# MJ News for 04/04/2014



## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25488963/marijuana-edibles-spotlight-colorado-after-students-death




*Marijuana edibles in spotlight in Colorado after student's death*​

Throughout Dr. Scott Bentz's career in emergency medicine, marijuana wasn't something he much worried about.

Perhaps a person a month would come in feeling panicky after smoking pot. A sedative and a quiet room usually did the trick.

"It's the easiest emergency medicine case you're going to see," said Bentz, the medical director of emergency services at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver.

And then came the day a man arrived in the emergency room so sedated and breathing so slowly after eating a marijuana-infused edible that he was nearly comatose.

For the past few months, Bentz said, he's seen more and more patients at the hospital who have consumed marijuana-infused products. And, while the cases don't come close in number or severity to alcohol-related cases, Bentz said they show the kind of problems that can go along with edible marijuana  especially for those trying pot for the first time and who see edibles as a more appealing access point.

Potency amounts vary. It's far easier to overconsume than it is with smoking. And the products can affect everyone differently, from intense anxiety to excessive sedation.

"The edibles are just a whole different ball of wax," Bentz said. "You just don't know what you're going to get."

The potential risks of edibles are receiving new attention after the death of a Wyoming college student last month. Levy Thamba, 19, became agitated after eating marijuana-infused cookies and then leapt to his death from a hotel balcony, according to a coroner's report released this week. His death was classified as an accident.

Denver police are still investigating, and state law could allow for criminal charges against whoever gave the underage Thamba the cookies, though police spokesman Sonny Jackson wouldn't comment on the possibility of charges in the case.

"I'm not going to speculate one way or another," Jackson said Thursday.

Lawmakers this week are expected to introduce a bill that would further restrict the potency level of edibles. Current state law limits individual edible products to 100 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. That amount, though, is equivalent to 10 servings  meaning most infused products are meant to be nibbled over time, not consumed all at once.

Bentz said most of the patients coming into the emergency room are naive users who consumed too much, too fast.

Edibles can take over an hour to kick in, leading many first-time users to eat more after not immediately feeling the effects. And the potency levels of edibles  which are not yet subject to mandatory testing  can differ even from what's listed on the label.

It remains unclear how much Thamba ate or how long elapsed before his death.

In 2011, 3,871 people in Denver who went to the emergency room mentioned recent marijuana use, according to federal data. Bentz, though, said he has never seen a case of extreme agitation caused by a marijuana edible. Patients most commonly arrive at the hospital over-sedated, he said.

"It's very, very rare that somebody is going to be at risk for serious harm," Bentz said.

Marijuana use, however, can spur psychotic episodes in people who are predisposed to mental health problems, said Dr. Paula Riggs, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Most of the research has focused on how frequent marijuana use impacts the onset of psychosis. But Riggs said it is also possible that first-time use can lead to problems.

"We don't know as much about it as we need to know," Riggs said, "but it's unequivocal that it increases risk."


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2014/04/03/more-pot-safer-roads-marijuana-legalization-could-bring-unexpected-benefits/




*More Pot, Safer Roads: Marijuana Legalization Could Bring Unexpected Benefits*​

The anti-pot group Project SAM claims drug test data show that marijuana legalization in Washington, approved by voters in that state at the end of 2012, already has made the roads more dangerous. The group notes with alarm that the percentage of people arrested for driving under the influence of a drug (DUID) who tested positive for marijuana rose by a third between 2012 and 2013. Even before the first marijuana store opens in Washington, normalization and acceptance [have] set in, says Project SAM Chairman Patrick J. Kennedy. This is a wakeup call for officials and the public about the dangerousness of this drug, especially when driving.


In truth, these numbers do not tell us anything about the dangerousness of marijuana. They do not even necessarily mean that more people are driving while high. Furthermore, other evidence suggests that legalizing marijuana could make the roads safer, reducing traffic fatalities by encouraging the substitution of marijuana for alcohol.

According to State Toxicologist Fiona Couper, the share of DUID arrestees in Washington whose blood tested positive for THC, marijuanas main psychoactive ingredient, rose from 18.6 percent in 2012 to 24.9 percent in 2013. Thats an increase of more than 33 percent, as Project SAM emphasizes with a scary-looking bar graph. At the same time, the total number of DUID arrests in Washington rose by just 3 percent, about the same as the increases seen in the previous three years, while DUID arrests by state troopers (see table below) fell 16 percent.

These numbers do not suggest that Washingtons highways are awash with dangerously stoned drivers. So why the substantial increase in positive marijuana tests? Lt. Rob Sharpe, commander of the Washington State Patrols Impaired Driving Section, notes that additional officers were trained to recognize drugged drivers in anticipation of marijuana legalization. So even if the number of stoned drivers remained the same, police may have pulled over more of them as a result of that training.

Another point to keep in mind is that a positive THC test does not necessarily indicate a driver is impaired. The current cutoff for these tests in Washington is two nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, less than half the states new per se standard for DUID, which itself is not a very good indicator of impairment, especially for regular users. Sharpe concedes that the increase in positive tests could simply reflect an overall increase in marijuana use. When cannabis consumption becomes more common or more frequent in the general population, the percentage of DUID arrestees who test positive for THC is apt to rise, even if the percentage who are actually impaired does not.


According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, marijuana consumption has been rising across the country in recent years. The share of respondents who reported using marijuana in the previous month rose from 6.2 percent in 2002 to 7.3 percent in 2012. As Columbia University researchers Guohua Li and Joanne E. Brady pointed out a few months ago in the American Journal of Epidemiology, this increase in marijuana consumption has been accompanied by an increase in the percentage of drivers killed in car crashes who test positive for cannabinol, a marijuana metabolite.

But as with the increase in DUID arrestees who test positive for THC, this trend does not necessarily mean marijuana is causing more crashes. A test for cannabinol, which is not psychoactive and can be detected in blood for up to a week after use, does not show the driver was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash, let alone that he was responsible for it. Thus, Li and Brady write, the prevalence of nonalcohol drugs reported in this study should be interpreted as an indicator of drug use, not necessarily a measurement of drug impairment.

Another reason to doubt the premise that more pot smoking means more deadly crashes: Total traffic fatalities have fallen as marijuana consumption has risen; there were about 20 percent fewer in 2012 than in 2002. Perhaps fatalities would have fallen faster if it werent for all those new pot smokers. But there is reason to believe the opposite may be true, that there would have been more fatalities if marijuana consumption had remained level or declined.

While marijuana can impair driving ability, it has a less dramatic impact than alcohol does. A 1993 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for example, concluded: The impairment [from marijuana] manifests itself mainly in the ability to maintain a lateral position on the road, but its magnitude is not exceptional in comparison with changes produced by many medicinal drugs and alcohol. Drivers under the influence of marijuana retain insight in their performance and will compensate when they can, for example, by slowing down or increasing effort. As a consequence, THCs adverse effects on driving performance appear relatively small. Similarly, a 2000 report commissioned by the British government found that the severe effects of alcohol on the higher cognitive processes of driving are likely to make this more of a hazard, particularly at higher blood alcohol levels.

Given these differences, it stands to reason that if more pot smoking is accompanied by less drinking, the upshot could be fewer traffic fatalities. Consistent with that hypothesis, a study published last year in the Journal of Law and Economics found that legalization of medical marijuana is associated with an 8-to-11-percent drop in traffic fatalities, beyond what would be expected based on national trends. Montana State University economist D. Mark Anderson and his colleagues found that the reduction in alcohol-related accidents was especially clear, as you would expect if loosening restrictions on marijuana led to less drinking. They also cite evidence that alcohol consumption declined in states with medical marijuana laws.


Anderson et al. caution that the drop in deadly crashes might be due to differences in the settings where marijuana and alcohol are consumed. If people are more likely to consume marijuana at home, that could mean less driving under the influence. Hence the negative relationship between legalization and alcohol-related fatalities does not necessarily imply that driving under the influence of marijuana is safer than driving under the influence of alcohol, although that is what experiments with both drugs indicate.

Arrest data from Washington are consistent with the idea that marijuana legalization could result in less drunk driving. Last year drunk driving arrests by state troopers fell 11 percent. By comparison, the number of drunk driving arrests fell by 2 percent between 2009 and 2010, stayed about the same between 2010 and 2011, and fell by 6 percent between 2011 and 2012. The drop in drunk driving arrests after marijuana legalization looks unusually large, although it should be interpreted with caution, since the number of arrests is partly a function of enforcement levels, which depend on funding and staffing.

Two authors of the Journal of Law and Economics study, Anderson and University of Colorado at Denver economist Daniel Rees, broadened their analysis in a 2013 article published by the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Anderson and Rees argue that marijuana legalization is apt, on balance, to produce public health benefits, mainly because of a reduction in alcohol consumption. Their projection hinges on the premise that marijuana and alcohol are substitutes. If marijuana and alcohol are instead complements, meaning that more pot smoking is accompanied by more drinking, the benefits they predict would not materialize. Anderson and Rees say studies based on clearly defined natural experiments generally support the hypothesis that marijuana and alcohol are substitutes. But in the same issue of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, co-director of the RAND Corporations Drug Policy Research Center, and University of South Carolina criminologist Eric Sevigny conclude that the evidence on this point remains mixed.

A study published last month by the online journal PLOS One suggests that the substitution of marijuana for alcohol, assuming it happens, could affect crime rates as well as car crashes. Robert G. Morris and three other University of Texas at Dallas criminologists looked at trends in homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and auto theft in the 11 states that legalized marijuana for medical use between 1990 and 2006. While crime fell nationwide during this period, it fell more sharply in the medical marijuana states, even after the researchers adjusted for various other differences between states. Morris and his colleagues conclude that legalization of medical marijuana may be related to reductions in rates of homicide and assault, possibly because of a decline in drinking, although they caution that the extra drop in crime could be due to a variable they did not consider.

How relevant is research on medical marijuana laws to the debate about broader forms of legalization? Highly relevant, if you take the view that medical marijuana is mostly a cover for recreational use, as prohibitionists tend to argue. In truth, the legal regimes governing the medical use of marijuana range from very strict (such as New Jerseys) to very loose (such as Californias). But it is fair to say that a lot of people with doctors recommendations in the looser states are recreational users in disguise. It therefore makes sense that legalizing medical marijuana would be accompanied by a decline in drinking and that such an effect would be magnified by full legalization.


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://articles.courant.com/2014-04-03/news/hc-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-0404-20140403_1_state-approves-stop-shop-dispensary




*(CT) State Approves Six Sites For Sale Of Medical Marijuana*​

HARTFORD  The state awarded licenses Thursday for six medical marijuana retail outlets in Branford, Bridgeport, Bristol, Hartford, Montville and South Windsor.

State officials announced the six licenses, chosen from 27 applications, and said that the dispensaries will be up and running by summer. Two of the dispensary owners said Thursday that the start of their businesses will mainly depend on when the state's four licensed medical marijuana growers will have their products ready for sale.


The six businesses are:

Arrow Alternative Care Inc., 92 Weston St., Hartford

Bluepoint Apothecary LLC, 469 E. Main St., Branford

D&B Wellness LLC, 2181 Main St., Bridgeport

Prime Wellness of Connecticut LLC, 75 John Fitch Boulevard, South Windsor

Thames Valley Apothecary LLC, 1100 Norwich-New London Turnpike (Route 32), in the Uncasville section of Montville

The Healing Corner Inc., 159 E. Main St., Bristol

Thomas Nicholas, CEO of Prime Wellness in South Windsor, said he expects that the store will have products ready to sell by "late summer."

A former registered nurse who worked in Hartford Hospital operating rooms, Nicholas became a medical supplies salesman in 1980s and went on to operate five dialysis centers in Connecticut.

"One of our consultants is a company that operates a medical marijuana facility in Maine, so they've got the intellectual property," Nicholas said. "They've been doing it successfully for the past three years. I think it'll be unique in that we've got a real solid health care background with folks who actually operate in the business."

As for products it will sell, he said the dispensary will be stocked with a wide range: "Smokables, edibles, vaporizers, whatever the state allows, so that patients can get the medicine that fits their needs."

The dispensary will be in a commercial strip that includes a Chinese restaurant and other businesses, Nicholas said.

The Thames Valley Apothecary in Montville will be run by Laurie Zrenda, a pharmacist for 27 years now working at a Rite-Aid store. Zrenda said that she had long wanted to own her own drug store, but that it is more difficult than ever for an independent drug store to remain viable. She said she saw the state's medical marijuana program as a good chance to run her own business, which will operate out of a 12,000-square-foot space.

Partnering with Zrenda will be her niece, Meredith Elmer, a pharmacist at a Stop & Shop. Zrenda said she thinks their backgrounds gave them the edge over other applicants.

"The fact that my niece and I are both pharmacists, I think that had something to do with it," she said, "that we're both keeping it professional and medical."

Zrenda said that her company will participate in a program, offered by the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, that will collect customer feedback about what strains of marijuana work best for certain conditions, and make those comments available to researchers.

In January, the state awarded licenses to four businesses to grow medical marijuana and produce related products. The announcement was made at a press conference with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy at the site of one of the licensed manufacturers, Advanced Grow Labs in West Haven. One of the principals of that company, John J. Czarkowski, has since resigned after it was reported that he had lost his marijuana production license in Colorado.

Thursday's announcement was made by press release sent out via email to the media.

"With the selection of dispensary facilities, all necessary pieces of the medical marijuana program are in place and we are poised to provide patients with a safe and secure source of needed medicine," Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein said.

The state Department of Consumer Protection, which oversees the medical marijuana program, had originally planned to award no more than five licenses for dispensaries. Rubenstein said that number was set when there were only 900 patients certified by their physicians to use marijuana.

But there are now 1,990 certified patients, he said, "so we try to get as much geographic dispersion as possible to serve as many patients conveniently."

All the companies have the needed local approvals except for D&B Wellness in Bridgeport, Rubenstein said. A zoning hearing is pending for the company's application later this month. If approval is denied, he said, the state will then decide what to do next.

Scoring of the applications was based on five main criteria: business information, location and site plan, business plan, marketing plan, and financial and organizational information. Healing Corner in Bristol scored the highest, followed by Arrow in Hartford. Prime Wellness in South Windsor was third, Thames Valley Apothecary in Montville was fourth, D&B in Bridgeport was fifth and Bluepoint Apothecary & Wellness in Branford was sixth


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/nj_transit_sued_for_suspending_employee_in_medical_marijuana_program.html




*NJ Transit sued for suspending employee in medical marijuana program*​

In what may be the first legal test of the state&#8217;s medical marijuana law in the workplace, a 57-year-old Newark man with end stage renal failure is suing NJ Transit, his employer, for suspending him and sending him into rehab because he is a registered patient with New Jersey&#8217;s medical marijuana program.

Charlie Davis, a former procurement clerk at the transit agency, says the nerves in his legs are severely damaged, causing him pain and making it difficult to sleep. Using marijuana, he says, relieves some of that discomfort, according to the lawsuit.

In December, Davis was &#8220;bumped&#8221; from his job by a more senior employee, according to the lawsuit filed last month in state Superior Court in Essex County. When he sought an available job as a &#8220;block operator&#8221; a field position, he was sent for a physical exam that required a drug test.

He told NJ Transit&#8217;s medical director he used medicinal marijuana, and offered to apply for &#8220;non-safety sensitive position&#8221; if his treatment was a problem, according to the lawsuit.

The suit says the medical director Patrice Verner, &#8220;told him that he had no choice but to take the drug test and if it came back positive, he would be sent to drug rehabilitation.&#8221;

Davis tested positive for pot on Dec. 28 and was sent to a drug treatment program. Since then, he has been out of work and not receiving a paycheck.

&#8220;Instead of working to accommodate its disabled employee, NJ Transit treated him like a drug addict,&#8221; according to his attorney, Sarah Fern Meil of Milford, who said that to her knowledge this was the first lawsuit challenging an employee&#8217;s right to work and be enrolled in the medical marijuana program.

&#8220;Charlie Davis is a courageous person,&#8221; Meil said. &#8220;Despite suffering from a debilitating illness, he&#8217;s trying his best to remain a productive member of society. The medicinal marijuana prescribed by his doctor helped ease his terrible pain and allowed him to lead a more normal life. But NJ Transit has forced Charlie to choose between his health and his job.&#8221;

&#8220;NJ Transit&#8217;s actions violate both common sense and the law against discrimination designed to protect workers and disabilities like Charlie,&#8221; she added.

An NJ Transit spokesman, John Durso, said the drug-testing requirements were intended to ensure the safety of customers.

&#8220;All employees applying to and occupying safety-sensitive positions at NJ Transit are required to submit to, and pass pre-employment and random drug tests in accordance with Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration guidelines,&#8221; Durso said.

Citing the regulation, he said the U.S Department of Transportation &#8220;does not authorize &#8216;medical marijuana&#8217; under a state law to be a valid medical explanation for a transportation employee&#8217;s positive drug test result."

&#8220;It remains unacceptable for any safetyâÂÂ&#8364;ÂÂsensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation&#8217;s drug testing regulations to use marijuana,&#8221; he added.

Recent history shows that when the right of a worker's use of medicinal marijuana clashes with the employer&#8217;s right to enforce drug testing requirements, courts in other states have sided with employers.

&#8220;Many employers already have policies in place governing employees' use of alcohol and illegal drugs and providing for drug testing. Changes in state marijuana laws do not diminish the efficacy of those policies, for the most part,&#8221; according to website of BakerHostetler&#8217;s, a large national firm that specializes in employment law.

In 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sided with WalMart, which had fired a worker with cancer who had registered with the state medical marijuana program, according to an article on the firm&#8217;s website.


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/04/equitable_sharing_legalized_marijuana_and_civil_forfeiture_the_scheme_that.html




*The Shame of Equitable Sharing*​

When voters in Colorado and Washington state approved legalizing marijuana in 2012, those votes undermined an abusiveand profitablepolice practice: civil forfeiture. Unlike with criminal forfeiture, under civil forfeiture people do not have to be convicted of or even charged with a crime to permanently lose their cash, cars, and other property. Police can then auction off that seized property and use the proceeds to fund themselves. In the 42 states that allow police departments to profit from forfeiture, that cash flow has funded both the militarization of police and allowed law enforcement to make ridiculous purchases, including a margarita machine, a Hawaiian vacation, and a Dodge Viper. 

In Colorado and Washington, the federal government processed more than $36 million worth of cash and other property in civil and criminal marijuana forfeitures between 2002 and 2012. Pursuing cannabis cases earned local law enforcement in Washington an additional $6 million to $9 million in forfeiture revenue since 2008. Nationwide, the Wall Street Journal reported the federal government scored $1 billion in forfeiture from marijuana cases over the past decade. 

Legalization now threatens that forfeiture revenue for the police departments that have relied on it. Legal cannabis and the subsequent drop in forfeiture have already caused one drug task force in Washington to cut its budget by 15 percent. Thats great news for due process and property rights. 

But marijuana is still illegal under federal law, so local legalization has created ambiguity in civil forfeiture proceedings. Even in states where recreational or medical marijuana is legal, property owned by innocent people is still at risk thanks to equitable sharing. This federal program lets local and state law enforcement do an end run around state law and profit from civil forfeiture, simply by collaborating with a federal agency. 

Equitable sharing is a two-way street: For the federal government to adopt a forfeiture case, cops can approach the feds and vice versa. The U.S. Department of Justice has applications online for agencies to apply for adoption and to transfer federally forfeited property. Crucially, criminal charges do not have to accompany a civil forfeiture case.

The proceeds from federal forfeitures are deposited into the DOJs Asset Forfeiture Fund. After the DOJ determines the size of the cut for the feds, equitable sharing allows the local police to take up to 80 percent of what the property is worth. In fiscal year 2012, the federal government paid out almost $700 million in equitable sharing proceeds to local and state law enforcement agencies. 

Equitable sharing tempts cops to become bounty hunters, even in states with legal marijuana. Tony Jalali is living proof of this travesty. Jalali almost lost his business over four grams of marijuana. 

After immigrating to the United States from Iran in 1978, Jalali became a successful small business owner. Jalali owns an office building in Anaheim, Calif.worth around $1.5 millionthat he rents out to fund his retirement. 

Among the more staid tenantsa dentists office, an insurance companywas ReLeaf Health & Wellness, a medical marijuana dispensary. Posing as a patient with a legitimate doctors recommendation, an undercover Anaheim police officer bought $37 worth of cannabis from that dispensary. Keep in mind that medical marijuana sales wereand arelegal in California under state law, and this Anaheim cop worked for local law enforcement, not the feds.

Jalali never bought or sold marijuana. Jalali was not charged with any crime nor was he warned that renting to a dispensary could lead to civil forfeiture. I had no idea I was doing anything wrong, Jalali said.

Yet for the DEA, which collaborated with Anaheim police in pursing the forfeiture, that $37 pot sale was enough evidence that Jalali should lose his property. 

This Kafkaesque nightmare should not have happened under California law. Not only did California voters legalize medical marijuana in 1996, state law bans forfeiting real property (like a home or a business) unless the owner has been convicted of a crime related to the property. In fact, Anaheim authorities even requested aid from California prosecutors to take action against Jalalis property. State officials refused.

But the states protections dont exist on the federal level. By participating in equitable sharing, Anaheim police could directly benefit from a federal forfeiture, bypassing California law to cash in on Jalalis property. 

His case was not an isolated incident. In just the Central District of California alone (which includes Anaheim and Los Angeles), the U.S. attorneys office filed 30 forfeiture actions against landlords and threatened more than 525 marijuana businesses in 2012 and 2013. Since 2008, Anaheim police have received over $21 million in forfeiture proceeds from the federal government. At the same time, for four straight years the city-owned Anaheim Convention Center has hosted the Kush Expo, the worlds largest medical marijuana trade show.

Both the ACLU and the Institute for Justice (IJ), where I work, have launched campaigns to close the equitable sharing loophole and end policing for profit. IJ took Jalalis case pro bono. The federal government dropped the forfeiture suit this past October and cannot refile the case. 

For the time being, the feds appear to be shifting priorities. Last August, Deputy Attorney General James Cole announced new guidelines to U.S. attorneys. If state laws regarding marijuana dont conflict with federal law enforcement priorities (like keeping cannabis away from kids and preventing it from crossing state lines), the feds will defer to the states. But even that cautious memo is filled with caveats, like this memorandum does not alter in any way the Departments authority to enforce federal law, including federal laws relating to marijuana, regardless of state law.

The equitable sharing loophole still exists. The federal government can continue to prosecute criminal cases and litigate civil forfeiture actions related to cannabis. Citing the risk of federal forfeiture, Wells Fargo, one of Colorados largest banks, has refused to finance properties in that states marijuana industry. 

Buying recreational marijuana has been legal in Colorado only since Jan. 1 and pot stores haven't opened yet in Washington. Yet selling the plant has already generated $14 million in Coloradoa tempting cash cow for local police.

The incentives behind equitable sharing are primed for abuse. Property owners protection from forfeiture currently depends on prosecutorial discretion. That is no substitute for meaningful legal reform.


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://rt.com/usa/soros-mpp-times-marijuana-189/




*Billionaire George Soros behind major push for marijuana legalization*​

Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist George Soros is no stranger when it comes to throwing around money, but the former hedge fund manager is making headlines over some major donations hes made to help legalize marijuana.

On the heels of the approval of two of the United States first recreational laws in Colorado and Washington, other locales across the country are considering implementing policy changes that could decriminalize pot, ease penalties for users or eliminate weed laws altogether. Advocacy groups are leading the campaign to crush marijuana prohibition from coast-to-coast, and 83-year-old Soros is helping line the pockets of those making that push.

On Wednesday this week, Kelly Riddell at The Washington Times pulled back the curtain to reveal details about some of the roles that Soros has played in the pro-weed debate, and helped explain how the billionaires many foundations are fighting the war against pot prohibition.

Through a network of nonprofit groups, Mr. Soros has spent at least $80 million on the legalization effort since 1994, when he diverted a portion of his foundations funds to organizations exploring alternative drug policies, according to tax filings, Riddell wrote.

The Soros-affiliated Foundation to Promote an Open Society donates roughly $4 million annually to the Drug Policy Alliance, Riddell added, a nonprofit group that describes itself as the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. Soros is among the group of board members who help steer policy reform efforts undertaken by that organization, which has contributed to the successful attempts in both Colorado and Washington state to legalize recreational marijuana, as well as in Uruguay where last year the South American country became the first in the world to allow for the regulation, distribution and sale of weed to legal adults.

Records obtained by the Times also reveal that Soros cuts other substantial checks annually to the American Civil Liberties Union, which in turn funds marijuana legalization efforts, Riddell wrote, as well as the Marijuana Policy Project which funds state ballot measures. In 2013, the MPP ranked Soros as the ninth most influential marijuana user in the US, behind President Barack Obama, television host Oprah Winfrey and a handful of other politicians and celebrities.

The co-director and spokesperson for that group, Mason Tvert, told the Times that MPP and the Drug Policy Alliance are planning to support full legalization measures in the near future in the states of Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana and Nevada, and Soros himself has advocated on behalf of previous attempts to abolish pot prohibition in at least one of those locales.

Ahead of an attempt in November 2010 to legalize weed in California through the failed Proposition 19, Soros wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal in which he called the since-failed initiative a major step forward.

In many respects, of course, Proposition 19 already is a winner no matter what happens on Election Day, Soros wrote then. The mere fact of its being on the ballot has elevated and legitimized public discourse about marijuana and marijuana policy in ways I could not have imagined a year ago.

Soros declined to be interviewed for the Times article published this week, but hes more than likely enthused about the approval of pro-weed laws in Colorado and Washington carried out after Prop 19 was defeated in the polls. And with regards to initiatives up for vote during the 2014 election, Riddell wrote that Soros is once again playing a substantial role.

In Florida, Mr. Soros has teamed up with multimillionaire and Democratic fundraiser John Morgan to donate more than 80 percent of the money to get medical marijuana legalization on the ballot through its initiative United for Care, People United for Medical Marijuana, Riddell wrote, and the MPP is focusing a lot of time and resources passing bills in Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, according to her report.

Its only a matter of time before marijuana is legalized under federal law, Tom Angell, founder and chairman of the Marijuana Majority advocacy group, told the Times. We now have 20 states plus the District of Columbia considering legalization efforts, two states have already legalized it for all adults over the age of 21  politicians will have to follow the will of the people on this.

As RT reported previously, the results of a Pew Research Center poll released last year found that 52 percent of Americans support the legalization of marijuana. Despite recently approved laws in Washington and Colorado, marijuana remains an illegal narcotic under federal law.


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/04/04/cannabis-legalisation-gua_n_5090021.html




*Guatemalan President To Present Plan For Marijuana And Opium Production*​

Guatemala could present a plan to legalise production of cannabis and opium poppies towards the end of 2014.

The country is hoping the move will curb the power of organised crime, President Otto Perez said.

The move would see the country follow in the steps of Uruguay. Which passed historic legislation late last year  becoming the first country in the world to make the production, sale and possession of cannabis legal.

Guatemala has yet to put forward a concrete plan on how it could be done.

Instead, a government commission has been studying the proposal, and Perez told Reuters in an interview that he expected the recommendations to be published around October and that measures could be presented at the end of the year.

Those measures could include an initiative for Congress to legalise drugs, in particular marijuana, he said.

"The other thing we're exploring ... is the legalisation of the poppy plantations on the border with Mexico, so they're controlled and sold for medicinal ends," Perez said. "These two things could be steps taken on a legal basis."

Opium poppies are used to make opium, heroin and pharmaceutical drugs such as morphine and codeine.

Guatemala, a major coffee producer which is one of the most violent countries in the Americas, has suffered from incursions by violent Mexican drug cartels in recent years.

The drug gangs have been under sustained pressure at home since the Mexican government launched a military-led offensive on organised crime at the end of 2006. More than 85,000 people have since died in Mexico in cartel-related violence.

Mexico, which made possession of tiny amounts of narcotics legal in 2009, has so far been hesitant to go further on liberalising drug laws, though pressure is growing.

The Party of the Democratic Revolution, a leftist group that runs the local government of Mexico City, is pushing a number of initiatives to decriminalise marijuana.


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/66525-delaware-cannabis-consumers-lobby-for-marijuana-legalization




*Delaware cannabis consumers lobby for marijuana legalization*​

Medical marijuana was legalized in Delaware in 2011, and now cannabis consumers want state leaders to consider legalizing the drug for personal use. 

We have decades of misinformation, the propaganda model has been rampant in this country for over 70 years, said Zoe Patchell, spokeswoman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana. 

Patchell is among those in Delaware who are lobbying lawmakers to create legislation that would allow adults to legally purchase and consume marijuana. Supporters argue that the drug is natural, safe and less harmful than alcohol.

To date, both Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Colorado is expected to receive $67 million in tax revenue and licensing fees this year.

Cannabis is the must used illicit drug in the world, said Patchell. It creates significant economic revenue. Where do you want that money going? Do you want it going to the gangs and the cartels that use the money for firearms or do you want it going into the states and communities?

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have eased up on marijuana users, ending jail time for those caught holding small amounts of the drug.

According to statistics provided by NORML, Delaware has the 12th highest arrest rate for marijuana possession, and has one of the harshest personal-use penalties in the nation.

A single joint is a Class B misdemeanor and can result to up to three months in jail and can result in a $1,000 fine, Patchell explained.

She added that 47 percent of all drug arrests in Delaware are marijuana-related and that Delaware spends more than $13 million per year prosecuting non-violent cannabis possession cases.

Thats a lot of misplaced manpower and misplaced resources, Patchell said.

*68 percent of Delawareans in support*

A recent poll commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project found that 68 percent of Delawareans support removing criminal penalties for marijuana possession.

Despite this suggestion of support, Gov. Jack Markell has indicated that he is not in a hurry to rush any marijuana legislation.  

Colorado and Washington are going forward, everybody from across the country can keep an eye out. I have no idea what the unintended consequences might be, Markell said during an interview on WHYYs Radio Times in February. Maybe there won't be any, maybe there will, but I dont feel sufficiently confident in understanding what could happen to say it might be a good thing in Delaware.

Since passing the medical marijuana law in 2011, the state has issued a few dozen medical marijuana ID cards to patients who qualify. However, the locations where individuals could purchase the drug, known as "compassion centers," have not yet opened due to federal roadblocks.


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## 7greeneyes (Apr 4, 2014)

h*MP*p://www.vibe.com/article/fusion-hires-tv-first-chief-cannabis-correspondent-ryan-nerz




*Fusion Hires TV's First Chief Cannabis Correspondent*​

The news business just went green. Fusion, the cable brainchild of ABC News and Univision, has tapped their first chief cannabis correspondent, Ryan Nerz.

According to Variety, Nerz will act as contributor to Fusion's TV and digital platforms, tackling all things weed in the booming cannabis business of America. He has vast experience in marijuana coverage and has also written several books, including Marijuanamerica: One Mans Quest to Understand Americas Dysfunctional Love Affair with Weed.

Marijuana legalization is an issue that is taking on increasing relevance  politically, economically and culturally  and requires the kind of coverage that only someone with Ryans expertise can deliver, Fusion CEO Isaac Lee said in a statement. Ryans reporting is a great example of how Fusion is uniquely capable of providing news, information, and opinion on topics that matter to millennials, especially in situations where the mainstream media cant keep up.

Lighters up.


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