Here’s Why California Still Hasn’t Legalized Pot

California has the oldest, most established cannabis industry in the US, so what gives? The following article first appeared in Cannabis Now:  California boasts the world’s eighth largest economy, larger than even Russia. San Francisco Weekly’s Chris Roberts recently estimated the demand for legalized marijuana in California to be $2.1 billion. The estimate, initially reported at $2.1 trillion, was based on the numbers coming out of Colorado scaled to fit the Golden State. California supplies the nation with food, wine, technology and entertainment, and its politics have controlled it thusly. This year alone billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has financed a ballot initiative that would split the state into six smaller states, creating the wealthiest state in the nation — Silicon Valley. Californians have even elected two entertainers to the […] Read More

Uruguay Unveils Details for World’s First National Legal Marijuana Market

It is refreshing to see a small, trailblazing country pave the way for more intelligent, coherent and humane drug policies. On Friday, Uruguay released its long-anticipated regulations accompanying the law that was signed into effect last December, which made Uruguay the first country in the world to legally regulate the production, sale and consumption of marijuana for adults. Drug prohibition has devastating effects on people’s lives around the globe, from the 650,000 marijuana possession arrests per year in the United States to the 100,000 drug war deaths in Mexico in the past 7 years. Amidst growing consensus among political leaders in Latin America that the war on drugs isn’t working, Uruguaymade this bold move in an effort to regulate an existing marijuana market currently controlled by illicit drug traffickers and to generate public […] Read More

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