Despite public support for marijuana legalization being higher than ever before, the Obama Administration under Holder’s leadership has beenworse than any other recent president when it comes to the issue of medical marijuana.

It is a rare and amazing thing to see a member of Congress directly confront the individual technically responsible for carrying out the War on Drugs with the facts about what a failed policy it has proven to be.

Cohen provides one of the best and concise arguments for ending marijuana prohibition heard in Congress. It is worth sharing.

The small study contained 21 patients who suffered from the disease who didn’t respond to the traditional therapy options. Half the patients were given marijuana joints that contained THC. The control group was given placebo marijuana joints that had the THC removed.

According to the authors, “Although the primary endpoint of the study (induction of remission) was not achieved, a short course (8 week) of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active CD, compared to placebo, without side effects.”

This is just the latest study to show medical marijuana could be beneficial for a range of conditions.

While many states have medical marijuana laws it is still technically illegal under federal law. Federal law list marijuana as Schedule I, meaning it has no accepted medical use. While the Obama administration has the power to unilaterally reschedule marijuana it has actively fought against the change.

In a true Kafkaesque twist the Obama administration claims there is not enough qualified research to justify rescheduling marijuana, but that is in large part due to the fact that the administration continues to work to make it nearly impossible for American scientists to do research of marijuana potential benefits.

Photo by Coleen Danger released under Creative Commons License

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.

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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.

Photo by The Other Dan released under Creative Commons License

They surveyed Americans on their opinions about marijuana and found 45 percent think it should be legal, while 49 still think it should be prohibited. What really sets this poll apart from other recent national polls on marijuana reform is that it focused primarily on moral and religious opinions about marijuana.

According to the poll only 23 percent on the country believe marijuana use is a sin, while 70 percent think it is not a sin. Similarly, it found only 20 percent think using cannabis is prohibited by the Bible.

The poll also found only 40 percent believe using it is “morally wrong” while 49 percent say it is morally acceptable. Not surprisingly it is primarily just older Americans who see marijuana as morally wrong, as young Americans think is is acceptable.

Finally, it seems most Americans aren’t concerned the new state marijuana laws will hurt morality in this country. The survey found only 35 percent think the laws are a sign the country is in moral decline, while 60 percent disagree.

What is interesting is that this poll shows the growing support for marijuana legalization is not just a political decision but a symptom of a much broader culture shift. Americans have become more accepting of marijuana in general.

People aren’t just starting to oppose marijuana prohibition because it has failed as a policy. They are also turning against it because they don’t think marijuana use is a bad, so they don’t think the government should be trying to stop it. This should be an important consideration for marijuana activists to keep in mind when deciding on the messaging in future campaigns.

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While voters in Washington State approved I-502 last November and parts of the law that remove criminal for possession went into effect in December, much of the law remains to be implemented. The state’s liquor board first needs to create new regulations governing the entirely new industry and issue licenses before adults will legally be able to purchase marijuana in stores.

After months of preliminary work the WSLCB has finally put out an official timeline for implementing the commercial aspects of the legalization. According to the WSLCB individuals should be able to apply for a license to grow or sell marijuana by September and a month later the state will start issuing licenses.

From the WSLCB:

Mid May – Send draft rules to stakeholders for comment

Mid June – CR102 (draft rules) filed for the Producer, Processor and Retailer Licenses. The CR102 allows the WSLCB to seek public comment on draft rule language developed with input from the public during the initial comment period.*

Small Business Economic Impact Statement issued with CR 102.

Late July – Public hearing/s on rules for the Producer, Processor and Retailer Licenses allowing the public to comment on the draft rule language.

Rules adopted.

Late August – Rules become effective.

September – WSLCB begin accepting Producer, Processor and Retail License applications.

December 1 – Rules are complete (as mandated by law). WSLCB begins issuing Producer, Processor and Retail licenses to qualified applicants.

Photo by Coleen Danger released under Creative Commons License

(marijuana talk starts at 7:58)

Newsom received a round of applause when he told the crowd it is “time to decriminalize, to tax and regulate marijuana.” He continued by calling the war on drugs an “abject failure” and pointing out the inherently racist way marijuana laws have been enforced over the years.

Newsom is considered a rising star in the state party and is likely to run for the governor in the future.

Although, Newsom’s public call for other elected Democrats to support marijuana reform received relatively little media attention, it speaks volumes how quickly the politics around marijuana legalization have changed in only a few years. Only a decade ago this would have been seen as an act of political self-destruction. Now it is a savvy political move.

Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed an Executive Order that makes an “official declaration of the vote” related to Amendment 64. That declaration formalizes the amendment as part of the state Constitution and makes legal the personal use, possession and limited home-growing of marijuana under Colorado law for adults 21 years of age and older.

It is still illegal under state law to buy or sell marijuana in any quantity and to consume marijuana in public or in a way that endangers others.

“Voters were loud and clear on Election Day,” Hickenlooper said. “We will begin working immediately with the General Assembly and state agencies to implement Amendment 64.”

It is now legal for adults over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. It is also legal for adults to grow a limited amount of marijuana for their personal use.

Amendment 64 will even allow the for the highly regulated production and retail sale of marijuana, but it will be over a year before those changes are implemented. The state will need to write new regulations first before such a system can be put in place.

Colorado has now become the second state where it is legal for adults to smoke marijuana. Last week Initiative 502 took effect in Washington State.

Today is the first day since 1937 that marijuana has been legal for recreational use anywhere in the United States. As Jon Walker writes, Colorado was technically the first state to approve legalized marijuana, but Amendment 64 won’t go into effect for a few more months.

Brian Sonenstein created this terrific avatar for Facebook to honor the event, and those who worked hard to make this happen. Feel free to share it and celebrate.

Click on this link to make the image your Facebook or Twitter avatar.

Tough love from the DOT

The federal Department of Transportation today affirmed that the recent approved marijuana legalization initiatives in Colorado and Washington State will not change their policies regarding marijuana. Marijuana use, whether for medical reasons or recreational enjoyment, is still technically under federal law and that is what the DOT will abide by. From the DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance:

We have had several inquiries about whether these state initiatives will have an impact upon the Department of Transportation’s longstanding regulation about the use of marijuana by safety‐sensitive transportation employees – pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, transit fire‐armed security personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency response personnel, among others.

We want to make it perfectly clear that the state initiatives will have no bearing on the Department of Transportation’s regulated drug testing program. The Department of Transportation’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation – 49 CFR Part 40 – does not authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason.

Therefore, Medical Review Officers (MROs) will not verify a drug test as negative based upon learning that the employee used “recreational marijuana” when states have passed “recreational marijuana” initiatives.

We also firmly reiterate that an MRO will not verify a drug test negative based upon information that a physician recommended that the employee use “medical marijuana” when states have passed “medical marijuana” initiatives.

If you work at a transportation job that requires federally mandated drug testing, the fact that your state has legalized marijuana doesn’t mean you are allowed to test positive for it. The fact that medical marijuana or recreational marijuana may be legal under state law doesn’t matter as far as the DOT is concerned. The current rules remain unchanged.

Before partaking in legal marijuana in either of these two states, it would be wise to make sure it will not interfere with your employment.

I think it is interesting that a month after the election the only guidance we have received so far from the federal government regarding state legalization efforts has been from agencies only tangentially involved. At this point the Department of Justice has still provide no indication for how it will deal with the new state laws.

Photo by cuellar under Creative Commons license.