The big news story this week comes from Oregon, which became the third state to allow legal recreational marijuana sales. Here is a rundown on that and other stories related to marijuana that made news this week.

Oregon Governor Signs Sweeping Marijuana Regulatory Bill

Gov. Kate Brown, making her first big decision on marijuana policy, has signed a sweeping cannabis regulation bill that also reduces penalties for several crimes still associated with the drug.

In signing House Bill 3400, the governor expressed concern about a provision in the bill making it easier for local governments to prohibit marijuana businesses if at least 55 percent of county voters had opposed the Measure 91 legalization initiative.

Read more at the Portland Oregonian.

Legal Marijuana: Where the 2016 Presidential Candidates Stand

Tuesday night, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky made history in Denver when he became the first presidential candidate to raise money from the legal cannabis industry. That got us thinking: Where do the other candidates stand on legal marijuana in Colorado?

For the moment, few of them have staked out hard and fast positions on the issue, but many have signaled opinions in comments and past legislative work. Recent candidate visits to the Western Conservative Summit in Denver also uncapped a few specific quotes about Colorado’s legal marijuana industry.

Read more at Colorado Public Radio.

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Denver Campaign Would Allow Marijuana Use in Bars

Beer? Wine? Or weed?

A campaign is underway to ask Denver voters about allowing marijuana consumption in bars and other places that only allow people over 21.

Activists who campaigned for recreational pot legalization in Colorado have launched a petition drive to allow what they call “limited social marijuana consumption” at bars.

The activists need about 5,000 signatures to get the question on November ballots.

Read more at ABC News.

Miami-Dade Marijuana Decriminalization Law Will Start in One Week

This week there was a very significant victory for marijuana reform in Florida. The Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted to decriminalize the personal possession of marijuana up to 20 grams. Right now in Miami-Dade County, and throughout Florida, personal possession of up to 20 grams is a crime, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Such a charge also comes with the ‘marijuana scarlet letter’ and labels anyone convicted as a criminal. Under Miami-Dade County’s new law, possession of up to 20 grams would be punishable by a $100 ticket, or two days of community service.

Read more at TheWeedBlog.

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ResponsibleOhio Turns in Signatures for Marijuana Ballot Measure

The campaign for marijuana legalization in Ohio gained a little more traction Tuesday as ResponsibleOhio turned in more than twice the number of petition signatures in order to get on the November ballot, Fox8 reports. …

Time.com reports that the measure faces competition at the polls. Ohio legislators also passed a ballot measure that “would block other measures that benefit select economic interest groups.” The marijuana initiative has a provision that would allow only 10 growers to control the whole market.

Read more at the Columbus Sun Times.

Marijuana Edibles Are a Gamble for Users

It’s easy to ingest cannabis irresponsibly. According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the labels on marijuana edibles are seldom trustworthy: Fewer than 1 in 5 edibles (17 percent) had accurate labels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Edibles are a popular option in states that have allowed marijuana to be legally sold, coming in the form of candy bars, cookies and even gummy bears. By December of 2014, the first year of legal recreational marijuana sales in Colorado, edibles made up 45 percent of that state’s marijuana market, which also includes marijuana sold for medical use. Nearly 5 million units of edible products were sold in Colorado last year.

Read more at FiveThirtyEight.com.

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Alaska’s Marijuana Board Holds First Meeting, Wants Changes to Laws

The newly appointed Marijuana Control Board’s first meeting ran nearly six meandering hours as its members settled into their new roles, but it produced a list of four proposed changes to Alaska’s marijuana laws.

The board, by unanimous vote, signed off on a wish list of statutory changes it wants the Alaska Legislature to change in last year’s ballot measure that legalized commercial marijuana.

Read more at the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

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