If Californians legalize marijuana under Proposition 64 in November, legal cannabis sales in the state likely will climb by $1.6 billion within the first year of implementation, according to a report released Tuesday. That would put the state's medical and recreational market on track to hit $6.5 billion in revenue by 2020 up from $2.8 billion in 2015, industry research firms Arcview Group and New Frontier state in the report. And the researchers argue it would serve as a "watershed moment" for the industry in and outside the United States. [continues 868 words]
As Secure As San Quentin Seems, Contraband Slips In SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - Condemned murderer Michael Jones was acting strangely and profusely sweating when guards escorted him in chains to the San Quentin medical unit that doubles as the psych ward on death row. "Doggone, I don't think you're ever going to see me again," he told a fellow inmate, Clifton Perry. Hours later, Jones was dead. Toxicology tests later found that he had toxic levels of methamphetamine in his blood. [continues 1388 words]
Many Glowing Remarks Come From the Same Ip Address, a Software Flaw Shows. Millions of consumers treat Weedmaps like the Yelp for pot, relying on the Irvine company as their definitive guide to marijuana dispensaries, varieties and doctors. But a key feature - user reviews of pot businesses - may be tainted by thousands of potentially fraudulent comments, a flaw in the company's software revealed. Reviews on the site are pseudonymous, and visitors reasonably expect that each is written by a unique customer. But data that Weedmaps mistakenly leaked suggests that a large proportion of glowing remarks come from individual users leaving multiple reviews of a single business. [continues 1094 words]
EDITOR: Now that we're embracing another one of the big vices, marijuana (gambling was the first big one), it's time to consider the next one. Perhaps we can embrace prostitution and the state gets a percentage? Nevada does that. California is missing out. But let's start thinking bigger. For a fee, young men could speed down the freeway at 100 mph without getting a ticket. For a fee, the cops will look the other way while you kill someone. Robbers would be allowed to steal if they give a cut to the police. [continues 120 words]
Humboldt County's proposed excise tax for medical marijuana farms has created a rift between local growers. Several farmers have come out against the tax model, calling it premature, hasty and partial to larger farms. Other cultivators say they are supportive of it and feel that the time is ripe to pay their fair share in society to bring in badly needed revenue for county schools, roads and mental health services among others. But the recently created Humboldt County Cannabis Chamber of Commerce argues the tax measure as written "misses the mark" on those funding goals. [continues 631 words]
In 1987, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America aired a public service announcement that went on to become a classic of modern pop culture. It likened an egg to "your brain" and a hot pan to "drugs." The egg was then fried in the pan, and the viewer was informed that "this is your brain on drugs." The ad concluded: "Any questions?" Presumably this was meant to be rhetorical, but now the ad is back in a revamped form, which includes children asking questions about drugs. "Mom, Dad, did you ever try drugs?" asks one child. [continues 687 words]
Federal officials remain in a haze when it comes to articulating a comprehensible policy on marijuana. Perhaps last week's ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals curtailing the feds from prosecuting legitimate growers and distributors will help clear the air. Half the nation's states, led by California, permit medicinal applications. Four states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. In November, California could become the fifth. Yet the federal government still sees marijuana as a dangerous drug and dispensary operators as prosecution targets. [continues 352 words]
The pot pushers have outdone themselves this time. Their new pot initiative covers everything from A to Z. They forgot one thing though. The A team. For all the money they spent, the Measure L team, which stands for loser by the way, will lose yet again. The A team will win each and every time. The loser team now wants to be commercial "medical" farmers. They want dispensaries, they want to transport pot to their "patients." They want to grow on up to 25 percent of parcel size, maximum 1 acre. They want to rezone to fit their needs. They want to be called farmers, and call their mind-altering drug a crop, and therefore agriculture. On 1 acre, 3,250 plants can be grown. Can you imagine? This will effect the whole of Butte County. We do not have enough water for our food crop farmers, property owners' wells are running dry. The abuses and negatives of pot are long and well known. [continues 97 words]
In November, California will consider whether to legalize recreational marijuana, and voters seem ready to approve the idea. But the question of legalization is out of date, and is derived from the mistaken idea that all pot is created equal and that most of it is fairly weak. A question we ought to ask ourselves is just as important if legalization is to succeed: What kind of marijuana should we legalize? The hyper-potent mutant strains that pass for marijuana today have little relation to naturally grown pot associated with Northern California hippie growers of the 1970s. Levels of THC tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical that creates the high in pot now reach 20 to 30 percent, which is seven to 15 times the potency of a few decades ago. [continues 736 words]
I often do not agree with Debra J. Saunders; however, I found her views regarding use of marijuana to be spoton. The fact that marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug, by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is outrageous. The penalties for its possession and or use are draconian. The federal government crackdown on medical marijuana is even more outrageous. This War on Drugs has been an absolute failure. Donald Beck, Novato [end]
EDITOR: Santa Rosa is a destination for tourism, dining, wine tasting, boutique breweries, cycling, and the list goes on. Job growth and increasing real estate values are all the more reason not to encourage an industry such as the production of cannabis to be a part of our local economy ("SR aims to be epicenter of legal pot industry," Aug. 14). It brings with it health and safety hazards and environmental concerns. The industry also encourages low-wage earners and has low-density employment. [continues 59 words]
In less than three months, Californians will vote on legalizing production, distribution and possession of recreational cannabis. Tax revenues are central to that debate, but the really important question is not so much what taxes would be best today but how those taxes should evolve over time. What many people don't realize is that even if voters reject Proposition 64, state and local officials will still need to deal with cannabis taxes because California's medical cannabis market is undergoing enormous reforms. The new regulatory regime is expected to start licensing for-profit firms to supply medical cannabis in 2018. [continues 719 words]
Californians first threatened to legalize recreational marijuana by ballot initiative in 1972. It failed 66% to 33%. We tried again in 2010. It was voted down 53% to 46%. Now we're back at it. This time, though Proposition 64 looks like a sure thing. Polls show support for legalization in general at 55%, and 60% among likely voters. What's so different this time around? Yes, demographics and attitudes have shifted here, like everywhere. But you also have to understand what went wrong back in 2010. At the time, California - the state that pioneered pot for the people - seemed poised to become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, but the cause was unexpectedly hurt by the state's convoluted history with medical marijuana. [continues 724 words]
Federal officials remain in a haze when it comes to articulating a comprehensible national policy on marijuana. Perhaps last week's ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals curtailing the feds from prosecuting legitimate growers and distributors will help clear the air. Half the nation's states, led by California, permit medicinal applications. Four states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. In November, California could become the fifth. Yet the federal government still sees marijuana as a dangerous drug and dispensary operators as prosecution targets. [continues 352 words]
During my long medical career, I campaigned against nicotine, excessive alcohol and drug use. I use none. Marijuana, however, must be legalized. Its effects are certainly less than alcohol. Medically, marijuana has shown good effect in cancer and AIDS therapy, PTSD help, chronic pain, seizures, migraines, gastrointestinal problems and other illness, all denied by the DEA and rarely allowed as evidence in courts. It has been used for thousands of years in many countries. It appears well tolerated with little evidence of intense addiction (unlike alcohol). [continues 92 words]
The active ingredient of marijuana, THC (Cannabis), has been available by prescription from medical doctors since 1985. The FDA has allowed a pill form to be prescribed for wasting related to AIDS and for terminal cancer patients. THC pills are regulated just like any other prescription. The FDA could extend coverage to other conditions only when scientific, evidence-based studies prove that they are effective. To this date, evidence is lacking. According to the highly respected, "Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, Aug. 1: "No adequate studies of cannabis (botanical marijuana) are available for any of these indications" (cancer pain, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and neuropathic pain). [continues 54 words]
Prohibition, by any meaningful measure, appears to have failed. Overcrowded prisons, over burdened court systems and a dramatic socio-economic impact on those prosecuted. Compared to the Netherlands, the U.S. exceeds in marijuana usage. Cartels are destroying our national forests to compete locally with California's Emerald Triangle. Local growers liken themselves to eco-conscious hippies, yet documented forest and watershed damage disproves this. Every county heavy in the pot trade voted no to legalization in 2010. Untold millions of untaxed dollars would shift from their pockets to the state coffers. California's economy is sixth globally, without reaping a single tax dollar from this enormous black-market trade. [continues 59 words]
All we need is to make it easier for young people to get pot. Since the proposed law draws the line at 21, what makes you think that young people 21 or older won't find an easy side job of selling to 18 to 20 years olds? They will say that if you can vote or be drafted at 18, why not smoke pot? Pot smoke might not be as bad as tobacco, but it surely can't be good for you. Any elected person who supports legalizing pot should not be in office. Vote no on pot and anyone who supports it. Richard A Nishkian Walnut Creek [end]
Are you kidding? Teens are too young to buy cigarettes and alcohol. Yet you see these young people smoking in public. How many times have we read about a fatal car accident that involved a drunk teenage driver? And now California wants to add a third dimension with recreational marijuana being legalized. Young people will buy this drug secondhand from some legal purchasers. Wake up and vote no. Mary McMahon Livermore [end]
Pot pushers have enough money to bankroll a serious campaign to make California the third state allowing legalized sale and recreational use of marijuana. Washington and Colorado are already experiencing the tragic results: increased car accidents due to intoxication and increased smoking by young people. If you think Big Tobacco companies are a scourge, why would you vote to create a new industry to promote another addictive, cancer causing product? Proposition 64 even allows TV advertising for marijuana sales promotion. Do you want your kids bombarded with advertising encouraging them to light up a joint? [continues 65 words]
Inside California
