By Beau Whitney, Whitney Economics The cannabis industry is still taking shape. Legislative and regulatory policies can have a profound impact on the direction the movement takes. There are many academic sources available, but what differentiates this report from others is that this author is able to combine economic rigor with direct industry experience. The author Read the full article…
OREGON: Amy Zimmerman’s left calf was covered in second-degree burns after a Memorial Day campfire accident. To help heal the burns, she applied a medicinal salve made with hash oil. The results were better than she had expected. “My doctor was impressed, saying, ‘What did you use?’” She flashed her calf, its new skin pink Read the full article…
OREGON: The Oregon Senate delivered a powerful message in support of tightening regulation on medical marijuana Wednesday by voting 29-1 for a bill aimed at curbing diversions to the black market. Although the measure has drawn intense opposition among many patients and growers, lawmakers said that the success of the state’s new recreational pot market depends Read the full article…
OREGON: A bill that would limit the size of medical marijuana growing operations in Oregon is generating angry opposition from some patients and activists. The proposed measure, unveiled late Friday afternoon, is aimed at curbing the black market while prodding larger growers to supply the legal recreational market the state is developing. This approach is winning Read the full article…
WASHINGTON: For at least three generations of Americans, eradication of marijuana has been among the top law enforcement priorities across the land at every level, and yet here we are: Legal weed in four states, medical in dozens more and a robust black market making pot available in every corner of every state for any Read the full article…
OREGON: Oregon legislators are moving to put new limits on the large and mostly unregulated pot growers who ostensibly serve medical marijuana patients. Key lawmakers want to shift the large growers to the tightly regulated recreational marijuana market the state plans to develop after voters last year decided to legalize the drug. “We have to Read the full article…
ALASKA: Alaska’s voter initiative making marijuana legal takes effect Tuesday, placing Alaska alongside Colorado and Washington as the three U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal. The new law means people over age 21 can consume small amounts of pot — if they can find it. It’s still illegal to sell marijuana. “You can still Read the full article…
COLORADO: Colorado found out how much tax revenue it brought in from legalizing recreational marijuana — and it is less than expected. The total for the first year of marijuana sales was $44 million, less than projections of $70 million, the state announced Tuesday. The state of Colorado is still obligated to refund much of that $44 Read the full article…
WASHINGTON: A year into the nation’s experiment with legal, taxed marijuana sales, Washington and Colorado find themselves wrestling not with the federal interference many feared, but with competition from medical marijuana or even outright black market sales. In Washington, the black market has exploded since voters legalized marijuana in 2012, with scores of legally dubious medical dispensaries opening and Read the full article…
WASHINGTON: The Washington Legislature’s one best chance to preserve the regulation of marijuana will come and go in 2014. If Initiative 502’s scheme for legal – but tightly controlled – pot retailing and farming flops next year, it’s likely to stay flopped. The marijuana black market has deep roots in a massive subculture of users, and Read the full article…