Pubdate: Tue, 14 Oct 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Joni Balter, Bloomberg News
Note: Joni Balter is a longtime Seattle columnist and writer who 
contributes to local NPR and PBS affiliates.

LESSONS ON LEGALIZATION FROM COLO., WASH.

Colorado and Washington state knew they were jumping into the unknown 
when voters legalized recreational marijuana two years ago. They just 
didn't know the half of it. But thanks to what we've learned from the 
two pioneering states, it is now easier for those that follow to 
separate hype from hemp.

Voters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., where legalization 
plans are on the November ballot, should be skeptical, for example, 
of promises about the revenue the government will get from pot taxes. 
Residents might also ask for more specifics on how edibles will be regulated.

But the cautionary lessons from Colorado and Washington should not 
discourage other places from taking the legalization plunge. Instead, 
this experience should help others design a system that works better, 
a necessary step as the movement spreads. Here are some missteps to 
try to avoid.

First, lower expectations for tax revenue and consider more carefully 
how competition from medical marijuana might affect recreational sales.

Another hitch has been when localities want to opt out of allowing 
retail sales, further complicating calculations on market share. The 
Colorado law allows cities and counties to ban retail outlets that 
sell marijuana. The Washington measure didn't specifically address 
this question and is now facing a lawsuit.

The No. 1 sleeper issue has turned out to be how to regulate edibles. 
This caught most everyone by surprise. Both Colorado and Washington 
enacted additional rules for these products after two edible-related 
deaths and an increase in ER visits in Colorado.

Then there is the matter of accommodating marijuana tourists. 
Travelers from all over the world have descended on Colorado and 
Washington and bought marijuana. But a successful pot tourism 
industry requires suitable public spaces to ingest it, and neither 
Washington nor Colorado allows smoking in public, in parks, on 
sidewalks and so on.

Both states should borrow Amsterdam's "coffee shop" model so adults 
can purchase small quantities of marijuana for on-site consumption.

Every state that hops on the legalization train will have its own 
debates on all these questions and many others. But if you accept the 
evidence that alcohol is worse than marijuana or that the drug war 
didn't work or simply that legalization is inevitable, it doesn't 
take much to see the trend. The public is clamoring for a more 
up-to-date and realistic approach to recreational pot, and government 
is figuring it out.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom