Colorado is the legal marijuana model, yet Alaskans, who use more marijuana than anyone, are still allowing criminals to run the industry.
There is one way that Colorado is not like Alaska, advocates said — Alaskans may use marijuana more. The state’s residents are statistically near or at the top of marijuana usage in the U.S., meaning that the state is squandering a golden economic opportunity, they say. “There’s a multi-million dollar marijuana industry in this state already, and it’s being run by criminals,” Bickford said. [Politico]
IT SEEMS Alaska hasn’t learned the lessons of the failed U.S. drug war, while Colorado and Washington, which just had its first legal sale, are among those states that have learned that having criminals run the marijuana industry is just plain dumb. Hopefully Oregonians will remedy the mistake they made a couple of years ago when they voted down legalization.
Politico reports on the Oregon test coming in November, which is an important vote to watch after Colorado’s successes.
The state made medical marijuana legal in 1998 and was the first to decriminalize pot in 1973. In November, the Oregon Legalized Marijuana Initiative is expected to appear on the ballot once certification is official. The Democratic stronghold voted against a 2012 legalization measure, a surprising setback for supporters given the victories the same day in Colorado and Washington, although they are optimistic this time around.
[...] Pointing to Colorado’s so-called pot tourism, Oregon state Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Floyd Prozanski said he anticipates the same will happen in his state and in the entire region.
The Pacific Northwest is “in a position to lead the nation in formulating cannabis industry policies,” Prozanski said in an interview, stating that passage of the ballot measure would “absolutely” boost tourism.
As an illustration of just how haphazard decriminalizing marijuana has been across the country, take Maryland. There is no easy outlet to utilize the decriminalization, meaning that finding a doctor isn’t easy, at least as far as I can tell. If you’re in Maryland and know otherwise, contact me. I’d like to hear your story.
In April Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is checking out Iowa for 2016, signed a law decriminalizing possession for 10 ounces of weed. However, drug paraphernalia used to smoke it is still a crime. This past week the Montgomery County Council called on Maryland lawmakers to change the law.
The Montgomery County Council is calling on Maryland lawmakers to decriminalize the possession of devices used to smoke marijuana. The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution calling on lawmakers to change the laws for marijuana paraphernalia possession for adults.
[Associated Press]
About Taylor Marsh
Author, political writer, and cultural voyeur. Open Road Media, and Padaro Press, publishes THE SEXUAL EDUCATION OF A BEAUTY QUEEN – RELATIONSHIP SECRETS FROM THE TRENCHES is out on August 5.
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Legal Marijuana Test in Oregon Versus Alaska's Criminal Industry
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