Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2014
Source: North Coast Journal (Arcata, CA)
Copyright: 2014 North Coast Journal
Contact:  http://www.northcoastjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2833
Author: Grant Scott-Goforth

CANNABIS COMMERCIALIZATION

"Do I hear 2,000?" America's first pot auction netted the Washington 
proprietor of Fireweed Farms about $600,000 on Saturday, Nov. 15.

According to the Tri-City Herald, Randy Williams sold about 300 
pounds of bud "so he could spend time with his grandson instead of 
packaging marijuana" all winter long.

A state Liquor Control Board representative on scene told the Herald 
it was a "well-organized event."

Around 100 people reportedly attended the auction, forcing Williams 
to rent a parking lot to accommodate the bidders. If California 
legalizes marijuana in 2016, local auction caller extraordinaire and 
Supervisor Rex Bohn may have to update his cattle rattle. "Going, 
going, ganja," anyone?

Secondhand marijuana smoke could be as dangerous as secondhand 
tobacco smoke, according to a new study released by the University of 
California, San Francisco.

Head cardiology researcher Matthew Springer told FoxNews.com that 
tests performed on rats indicate pot smoke could harm blood vessel 
functions in humans, similarly to the way tobacco smoke does. But it 
wasn't the THC in the smoke affecting blood flow, meaning eating pot 
food wouldn't carry the same risks.

In perhaps a testament to the inspiring power of marijuana, the Fox 
reporter wrote, "Springer said he thought to explore the potential 
effects of secondhand marijuana smoke a few years ago while attending 
a Paul McCartney concert."

Nevada is hoping to cash in on pot tourism by allowing card-carrying 
medical marijuana patients from any U.S. state to purchase weed in 
Silver State dispensaries.

The move is clearly a gambit to encourage pot purchases in Las Vegas, 
which sees 40 million visitors a year. Rhode Island and Maine offer 
similar reciprocity, according to USA Today, but Vegas is the first 
mega-destination to lure high rollers. No need to sweat through 
airport security for your next weekend trip to Sin City.

Stoners in rural Alaska, meanwhile, are still uncertain how they'll 
be able to get newly legal recreational pot. Many remote Alaskan 
communities rely on airplanes and boat travel to connect to 
population centers, where goods and services are centralized 
(including, presumably, weed).

But federal laws still govern much of that travel, and the Alaska 
Dispatch News reports that many people are unsure just what policies 
will be in place for marijuana transport by air and sea.

The TSA currently reports contraband to local law enforcement, who 
determine if there's a crime involved, according to the Dispatch. And 
federal prosecutors have indicated they won't seek charges on minor 
marijuana offenses in states where it's been legalized. But the Coast 
Guard has said it will continue to enforce marijuana laws on Alaska's 
marine highways.

There's a good debate over on the New York Times opinion pages about 
the economy of legal marijuana. "Is 'Big Marijuana' Inevitable?" the 
editors ask - and it's an important question.

One author wants to see cannabis reform continue in the "grow and 
give" model (which Washington, D.C. just approved, making it legal to 
grow and possess marijuana, but not sell it). Letting it into the 
hands of profiteers would increase drug abuse and illegal exports, he argues.

Others say that only with commercialization comes the consumer 
safety, protections and convenience of a modern marijuana market, and 
that governments can use income from regulated marijuana to 
specifically redress decades of wrongs from the war on drugs, funding 
programs to help communities hit hardest.

Another says that big tobacco's deceitful marketing - finally 
reformed in recent years - is poised to re-emerge with big marijuana. 
"A drug that once epitomized the counterculture now seems to be 
making its way into Wall Street boardrooms," he writes. "And that 
cannot be good for any of us."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom