Cannitrol – Cannabis Control Agent

Marijuana news from around the world

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101 bills that passed and failed: A digest of what you missed in the 2018 Colorado legislative session, from taxes to crime to transportation

Colorado lawmakers introduced more than 700 bills in the 2018 legislative session covering a wide range of topics. If you’re wondering what you missed, one line about 101 bills that passed or failed in the 120-day term.

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Marijuana Advocates Lobby California Officials while Patients Suffer Defeat in Maryland

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Although laws should be based on facts and common sense, it would be incredibly naïve to assume this was the case.  Patients and advocates have found out the hard way that simply having a superior argument is not enough to change the legislative culture.

Marijuana advocates have become increasingly sophisticated in the methods they employ to push for legal change.  A high powered group consisting of growers, dispensaries, and union members are shifting course from running a ballot initiative to getting their message on the airwaves with television and radio advertisements.  The group will now also use the millions it has collected to lobby California lawmakers to fix the legislative mess that marijuana law finds itself in.  Democratic assembly member Tom Ammiano is already on board and has proposed a new system for marijuana regulation in California.  Ammiano’s plan would  create a state run system that could avoid the pitfalls of the current system where individual municipalities interpret state law differently.  The state would oversee dispensary  permits, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis.  The system would offer a flexible tax system where local governments could institute a tax of up to 2% on transactions.  One of the most interesting provisions was designed with patients in mind as Ammiano’s plan would require one dispensary for every 50,000 people, ensuring patient’s “safe access”.

Maryland activists may also have to consider lobbyists as Governor Martin O’Malley has vetoed a recent bill that would have allowed medical marijuana.  Patients were hopeful they would be receiving their medicine soon as there seemed to be considerable momentum for a medical bill.  State legislators passed this recent measure and last year a law was passed in Maryland that eliminates penalties for those possessing marijuana if they have a debilitating illness.  All hope is not lost in Maryland, but Governor O’Malley stated that the federal climate would have to change in order for him to pass a medical marijuana bill.  Citing a fear of state employees being arrested the governor said,  “I will say that, would the federal landscape look different, then I would support a bill like this.”

California stands to have an eventful legal year as it tries to overhaul its medical marijuana program.  Advocates have taken their movement to the next level and politicians may have no choice but to listen.  While the defeat in Maryland is unfortunate, patients can at least have hope as their legislators are not staunchly against providing relief.

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