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Tag: Colorado marijuana law

  • Colorado Marijuana: Buy Weed Legally Starting Today

    Colorado State has started the New Year  with an historic experiment in cannabis policy. More than 37 shops licensed to sell marijuana to anyone aged 21 and above opened their doors to eager buyers on Wednesday. At one point, the demand was so great that some shops raised the price of an eighth of an ounce from $25 to $45 while other shops limited the quantity that customers could buy.

    People travelled from all over the country to participate in Colorado’s historic day; some arrived as early as 2:00 am to be among the first to legally purchase cannabis.  Sales, however,  didn’t start till 8:00 am.

    The activists who were involved in legalizing marijuana in November 2012 organized a ceremonial “first purchase” at exactly 8:00 am at the Denver store 3D Cannabis.

    The person selected to be the first buyer was Sean Azzariti, an Iraq War veteran who bought the product at exactly 8:00 am from 3D Cannabis.

    “It’s huge,” he said. “It hasn’t even sunk in how big this is yet.” Azzariti was chosen because of his service as a U.S. Marine between 2000 and 2006. Azzariti plans to use marijuana as a remedy for his PTSD.

    Although recreational weed is being sold by more than 30 stores, there are about 136 applicants still waiting for their store license to be approved. The new law is expected to create many new businesses, giving a significant boost to Colorado’s local economy.

    Washington is expected to be the next state to legalize marijuana with a host of other states keen in following Colorado’s footsteps. Both Colorado and Washington have voted to legalize marijuana but Colorado will become the first state to allow legal sales. However, not everyone is applauding this development. Anti-cannabis groups like Smart Approaches say that legalizing marijuana is the last thing people need right now. They fear that the plants legalization will lead to young people using harsher drugs.

    Colorado was already allowing sales of medical marijuana which has been beneficial to both people with medical conditions and local business. As of today, Jan. 1st,  cannabis can be sold to anyone of legal age in Colorado but buyers must use it on private property. Colorado residents are restricted to one ounce of marijuana per purchase while those from other states can only purchase up to a quarter of an ounce.

    Image via Wikipedia

  • Colorado Marijuana Law: Feds Won’t Block It!

    Colorado Marijuana Law: Feds Won’t Block It!

    A Colorado CBS local affiliate reported that the Obama administration has announced that it will not sue states like Washington and Colorado for violating federal law, although it “reserves the right” to sue them later if it wants.

    The Denver Post cites an official memo that was sent out. You can read the memo for yourself here, but it essentially represented a declaration from Attorney General Eric Holder’s office that closing down recreational or medicinal marijuana dispensaries would not be a priority if the dispensaries followed the new rules outlined in the memo. Getting high should now be nice and simple, right?

    Not exactly. The states that have legalized must comply with a new series of rules regarding marijuana’s regulation. The memorandum sent out included eight official guidelines, which were:
    • preventing marijuana distribution to minors,
    • preventing money from sales from going to criminal groups,
    • preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal to states where it is illegal,
    • preventing criminal groups from using state laws as cover for trafficking of other illegal drugs,
    • preventing violence and the use of illegal firearms,
    • preventing drugged driving,
    • preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands,
    • and preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.

    Prosecutors have said that they won’t target pot smokers or legal pot businesses, but the kids just cannot be allowed anywhere near the stuff, and criminal gangs are not to be involved at any level of the process.

    Thankfully, none of the official concerns are outside of the realm of expectations held by Colorado voters. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said “today’s announcement shows the federal government is respecting the will of Colorado voters… we share with the federal government its priorities going forward.” Hickenlooper had spoken with Attorney General Holder and Washington Governor Jay Inslee in a phone conversation around noon today that cleared the smoky air regarding the federal government’s intervention in marijuana legislation.

    The memorandum is hardly indicative of President Obama’s firm federal support for the measure, but Kevin Sabet, formerly with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it best when he quipped that “This is not the end of the story… this is the beginning, [but] this is not a free pass for states. I think they [Colorado and Washington] are going to have to be very careful in setting up their regimes.”

    [Image via a Reason TV Youtube about Colorado’s marijuana legalization]