s friends also ate the edibles that night, and thousands if not millions of people eat marijuana edibles every day without issue. In California, hundreds […] Read More

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2014: Politicians Who Oppose Marijuana Legalization Are On the Wrong Side of History

A majority of Americans support marijuana legalization. A majority of Americans support marijuana legalization – yet not one sitting governor or U.S. Senator supports it, according to a New York Times piece. Marijuana prohibition is a disastrous failure. 43 years after President Nixon launched the “war on drugs,” the U.S. arrests 650,000 people a year for marijuana possession – yet marijuana and other illegal drugs are as available as ever. Thanks to the drug war, the U.S. has less than five percent of the world’s population, yet nearly 25 percent of its prisoners. Colorado and Washington made history in 2012 becoming the first states – and the first two political jurisdictions anywhere in the world – to legally regulate the production and distribution of marijuana, and many […] Read More

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2014: Debunking the 5 Biggest Myths About Pot

The more research is released, the more legalization makes sense. Back in the 1930s, the arguments to criminalize cannabis were bizarre and openly racist. The anti-pot crusader Harry Anslinger made all sorts of over-the-top claims, such as, “Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters.” Nowadays more than 100 million Americans say they’ve smoke pot, millions use cannabis regularly to treat illnesses and it is as legal as alcohol in two U.S. states. However, it remains illegal under federal law largely due to scare tactics ingrained in our society, which date back even prior to Anslinger. Today, pot legalization opponents try a little […] Read More