While state and local governments in many parts of the U.S. are debating the virtues of legalizing the growth, possession, and consumption of cannabis, in Denver the debate has turned to using already-legal marijuana in public. A new chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) plan to revive an effort that permits marijuana use in bars and other places of business.
A group including the Marijuana Policy Project gave up in September on an effort to get the issue on the ballot, and has been discussing with Denver city officials and some hotel and industry groups ways to allow marijuana use in public. If no agreement is reached, the NORML chapter has said it would refile the ballot initiative this year.
One potential compromise is legalizing private clubs where members could use marijuana products, a suggestion that Denver’s mayor has said he is open to consider.
A Denver Marijuana Policy Project spokesman told the Denver Post:
We hope to reach consensus (with city officials) about a sensible path forward in the coming months, and at the same time we are also beginning to plan for a 2016 initiative should it be needed. We want to work with everyone we can to bring about the best possible law for Denver, so we hope to speak with the Denver NORML folks soon.
Here are other important news stories for the week.
15 Post-Prohibition Wants from Cannabis Consumers and Businesses
It should abundantly clear to all but the most cloistered politically that nearly 80 years of cannabis prohibition is ending with states (notably on the West coast, Colorado, and in New England) leading the way to national legalization.
In 2016, there will be more pro-cannabis law reform bills introduced into both federal and state legislatures than any previous years, and more states than at any previously time will have legalization ballot measures before apparently willing voters (California, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Maine; Gallup polling currently pegs nationwide support for cannabis legalization at 58 percent). In addition, the major political party candidates for the office of President of the United States have been, for the first time ever in American politics, regularly debating the topic of cannabis policy (i.e., Sen. Bernie Sanders favors legalization, and Gov. Chris Christie favors “stopping the states” pot party on Day One).
In the waning days of national cannabis prohibition, historically speaking, cannabis law reform organizations that have been at the vanguard of public advocacy to replace pot prohibition with tax-and-regulate policies, along with the millions of cannabis consumers these groups represent, have 15 areas of concern that will be pursued post prohibition.
Read more at Cannabis Business Executive.
Dabs, the Latest Pot Trend Police and Media Are Needlessly Freaking Out About
A highly potent form of marijuana has made its way to the East Coast, and law enforcement and “advocates” are very worried. In fact, they’re so worried that they are making false and baseless claims about its dangers.
The stuff is basically butane hash oil, which is now generically called “dabs.” It can come in the form of oils, “budder,” or “wax.” The stuff known as “shatter” has THC concentrated to extremely high levels, reportedly as high as 90%. The stoniest buds from pot plants, on the other hand, have a THC level of around 25% to 30%.
Shatter is the hash oil derivative in the form of marijuana wax, and is typically produced as a thin, hard, translucent sheet, which will shatter in pieces if dropped to the floor. It is generally vaped, rather than smoked.
Make no mistake—dabs is strong stuff. One toke of dabs contains about as much THC as a joint of pot, and even experienced pot smokers have been known to have unpleasant experiences …
Read more at Alternet.
A Seller of Marijuana-Related Domain Names Expects a Very Big Year
Drew Riegel makes a six-figure salary in the marijuana business without touching the plant, holding any physical inventory, or hiring any employees. Instead, he closely watches the development of the emerging industry, identifies the web domain names the players there might want, and buys them. Keeping about 1000 names at a time, he sells them to companies or individuals, through his web site MarijuanaNames.org. He keeps some names for himself and uses them to create web sites offering marijuana-related content that link to other web sites where customers can buy related products. Riegel receives a percentage of those sales revenues, a common internet practice called affiliate sales.Some of his current favorite holdings right now marijuanabook.com, marijuanagrowlight.com and marijuanalawsuit.com.
Website names are important because Google does not allow cannabis advertising and key word sales. Because of this restriction, “organic search results,” the web addresses that appear when a user searches the internet using Google, are extremely important to companies in cannabis-related businesses. “You can’t buy Google ads for rolling papers, pipes, vapes, hash oil equipment or most anything related to marijuana,” said Riegel, so websites that appear organically when users search words like “marijuana vapes” are important.
Read more at Forbes.
New Hampshire Seeks To Add PTSD to List of Medical Marijuana Ills
A bill introduced Thursday in the New Hampshire state assembly seeks to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of ailments eligible for medical marijuana treatment, which was legalized in 2013 but remains hard to obtain in the Granite state.
The proposed legislation comes as New Hampshire grapples with an opioid and heroin addiction and overdose crisis. Medical marijuana advocates argue that better access to cannabis would offer an alternative means of pain relief to people now using painkillers or heroin. In 2015 the state’s medical examiner attributed 385 deaths to opiates, almost double the 192 fatalities in 2013, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
Also, adding PTSD to the list of illnesses approved for cannabis treatment could provide another option to people who’ve found no relief with standard anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication, advocates say.
A University of New Hampshire poll last year found strong backing for the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana, with support levels growing each year.
Read more at AlJazeera America.
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