The Tennessean: Marijuana market: High risk, high reward

Marijuana is illegal in Tennessee, but when and if the law changes, the business opportunities will be vast — along with the risks.

The marijuana market is spurring the creation of hundreds of new businesses in marijuana-friendly states, according to Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Those are the growers and sellers, but also the many ancillary businesses supporting the industry.

“There are quite a lot (of opportunities), given it’s a $3 billion industry and growing,” she said, speaking to a crowd of entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s NERVE conference in Nashville on Friday.

Bloomberg Politics: What the Marijuana Industry Could Offer Hillary Clinton

The Clinton campaign declined a donation from the National Cannabis Industry Association earlier this year, according to NCIA executive director Aaron Smith. And so at the industry’s annual trade show in June, it was Rand Paul, and not Clinton, who was invited to hold a fundraiser on the sidelines, where 40 industry professionals maxed out to his campaign.

“Obviously, she is not against raising cannabis industry money,” said Smith. “We have already seen some evolution on this issue, and I think we will see further evolution between now and the general election.You won’t find any other sector of the economy that is as excited about being taxed and regulated as we are.”

MEMBER ACTION ALERT: Marijuana Amendments in the House of Representatives This Week

As early as tomorrow, June 3, our allies in Congress are expected to introduce two amendments to the new Department of Justice spending bill that would prevent federal tax dollars from being spent on actions undermining state cannabis laws. One amendment deals with medical cannabis and another extends to adult use.

NCIA has been working hard on your behalf, along with other allied groups, to build support for these amendments. Now we need your help. Please call your member of Congress TODAY and ask that he or she support respect for state laws and fair treatment for the cannabis industry by voting YES on the Rohrabacher-Farr and the McClintock-Polis amendments to the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill.

Use this website to quickly access a link to your Congressional representative’s website and contact information. Feel free to use some of the talking points at the end of this post to help guide your call.

The House of Representatives will begin debating the CJS Appropriations bill (H.R. 2578), which sets next year’s funding levels for the Department of Justice (DOJ), today. During debate last year, the House made history by approving an amendment, 219-189, blocking the Department of Justice from using tax dollars to wage war on medical cannabis and hemp businesses where such operations are authorized by state law.

Our strong allies in Congress, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), are expected to introduce the same amendment this year, seeking to restrict DOJ funds from being used to interfere with state medical marijuana laws, including conducting raids and law enforcement actions against medical cannabis businesses acting in compliance with state law.

In addition, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) are expected to introduce a nearly identical amendment that applies to ALL cannabis businesses, including adult-use businesses, acting in compliance with state law.

These amendments could be debated on the House floor and voted upon on as early as Wednesday. Please call your member of Congress TODAY and tell him or her to vote YES on the Rohrabacher-Farr and the McClintock-Polis amendments to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill.

Thanks for taking action to keep ALL cannabis businesses safe and to continue the positive momentum in Congress. It is very important that Congress hears your voice!

Why we support the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment and the McClintock-Polis Amendment

As a medical [retail] marijuana business owner [patient] [caregiver] [supporter] in [city, state], I am calling to express my strong support for the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment and the McClintock-Polis amendment to the CJS appropriations bill.
It’s time for the federal government to respect the states that are trading criminal markets for regulated ones. And it’s time for them to treat state-sanctioned cannabis businesses the same as they would any other lawful business.
Polling consistently finds that three in four Americans – including a majority of Republicans – do not want the federal government enforcing federal marijuana laws against state-legal medical cannabis businesses.
39 States (and the District of Columbia) have passed laws that provide for legal access to some form of cannabis.

These amendments do not legalize marijuana but simply prevent federal tax dollars from being spent undermining state marijuana laws.

These amendments do NOT prevent enforcement against marijuana-related activity that is not in compliance with state laws.

Nominations Open for Annual NCIA Board Election

The National Cannabis Industry Association’s annual board election begins April 27. As the only national trade association for the cannabis industry, NCIA prides itself on the democratic system it employs to select the Board of Directors who are tasked with overseeing the organization’s budget and strategic plan as well as acting as ambassadors for the association. Board members also support NCIA and the NCIA-PAC through financial contributions and member recruitment.

Any current Sustaining NCIA member may run for a seat on the board with the nomination of any other member. Nominations for board candidates are being accepted through this online form.

NCIA’s Board of Directors is made up of 20 elected positions and the executive director, who reports to the entire board. Elected members serve two-year terms and elections are staggered with nine of the 20 seats open this year. A list of current board members is available online.

The online ballot will open to members from Monday, April 27 until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 16. NCIA utilizes a weighted voting system. Each member business can cast one vote. That vote is then weighted according to membership status. A Sponsoring member’s vote carries twice the weight of a basic member’s vote and a Sustaining member is weighted at five times that of a basic member.

If you are not yet a member of your industry’s trade association but want to participate in the election as either a voter or candidate, contact NCIA’s Bethany Moore at bethany@thecannabisindustry.org or (888) 683-5650, ext. 17. We are also happy to answer any questions you have about the election or upgrade your membership so your vote will carry more influence.

More information about the board election, including a voter guide with candidate information, will be made available to our membership by e-mail in the weeks ahead.

The Greener Way: Sustainability & Innovation at NCIA’s Cultivation Management Symposium

Last week NCIA was honored to bring together nearly 400 industry professionals and experts in the field of cannabis cultivation for our inaugural Cultivation Management Symposium. Held along the picturesque Seattle waterfront at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, the event featured in-depth workshops, educational sessions, intimate tours of commercial cannabis cultivation and retail facilities, and an expo hall with more than 30 member businesses showcasing their work, plus plenty of opportunities for attendees to network with the gathered crowd of industry leaders.

Day One started off with three hands-on workshops focusing on different aspects necessary to any successful cultivation operation. Kara Bradford of Viridian Staffing and Carole Richter of CRichter ~ HR Consulting hosted an intensive exploration of employment policies and human resource management skills in their “Employment Law 101” workshop. Kara and Kurt Badertscher of Otoké Horticulture, LLC discussed how to achieve financial success during a time of rapidly evolving laws in the “Cultivating Profits in a Regulated World” workshop. The final workshop brought together six champions of sustainability for the first time to introduce “Greening Corporate Cannabis: Sustainable Approaches to Commercial Cannabis Cultivation.” The session educated both investors and cultivators on the benefits and increased profits that come naturally from a reduced-carbon-footprint operation.

The day concluded with small group tours of local member businesses Solstice, Northwest Patience Resource Center (NWPRC) and New Leaf Enterprises, giving attendees a chance to see a commercial cannabis cultivation facility as well as responsible retail practices first-hand.

Day Two kicked off with keynote presentations from Jan Carlos Byl and Adam Dunn of MedCanna Consulting detailing how cultivation culture has evolved over the past few decades and how the coming end of prohibition will affect it further. Attendees then enjoyed an intimate fireside chat between Alex Cooley of Solstice and Jonathan Valdman of Forever Flowering Greenhouses on incorporating sustainability into commercial cannabis cultivation operations. Along with providing an overview of the Greening Corporate Cannabis campaign, they also stressed the importance of thinking beyond profits, incorporating practices which promote the health of people and the planet, and how small start ups can manage the costs of incorporating more sustainable procedures into their business.

Following lunch, attendees filtered into general sessions in two separate tracks. The first track, “The Science of Cultivation,” focused on the foundation every successful cultivator should have under his or her belt before diving into the field. The second, entitled “Specialized Cultivation Methods & Techniques,” delved deeper into more complex approaches to cultivation through soilless mediums and organic means, as well as delivering nutrients through unique methods.

Day Two culminated with two keynote presentations by Phillip Hague of MiNDFUL, granting attendees a start-to-finish look at “beyond organic” methods, and Jennifer Martin of Bulbulyan Consulting Group, discussing the nuances of clone propagation on a commercial scale. The evening concluded with a St. Patrick’s Day-themed networking reception sponsored by Solstice and partners and featuring musical stylings by Erothyme. Green was certainly the theme for the evening, as attendees enjoyed local, sustainably sourced refreshments of all varieties while enjoying soothing sounds and networking with key industry players.

Crowd Shot at CMS Our final day of programming opened with a keynote from Amy Poinsett of MJ Freeway, encouraging the adoption of technology to aid in every facet of cultivation-based work. Whether it be collecting and analyzing data to inform future decisions or utilizing tracking technology to track every gram, technology when used correctly can only be a benefit to your operation. Day Three also featured two more tracks of specialized sessions in order to offer attendees a well-rounded overview of topics. Track III, “The Art of Horticulture.” focused on specialized techniques for designing gardens in a warehouse setting, ensuring quality control throughout the packaging process, effectively utilizing the advantages of outdoor and greenhouse cultivation methods, and tips for personal cultivators who might not be producing on a large scale. Track IV, “Maximizing Operational Efficiency,” highlighted numerous ways to make operations more efficient through development of the workforce, properly securing facilities, proper disposal of waste, and getting up to speed on advancements in lighting and climate control technology.

Jay Czarkowski of Canna Advisors and Stephen Keen of Surna closed things out with a look at disruptive technologies and their impact on the cannabis industry. Their talk specifically highlighted recent advancements in lighting and greenhouse technology which will offer a competitive advantage to counter “Big Agriculture” at whatever point they begin to enter the cannabis space.

We here at NCIA are invigorated and grateful to everyone who made our first multi-day cultivation event a success. Throughout the event, cultivation experts from across the globe shared their knowledge and urged the necessity of living up to the ideals of those who made this industry possible in the first place. Prohibition created most of the pressing issues facing the cultivation field of our industry. As the walls of prohibition continue to crumble, we must let our unsustainable methods of cultivation fall by the wayside as well. We can set the example as a new industry that not only cares about profits, but also about the people involved and the planet which is affected by our work.

A huge thanks to all our attendees, speakers, and sponsors who contributed to making this event so powerful and valuable. We are excited to expand our programming further and bring this event to other states with an established industry next year, so stay tuned!

In Denver, legal marijuana spurs entrepreneurialism and gentrification | Soapbox Cincinnati

Known for having more marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks since 2011, Denver has been the subject of countless national headlines — and late-night punchlines — since it became the site of the world’s first legal sale of recreational marijuana on Jan. 1, 2014.

Hype aside, the economic upsides include significant job creation and increased tax revenues, to the tune of $44 million for the state of Colorado (on nearly $600 million in sales) and about $10 million more for Denver, a good bit of which will go into education. Legalization also lured a wave of entrepreneurs.

Pot industry plants seeds on Capitol Hill | USA Today

The legal weed industry is trying to grow something else these days: political influence.

The National Cannabis Industry Association has spent $60,000 lobbying Congress and federal regulators during the first nine months of this year — double its lobbying expenses for all of 2013. Its political action committee also shelled out campaign money to help politicians in tough midterm races, including Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, where voters in 2012 approved the recreational use of marijuana.

And in another sign of pot’s growing legitimacy, the group held its first business summit and trade show earlier this year in Denver. And every April, its members — ranging from growers to dispensary owners — descend on Washington to lobby lawmakers and their aides.

Shunned by banks, legitimate pot shops must deal in risky cash – LA Times

The suppliers arrive at one of the nation’s largest marijuana dispensaries carrying hundreds of pounds of cannabis in duffel bags, knapsacks and baby diaper totes. They leave with those same carriers stuffed with wads of cash.

Harborside Health collects the money from thousands of customers, spending $40 to $60 a pop for one-eighth of an ounce of pot. No credit cards or checks are accepted.

That’s not by choice. Though Harborside’s business is legal in California and a growing number of other states, most banks still won’t touch the marijuana industry, fearing the federal prohibition that remains in place.

Colorado’s Pot Industry Looks To Move Past Stereotypes | NPR

It’s been nearly a year since Colorado made recreational marijuana legal, and since then, pot has become a billion-dollar business in the state. And some growers have made it a mission to make it legitimate and mainstream.

“Change the face,” says pot entrepreneur Brooke Gehring. “But really, not to be the stereotype of what they think is stoner culture, but to realize they are true business people that are operating these companies.”

Gehring, smartly dressed in a business suit carrying an iPad and briefcase, runs two businesses, Patient’s Choice of Colorado and Live Green Cannabis, and they are about as transparent as they come.

Her marijuana is grown in a converted furniture warehouse in an industrial district in Denver. Tucked in with a Safeway distribution center and landscaping company, the growers here permeate the air. The smell of fresh marijuana is everywhere.

And you know you’ve gotten to Gehring’s grow house when you see a police station across the street.

Nevada reciprocity: Any MMJ card will soon buy you Vegas pot | The Cannabist

Marijuana activists are already planning the 2016 campaign to regulate and legalize the sale of recreational pot in Nevada, home to Las Vegas, one of the world’s biggest tourism destinations.

But some tourists won’t have to wait that long to legally buy weed in Las Vegas thanks to the most liberal reciprocity law in the U.S.

Medical marijuana cardholders throughout the U.S. will be able to purchase pot in Nevada starting in 2015. All they’ll have to do is show their medical marijuana license, show a government ID proving they’re 21 or older and sign an affidavit — and they’ll have access to that shop but no others for their stay in Nevada.

Debate swirls over budding marijuana business | Al Jazeera

For first time in history more than half of the country – 58 percent – now support marijuana’s legalisation, according to a recent Gallup poll. An issue once designated to the far left has gained bi-partisan support, as progressives and conservatives alike have found common cause.

“It’s a fascinating coalition,” said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, the only national trade group representing the marijuana industry. “You have traditional progressives that are wary of the effect of drug war policies, libertarians and conservatives that support free markets and states rights, and the state politicians that see the potential economic benefits of tax revenue and law enforcement savings,” West told Al Jazeera.

Marijuana Industry Sets Its Sights On The Mainstream | Huffington Post

Marijuana is growing up. As Colorado and Washington’s recreational marijuana industries blossom and new markets in Oregon and Alaska begin to take shape, so-called ganjapreneurs are looking for ways to take cannabis mainstream. Before long, they hope, marijuana products will be as widely available as alcohol — and just as socially acceptable.

“Ideally, I would like to see the 21-to-35 year-old taking a four-pack of these to a barbecue,” Joe Hodas, chief marketing director for the marijuana product manufacturer Dixie, said earlier this year of the company’s new watermelon cream-flavored “elixir,” Dixie One. The drink contains five milligrams of THC — just enough to produce a subtle buzz.

“This is a full experience in a bottle, much like beer,” Hodas said. “Sometimes they’ll want a beer, sometimes they’ll want two or three beers. This sort of affords you that calibration.”

Accountants exhale after IRS takes stand on pot | CNBC

Marijuana may be illegal on a federal level, but you’ve still got to pay your taxes. “Remember what got Al Capone,” said Jim Marty, a certified public accountant in Colorado.

On Thursday, an advisory council for the IRS recommended that tax professionals who help state-recognized, legal marijuana businesses “will not be considered unethical, will not be targeted for audit,” or otherwise penalized simply because pot is illegal under federal law.

2014 MJINews Power Activists | Marijuana Investor News

Progress is not given, it is earned. The 2014 MJINews Power Activists know this all too well. New marijuana capitalists not only need to make note of the activists fighting for drug law reform, but they need to actively support the reform movement because anti-marijuana activists are not backing down. If antiquated state and federal laws do not change, investors will have trouble putting their capital to work in legal marijuana ventures. The success of reform efforts will determine the strength of the legal marijuana industry. This list is alphabetical.

Marijuana Entrepreneurs Face Special Business Burdens | Alaska Public Media

With the passage of Prop. 2 this month, Alaska joins Colorado, Washington, Oregon and the District of Columbia in legalizing marijuana. While the state figures out how to regulate marijuana commerce, several federal laws sit as roadblocks to the business of cannabis.

Alaskans who hope to operate marijuana businesses will have to defy U.S. drug law, of course. But they’ll also face other federal rules they’re likely to find severely inconvenient and perhaps crippling to their enterprise.

One problem is a bit of tax code called 280E. This provision, enacted in the 1980s, prevents narco-traffickers from deducting business expenses, and the IRS enforces it against state-licensed pot businesses, too. Taylor West, deputy director of the Denver-based National Cannabis Industry Association, says it means marijuana businesses can’t deduct costs like rent and payroll when they file their tax returns.

Marijuana Market Will Benefit Consumers and Society | NYTimes.com

It seems that we as a society have basically concluded that marijuana use should be legal. The question now is the extent to which a commercial market will emerge to serve marijuana consumers who have a legal right to use it. While there are some people who would like to see marijuana possession made legal without a commercial market, that doesn’t seem to me to be a true long-term solution.

A regulated market provides great benefits to consumers. First and foremost, they are able to enter a safe and secure environment, where they can purchase products grown under controlled conditions with labels that convey THC content and other important information.

Marijuana profits up in smoke under IRS rules | USA Today

Voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., legalized recreational marijuana Tuesday.

But without the support of the U.S. Congress, any of the new, voter-approved pot shops may not be able to survive a drug war-era tax code that already threatens many businesses in Colorado and Washington state.

Under this tax code the federal government stands to make more money from the sale of marijuana than those legally selling it. And that could be enough to shut down many shops.

“It’s almost like they want us to fail,” said Mitch Woolhiser, while walking through his store called Northern Lights Cannabis Co. in Edgewater, Colo. “Everything I do is aimed at keeping us in business because if I don’t, then the feds win. And I’m not going to let them win.”

The Conservative Case for Pot Legalization in D.C. | The American Conservative

Republicans just won a national election campaigning against the idea that the federal government knows more about your health than you do. So will the party of federalism, local control and limited government overturn marijuana legalization in Washington, D.C.?

Granted, it wouldn’t be a case of faraway bureaucrats from the nation’s capital meddling in some Middle American town and the concept of “state’s rights” doesn’t apply here. This is the federal district in which Congress operates. Nevertheless, the legalization initiative passed with 69 percent of the vote. Reversing it would be a bit incongruous. It would also play into the stereotype that Republicans only care about local control for communities that look a certain way.

The federal government is taxing marijuana businesses to death | Vox

Voters in four states and Washington, DC, have approved marijuana legalization. But the drug remains illegal under federal law, creating all sorts of legal hurdles that state-legal marijuana businesses have to overcome.

One of those hurdles is federal taxes. Due to a section of the tax code known as 280E, many state-legal marijuana businesses have to pay taxes on their expenses — unlike other legal businesses, which are allowed to deduct them. For some businesses, this can drive their effective tax rates to 70 to 85 percent of their profits, which is enough to force many shops and growers out of business.

“It’s basically a dagger at the throat of the entire legal cannabis industry,” said Steve DeAngelo, co-founder of California-based medical marijuana dispensary Harborside Health Center.

Congress, step up on legalized marijuana | Denver Post editorial

With voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., passing measures to approve legalizing marijuana and polls reflecting a growing acceptance of the idea, Congress should begin to get the message.

The first test for the new Republican-controlled Congress will be whether it approves Washington, D.C.’s vote, which passed by a 2-to-1 margin and would allow residents and visitors to have up to 2 ounces of marijuana for personal use and home cultivation of up to three plants.

Federal lawmakers who have oversight of the District of Columbia shouldn’t deny the democratic process in, of all places, the nation’s capital.

Cannabis in Congress: Marijuana-friendly states teaming up | Associated Press

Members of Congress from states with legal pot urged their colleagues Thursday not to stand in the way of expanded legalization and to approve measures that would make it easier for marijuana businesses to operate.

Voters in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia approved ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana possession last week. Those places would join Colorado and Washington state, which already have legal pot.

Amid close midterm elections around the country, “there was one clear winner: ending our failed prohibition of marijuana and instead legalizing, regulating and taxing adult use,” Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon said at a news conference with three House colleagues.

With focus elsewhere, GOP Congress shows little interest in blocking pot legalization in D.C. | Washington Post

Looming over the District’s historic decision this month to legalize marijuana has been another mandate that voters delivered on Election Day: A Republican majority on Capitol Hill with the power to interfere with the measure when it goes to Congress for review.

But congressional Republicans appear to have other things on their minds.

“To be honest, that’s pretty far down my list of priorities,” said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham R-S.C., who was maneuvering late last week to force a vote on U.S.-Iran nuclear talks.

“I haven’t given it one thought,” said Sen. Rob Portman R-Ohio, who CNN reported Friday was mapping out a presidential run.

“Focused on other things,” added Sen. John McCain R-Ariz., who will lead Senate oversight of the country’s military campaigns in Iraq and Syria when Republicans regain control of the chamber in January for the first time in seven years.

Federalism requires allowing marijuana legalization in D.C. | Washington Examiner

Republicans campaigned during the midterm elections on a variety of issues, but every would-be senator and congressman also ran on the official party platform that includes a respect for federalism and individual liberty. When all the votes were counted, Republicans padded their lead in the House of Representatives and took control of the Senate for the first time since 2007.

On the same day, Washington, D.C., residents overwhelmingly voted to pass Initiative 71, which will legalize marijuana in the nation’s capital, assuming Congress doesn’t exercise its power to veto the legislation. One Republican congressman has already threatened to do so.

Instead of immediately betraying the values that led them to victory, Republicans should allow marijuana legalization to move forward in the District of Columbia, even if they wouldn’t support legalization in their home states.

The Nation Continues to Embrace Marijuana Legalization | Brookings Institution

Yesterday, recreational marijuana legalization initiatives passed in Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia. A constitutional amendment that would have legalized medical marijuana in Florida narrowly missed the 60% threshold needed for passage. Local initiatives across the United States from Colorado to Maine to California to Michigan saw mixed results as voters registered opinions on marijuana in different directions.

We offer four key takeaways from last night’s marijuana initiatives.

The Other Big Election 2014 Losers: Marijuana Prohibitionists | The Atlantic

President Obama lost his mandate to govern Tuesday, as his party ceded control of the Senate and additional seats in the House. For partisans who obsess over the ups and downs of every election cycle, that makes Democrats seem like the biggest losers in the midterms, though they could realistically regain the Senate in 2016.

Indisputably, the Democrats had a terrible night.

But the 2014 losers least likely to regain ground in future elections are marijuana prohibitionists. Oregon and Alaska just became the third and fourth states to legalize the drug. Washington, D.C., voted for legalization, as did the city of South Portland, Maine. The island territory of Guam chose to allow medicinal marijuana. And while Florida voters defeated a constitutional amendment legalizing medicinal weed, it required 60 percent support to pass and received roughly 58 percent of the vote. A healthy majority in the state want medical cannabis to be legal.

It’s official: Marijuana has gone mainstream | The Washington Post

Voters in Alaska, Oregon and the District approved marijuana legalization measures by comfortable margins on Tuesday. The votes signal that Americans are ready to expand upon the legalization experiments already ongoing in Colorado and Washington state, which opened up recreational marijuana markets this year. A medical marijuana amendment also received majority support in Florida, but it fell two percentage points short of the 60 percent supermajority required for passage.

The victories are significant because they come despite a midterm election holding huge structural advantages for Republicans. Support for marijuana reform is concentrated among the young, but 18 to 29-year-olds made up only 13 percent of the 2014 electorate, compared to 19 percent in 2012.

Marijuana legalization sweeps the 2014 midterm elections | Vox

On November 4, several states radically altered their approaches to a drug once known for Reefer Madness. In Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, DC, voters approved marijuana legalization measures. But in Florida, a medical marijuana amendment fell short of the 60 percent approval it needed to pass under state law. Here’s a breakdown of each state’s initiative, the latest results, and how the opposing campaigns pushed their messages to voters.

Washington, D.C. Votes To Legalize Recreational Marijuana | Huffington Post

In yet another blow to the United States’ decades-long war on drugs, the nation’s capital has legalized recreational marijuana, NPR and USA Today reported Tuesday night.

Washington, D.C., voters on Tuesday approved Initiative 71, which legalizes adult marijuana use, possession of up to two ounces and home cultivation of up to six marijuana plants for personal use. With 29 percent of votes in, 68 percent of District residents supported the measure, and 31 percent were opposed.

Under the measure, the sale of marijuana remains illegal, but the Council of the District of Columbia is considering a separate bill that would allow for the regulation and taxation of marijuana sales, similar to laws on the books in Colorado and Washington state.

And even though sales are not yet allowed, the passage of the law on the federal government’s home turf represents one of the largest symbolic shifts in U.S. marijuana policy since Colorado and Washington state legalized the drug two years ago.

Legalized pot is progress, and it works | Alaska Dispatch

Dear Alaska and Oregon,

I hear you’ve both got marijuana legalization initiatives on your November ballots. You’re thinking about taking the plunge. For those of you still undecided, let me offer some neighborly advice.

Two years ago I was in your shoes. I lived in Washington state. I had two teenage kids. I hadn’t smoked a joint since college. I was leaning toward a no vote on Initiative 502, our marijuana proposition. Pot? Meh. I didn’t like it, didn’t use it, didn’t want my kids to have easier access to it.

A few days before the election, my friend Linda Mangel, a civil rights lawyer, challenged my opinion. “Listen,” she said. “This is not about you.” Nobody cares whether you like pot or hate it, she said. “This is a race issue. It’s a civil rights issue. There are generations of black men in prison because they were caught with a substance that’s less harmful than alcohol. You’re a white guy so you don’t have to worry about it. Others do.”

How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world a better place | Washington Post

No pressure, Colorado and Washington, but the world is scrutinizing your every move.

That was the take-home message of an event today at the Brookings Institution, discussing the international impact of the move toward marijuana legalization at the state-level in the U.S. Laws passed in Colorado and Washington, with other states presumably to come, create a tension with the U.S. obligations toward three major international treaties governing drug control. Historically the U.S. has been a strong advocate of all three conventions, which “commit the United States to punish and even criminalize activity related to recreational marijuana,” according to Brookings’ Wells Bennet.

…

Regardless the eventual direction of marijuana legalization in the U.S., steps toward reform here are already prompting other countries to seek out more pragmatic solutions to their drug problems. In short, they’re making the world a better place.