The Green Thread: Marijuana in the states

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http://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2017/03/22/legal-pot-bill-clears-key-committee-in-vermont-house

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I am extremely supportive of legalization but this type of "half-legalization" kind of sucks. Allowing everything but actual sales just increases the profits and power of the black market.

I suppose it might be better than nothing, especially since I think Vermont might be encouraged to allow sales soon after once they begin to realize the tax revenue they are passing up.

I'm sure they'll will wise up if/when Massachusetts & Maine open up their stores

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Weed is now officially legal in California.  Congrats to all the CA posters!

     

Shockingly, not much has changed here. Here in SoCal, the only places that had dispensaries opened today were Palm Springs, Cathedral City, San Diego, and Santa Ana. West Hollywood starts selling by Wednesday, Los Angeles won't be giving out permits till later this month, and Moreno Valley will sell in the summer. For the time being, I gotta drive 45-60 minutes to find a permitted dispensary

Everywhere else has either completely banned it or is in "wait and see" mode. Hasn't stopped the existing/illegal dispensaries from opening their doors to everyone 21+ without a rec though

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Weed is now officially legal in California.  Congrats to all the CA posters!

     

Shockingly, not much has changed here. Here in SoCal, the only places that had dispensaries opened today were Palm Springs, Cathedral City, San Diego, and Santa Ana. West Hollywood starts selling by Wednesday, Los Angeles won't be giving out permits till later this month, and Moreno Valley will sell in the summer. For the time being, I gotta drive 45-60 minutes to find a permitted dispensary

Everywhere else has either completely banned it or is in "wait and see" mode. Hasn't stopped the existing/illegal medical dispensaries from opening their doors to everyone 21+ without a rec though

How can that be if it was legalized statewide?  Are city governments flat-out refusing to grant permits?

Prop 64 gave local governments authority over allowing businesses in their locales. However, it allows residents to grow up to 6 plants indoors or in an enclosed structure (Such as a greenhouse).

- Bakersfield/Fresno: Placed bans on all pot businesses
- Riverside: Imposed a moratorium on all businesses until September
- San Jacinto: Approved manufacturing/distribution, but not dispensaries
- San Bernardino: Voter-approved dispensary measure recently got struck down in court. The issue goes to the city council, who haven't been very supportive about allowing them.
- Desert Hot Springs: More recreational dispensaries open than all of LA County

I'd give it another year until the recreational market gets into the full swing of things, at least in Southern California

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Sessions rescinding Cole Memo

This is not good news.

Pot was federally illegal anyway, so I don't think the federal response will be as drastic as it's made out to be

On the contrary, I'm curious if this ends up galvanizing the legalization movement more than anything. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Democrats investing in some ballot measures this year or in 2020

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Vermont House passes bill to legalize pot. It now has to be approved by the State Senate, the Governor has already said he'll sign it

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/government/2018/01/04/vermont-house-vote-marijuana-legalization-thursday/1003206001/

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Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed the legalization bill today. Vermont is officially the first state to legalize pot through the legislature.

- New law takes effect July 1
- Adults 21+ can possess up to an ounce of pot
- Can grow, up to, two mature marijuana plants and four immature marijuana plants per house (Harvested indoor crops don't count)
- Does not include regulations for a recreational cannabis market, so no place to buy it legally


http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/government/2018/01/22/vermonts-legal-marijuana-law-what-you-should-know/1045478001/

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LA Times: Trump administration abandons crackdown on legal marijuana

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So recreational marijuana will only be on the ballot in NJ, SD, and AZ, while medicinal will only be there in SD again and MS.

That IS a disappointment. However, NJ and AZ should both be able to pass. If Yes could get 48.7% in AZ in 2016, it can surely break 50% in 2020.

SD I'd be pessimistic about given ND 2 years ago, but who knows?

NJ and SD are both decently sized states, and NJ fully legalizing will really give a kick in the pants to NY and CT.

I thought it'd be a lot less than that. Felt like the pot movement was slowing to a crawl even before COVID-19

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I wonder what the last state to legalize it will be. Idaho?

I'd put money on Utah and Wyoming. Plus some southern state like Louisiana or Alabama

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We could very well be looking at a clean sweep for legalization initiatives.

I believe Mississippi has a medicinal one on the ballot. I'm curious how that'll go

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It's probably the most boring of the 4 states, but I'd be curious in a poll on South Dakota's ballot measure.

I'm most unsure how that state will vote on it

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It's probably the most boring of the 4 states, but I'd be curious in a poll on South Dakota's ballot measure.

I'm most unsure how that state will vote on it

Most boring in terms of what?

Sure, a lot of right wingers in the state, but I love my state.  Wide, open spaces, lots of awesome tourist destinations in the western part of the state, etc.

I guess in terms of interest/attention in the pot measure. More attention has been put on Arizona & Jersey, perhaps even Montana with its history of pot measures

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I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of states in "Wait and see" mode end up pulling the trigger (Or at least making pronouncements) sooner than later due to the clean sweep of this months' ballot measures.


The 2021 Virginia elections could be very interesting when it comes to the future of legalization there. I don't know how support is within the state legislature, but I'd imagine it hinges on whether the state has any 2009/2017-esque electoral complications (State control zooming to the opposite party that's in the White House).

As someone with growing interest in moving out there, I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this!


How does sentiment look in Maryland? I don't know nearly enough about their politics, but I feel they're a state that's stayed relatively quiet on this issue. Is most of the support centralized in Baltimore or something? I wonder how much their tune could change if the next congress allows DC to open up dispensaries.

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In New York, Cuomo recently said he'll try to push legalization bills through this year. I'm not sure what the prospects are in the state legislature, but the pressure may have heightened a little due to now bordering 3 legalized states + Canada.

I feel Delaware, Rhode Island & Connecticut are the next states to legalize, but it may take a back seat for a bit due to COVID.

In Virginia, Northam has also recently made strong overtures towards passing legalization. I'm in wait-and-see mode with them until the results of the November elections.

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https://twitter.com/C_Herring/status/1357735461427568641?s=20
https://twitter.com/AJFriedenberger/status/1357815634885763074?s=20

It won't go into effect until 2023/2024. But this would make Virginia the 16th state to legalize recreational marijuana, the first Southern state to legalize & the third state to legalize via legislature (Along with Illinois & Vermont).


https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-house-approves-marijuana-legalization-bill-with-senate-vote-coming-soon/

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It won't go into effect until 2023/2024.

Where does it say that?

Sorry, the Marijuana Moment link doesn't include it. Here's from a Washington Post article:

He [Northam] proposed a two-year process that would see sales begin in 2023 under the supervision of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, with retail licenses distributed by a system that ensures participation by people of color. Revenue would be earmarked for education, substance abuse treatment and efforts to mitigate the negative effects of how drug laws have been enforced in communities of color.

The versions up for debate Friday in the House and Senate are slightly different from the legislation that lawmakers originally proposed under Northam’s guidance. Both call for creating a state agency to oversee the industry, and both build in an extra year to get that bureaucracy up and running. Retail sales would begin in 2024.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-marijuana-legalization/2021/02/04/8d6fc33e-6707-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html

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Has any state actually implemented legalization? If so, what’s it like living there?

You mean among the recently legal states (AZ/IL/MI/MT/VT) or any state? Cause we've had legal sales for the last 3 years, CO & WA for the last 7 years.

At least for California, I feel we've bungled it quite a bit:


- No more than a third of municipalities allow legal sales; Some regions, such as the South San Jaoquin Valley, have become 'cannabis deserts' where you have to drive quite a ways to buy legal weed. According to WeedMaps, the nearest dispensary to Bakersfield is 70 miles way. Until last year, I had to drive 20 miles & a county over to buy legally (Even though my county & city voted for legal weed).

- High sales taxes which vary greatly by city and/or county. The state tacks on a 27% cannabis tax + 8% general sales tax + whatever the city/county taxes. What's listed as $25 can end up being $40 when taxes are included.

- Incredibly slow process of business licenses being approved; Leading to little social equity, chains who got in early (Such as MedMen) comprising a significant portion of the legal market & smaller landowners being in financial/legal limbo for the last 2-4 years.


All those problems have led to a black market that hasn't shrunk since Prop 64, county raids of illegal grows to "protect the medicinal recreational market" & lighter-than-expected tax revenue. Basically, little seems to have changed since legalization went into effect.

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Are there any states that you think have handled it well?

Sadly, I'm not as well-informed as I used to be on the state-by-state implementation of legalization (Outside of my own). If NOVA Green stumbles upon this thread, I'd love to hear his thoughts on how the Pacific NW has handled legalization.

Colorado seems to have a decent amount of access statewide, though just as many cities have banned sales as California (Percentage-wise). Nevada seems to adapted quite well which probably shouldn't be a surprise. Though I'm not sure any state has handled the social equity aspect of pot businesses well at all (If anyone can share otherwise, please let me know).

Depending on the upcoming elections, I'm confident in Virginia's ability to improve on prior states' implementation. Comparatively speaking and from what I've been reading, I'm far less confident in New York whenever they decide to legalize.

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^ For a second, I thought you typed NH instead of NM.

It's honestly amusing how much of a glacial pace the "Live Free or Die" state has been on cannabis, to where there's a good chance they'll last state in the northeast to legalize (Even including Pennsylvania & the Virginias)

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Seems like it was a much bigger deal when Virginia legalized vs New York. I'm seeing a lot more headlines about Cuomo's book deal than I have NY legalizing pot.



Not to be outdone, it looks like the Governor of New Mexico will be putting pen to paper very soon too.

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

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Ige Ige Ige

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I don't mind waiting for a federal legalization bill. The genie is already out of the bottle and it's only a matter of time.

What should be the #1 priority is a federal banking bill for states that have legalized medicinally and/or recreationally. I find the cash-only aspect to be a more significant point of contention than anything regarding gateway drugs or reefer madness.

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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

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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

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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