Economic Considerations: Colorado exceeds 5 million in recreational cannabis sales in one week

Colorado plans media blitz warning against driving stoned

Jamaica is considering legalizing cannabis. At 4000square miles and a ready agricultural infrastructure, some already dedicated to current cultivation, we will probably be exporting it from Jamaica once the Feds legalize it inevitably.
Are we going to be late to the game?
Jamaica's angle?
1. Increase tourism. Marijuana tourism. Compete with the looming Cuba by any means necessary.
Colorado is way colder than Jamaica.
2. End Jim Crow mass incarceration of black men. Are you listening Judy Buckley and Sanes or are you busy thinking up new things to criminalize or sentencing to increase?
3. Increase revenue directly.

Please call your senators. Ask them to support legalization. Now.

If you look at Colorado and Wash. State , they both are going to take a hard stance about DWS and they should... Colorado is also looking at using $80,000,000 of the first year's taxes for public health. About $40 mil for drug rehab and rehabilition and the other half is going towards preventing underage usage.

This is a issue that is divisive and has been for years. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on the issue, but I would say that there is a growing body of evidence that cannabis is not the "demon weed" that it has been made out to be for so long..... Our last three presidents have admitted to cannabis consumption in their lives. Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN has been quite vocal that he thinks that his long standing stance on marijuana has been flawed and that he is in favor of medicinal usage. To put it a different prospective, Marijuana is classified as a more dangerous substance by the DEA than the following substances :

Cocaine
Methamphetamine
Oxycontin
Methadone
Vicodin
Tylenol with codine
Xanex
Ambien

This is not a realistic view in my opinion of cannabis but sadly the DEA refuses to budge on this issue.......

Jamaica is considering legalizing cannabis. At 4000square miles and a ready agricultural infrastructure, some already dedicated to current cultivation, we will probably be exporting it from Jamaica once the Feds legalize it inevitably.
Are we going to be late to the game?
Jamaica's angle?
1. Increase tourism. Marijuana tourism. Compete with the looming Cuba by any means necessary.
Colorado is way colder than Jamaica.
2. End Jim Crow mass incarceration of black men. Are you listening Judy Buckley and Sanes or are you busy thinking up new things to criminalize or sentencing to increase?
3. Increase revenue directly.

Please call your senators. Ask them to support legalization. Now.

If you could make a post without mentioning race or attacking Judy Buckley that'd be great.

Jamaica is considering legalizing cannabis. At 4000square miles and a ready agricultural infrastructure, some already dedicated to current cultivation, we will probably be exporting it from Jamaica once the Feds legalize it inevitably.
Are we going to be late to the game?
Jamaica's angle?
1. Increase tourism. Marijuana tourism. Compete with the looming Cuba by any means necessary.
Colorado is way colder than Jamaica.
2. End Jim Crow mass incarceration of black men. Are you listening Judy Buckley and Sanes or are you busy thinking up new things to criminalize or sentencing to increase?
3. Increase revenue directly.

Please call your senators. Ask them to support legalization. Now.

If you could make a post without mentioning race or attacking Judy Buckley that'd be great.

Seems to me that MissJustice was complementing Judy Buckley and Sanes.

Re-read. Her posts on the sex offender thread are responsible for the keyboard shaped marks on my forehead.

Re-read. Her posts on the sex offender thread are responsible for the keyboard shaped marks on my forehead.

2. End Jim Crow mass incarceration of black men. Are you listening Judy Buckley and Sanes or are you busy thinking up new things to criminalize or sentencing to increase?
3. Increase revenue directly.

Please call your senators. Ask them to support legalization. Now.

If you could make a post without mentioning race or attacking Judy Buckley that'd be great.

Seems to me that MissJustice was complementing Judy Buckley and Sanes.

that was a very poor attempt at sarcasm. sorry..... 😉

D.C. Council votes to eliminate jail time for marijuana possession
Possessing marijuana and smoking it in the privacy of one’s home would no longer be criminal offenses in the nation’s capital under a bill passed Tuesday by the D.C. Council, putting the District at the forefront of a simmering national debate over decriminalization.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-council-eliminates-jail-time-for-marijuana-possession-stepping-to-national-forefront/2014/03/04/df6fd98c-a32b-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html

The local 7-11 and Quick Check are reporting record sales also.

Legalization of Pot Means Trouble for Private Prisons

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: 'I am doubling down' on medical marijuana

Since our documentary "Weed" aired in August, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.

I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy. I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I've seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.

I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana.

I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.

.....

This past year, President Barack Obama told the New Yorker magazine, "I don't think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol." And yet, as alcohol remains available to any adult, the president has not moved to remove marijuana from the list of the most tightly controlled substances in the country.

And this is what we are up against:

DEA Official: 'Every Single Parent' Opposes Marijuana Legalization

"We also know that marijuana destroys lives and families, undermines our economy, and insults our common values. There are no sound scientific, economic or social reasons to change our nation's marijuana policies," Thomas M. Harrigan, the agency's deputy administrator, told the House Oversight Committee in prepared testimony on Tuesday. "We must send a clear message to the American people and ensure our public safety by not abandoning science and fact in favor of public opinion."

Later, pressed by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Harrigan said that "every single parent out there" opposed marijuana legalization.

14.9 million in (combined medical/recreational) sales during the first month, that's a very significant economic factor

During the first month of recreational marijuana sales, Colorado's licensed dispensaries generated a total of more than $14 million, putting about $2 million of tax revenue into state coffers in the process.

The state Department of Revenue released the figures on Monday, which showed how much Colorado has taken in from both medical and recreational marijuana taxes and fees.

The medical marijuana sales for January generated an additional $900,000 in sales tax, for a total tax revenue of $2.9 million for both sides of the state's marijuana dispensary market. Including fees, the figure jumps to $3.5 million

.......

Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) recently announced that he expects that the combined sales from both legal medical and recreational marijuana in the state will reach nearly $1 billion in the next fiscal year

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue_n_4936223.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

With elections coming up soon, what are the "issues" being discussed, is this even on the radar?

A few months ago, Senator Nelson came out with proposed legislation to decriminalize or legalize it, can't remember which one. Senator Sanes and Senator Frisk-Buckley vehemently opposed it, talking about the destruction of society. If you favor some post Neanderthal consideration of marijuana, please consider calling their offices. 3407732424.
Meanwhile, CARICOM is moving forward towards legalization. Which means that we will be the only English speaking jurisdictions in the Caribbean along with Tortola where a tourist who prefers the tropics instead of Denver for smoke, cannot light up. And the only jurisdictions where an 18 year old can become a felon for life for having a joint on the weekend but he can get drunk or use pain klilers or nicotine.

Again I say, we are going to be so late to the party, that we will be importing weed from the ski slopes of Colorado. Once the Feds eventually make it legal, I hope they also expunge the records of anyone arrested for possession.

A few months ago, Senator Nelson came out with proposed legislation to decriminalize or legalize it, can't remember which one. Senator Sanes and Senator Frisk-Buckley vehemently opposed it, talking about the destruction of society. If you favor some post Neanderthal consideration of marijuana, please consider calling their offices.

There are 3 bills that Nelson has ownership of..... Industrial hemp which passed but needs to be acted on, medicinal which needs to be voted on again lost passage by one vote, and the decrim/legalization which is being talked about.

Senators Sanes and Buckley weren't as much " vehemently opposed " as they were having some concerns about the wording on the proposed bill as it was originally presented before the committee. USVI NORML also testified before the committee and felt that there were areas in the bill that needed to be reworked because of loopholes in the wording. The bill is still alive and being reworded to address concerns that were brought up and is scheduled to be discussed again in the near future. That being said if you are supportative of the idea please contact your senator and let your opinion be known. If you goto www.legvi.org and click on the link for senators, you can find contact information for all senators including email addresses. USVI NORML is also actively working with the senators and the public to move Cannabis issues forward in the USVI. To get more information about USVI NORML efforts within the territory, or to find out how you could help please send a email to usvinorml@gmail.com or call 340-514-7712

Pro-pot Republicans meet this weekend in Houston

HOUSTON -- A Republican group will hold its inaugural meeting Saturday in Houston as it tries to convince GOP leaders that the legalization of marijuana is a conservative stance, not just a left-wing liberal idea.

"You have the right to control yourself. And to me that's what Republicans stand for,” said Ann Lee, founder of RAMP – Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition. "The drug war goes against every principle we have of smaller government, fiscal responsibility and less intrusion in your private life."

5 Ways the War on Drugs Makes Us Less Safe

Gen. John Kelly told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he is able to get about 20 percent of the drugs leaving Colombia for the U.S., but the rest gets through.

Think about that.

Though the U.S. spends billions of dollars each year fighting the War on Drugs, and despite having done so for many years, 80 percent of the drugs from one of the countries we've focused on the most still gets through all of our interdiction efforts.

Is the answer to throw more money at the prohibitionist strategy?

Marijuana oil bill passes Ky. Senate

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Lawmakers appear ready to make marijuana oil legal in Kentucky, after the state Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would make the controversial extract available to treat children with uncontrollable seizures.

House leaders say they expect the measure to pass that chamber as well.

The bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Julie Denton, would allow the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville medical schools to conduct research and allow anyone enrolled in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration trial to be treated with marijuana oil.

"This'll help us tremendously," said Laureen Vassil of Lexington, who considered going to Colorado — where the oil is legal — to seek treatment for daughter Allison, 15, who has had uncontrollable seizures for 10 years.

STORY: Parents move to Colorado for 'miracle' pot for children

Denton said the bill is aimed at assisting such children, "who sometimes have hundreds of seizures a day, and these children are going to be doomed to a lifetime of cognitive disability or even death."

Denton said the oil, administered orally under the tongue, has been shown to provide relief to children in severe cases. The oil contains low amounts of THC, the perception-altering ingredient in marijuana.

The bill appears to have a good chance of passing the House, where Democratic Speaker Greg Stumbo said he hasn't heard of any opposition.

"It likely will get a lot of support," he said. "We hear the stories from the families."

The measure also has the support of Gov. Steve Beshear and the Kentucky State Police.

Debbie McGrath, who is executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana, said about 30,000 children in the state have epilepsy and about a third have the severe seizures targeted by the bill.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/12/marijuana-oil-bill-passes-ky-senate/6353389/

Amazing how many beneficial things are coming out from this movement.

Marijuana May Ease Some Symptoms of MS, New Guidelines Find

Sativex, a drug derived from cannabis used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. It;'s not available in the United States but new American Academy of Neurology guidelines say there is evidence it can help.

i am all for medical mj, but not really sure where i stand on its use for getting high. i do not think it is danger free as others would have me believe. just a mixed bag for me.

now the people who get convicted of doing the crime know they are doing an illegal thing, so why should we have mercy? MissJustice? they knew before they lit that joint that it was illegal and they still lit up.

I have very little to say on this issue. Well, what I mean is that I have an old persons viewpoint.. We have three pages of posts dating back to early January of this year...dominated by just a few posters.

Bottom line is who gives a flying f##k.. The pro marijuana group scares me as much as the Christian evangelicals...Too many true believers...

I don't really care if a few old farts want to sit around and smoke some dope...(Does that comment show my age?) ..But I do care if we choose to ignore that any mind altering drug including alcohol has a negative effect on society. Hey, I do alcohol and in the past I did marijuana. I know that that both of them have negative effects on the people who use them and the people around them.

Don't be stupid...legalization will only extend the problem. It is TIME TO DECRIMINALIZE marijuana use.... Instead of opening the door to big business people who want to make millions...billions?? of dollars. Lets legalize personal use keep the industry small. A much better answer...

that was a good point of view msinformation, i do agree with you

Bottom line is who gives a flying f##k.

How about crime? A large part of the crime in the USVI is due to marijuana being illegal.

Are you cool with that?

Only drug dealers and right wing nut jobs oppose legalization. And don't forget rum makers too.

-- moved topic --