Meanwhile, the state’s liquor control commission, which is the government agency that will regulate marijuana sales in Oregon, held a public hearing on Friday as it prepares to release draft rules later this month. Among the comments it received were bans on delivery service, limits on edibles, and strictures on labelling and packaging. A state legislative committee also commented on a proposal that would limit majority ownership of cannabis-related businesses to Oregon residents. The committee said that such a restriction would inhibit growth and investment in the state’s cannabis industry.
Here are other important news stories for the week.
Colorado Monthly Marijuana Sales Eclipse $100 Million Mark
Monthly marijuana sales in Colorado have soared past the $100 million mark for the first time, according to the August recreational and medical marijuana sales data from the state Department of Revenue released Friday.
Once again, marijuana sales surpassed the previous month’s numbers with recreational marijuana coming in at $59.2 million and medical marijuana tallying $41.4 million.
The combined $100.6 million in marijuana sales continues the month-to-month record-setting trend for 2015.
Read more at The Denver Post.
California Sets New Rules for Medical Pot Industry
Nearly two decades after Californians legalized marijuana for medical use and a year before they may approve it for recreational purposes, Gov. Jerry Brown has imposed statewide rules on the growth, transport and sale of the drug.
Signing a trio of related bills Friday, the governor created a regulatory system for medical cannabis that could be adapted for widespread use if voters make it legal by passing a 2016 ballot initiative.
Marijuana advocates have proposed at least five measures for the ballot, and several groups are working to find one they believe will most appeal to voters.
The governor worked out the new regulations with lawmakers after several years of failed attempts by the Legislature to adopt rules that address conflicting concerns of law enforcement and the billion-dollar marijuana industry.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
Battle is On for Control of Michigan’s Marijuana Market
Nearly eight years after Michigan voters overwhelmingly concluded that marijuana should be available to patients whose doctors prescribe it, state lawmakers are finally addressing some of the most egregious defects in Michigan’s Medical Marihuana Act.
A package of bills that won lopsided approval in the state House of Representatives last week would establish a rational (if unnecessarily complicated) regulatory scheme for licensing growers, processors, retailers and even those who transport marijuana from one facility to another. The House-approved plan also imposes a 3% tax on retailers’ gross income and authorizes doctors to prescribe non-smokable forms of the drug that the Michigan Supreme Court says remain prohibited under the 2008 law.
But the new regulations, which are likely to come to a vote in the state Senate later this fall, are more than a belated fix for medical marijuana. They also reflects Lansing’s grudging acknowledgment that Michigan will soon join the growing list of states whose voters have decriminalized the recreational use of marijuana, and must start preparing now to manage the profound disruptions legalized pot will create here.
Read more at the Detroit Free Press.
Is McDonald’s Opening Marijuana-Friendly Smoking Sections in Colorado?
You may have heard that 15 McDonald’s franchise locations in Colorado are getting into the full spirit of marijuana legalization by converting their McDonald’s Play Place areas into marijuana-friendly smoking areas.
The rumors are swirling around online and seem to be traced back to a site called Now8News.com, which claimed that each McDonald’s “facility will consist of 15 smoking pods in which customers can smoke a joint, bong, or pipe without being harassed or bothered by people who are offended by it.
Yes. If your spidey sense is tingling, it’s because this story is made up.
Alas, no McDonald’s locations in Colorado, or anywhere else for that matter, have indicated they plan to add marijuana-friendly sections to their establishments. Ho Hum.
Read more at Extract Sun Times.
Can We Please Stop Pretending Marijuana Is Harmless?
These days, it’s become fairly square to criticize marijuana and its rush toward legalization. Twenty-three states have condoned the drug in some form, with four permitting recreational use, and Massachusetts is set to vote on permitting it next year. The proposed federal CARERS Act of 2015 would let states legalize medical marijuana without federal interference and demote pot from a Schedule I drug — one with high abuse potential — to Schedule II. The path toward nationwide decriminalization is looking unobstructed.
But underscoring the incredible momentum to legalize marijuana is the misconception that the drug can’t hurt anybody. It can, especially young people.
Read more at the Boston Globe.
A First for the Marijuana Industry: A Product Liability Suit
For years, Brandan Flores has treated his chronic back pain with marijuana, a remedy he champions as a natural alternative to traditional medication.
But recently he heard rumblings that his drug of choice might be less wholesome than he had imagined.
“There was talk about Eagle 20,” he said, “and it concerned me right away.”
Eagle 20 is a fungicide used to kill mites, mildew and assorted pests that flock to plants like hops and grapes. It also contains a chemical called myclobutanil, which produces hydrogen cyanide gas when burned.
Stunned that he might be inhaling toxic fumes, Flores and fellow medicinal pot user Brandie Larrabee, a brain tumor patient, sued the grower this week, filing the first product liability lawsuit against the marijuana industry.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
ALSO READ: Marijuana Price Drops 4% to $1,816
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