13 Reasons Marijuana Just Had The Best Year Ever

we are missing out big time by not jumping on this bandwagon... "THC" vacation location will quickly become non-viable when the rest of the states legalize...

this is shaping up to be another missed opportunity.

Woot! About time. Heh, I'm moving to Florida some time this year.

Florida Supreme Court OKs medical marijuana for ballot

I don't even smoke and I want to go to this:

The Denver County Fair Jumps On The Marijuana Bandwagon With New Pot-Themed Competitions

Couldn't you see something like that happening on STX?

And yeah noOne, there's a lot of initiatives here in FL to get medical marijuana legal - and then a grassroots to make it legal in general. Which is saying something when FL is moving forward with legalization and the VI isn't!

I don't even smoke and I want to go to this:

The Denver County Fair Jumps On The Marijuana Bandwagon With New Pot-Themed Competitions

Couldn't you see something like that happening on STX?

And yeah noOne, there's a lot of initiatives here in FL to get medical marijuana legal - and then a grassroots to make it legal in general. Which is saying something when FL is moving forward with legalization and the VI isn't!

I think it could happen, but "we" would have to make it happen.

currently there's only NORML working for it from what I know.

http://norml.org/news/2012/08/22/referendums-on-medical-marijuana-and-hemp-us-virgin-islands

USVI NORML
State Chapter
Phone: 360-556-6854
usvinorml@gmail.com
http://usvinorml.org

http://norml.org/chapters/vi

I'll shoot USVINORML@GMAIL.COM an email and see what options there are.

The bill to decriminalize it will be coming back up soon, Senator Nelson just submitted a new one which seeks to legalize it for medical and recreational purposes. Going to be interesting

The bill to decriminalize it will be coming back up soon, Senator Nelson just submitted a new one which seeks to legalize it for medical and recreational purposes. Going to be interesting

NORML must not be very active, i haven't gotten a response.

I'd love to support this, I see it as a very positive thing for this island, I smell the stuff everywhere I go, might as well bring it out of the black market and let some enterprising individuals open businesses and bring some wealth to the island.

It was pretty much shut down last hearing by the VIPD and the AG....they claimed that if it were decriminalized cartels would move in and setup shop here and we will be worse off. Positive was also trying to make less than an ounce a ticketable offense and most felt that was too much for anyone to be walking around with, it will be back..not sure if it's been scheduled yet or not. Then again he may just hold it and try to push the legalization bill instead. Give his office a call, he would be happy to hear from you.

Give his office a call, he would be happy to hear from you.

yeah but what does that really do? I don't feel that I'm a constituent that has much "say" as a "newbie" here & while I don't mind voicing my support I don't see how it's helpful, or that I have ideas that would be listened to (basically: I have trepidation from my dealings with the Alaska state legislator and my other political dealings in smaller "edge" communities like the VI)

the Police support prohibition probably at least in part because it's a great source of seized property and dept. income, I'm not sure why Dept of Ag would be against it, I'm down there quite a bit for the horse rescue, maybe I'll ask around and see what the deal is.

I really doubt the cartels are going to move in when legalization is spreading like wild fire in the US

5 next states to legalize Cannabis

Nevada’s marijuana advocates are hoping for full legalization next year

Florida to vote on legalizing medical marijuana

I sense an opportunity here that has a time line attached to it; that paired with an inevitability of the end of this senseless prohibition.

It will most likely be legalized in a lot of places soon, making no need for people to take a trip to the VI just to legally smoke pot - it would be like alcohol is now.

However I'm sure tourists would enjoy having it as part of the experience, and as an agricultural crop and a pop culture source of entertainment (e.g. "head shops" and tasting rooms and so on), I think it would be a positive addition. I just no longer see it as an overnight moneymaker for the VI - just another possible source of revenue that isn't being explored.

I also have thought through the whole issue of the cartels - I think the difference with the VI and stateside is that the VI actually has arable land to grow pot, and grow it well - in the states there's a lot of greenhouse growers and smaller production. Is it possible that a cartel may try to take over and control the land in the VI to control supply? Sure it's possible. I could see a mafia-esque type of situation arising pretty easily. But then I wonder how different is that from now? We already have lots of illegal drugs, how would legalizing marijuana change that existing black market structure? I don't think it really would be much different. And having it out in the open as an industry - like rum - would only improve things.

But the VI really should move quickly to capitalize on this before it becomes just another legal recreational drug like alcohol.

FYI I tried the link for usvinorml when you posted it yesterday and it's broken. They may no longer be organized in the VI.

I too have thought long and hard about the cartel thing, but in all reality and end to prohibition may end all of that...afterall alcohol prohibition caused a bad underworld, even gave birth to NASCAR

At least legalization will keep it out of the hands of kids, just like alcohol or tobacco. Most people don't want to risk giving something like alcohol to kids...

Justice Department Dramatically Expanding Clemency Use For Drug Offenders

After the novelty wares off, it will still be a good industry; however there are real, tangible benefits in early adoption.

Ganjapreneurs Flock to Colorado Following Marijuana Legalization
From "Cannabranders" to The Medicine Man, everyone’s rushing to cash in on the green in colorful Colorado.
“The future is so bright, I gotta wear shades,” croons Peter Williams, the 46-year-old chief of operations at a Denver dispensary that hopes to be known as the IKEA of Weed.

Spoken amidst blinding high-voltage light at The Medicine Man’s 20,000 square-foot grow facility, Williams’ reference is appropriate. Thousands of baby cannabis green plants are blooming—but the vision of what they’ll reap has already blossomed. Despite being one of the largest dispensaries in Colorado, Medicine Man will soon double in size. Call Williams—and his co-owner brother Andy— “ganjapreneurs.” But they’re not the only ones.

Just 27 days after Colorado opened the doors to recreational marijuana stores, gutsy weed pioneers are flooding the centennial state. From tour guides to chefs, glass blowers to club owners, they each tout different talents to hit the jackpot.

Bleh:

Obama Says Easing Marijuana Restrictions a Job for Congress

And you can do a whole lot more to facilitate that.

“But I do offer a cautionary note,” Obama told CNN. “…Those who think legalization is a panacea, I think they have to ask themselves some tough questions, too, because if we start having a situation where big corporations with a lot of resources and distribution and marketing arms are suddenly going out there peddling marijuana, then the levels of abuse that may take place are going to be higher.”

Moron, go look at marijuana in Holland, for example.

Penn (of Penn and Teller) rant about Obama's drug policies: (Not Safe For Work language, beware)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWOJGYZYpk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DwWWOJGYZYpk&app=desktop

Obama, Who Evidently Has Not Read the Controlled Substances Act, Denies That He Has the Power to Reclassify Marijuana

Alaska is poised to become the third state to legalize retail marijuana after pro-pot advocates this week cleared the signature hurdle to place an initiative on the August ballot.
The Committee to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska hit 31,593 valid signatures Tuesday, well above the 30,169 signatures required to place the measure before voters. The initiative is expected to appear on the Aug. 19 primary ballot once a final count is certified by the state.
Alaska follows in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington, where voters approved measures to regulate the sale of recreational marijuana for adults in November 2012. Colorado unveiled the nation’s first retail pot shops in Jan. 1, and Washington is expected to begin marijuana sales in June.
Dependably Republican Alaska would become the reddest state to approve retail marijuana, but Committee spokesman Taylor Bickford predicted the legalization effort would appeal to the electorate’s libertarian streak.
“Alaska voters have a large degree of respect for personal liberty and freedom, and that’s reflected in the poll numbers we’ve been seeing,” said Mr. Bickford.
A newly released survey shows the idea already has significant public support. A Public Policy Polling survey posted Wednesday found 55 percent of registered voters polled agree with legalizing pot for recreational purposes, with 39 percent opposed.
Opposing the measure is Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a year-old group founded by former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island Democrat, that favors removing criminal penalties and not incarcerating low-level users.
“We’ve been approached by Alaskan treatment and prevention providers to offer advice,” said SAM co-founder Kevin Sabet.
So far Alaska’s leading elected officials haven’t said much about the issue, although the Marijuana Policy Project is lobbying for the support for Rep. Don Young, Alaska Republican, who backed a House bill last year to protect marijuana businesses from federal prosecution as long as they comply with state law.
“It’s a states’ rights issue, period,” Mr. Young told the Alaska Dispatch.
The marijuana measure would appear on the primary ballot alongside a number of other high-profile contests. Republicans are waging a contested Senate primary to decide who will face vulnerable Democratic Sen. Mark Begich in November.
The ballot is also expected to include initiatives on repealing a tax cut for oil companies and boosting the minimum wage, which could increase voter turnout.
The Alaska initiative hews closely to the language in the Colorado and Washington measures, which legalize small amounts of marijuana for adults 21 and over. The sale and cultivation would be regulated by the state in a manner similar to that of liquor.
The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board would have regulatory oversight over recreational marijuana, but the state legislature would have the option of establishing and shifting authority to a Marijuana Control Board.
The measure also calls for a $50 per ounce excise tax for sales or transfers of marijuana from a cultivation facility or a store. Local governments could opt out by banning retail sales in their jurisdictions, although marijuana use and possession would still be legal.
The campaign doesn’t have an estimate yet on how much revenue would be generated under the initiative, but “what we do know is that a lot of jobs are going to be created, there will be a significant economic boost, and the state will have a new source of tax revenue,” said Mr. Bickfor
The biggest losers would be those now profiting from marijuana sales, he said, namely dope dealers and criminal syndicates.
“We expect to put a lot of drug dealers out of business by selling marijuana over the counter in a regulated market instead of on the black market,” said Mr. Bickford.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/6/alaska-primed-become-third-state-legalize-retail-m/

Don't forget Uruguay legalized marijuana too last year.

Mexico mulls relaxation of marijuana laws

Mexico mulls relaxation of marijuana laws

other nation states pattern their laws off of the US, either by coercion or just sycophancy; the US making "the right decision" is a global influence.

Prohibition never works, not on any topic; it seems we are beginning to learn this.

New findings confirm marijuana could be helpful for patients suffering from arthritis.

Published last month in the journal Rheumatology, the study reveals more evidence of how marijuana fights inflammation of the joints.

It seems to do this by activating pathways known as CB2 receptors, which are present at abnormally high levels in the joint tissues of arthritis patients.

http://www.leafscience.com/2014/02/11/study-confirms-marijuana-can-help-arthritis/