Theo Stroomer/Getty
Images
Sean Azzariti, an
Iraq war veteran, prepares to make the first legal recreational marijuana
purchase in Colorado from advocate Betty Aldworth at the 3-D Denver Discrete Dispensary on
Wednesday in Denver.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/colorado-pot-tours-grow-weed-article-1.1566673
* Special thanks to "Google Images", "The Denver Post", "ABC News",
"NBC News", "The New York Daily News" and "Food Safety News"
BLOG POST
by Felicity Blaze Noodleman
Los Angeles, CA
5.23.14
Colorado enacted it's historic new recreational Marijuana law January 1, 2014 after voters approved Proposition 64 which decriminalized the sale and production of the drug. Almost 6 months later shops selling Marijuana have opened all over the state. Now that the sale of legalized Pot is off and running in Colorado the state has seen millions in sales tax roll in and seen tourists roll in as well to experience the historic freedom of purchasing the drug as an over the counter product.
Washington state now is preparing to follow suit with their own legalized recreational Marijuana stores having issued the first permit to grow and sell Cannabis as of March 2014. The state expects stores to begin opening sometime in June or July of this year and is processing over 2,200 applications for license to sell Pot in that state.
Elaine Thompson / AP
Sean Green displays his new Washington
state legal marijuana license at a presentation March 5 in Olympia, Wash.
Green, a medical marijuana dispensary operator from Spokane, was issued the
producer-processor license under the state's recreational pot law at the Liquor
Control Board meeting.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/washington-state-issues-first-legal-pot-business-license-n45406
In view of these historic changes of drug laws in Colorado and now soon in Washington state, we felt is might be interesting to see what has happened in Colorado since Pot became legal. Now that Cannabis is legal, the first opportunity to collect statical data on a large scale in a uncontrolled environment will be possible.
Unlike previous clinical studies, marijuana use in the real world will be seen as never before. This has not happened in the United Stated since the beginning of the twentieth century. Clinical studies produced in the past will likely guide professional state and county officials as they begin collecting the new data.
Aaron Lynett/National Post files
Do teenagers do permanent damage to their
intelligence by lowering their IQs smoking marijuana in their youth? The
scientific jury is still out, or ought to be, according to a new analysis.
http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/01/14/marijuana-link-to-lower-iqs-among-teen-smokers-questioned-by-new-analysis/
As we research this story on the Internet not knowing what we might find, a serious question is beginning to form about the legitimacy of the Colorado and Washington State Marijuana laws. Although these were ballot approved initiatives passed by the voters in those states, how is Colorado and Washington able to supersede the Federal Marijuana laws? It would seem to us that these Cannabis entrepreneurs who have opened Pot Shops could be in some real hot water with the Fed. when ever Federal Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Decide to take action!
Our best guess is evidence is being gathered even now as we are writing this article for what would undoubtedly the biggest drug bust of all time. Those who are convicted is such a "Super Drug Case" by Federal Prosecutors and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) could be looking at some real hard time in the Federal Penitentiary. Our best advice: this is still a real hot potato issue until Federal permits are issued to Marijuana sellers. This is when the drug will truly be legal!
So without further commentary from us here are some really great articles describing how this historic attempt to legalize pot is going in the Rocky Mountain state.
These 5 Numbers Show Marijuana Legalization Is Going Well in Colorado |
|
By: Jon Walker
Tuesday February 25, 2014 8:20 am
|
|
Limited
marijuana possession has been legal for over a year in Colorado and retail
shops have been open for almost two months. This means there is now real data
showing that legalization is going well and mostly as its backers intended.
These five numbers tell the story:
1)
77 percent decrease in state court marijuana cases -
Legalization has caused marijuana arrest to plummet saving the state money.
This drop is remarkable given that Colorado already had fairly liberal
marijuana laws before Amendment 64 was approved. The Denver Post found, “the number of cases filed in state
court alleging at least one marijuana offense plunged 77 percent between 2012
and 2013. The decline is most notable for charges of petty marijuana
possession, which dropped from an average of 714 per month during the first
nine months of 2012 to 133 per month during the same period in 2013 — a decline
of 81 percent.”
2)
$184 Million in new tax revenue – Legal marijuana sales are now
projected to bring in $184 million in new tax revenue for the
state during the first 18 months. This is higher than initial projections. Much
of this money will go to education and drug treatment.
This
number isn’t just important because it will help the state balance its budget.
Significant tax revenue also proves that people are choosing to move from the
black market to the new legal system even though there are high excise taxes.
3)
58 percent support for legalization – Now the that people of Colorado
have gotten a chance to directly experience legalization they are increasingly
supportive. Currently 58 percent of voters in Colorado support the new
legalization law while only 39 percent oppose it. By comparison, in 2012 the
ballot measure only won by 55.3 percent yes to 44.7 percent no.
4)
10 percent last month usage rate – In the first month after retail
stores opened only 10 percent of Colorado voters said they
actually used marijuana. This is right in line with use rates before
legalization, showing it has not turned the state into a “land of potheads.”
5)
6.3 percent increase in airline flight searches
– Early indications are that legalization will also be a modest boost for
tourism. According to Hopper, “Flight search demand for Denver has been 6.3% above the national
search average since December 1st.” During the first week of January flight
searches were up 14 percent.
Since
marijuana was legalized in Colorado marijuana arrests are way down, tax revenue
is up and support for reform continues to grow. This is what success looks
like.
Jon
Walker is the author of After Legalization: Understanding the future of marijuana policy
http://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2014/02/25/these-5-numbers-show-marijuana-legalization-is-going-well-in-colorado/
U.S. Says Legal Marijuana Growers Can't Use Federal Irrigation
Water
By Hasani Gittens
Marcio Jose
Sanchez / AP file
The Hoover Dam, in Nevada, is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Marijuana
growers operating legally in Colorado and Washington state took another hit
from the federal government on Tuesday when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
announced that pot growers are (still) not allowed to use federal irrigation
waters.
Since 1902, the
bureau has been charged with maintaining dams, power plants and canals in the
17 "western states" — from North Dakota, Nebraska and Texas to
Washington, Oregon and California.
As such, the
agency also provides irrigation for millions of acres of agriculture in
Washington and Colorado, the two states that recently made recreational
marijuana legal for adults.
But the bureau
wants weed growers to know that, at least at the federal level, the times they
aren't a-changing.
So, on Tuesday
it reclarified a law that has been in place for decades.
"As a
federal agency, Reclamation is obligated to adhere to federal law in the
conduct of its responsibilities to the American people," Dan DuBray, chief
of public affairs, said in a statement to NBC News.
The bureau says
it had been fielding questions from all points west on the use of water in pot
operations.
On Tuesday, in
what's called a "temporary policy" decision, the bureau reiterated
that federal law still rules.
"Reclamation
will operate its facilities and administer its water-related contracts in a
manner that is consistent with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, as
amended. This includes locations where state law has decriminalized or
authorized the cultivation of marijuana. Reclamation will refer any
inconsistent uses of federal resources of which it becomes aware to the
Department of Justice and coordinate with the proper enforcement
authorities," it said.
"Pretty soon it's going to be air.
They're going to say you can't use the air because it belongs to the federal
government."
That last line
means that the bureau won't actually be enforcing the law so much as letting
the Justice Department know when it believes marijuana growers are using
federal water. It's also the responsibility of local bureaus and state offices
to regulate who gets approved to use federal irrigation.
The decision is
termed "temporary" because a permanent policy decision would require
a lengthy process that includes public hearings.
According to
the bureau, it delivers water to about 1.2 million acres of irrigated land each
in Colorado and Washington.
Still, it
remained unclear what sort of penalties legal weed growers who used
federal
irrigation waters would face.
In a statement
to NBC News, Justice Department spokeswoman Ellen Canale said, "The
Department of Justice will continue to enforce the Controlled Substances
Act
and will focus federal resources on the most significant threats to our
communities. Our efforts will be guided by the eight factors set forth
in the
August 29, 2013 guidance memorandum."
Those eight factors are: preventing the distribution of marijuana to
minors; preventing its revenue from going to criminal enterprises;
preventing
diversion to states where it is illegal; preventing state-authorized
marijuana
activity from being used as a cover for other illegal drug activity;
preventing
violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation of marijuana;
preventing
drugged driving and other adverse public health consequences; preventing
growing of marijuana on public lands; and preventing marijuana
possession or
use on federal property.
Meanwhile, many
in the burgeoning legal marijuana industry saw Tuesday's announcement as
more
of the same in terms of federal harassment for something that is
sanctioned at
the local level.
"It looks
like another case of public officials acting against the better
interests of
themselves and their constituency due to a lack of critical thinking,"
Naomi McCulloch with Green Lion Farms in Seattle, and a member of the
Association of Cannabis Breeders and Growers, told NBC News.
But she
believed her fellow growers would find solutions to be completely
independent
of federal water.
"The
general feeling is that there are ways to get water, if one source
closes,
another will open. It takes a lot of fortitude and planning to be a
farmer, of
any crop. If the government throwing up obstacles to our success stopped
us, we
wouldn't have made it this far," McCulloch said.
"We're
used to this kind of treatment, the federal government looking for one
obstacle
after another to place hurdles before this industry," Elan Nelson,
business consultant for Medicine Man dispensary in Denver, told The
Associated
Press. "We'll just have to find a way to deal with it and move on."
Since
California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, 19 states have followed
its
lead, and last year Colorado and Washington became the first to allow
recreational use of the drug.
But federal
authorities from the DEA to the FBI to the IRS have often targeted those
businesses who set up shop legally under state laws. And banks,
universities
and other institutions subject to federal oversight have shunned the
legalized
pot industry.
"Pretty
soon it's going to be air," Nelson said. "They're going to say you
can't use the air because it belongs to the federal government. It's
just
ridiculous."
First published May 20 2014, 2:17 PM
"NBC News"
RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/Getty Images
PHOTO: Tripp Keber, CEO of Dixie Elixir, runs the
Denver-based medical marijuana company that produces medicated and
non-medicated food items, beverages and salves, May 24, 2012.
"New York Daily News"
Marijuana
Tourists Flock to Colorado Lured By ‘Green’ Tours, Legalized Pot
Local businesses make a killing with
a ‘tidal wave’ of drug vacationers to the Centennial State, where buying pot became
legal Jan. 1, though not smoking it in public or carrying it across the border.
BY Justin Rocket Silverman , Jeanette Settembre
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Sunday, January 5, 2014,
12:38 AM
Updated: Sunday, January 5, 2014,
10:16 PM
They
came from far and wide, drawn to Denver by the green glow of legal marijuana
sales.
“It’s
pretty surreal out here,” said Marisa Impellizzeri, a 27-year-old master’s
student from Kentucky. “I brought my camera to record this historic moment.”
Impellizzeri’s
purchase was not a speedy one, as she and the hundreds of other customers at
pot shop Evergreen Apothecary were given numbers and told to return in two
hours to make their purchases.
In
return for the wait, they were given limited edition certificates to prove they
were among the first Americans to ever buy marijuana legally and without a
prescription.
Since
Colorado legalized recreational pot on Jan. 1, Evergreen has served ganja
lovers from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, said co-owner Tim Cullen.
Even
the tourist information desk at Denver International Airport had a list of the
nearly 20 places in the city to buy legal grass.
“I’m
still amazed the federal government is letting this happen,” said Cullen. “I
can’t wait until New York state goes legal. Colorado will be small-time
compared to that.”
Two
people have been cited for public consumption since Colorado became the
nation’s first state where buying a joint is completely legal.
The
penalty for toking in public is the criminal equivalent of a parking ticket,
with a top fine of $150.
Charlotte Southern Marijuana is
weighed at Evergreen Apothocary in Denver as recreactional marijuana sales
became legal at dispensaries across Colorado on Jan. 1.
Legal
highs — and simple rules — are why Colorado is already becoming the first “pot
tourism” mecca in the United States, the Alpine Amsterdam, if you will.
As
such, tour companies are stoked to light up the drug vacationers.
Charlotte Southern Marisa
Impellizzeri, 27, of Kentucky, outside Evergreen Apothecary in Denver, where
she waited to buy recreational marijuana.The graduate student in
advertising and brand management was in Denver to visit friends.
“The
demand for our service has been nearly overwhelming — there’s a tidal wave,”
said Peter Johnson of Colorado Green Tours, whose magic bus ferries visitors on
tours of three of the newly legal dispensaries for $399 — weed not included.
An
eighth of an ounce is running about $65.
Matt
Brown owns another “green” tour company, My 420 Tours — which describes itself
as “your best friend in Colorado.”
He
said 4,000 people have already signed up for his ganja express, which will
include visits with the pot growers, chefs who cook with wacky tobaccy and some
of the dozens of shops in and around Denver where it’s now legal for anyone 21
or older to have a date with Mary Jane.
“We
want to show you that this is real and something you can go home and talk about
with people,” said Brown.
But
Brown and others have already run into one major sticking point — where to put
all those would-be potheads. The entire city of Denver only has about 600 hotel
rooms where smoking is allowed — and it’s unclear whether owners will add more.
“I
haven’t really decided,” says Dan King, owner of The Boulder Outlook Hotel.
“It’s
possible that we can designate rooms where marijuana is allowed if there’s
enough demand.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/colorado-pot-tours-grow-weed-article-1.1566673
"New York Daily News"
"Food Safety News"
"Food Safety News"
Murder,
Illnesses Prompt Second Look at Recreational Marijuana Law in Colorado
By Dan Flynn
| April 17, 2014
After
months of keeping their hands off implementation of Colorado’s voter-approved
initiative for recreational marijuana, the state’s political establishment may
be having some second thoughts.
Two
bills filed late in the Colorado Legislature appear to be on a fast track to
put the first real limits on recreational marijuana since voters passed
Amendment 64 in 2012, making recreational pot sales since Jan. 1, 2014, legal
for anyone age 21 or older.
On
Tuesday, Dr. Michael Distefano testified that Colorado Children’s Hospital has
treated seven juveniles for acute illnesses stemming from ingesting edible
forms of marijuana since the law went into effect.
And,
on Monday night, before Distefano appeared before the House Committee on
Health, Insurance, and Environment on two bills to rein in recreational
marijuana, a mother of three from Denver on the phone with a 911 operator about
the hallucinations being experienced by her husband was killed when he shot her
in the head.
Dead
is 44-year old Kristine A. Kirk. Her husband, Richard Kirk, 47, is being held
without bond on a charge of first-degree murder. He volunteered his guilt while
in custody, but before police began interrogating him. Denver Police are
investigating whether Kirk smoked or ingested an edible form of marijuana. The
911 call was originally thought to be a domestic disturbance, and the
dispatcher was told that the only gun in the home was kept in a safe. Officers
arrived just ahead of the shooting.
With
just three weeks before its scheduled adjournment, such events appear to be
pushing the Colorado Legislature to make changes to the state’s marijuana laws
in at least two important areas.
First,
it appears to be ready to impose limits on the concentrations of marijuana.
Amendment 64 permits Colorado residents to purchase one ounce of marijuana, but
it makes no distinction between one ounce of just the leafy green plant or one
ounce of a concentrated form such as the hash oil used in many edible forms of
the drug. Second, lawmakers want to put more restrictions on the edible forms,
including eliminating items that mimic popular cookies and candies and might
appear good for marketing to children.
Amendment
64 advocates insist there is no toxic level for marijuana, and they are
expected to push back hard on the two bills that have little time to run all
legislative hurdles and still make it to the governor’s desk this year.
Without
changes to the law, Colorado’s edible marijuana products are subject only to
regulation by the Department of Revenue’s pot unit but not by public health
officials, whose only role is to consult when asked.
State
Rep. Frank McNulty (R-Highlands Ranch) says that achieving equivalences between
marijuana from plants with the concentrates used in edibles will probably cost
the state at least $100,000 to implement, but that every passing day is giving
lawmakers reasons why some tightening is necessary.
The
reports of edible marijuana making children sick and possibly playing a role in
Kristine Kirk’s murder coincides with a new study showing that casual marijuana
use can cause changes in the brain. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a
10-page report on the study says that brain alterations occur in young adults
using marijuana before any dependence develops.
The
report’s author, Dr. Hans Breiter of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School
of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital, said that longer-term studies
are needed to see if brain changes cause any symptoms over time.
Meanwhile,
this year’s “4/20” event in Denver on April 19 and 20 won’t be a protest, but a
festival at the Civic Center expected to draw 80,000 people each day.
Organizers say they are spending $300,000 on the two-day event. Festival-goers
will be warned that cannabis cannot be used in public, and police citations for
public consumption are likely.
© Food Safety News
"Food Safety News"
Ed Andrieski/AP Photo
PHOTO: This April 11, 2013 photo shows
Matt Brown, co-owner of Denver's new "My 420 Tours," looking over a
sampling of marijuana edibles at a dispensary in Denver.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/pot-bellies-marijuana-edibles-flying-off-shelves-colorado/story?id=21560018
For Now, all we can really say is that since the Marijuana law has changed in the "Rocky Mountain State" is that some people are going "hog wild" for the Cannabis weed in as many forms as possible! Pot is still Illegal under Federal law, but Congress has yet to give their approval or disapproval on the issue in Colorado and Federal law enforcement has not acted. With the exception of a ban on using Federal water for the plants, Washington DC has been strangely silent on the subject.
We were able to collect many more articles to be used in conjunction with the four story's we are posting, but just the four seem to represent the current state of affairs in both Colorado and Washington State. This has been Felicity for the "Noodleman Group".
Washington state and Colorado have
become the first U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana use following
voter referendums in 2012, capitalizing on rapidly-changing public opinion
about the drug, which remains illegal under federal law.
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