Last year voters in Colorado legalized marijuana but a legal marijuana market can’t exist until the regulations governing one are created. Throughout the week the Colorado legislature moved forward by adopting several bills which would regulate and tax recreational marijuana for adults. The provisions in the bills are a mix of the good, the bad, the common sense and the mundane.

HB 1317 creates the backbone for most the new regulations by expanding the medical marijuana enforcement division to control all legal marijuana. Current medical marijuana dispensaries would have the first chance to apply to become recreational marijuana retailers. Among the many regulations are a requirement that all marijuana business owner be residents of the state, also all marijuana sold must be placed in sealed nontransparent packages and it prohibits marijuana retailers from also selling alcohol. Residents will be able to buy up to the full limit of one ounce of marijuana, but non-residents will only be allowed to buy a quarter ounce at a time.

HB 1318 would establish new marijuana taxes. It would impose a 10 percent sales tax on retail marijuana and 15 percent excise tax on wholesale marijuana. Under Colorado law these tax increases must first go on the ballot to be approved by the voters of the state.

The legislature also approved a bill governing industrial hemp and a new marijuana DUI bill that sets a limit 5 nanograms THC per milliliter in blood.

All of the newly approved bills now go to Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) for his signature.

This is the first big step in what will be an ever evolving process. Like all other regulations, expect these to be continuously modified by the legislature in the coming years to adjust to what is and is not working in the new system. It is likely these laws will also serve as a blueprint for other states when they eventually legalize marijuana.

Vermont took another important step towards decriminalizing marijuana. The Vermont Senate overwhelmingly gave final approval to H. 200 in a voice vote.

The bill was previously approved by the House but it was amended by the Senate so it will need to return to the House for another vote.

The measure would reduce the penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Under current law individuals could face up to six months in jail for being arrested with a small amount of marijuana. The bill would change the law so that adults age 21 and over would no longer face criminal penalties. Instead they would be subject only to civil fine. Individuals under the age of 21 would face slightly tougher penalties and be required to undergo substance abuse screening.

Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) is a strong supporter of marijuana decriminalization and has been lobbying the legislature to act on this issue. He should sign the bill into law when it gets to this desk.

Americans overwhelmingly believe drunk driving is a much bigger danger than driving while high on marijuana. According to a new Fox News poll, 51 percent think it is more dangerous to drive a car after drinking than after smoking marijuana. An additional 35 percent said they think both activities are equally dangerous, while just 4 percent think driving while high is more dangerous than driving drunk.

It is pleasantly surprising to see popular opinion aligns so closely with the scientific research. The research clearly shows drunk driving is the more dangerous of the two activities.

It should be noted that operating a motor vehicle while actually intoxicated by any substance, be it legal drug, prescription drug or illegal drug, is both dangerous and against that law. That said, the nature of alcohol intoxication makes is particularly dangerous to get behind the wheel. Alcohol, even in moderate doses, makes people less risk averse  which cause problems in addition to the actual impairment.

It would appears that regular Americans are starting to really get the message that in many ways marijuana is safer than alcohol.

With a stroke of his pen Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) made his state the latest to adopt medical marijuana. One of the several bills O’Malley signed into law this morning was HB 1101, Medical Marijuana – Academic Medical Centers – Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission. The law takes effect October 1st.

This makes Maryland the 19th state to technically adopt a medical marijuana law.

Unfortunately, because of the many restrictions in the law this may be more of a psychological victory than a practical one.  There is a chance no one in the state will really benefit.

To begin with, the law is unlikely to be implemented until 2016. In addition it only allows academic medical centers to take part in what is technically only a trial program. The trials would be the only source for patients to get medical marijuana and there is a real chance that none of the academic medical centers in the state will want to take part. Already several of the state’s most prominent medical centers have indicated they are not interested.

At the very least, the new law shows the issue of medical marijuana is moving forward. Hopefully, it will put more pressure on the federal government to seriously consider a petition by governors to reschedule marijuana.

 

At first glance Alaska with its strong Republican leanings would seem like a bad target for what definitely could be the next marijuana legalization initiative campaign, but there are a three important factors that make it surprisingly promising.

1) Libertarian leaning – Alaska overwhelmingly backs the Republican party in federal elections and considering national polling shows most Republicans oppose marijuana legalization, this would seem to be a problem. However, Alaska’s politics are different from the lower 48. While technically a red state Alaska is far more on the small government/libertarian wing of the Republican party than the social conservative wing. This is good news for marijuana reform.

The state is significantly more libertarian leaning than the rest of the country. For example, last year Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson got his third largest share of the vote in Alaska. He only did better in New Mexico, where he served as governor, and Montana. Similarly, Alaska was one of the states Ron Paul did best during the 2012 Republican primary.

Alaska is also not a very religious state. According to Gallup, Alaska ranks 4th for having the most people with “no religious preference” and 9th for the fewest people who are “very religious.”

2) Very few old people – Alaska is an incredibly youthful state. It has by far the fewest senior citizens in the country. Only 8.1 percent of the state is over the age of 65 compared to a national average of 13.3 percent. National polling shows the generational divide on marijuana legalization is huge. While young people strongly support it, senior citizens are the only age group where a majority still oppose them. The fewer old people voting the better for any initiative on marijuana legalization.

3) Past initiative results – Back in 2004 Alaska voters rejected Measure 2, which would have legalized marijuana for adults over 21. It was defeated in a vote of 44.3 percent yes to 55.7 percent no. The size of this previous defeat though is actually good news for future efforts.

By comparison in 2004 only about 34 percent of the country supported marijuana legalization, so that means Alaska was far in front of the country on this issue. Since 2004 support for marijuana legalization has grown by roughly 15 points nationally. Assuming support has grown by a similar rate in Alaska, a marijuana legalization initiative should be able to pass if put on the ballot next year.

For example in 2006 Colorado voters defeated a marijuana legalization initiative by an even larger margin of 41 percent yes to 59 percent no. Than in 2012 Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 by a margin of 55-45. This 14 point improvement in Colorado almost perfectly mirrors the national shift over the same time period.