The Green Thread: Marijuana in the states

[Badger]

Emerging story in Louisiana: the State House is debating recreational legalisation.

The bill has passed the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, with a 7-5 vote for legalisation, and a 6-5 vote for decriminalisation. As such, the

Additional steps are being taken, which provide a level of credibility to this proposal. The House Judiciary Committee passed a separate bill (9-2 vote), designed to regulate the industry, (including home growing permits, and business licencing fees) in the event the initial bill passes.

Both bills were sponsored and introduced by Rep. Richard Nelson (R). I do not know enough about local LA politics to gauge the chances of success, but given that the full House will debate the measure in the coming days. What I can tell you is that, assuming broad Democratic support, just over half the GOP caucus in both chambers would be required for legislation to be successful.

Sources:
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/louisiana-lawmakers-approve-marijuana-licensing-bill-in-anticipation-of-legalization/
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/louisiana-lawmakers-approve-marijuana-legalization-bill-in-committee/

Well I'll be damned... Louisiana?!?

[TarHeelDem]

https://twitter.com/theobserver/status/1390757956392718347?s=19

[MasterJedi]

Minnesota House voted to legalize last night 72-61!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Nebraska will probably be next to legalize via ballot initiative next year. Pretty gross of Ricketts to prop up big tobacco by literally telling people "big marijuana" is going to kill your kids.

[Lognog]

Minnesota House voted to legalize last night 72-61!

Yeah but the senate won't even vote on it

[MasterJedi]

Meanwhile, in the worst state in America, MS, the SC reversed the medical marihuana initiative because "the process for ballot referendum is outdated'.

[Panhandle Progressive]

Maryland and Delaware should be slam dunks (state house/senate overwhelming Dem) in the near future.

[MasterJedi]

CT senate approved 19-17, House still needs to approve it before the session ends tomorrow though.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Yesterday, the Connecticut Senate passed a House-amended version of the bill by a vote of 16-11. It now heads to Gov. Lamont who intends on signing it next week.

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/connecticut-marijuana-legalization-bill-heads-to-governors-desk/


Also, he may have a celebratory joint with that in the future:

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/connecticut-governor-says-hes-open-to-smoking-marijuana-after-he-signs-legalization-bill/



EDIT: Well damn. I guess the coast wasn't clear

[hurricanehink]

I wonder if we’ll have any other states legalizing this year. Rhode Island, Delaware, and Hawaii all have a democratic trifecta, and so might be more likely than either with a Republican governor or legislature.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

I wonder if we’ll have any other states legalizing this year. Rhode Island, Delaware, and Hawaii all have a democratic trifecta, and so might be more likely than either with a Republican governor or legislature.

Rhode Island would be the likliest. The Governor of Delaware is anti-legalization and has implied that he'd veto it, while Hawaii won't do it for some reason.

Delaware will certainly legalize in the next 2-4 years though

[Lourdes]

RI Senate approves recreational marijuana bill

https://www.wpri.com/news/politics-government/ri-senate-approves-recreational-marijuana-bill/

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

The states with marijuana legalized are at 230 electoral votes.

[Person Man]

Basically it’s only a matter of time with New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware, and Maryland. Are there any more purple states that have referendums? Or are we going to have wait 10 or 15 years for big urban southern states?

[MasterJedi]

RI Senate approves recreational marijuana bill

https://www.wpri.com/news/politics-government/ri-senate-approves-recreational-marijuana-bill/

Article says the House won't look at it until MAYBE in a fall special session but the two chambers are way off and the Governor says it's not a priority to "race" MA and CT. So they're being dumb.

[hurricanehink]

Basically it’s only a matter of time with New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware, and Maryland. Are there any more purple states that have referendums? Or are we going to have wait 10 or 15 years for big urban southern states?

I think Kentucky and West Virginia could get it before the big southern states. Poor states where pot can grow easily would be a huge cash cow that might be tough to resist. Andy Beshear is up in 2023… he could run promising marijuana legalization. Jim Justice used to be a Democrat, And it’s still a billionaire. The marijuana industry is a multibillion dollar industry, which could be huge for the state with the second-lowest GDP per capita. Justice can’t run in 2024, but he could run in 2028, when he would be 77. Not unheard of, but I think more than likely Justice retires from public in 2024, and what a better way of extending his legacy and prosperity as more than just being a billionaire.

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/irisdorbian/2021/06/23/with-neighbor-connecticut-legalizing-pot-rhode-island-could-be-next/?sh=2a8f406b5263

If Rhode Island gets it done, then it will only be New Hampshire left in New England.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/irisdorbian/2021/06/23/with-neighbor-connecticut-legalizing-pot-rhode-island-could-be-next/?sh=2a8f406b5263

If Rhode Island gets it done, then it will only be New Hampshire left in New England.

Gotta love the "Live Free or Die" state

[icemanj]

I bet Missouri, Ohio, North Dakota, and possibly Maryland will have referendums in 2022.

[MasterJedi]

Maryland will try and get it on the 2022 ballot.

[NOVA Green]

Basically it’s only a matter of time with New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware, and Maryland. Are there any more purple states that have referendums? Or are we going to have wait 10 or 15 years for big urban southern states?

I think Kentucky and West Virginia could get it before the big southern states. Poor states where pot can grow easily would be a huge cash cow that might be tough to resist. Andy Beshear is up in 2023… he could run promising marijuana legalization. Jim Justice used to be a Democrat, And it’s still a billionaire. The marijuana industry is a multibillion dollar industry, which could be huge for the state with the second-lowest GDP per capita. Justice can’t run in 2024, but he could run in 2028, when he would be 77. Not unheard of, but I think more than likely Justice retires from public in 2024, and what a better way of extending his legacy and prosperity as more than just being a billionaire.

Seem to recall from reading High Times back in the late '80s and early-mid '90's about what a huge %  of Buds supplying the Midwest Market were outdoor grow ops in KY and WV.

Additionally, and perhaps slightly more anecdotally, Outdoor MJ growers in places in Southern and SE OH, would shift to growing plants in the Corn Fields, where with the high level of Machine-Based agricultural production vs labor-intensive, it would be really easy to slip under the radar, especially with the height of the Corn, where one could throw in a few small patches here and there and grab them prior to harvest season, without any fear of the "Skybirds" and "Helicopters", and generally air surveillance we used to face way back in the '80s in places like OR, WA, and CA for outdoor grow ops that sent some of my HS Friends parents to Prison way back in the dayz...

Passing it over to you in the form of a portrait of an artist as a young man....

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A brief review of marijuana and psychedelics referendums that could be on the ballot next year:

Arkansas: Activists are collecting signatures to place full adult-use legalization on the 2022 ballot.

California: Activists recently filed a petition for the 2022 ballot to make the state the first in the nation to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for any use. Cultivation, sale, social sharing, and on-site consumption would all be legal.

Idaho: State officials recently cleared activists to begin collecting signatures for possession of up to three ounces of marijuana on private property for adults 21 and older. This is similar to Vermont's law, I believe, which allows cultivation and consumption but not sales or marketing. (There are a few of these here.) Medical should also be on the ballot.

Maryland: Hogan has suggested openness to the idea of marijuana being on the ballot next year. Dems in the legislature are working on that.

Mississippi: Not much here. A campaign might start if the legislature fails to pass a medical cannabis law, after the voters overwhelmingly approved in what I guess was a non-binding referendum, or if they pass one with weak consumer protections.

Nebraska: Activists want to get something on the ballot, otherwise nothing much so far.

North Dakota: Activists want another shot after the 2018 legalization referendum failed. The legislature is a bit more pro-weed than you would expect from such a Republican body, but ultimately the Senate killed a House-passed bill for legalization.

Ohio: Another cultivation/personal ownership law may be on the ballot, but not full legalization. Adults may possess 2.5 ounces of cannabis, and they could also have up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates. Individuals could grow up to six plants for personal use, with a maximum 12 plants per household.

Oklahoma: Full legalization of sale and consumption and medical might be on the ballot. Signature gathering fell short last year due to COVID.

South Dakota: Activists are filing for four separate, similar ballot initiatives and a fifth one that would prevent the Supreme Court from overturning again.

Wyoming: Activists are seeking measures to decriminalize adult-use and legalize medical.

[NOVA Green]

Most people in Oregon currently in the MJ Industry do not discuss their prior experiences as "OGs" back in the days.

When the Timber economy in Oregon collapsed in the late '70s / early mid '8os when the unemployment levels shot through the roof as part of the Reagan Recession, many of our parents, co-workers, and relatives shifted to cultivation of Marijuana in order to be able to support rural communities, a trend which accelerated dramatically by the Mid-Late '80s.

Techniques involved to combat the increased use of Air Surveillance and Recon, as well as other measures that the LEA used such as monitoring Water and Electrical bills in rural properties, raiding hydroponic shops to seize their customer lists.

Operation Ghost Dancer was a program which directly fell under the DoD budgets in order to directly support Marijuana related eradication programs in Oregon and elsewhere...

Most likely none of you have ever experienced regular military helicopters flying low consistently in your home towns to such an extent that for many of us it was more akin to Vietnam, even as younger kids growing up in that era...

Y'all really need to check out this document from the Lt Col. (now declassified) to realize how easy it was from one President of the US to basically mobilize Federal forces against a bunch of small MJ growers in the US.... (Sure I know that Washington might have had some precedent with the Whiskey Rebellion in Western PA, but that was so 1790s...

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/defenseissues/marijuana/ADA234053.pdf

[Badger]

My strong take is that this is being done to attempt preempting a far more expensive legalization ballot initiative.

[hurricanehink]

Rhode Island is likely next - https://www.marijuanamoment.net/rhode-island-marijuana-legalization-bill-will-be-ready-in-early-2022-top-lawmaker-says/