Marijuana News Roundup: Support Fading in Massachusetts for Recreational Pot Measure

With the number of days until the polls open now into the single digits, we want to keep an eye on the latest polling in the nine states where either recreational or medical marijuana measures are on the ballot. Even at this late date, there is plenty happening.

For instance, in Arkansas, where two measures (Issue 6 and Issue 7) were on the ballot, the state Supreme Court ruled last week that Issue 7 did not have enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot. Issue 6, which amends the state’s constitution to make medical marijuana legal, does not permit the state legislature to make medical cannabis illegal again without voter approval. Issue 7 would have allowed such legislative action with a two-thirds majority.

New polling in California has increased the proportion of voters who say they support Prop 64. In Massachusetts the proportion of supporters has dropped from 55% to below 50%. In Nevada, more undecided voters moved into the “opposed” column, and there were no new polls in Arizona or Maine.

Here’s a list of the latest polling numbers in the five states where voters will decide whether or not to legalize marijuana for recreational use, based on report from Ballotpedia.

• Arizona (Proposition 205): 50.4% in favor; 41.6% opposed; 8% undecided
• California (Proposition 64): 55% in favor; 38% opposed; 6% undecided
• Maine (Question 1): 53% in favor; 38% opposed; 10% undecided
• Massachusetts (Question 4): 48.8% in favor; 42.4% opposed; 7.8% undecided
• Nevada (Question 2): 47% in favor; 43% opposed; 11% undecided

In states considering medical marijuana measures, a majority of Arkansas voters (58%) said they supported medical marijuana in the state, less than half support Issue 6. Half oppose the measure and 5% are undecided.

In Florida, there was a slight dip in support last week for Amendment 2 making medical marijuana legal in the state. Because this is a constitutional amendment, 60% of voters must approve the measure.

In Montana, medical marijuana was legalized in 2011, but the state legislature passed strict dispensary laws that were upheld by the state supreme court earlier this year and have effectively put dispensaries out of business. There has been no new polling in Montana or North Dakota in the past week.

• Arkansas (Issue 6): 45% in favor; 50% opposed; 5% undecided
• Arkansas (Issue 7): withdrawn
• Florida (Amendment 2): 74% in favor; 22% opposed; 4% undecided
• Montana (I-182): 44% in favor; 51% oppose; 5% undecided
• North Dakota (Measure 5): no polling

Archdiocese Gives $850,000 to Fight Marijuana Bid
The Boston Archdiocese is pouring $850,000 into a last-minute effort to defeat a state ballot measure to legalize marijuana, calling increased drug use a threat to the Catholic Church’s health and social-service programs.

The church’s contribution represents about a 50 percent increase over what the antimarijuana Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts has collected so far. The total, however, is still less than half of what has been raised by the referendum’s proponents.

The church’s donation will likely help fund an existing advertising campaign. Archdiocesan officials have also sent materials to parishes and schools arguing against the ballot question.

“It reflects the fact that the archdiocese holds the matter among its highest priorities,” archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon said of the donation. “It’s a recognition that, if passed, the law would have significantly detrimental impacts on our parishes, our ministries.”

Read more at the Boston Globe.

11 Odd Facts about Marijuana
Marijuana, the most commonly used illegal drug in America, is going mainstream. Now legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, pot seems poised for wider use, too: 21 states allow the possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And legalization campaigns are underway in Oregon, California and even Alaska.

But just how much do you know about the wacky weed and its odd effects? How exactly does marijuana provide its high, and who discovered the effects of smoking the plant in the first place? Read on for some of the stranger facts about cannabis consumption.

Read more at LiveScience (slide show).

More Pets Are Getting High as Marijuana Legalization Spreads
Star, a petite 6-year-old sheltie who competes in dog agility shows, almost missed a contest this month. She had spent the previous night at the vet, totally stoned on pot.

Her drug trip was an accident. Star lives in Oregon, where recreational use of marijuana became legal last year. Her owner’s husband had left some loose-leaf pot on the dining room table, and Star got curious. That was days after her sister, Kicker, gobbled up a pot-infused hard candy she found in the car, leaving her wobbling and incontinent. A veterinarian gave both dogs activated charcoal to absorb the toxin, which contributed to nearly $3,000 in medical bills and caused Star to poop in the ring during her competition.

“It was a bad week,” said the dogs’ owner, Susan Fry, of South Lebanon, Ore.

But it was probably a fairly routine week for the clinic that treated the dogs. As more jurisdictions legalize marijuana, veterinarians across the country say they are seeing a sharp increase in cases of pets accidentally getting high. Tasty “edibles” such as muffins and cookies that people consume for a buzz are also appealing to animals, who can’t read warning labels, and, in the case of dogs, rarely stop at just one pot brownie.

Read more at The Sacramento Bee.

Start-up Creates ‘The Keurig of Marijuana’
This tech start-up wants to do for legal marijuana what Keurig did for coffee.

Massachusetts-based CannaKorp has developed what it claims to be the world’s first single-use pod-based cannabis vaporizer system — the CannaCloud — which some users have dubbed “the Keurig of marijuana.”

“Our company’s goal is to simplify and improve the cannabis consumer experience,” co-founder and CEO James Winokur told CNBC.

To work the device, a user first inserts a CannaCloud Pod (similar to a K-Cup, but filled with marijuana) into the bottom of a hollow canister. Next, the canister is placed into the CannaCloud device to start the vaporization. (The canister fills with vapor in about a minute.) The user then removes the canister, and inhales the vapor through the mouthpiece. As soon as the user stops inhaling, the one-way mouthpiece closes off the remaining vapor.

Read more at CNBC.