All posts tagged: legalization process

Will Michigan be the Next State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana?

May 15, 2017 admin Feature, General, Legal, Legalization

Marijuana would be legalized for recreational uses and taxed at a rate of 16% under a petition which was turned in to the Secretary of State on Friday.

In the event that the state Board of Canvassers approves the petition, the group driving the initiative ? the Coalition to Regulate Marijuan Like Alcohol will have 180 days to gather 252,523 signatures from valid registered voters in Michigan. As a way to get a cushion to account for signatures which may be thrown out, the group is establishing a target of accumulating 350,000 signatures.

That?s a job which will require money, said Josh Hovey, a spokesman for the Coalition. The group hopes to raise between $8 million and $10 million as payment for people who will gather the signatures needed to get on the ballot and to wage a campaign to get the measure passed in November 2018.

?Prohibition is a failed big government program,? said former state Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who?s the political director of the coalition. ?We have 20,000 individuals detained every year in Michigan. And we?re now going to be in a position to provide our citizens an option to stop that.?

Arizona Marijuana Supporters Joined Million Marijuana March in Phoenix

May 15, 2017 admin General

The Safer Arizona Cannabis Legalization Political Action Committee joined groups around the country and marched as part of the Million Marijuana March last Saturday in Phoenix.

The Arizona group?s march is aiming to legalize, decriminalize and repeal prohibition of cannabis in Arizona for recreational use for those age 21 and older.

?In our perspective, it?s unfair, immoral and unethical that anybody goes to prison for a plant,? said Alex Gentry, chairman of the Safer Arizona Cannabis Legalization Political Action Committee.

Paperwork has been filed by the committee with the Arizona Secretary of State?s Office to start gathering signatures to get on the November 2018 ballot. It would have to accumulate 156,042 signatures from valid Arizona voters by July 5, 2018, to qualify.

It was proposed by the Safer Arizona Legalization Act to legalize ?the possession, consumption, cultivation and sales of cannabis for adults? at least 21 years old, decriminalize cannabis-related violations and replace prison sentences with fines and misdemeanors.

Alaska?s Legal Marijuana Reached a Pinnacle of Sales and Production

May 9, 2017 admin Alaska, Blog, Feature, General, Pot, Pricing, Recreational Marijuana

New figures from the Alaska Department of Revenue reveal Alaska?s legal marijuana industry has reached a pinnacle of sales and production.

Last March, 27 growers paid the state $220,229 in tax revenue. Alaskans purchased 225 pounds of weed or flower and 169 pounds of other plant parts commonly used as raw material for concentrates.

Every one of those numbers are the highest since the state?s first legal marijuana sales happened in the last days of October.

Tax figures trail real sales by one month; numbers for March are released at the end of April. April?s numbers will probably be released at the end of May.

$693,029 in marijuana tax revenue from cultivators has been collected by the state of Alaska. Flower is taxed at $50 per oz and other plant parts are taxed at $15 per oz.

The Alaska Department of Revenue has predicted the state will collect $2 million in the fiscal year that ends July 1. Sales would need to average $433,000 in April, May and June to reach that amount.

Florida Marijuana Supporters Wants A Special Session For Legal Marijuana

May 9, 2017 admin General, Legal, Legalization

Gov. Rick Scott is called upon by the supporters of legalized marijuana to order a special session after state lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have implemented a ballot measure approved by 71 percent of voters in November. In the constitutional amendment, it?s in the discretion of the Florida Department of Health to make rules that would let patients with ailments like HIV/AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis access to marijuana.

However, a few patient advocates and some marijuana activists are afraid that the DOH won?t make suitable rules.

?DOH has an obligation to implement this,? said Ben Pollara, among the writers of Amendment 2 and executive director of Florida for Care. ?That?s all the more reason that people really need implementing laws.?

Pollara joined a group of lawmakers and lobbyists who say that the Legislature has to play a part ? even if it?s in the following legislative session, which commences in January.

Sen. Rob Bradley, who had driven a medical marijuana bill, said he isn?t assured that the DOH rules will be in line with bills the Legislature put forward, which had a wide-range agreement on many problems, even though they couldn?t achieve a final deal.

Massachusetts Marijuana Regulatory Panel to be Patterned After the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission

May 9, 2017 admin Blog, General, Legal, Legalization

House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Monday proposed a fresh approach state officials could do regarding how to regulate the new legal marijuana industry in Massachusetts.

The ballot law that legalized adult use of marijuana and set up a regulatory framework for the market calls for a Cannabis Control Commission within Treasurer Deborah Goldberg?s office. The Legislature agreed to delay execution of the law and its new Marijuana Policy Committee has been considering alterations to it, including creating a more independent commission and possibly removing the panel from Treasurer Deborah Goldberg?s purview.

DeLeo said he believes the state ?can do a combination of both.?

?Our conversations today were attempting to get an amalgamation, in the event that you will, without coming to any final conclusion, to try to find out what can work in relation to marijuana,? DeLeo said.

Goldberg called the meeting ?a great first conversation? and said discussion covered ?a lot of the technical facets.?

?I think this was merely a first conversation, and there?s an acknowledgement that we will all be working collaboratively, and with the members of the committee since they have done a large amount of work to try and determine how to satisfy the needs of and the will of the people of Massachusetts and the way in which they voted,? Goldberg said.

Austin’s Potential to be the Capital for Marijuana Start-ups

May 9, 2017 admin Blog, General

Anybody who has stood a little too close to Willie?s tour bus or has drifted through the vibrant wonderland that is Eeyore?s Birthday Party understands that pot use is big business in Austin. The city?s enormous student population, sprawling music scene and Dazed & Confused vibe allow it to be fertile soil for herbal treatments.

Of the four principal marijuana bills filed at the statehouse this year, only one has gotten a favorable committee vote ? it?s yet to receive a full House vote. That proposed law would ease the law so no one with less than an ounce of grass would face arrest or jail time. Recreational marijuana like they have in Colorado appears to be a pipe dream in Texas.

Dallas city council members, in a way, have recently passed a law that decriminalizes possession. Those caught with less than four ounces get order to appear in court and a ticket instead of being booked and arrested in jail.

Texas lawmakers have brushed aside proposals to legalize marijuana fora long time. And, it was not until 2015 that the state passed a law allowing for a very limited use of cannabis oils for individuals who have epilepsy and suffer from seizures.

Ohio Doctors Already Giving Out Medical Marijuana Cards

May 9, 2017 admin Blog, Feature, General, Pot

Some doctors in Toledo are already giving patients cards enabling them to buy medical marijuana, and classes are popping up for Ohio physicians in this new legal field.

But proper rules to help physicians sail these uncharted waters are still months away. No physician has been certified in Ohio to recommend cannabis, and no continuing education seminar has been formally sanctioned.

Omni Medical Services, which began in Michigan and runs in Florida and Illinois, also provides doctors to clinics in Toledo, Lima. Qualifying patients walk away with ?affirmative defense? letters as well as a list of Michigan dispensaries where they may buy marijuana to bring back to Ohio, without hindrance by law enforcement.

It could be as late as September 8 before Ohio?s rules for physicians are finalized, and the program?s deadline to be completely functional isn?t until a year after that. Marijuana still cannot be lawfully sold or bought here.

The Ohio State Medical Association has advised members to wait until rules are finalized before stepping into this overcast legal territory.

Michigan?s New Centralized Medical Marijuana Agency

May 9, 2017 admin Blog, General, Legal

Michigan recently created the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to centralize all facets of medical marijuana regulation, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs reports.

The brand new agency, placed in LARA, combines the present supervision functions of the state?s patient and caregiver registry with the recently established statutory requirements for medical marijuana facility licensing.

?BMMR?s organizational structure places Michigan at the forefront of state medical marijuana regulation,? LARA Director Shelly Edgerton said. ?Many other states have various licenses and patient programs spread throughout different departments and bureaus.?

Centralized services will improve patient protections and make regulations more efficient for business customers.

BMMR is in the procedure for executing the regulatory framework made by legislation signed by Gov. Snyder in September 2016. Regulatory functions comprise the investigation, licensing and enforcement of medical marijuana growers, processors, secure transporters, provisioning centers and security compliance facilities.

The law requires the agency to make licensing programs accessible by December 15, 2017.

Arizona Moms Speak Up On Medical Marijuana?s Impact On Their Kids

May 9, 2017 admin Blog, General, Legal, Pot

A group of mothers who?ve been fighting the stigma, paving the way and educating themselves about the benefits of medical marijuana. They say they are doing it for their kids, all of whom are fighting chronic diseases.

Parisa Mansouri-Rad, one of the moms, says she began looking into the benefits of marijuana while striving to figure out methods to bring comfort to her 16-year old daughter, Yazy, who was born premature at 23 weeks. She?s blind, has cerebral palsy and scoliosis. A spinal fusion operation left her in a great deal of pain. Subsequently her lower intestine failed, resulting in a serious chronic illness, that also caused a great deal of pain and distress.

?We attempted a multitude of pharmaceuticals to figure out what would work, she was like a guinea rabbit for the doctors,? said Mansouri-Rad.

?Not only was she on pain medication that was really damaging to her body, but on other pharmaceuticals that we then had to treat with other pharmaceuticals due to the side effects,? she added.

Alaska Lawmakers Delay Proposal On Onsite Marijuana Use

May 9, 2017 admin Alaska, General, Legal, Legalization, Pot

Alaska marijuana regulators have delayed discussions about onsite marijuana consumption until next month.

The state?s Marijuana Control Board was expected to consider whether to move forward with proposed rules for letting retail cannabis customers to consume their purchases on site

It?s something that no other state that has legalized the recreational use of marijuana has permitted.

The board used its two day meeting to go through a backlog of permit applications for retail stores and manufacturing facilities.

?They really wanted to concentrate on approved applications at this meeting so people could begin with their businesses as we move into summer,? said Erika McConnell, director of the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Board. ?Onsite consumption was kind of the big time-consuming issue that they pushed until the end and then we ran out of time. ?

All posts tagged: legalization process

Will Michigan be the Next State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana?

Arizona Marijuana Supporters Joined Million Marijuana March in Phoenix

Alaska?s Legal Marijuana Reached a Pinnacle of Sales and Production

Florida Marijuana Supporters Wants A Special Session For Legal Marijuana

Massachusetts Marijuana Regulatory Panel to be Patterned After the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission

Austin’s Potential to be the Capital for Marijuana Start-ups

Ohio Doctors Already Giving Out Medical Marijuana Cards

Michigan?s New Centralized Medical Marijuana Agency

Arizona Moms Speak Up On Medical Marijuana?s Impact On Their Kids

Alaska Lawmakers Delay Proposal On Onsite Marijuana Use

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