jwentz's blog

Will Colorado Legalize Pot?

There was the billboard featuring a woman in a green bikini and the words, "Marijuana: No hangovers, no violence, no carbs!"
 
There was the time he called the mayor of Denver -- John Hickenlooper, who is now the governor of Colorado and was once a brew-pub owner -- a drug dealer.
 
There was the time he challenged Hickenlooper and Pete Coors, the Republican politician and beer-company heir, to a "drug duel": He would smoke pot, they would drink beer, and they'd see who died first.
 

Richard Branson calls U.S. Drug Policy "Racist"

American drugs policy is a “war on black people” and results in the jailing of too many African Americans, billionaire entrepreneur and drugs law campaigner Sir Richard Branson said Wednesday.
 
Branson, who is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a body of leading figures and politicians campaigning for more effective drugs laws, said the U.S. approach to drugs was “racist.” 
 
Branson made the remarks during a Reuters interview while acting as guest editor for Metro newspaper.
 

Justin Trudeau's federal Liberal leadership bid doesn’t thrill B.C. marijuana activists

Cannabis activists don’t see a friend in Justin Trudeau, the presumptive frontrunner in the race for the federal Liberal leadership.
 
“There are some people in the marijuana movement who say he’s [Pierre] Trudeau’s son, and he’s our best hope,” Jodie Emery told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “But personally, I don’t find him appealing.”
 
“Besides being a pretty boy”, she said that there’s not much to be said about the popular politician.
 
Emery recalled that, in 2009, Trudeau voted in support of Bill C-15, Conservative legislation that sought to impose mandatory minimum jail time for pot-related offences.

'Revolutionary' legal high law means state regulated drug market in New Zealand

Kronic-style drugs are expected back on the shelves under the new legal high law being crafted by Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne.
 
Experts say the law will create one of the world's first open and regulated recreational drug markets with synthetic cannabis making a return.
 
The first legal highs will be offered for sale in 2014, based on estimates in papers released by health officials.
 
The new regime, announced by Mr Dunne last week, aims to end the uncontrolled legal high industry which is estimated to have made $250 million in 10 years. The unregulated market has seen drugs sold legally with effects mimicking illegal substances like P, cannabis and Ecstasy.
 

L.A. To Repeal Ban on Medical Marijuana Shops

The Los Angeles City Council voted to rescind a newly enacted ban on storefront medical marijuana shops on Tuesday, allowing the city to avoid a referendum next year that some officials said would likely succeed in reversing the prohibition.
 
The council, in a blow to an industry that operates in violation of federal law, voted in July to ban pot dispensaries and replace them with a system that would allow up to three patients to collectively grow marijuana.
 

War on pot more harmful than the drug

Judging from recent history, any young person who aspires to be president should be aware that certain attributes seem to be critical. You have to be male. You have to have an Ivy League degree. You have to have been a governor or senator. And, don't forget, you have to have smoked marijuana.
 
That is something all the presidents in the past 20 years have in common. Bill Clinton admitted it, while claiming he didn't inhale. George W. Bush refused to deny getting stoned, saying, “When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.”
 

Central American Governments Call on UN to legalize, regulate drug trade

The Governments of Mexico, Columbia and Guatemala have submitted a joint declaration to the United Nations, calling for an overhaul of the organization's drug policy. The document urges the UN to consider legalization and regulation as alternatives to the drug war. Latin America has been hit particularly hard by the world drug trade, as it supplies most of the drugs consumed in North America and Europe. The full text of the declaration follows:

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Pot resolution sets B.C. on a new path

Mainstream B.C. stood up in public Wednesday and moved the marijuana debate much closer to decriminalization than ever before.
 
The resolution passed at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria is the clearest indication yet of how far the "get tough with criminal pot smokers" stance has eroded.
 
More than 500 delegates considered a motion that declared the status quo a failure and urged decriminalization of marijuana, coupled with research on regulation and taxation.
 
After a passionate debate, they passed it by open show of hands. It was endorsed by such a clear margin - probably 60 per cent plus - they didn't even bother to count the votes.

Washington Marijuana Legalization Measure In Strong Position

A little more than a month out from Election Day, Washington state's I-502 marijuana legalization, regulation, and taxation initiative looks to be well-positioned yet to actually win at the ballot box, with powerful supporters, lots of money, and a healthy lead in the polls. But it's not a done deal yet.
 
Sponsored by New Approach Washington, I-502 would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults 21 and over, but not allow them to grow their own. Instead, it would create a scheme of licensed, taxed, and regulated commercial marijuana cultivation, processing, and retail sales under the eye of the state liquor control board. Medical marijuana patients are exempted from its provisions.
 

Everybody Must Get Stoned? Pot Legalization and Ideology

There are ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana in Washington and Colorado that are doing well in terms of financial support, but not so with the legalization effort on the ballot in Oregon. According to the Associated Press, donors such as New York City financier George Soros and Cleveland insurance magnate Peter Lewis are supporting the Washington and Colorado efforts generously—with millions, the AP reports—but Oregon’s version, Measure 80, isn’t polling well and therefore not attracting big money.
 
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