Could Georgia Be The Next State To Vote For Legalized Weed?

Medical cannabis is a conservative value. Just last week in Texas, a six-year-old girl received the state’s first shipment of legal medical marijuana. Now, the question is which southern state will be the first to legalize recreational marijuana outright. Looking around the south, the chief suspect is in the southeast. So: Could Georgia be the next state to vote for legalized weed?

Legalization Where The Marijuana Laws Are Toughest?

Georgia is more liberal on cannabis than you may think. Atlanta lawmakers ended criminal penalties for low-level marijuana possession in October. That paved the way for state lawmakers to support legalization in numbers never before seen.

State Senator Curt Thompson tried to legalize cannabis in Georgia last year. His bill failed, in no small part because he was the only sponsor. This time around, five other state lawmakers attached their names to the effort.

Decriminalization is nice, but legalization is much better. Georgia has some of the strictest marijuana laws in the country. Possession of more than two ounces is punishable by a ten-year prison term, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

That’s bad. And that’s something cities can’t fix on their own.

“To get rid of the gangs, to get rid of the organized crime unit, that is the only way to do it is to do it statewide,” Thompson told WTOC.

Based on numbers from Colorado, if Georgia were to legalize and tax recreational cannabis, it would mean more than $340 million in tax revenue. Big money! And money that Georgia is desperate to find from somewhere. Anywhere. This is why the answer to “Could Georgia be the next state to vote for legalized weed” is a strong maybe.

If Not Casinos, Then Cannabis

Georgia lawmakers have spent the past few years furiously searching around for a source of income. They’ve tried several times to legalize casinos with no luck.

So instead of casinos, why not marijuana?

Thompson’s plan is short on details. The bill he’s introduced only authorizes the state assembly to send the question to voters. Every other point, such as who can grow it and how it’ll be taxed or sold, is still up in the air.

That said, Thompson wants to split that $340 million windfall between education and transportation.

If the bill passes the state Legislature, it would go to the voters in November 2018 for their final approval.

That’s a mighty big if.

Final Hit: Could Georgia Be The Next State To Vote For Legalized Weed?

2018 is already shaping up to be a banner year for marijuana legalization. Vermont’s governor signed a legalization bill into law in January. New Jersey’s governor is on notice to fulfill a similar promise. And backers of a legalization effort in Michigan say they have more than enough support to pass a ballot measure in November.

Where does that leave Georgia? In the south, unfortunately. Support for legalization so far is limited to urban areas like Atlanta. Lawmakers in other sparsely populated areas of the state aren’t quite so keen. Not even coastal Savannah, with its renowned arts and cultural scene, is down with legal weed.

In fact, lawmakers are both the solution and the problem.

Georgia has no citizen-initiated ballot initiative process. Changes to the state Constitution go before voters, but only legislators can send a question to the ballot.

So legalization’s only path forward is via state lawmakers. Until this year, no state had accomplished that. And so far, only Bernie Sanders’s home state has managed that trick. Can the home of SEC football be the next? It’s at least possible.

Has Federal Marijuana Research Evolved?

Has federal marijuana research evolved since the early days of prohibition? The legalization of marijuana by states across the country has tempered the federal government’s presentation of research on marijuana. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) acknowledges research that makes several former concerns inaccurate today.

Research Contrasts Concerns

NIDA has always expressed concern over marijuana’s effect on memory and consciousness. They act as if getting high is a negative side-effect rather than one of the reasons people use it.  They continue to worry about its effect on learning and driving. On a more serious note research suggests some concern over the effect of marijuana use on the developing brains of teenagers and whether heavy use at that age harms cognitive development.

More interesting is that NIDA acknowledges that while they would like to see more research on the subject, when it comes to medical marijuana “there is mounting anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of marijuana-derived compounds.”  However, there has been a subtle change in how NIDA refers to medical cannabis. It is now part of a general and recognized category of therapeutic substances known as botanicals.

Has federal marijuana research evolved since the popular gateway theory came about? NIDA acknowledges that of people who use marijuana typically do not use other, more dangerous drugs.

Loose Links Sink Ships

NIDA also clarifies the linkage between marijuana and psychiatric disorders. However, the connection was confined to people with preexisting genetic conditions or other vulnerabilities. They concluded that there was no significant risk for the general population.

While smoke is harmful to the lungs, studies have failed to associate marijuana with emphysema and lung cancer.  However, heavy marijuana users report more symptom of chronic bronchitis.  On the other hand, NIDA explains that THC and CBD have been shown in animal studies to have antitumor effects, and this may explain why there no connection between the use of marijuana and more serious lung problems.

There are also a few studies showing a link between adolescent marijuana use and an increased risk for testicular cancer.  Another relatively new concern that is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, “a condition marked by recurrent bouts of severe nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.  This condition occurs in persons over 50 with a long history of cannabis use.  These developments will be subject to further research.

Positive Impact Of Legal Marijuana

NIDA also reports on the impact of marijuana legalization on the opioid crises.  The first study found a reduction in overdose deaths from opioid pain relievers in states that had legalized marijuana. The effect grew stronger every year after legalization.

A more detailed study funded by NIDA and conducted by the RAND Corporation shows areas with cannabis dispensaries have lower levels of opioids prescribed. Additionally, there is less self-reported opioid use, fewer people need treatment for the abuse of pain pills and overdose deaths are reduced.

Final Hit: Has Federal Marijuana Research Evolved?

The government has always pushed that idea that marijuana is addictive but overlooks clinical standards about drug dependency about just what that means.  However, the use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances like marijuana or kratom by teenagers can contribute to other problems in early adulthood.  The research supporting these warnings has been available for some time now. And they seem to support efforts to reduce marijuana’s availability to teenagers and support responsible use of marijuana by adults.

Indiana Has Finally Legalized Industrial Hemp

Indiana has finally legalized industrial hemp, which means that farmers could soon have the freedom to grow this cash crop. Lawmakers have been pushing for years to bring this versatile plant to the Hoosier State. But some worry it is a step in the wrong direction.

Law enforcement and other state officials have voiced concerns that fields of hemp might become problematic. They believe it might create opportunities for black market players to grow weed under legal cover. Maybe even become so confident that they take it a step further and grow organic weed.

There is also the concern that permitting farmers to grow marijuana’s low-THC cousin might be a pathway to full-blown legalization. Nevertheless, the Indiana Legislature has taken steps to legalized industrial hemp.

Indiana House Votes to Legalize Industrial Hemp

Earlier this week, the Indiana House voted unanimously in favor of a measure allowing Indiana farmers to cultivate industrial hemp. The proposal, which was brought to the table by Republican Representative Jim Lucas, would give farmers the opportunity to grow hemp in the same fields as corn and other crops.

The goal is to provide the agriculture sector with a new economic opportunity—create jobs for Indiana families.

There seems to be a lot of support in the 2018 session for an upgrade to last year’s CBD oil law. Lawmakers from both parties are now pushing for a more comprehensive reform.

But the idea of allowing the cultivation of industrial hemp is not exactly the move that some lawmakers had intended. Still, supporters of the Lucas’ “jobs bill” hope to convince the naysayers that this is the right move for the state economy.

Not only would industrial hemp production lead to economic growth, but it could also open up a venue for patients to get local CBD products. Yet, federal law is still a concern.

Some lawmakers are still worried that the Justice Department and its head goon, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, are going to impose a crackdown. So they want to err on the side of caution.

“Everything I’ve seen says industrial hemp is probably a harmless crop,” Senate leader David Long told the Indianapolis Star. “I have no problem with that, I’m just not sure the federal government issue isn’t still holding us back.”

Federal Farm Bill and Hemp Legalization

In 2014, the federal government passed a bill that gives states permission to cultivate industrial hemp for research purposes. Many states, including Indiana, took advantage of this opportunity.

There were some problems, at the beginning, with respect to getting seeds without hassles by the DEA. Kentucky, which has one of the strongest industrial hemp programs in the country, made national headlines with its seed debacle.

But in Indiana, industrial hemp is a relatively quiet scene. As for now, Purdue University is the only location allowed to grow the crop. Still, no one is positive whether the “research” adheres to federal law.

“There’s been no research that I’ve seen directly,” professor Janna Beckerman, a hemp researcher at Purdue, told the Star. “It’s sort of a big wink: ‘Oh yea we’re doing research.'”

But if Indiana was to get on the same page as Kentucky, big opportunities would come-a-knocking. Some of the latest data shows that Kentucky farmers produced 3,200 acres of industrial hemp in 74 counties last year.

And the new industry has created hundreds of new jobs. The state was recently approved to grow 12,000 acres of the product in 2018.

Final Hit: Indiana Has Finally Legalized Industrial Hemp

Regardless of the obvious benefits, many conservatives in the Indiana Senate are expected to carefully approach the industrial hemp bill. This chamber is responsible for the majority of the snags with last year’s CBD proposal.

Many lawmakers still do not understand that industrial hemp does not have intoxicating prosperities. That it is impossible to get high by smoking this stuff.

They fail to comprehend that if marijuana is beer, hemp is O’Doul’s. But the two plants look similar, and that is enough for some lawmakers to turn their backs.

Should We Lower Legal Adult-Use Marijuana Laws to 18?

Should we lower legal adult-use marijuana laws to 18? Now that more states are legalizing weed, it’s definitely something to consider. But why does the default age for legal consumption seem to be 21?

The United States has been sending 18-year-olds into combat for years while refusing to sell them alcoholic beverages. Now, this trend has become the standard with respect to the legalization of marijuana. There is no federal policy to strong arm cannabis advocates to reach for legal weed based on these politics.

Yet this is how the cannabis industry is being set up for future generations. Are we passing these types of adult-use laws because it is the right thing to do? Or is the cannabis industry simply following in the footsteps of alcohol because it is more palatable?

History of Adult-Use Laws

The U.S is one of only four countries that prevents adults between 18 and 20 from enjoying booze and weed. The age restriction is a fairly new concept. It originated in the 1980s as one of the most effective methods to control drunk driving. We suspect this was less complicated than imposing the more common-sense policies recommended by the commission on drunk driving.

President Reagan eventually signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. The law did not force states to increase their legal drinking age to 21-years-old. But it twisted their arms a bit by threatening to revoke a percentage of their highway funding.

These days, every state follows this policy. But, contrary to popular opinion, there is still no national minimum drinking age.

Similarly, there is nothing on the books to persuade legal states to limit cannabis sales to people 21 and older. Marijuana remains an outlaw substance under the DEA’s Controlled Substances Act. This classifies it as one of the most dangerous drugs in the world.

In recent years, eight states have passed recreational marijuana laws. And all without the permission or support of Congress. This means marijuana initiatives approved in places like Colorado and Washington could have, just as easily, had adult-use marijuana laws at 18 and older to buy weed.

There are no laws in place to encourage states to go along with the 21 and older philosophy.

Cannabis Industry Follows Suit

But cannabis advocates have piggybacked Reagan’s 21 and older approach to responsible use. Why? It seems advocacy groups, like the Marijuana Policy Project, believe it is less confusing for the voters. Rather than adult-use marijuana laws being set at 18.

“We are pushing to regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol because that is a system that is universally familiar and which most people are comfortable with,” Morgan Fox, director of communications at the Marijuana Policy Project, told High Times.

“Since marijuana does cause inebriation it more closely resembles alcohol than tobacco to the average person, despite being far safer than both substances. Setting an age lower than 21 could turn off a lot of swing voters,” he added. “Once marijuana becomes legal at the federal level, it is likely that Congress will eventually pass something analogous to the federal minimum drinking age, so it also makes sense for states to already be in compliance if this happens.”

But there is no evidence that adult-use policies restricting the sale of booze and weed to adults 21 and older contribute to the public safety of American citizens.

Do Adult-Use Laws Keep America Safer?

Many people believe that laws restricting the sale of alcohol and marijuana to adults 21 and older keep American safer. This is just an illusion. Drug and alcohol use among teens is lower these days than it has been in the past few decades.

But young people did not allow 21-and-older laws to keep them sober through much of the nineties and into the new millennium. The nation’s current infatuation with adult-use laws is actually part of the reason how binge drinking has become such a problem.

College-aged students are often reduced to getting their hands on booze only after finding someone 21 and older willing to score for them. And when they do, they often drink way too much.

Marijuana, while safer than booze, still comes with a certain binge mentality for those without legal access. But much like alcohol, the powers-that-be continue to try and sell the American public on the myth that marijuana consumption before the age of 21 wreaks havoc on developing brains.

They pulled the same shenanigans, back in the day, when trying to increase the legal drinking age. Researchers said, at the time, that booze consumption before the age of 21 limits “brain power.” To this day, no one is certain exactly what constitutes brain power.

Some of the latest studies have shown that person’s brain is not fully developed until around age 25. But researchers say this has more to do with “emotional maturity, self-image and judgment.”

It does not mean that smoking marijuana at the age of 18 or 19 will cause any particular brain development issues. There is still no definitive evidence that marijuana is harmful to the brain.

Adult-Use Policies Are a Scam

Let’s face it. If state and local governments really had any interest in restricting the sale of intoxicating substances to mature adults, the legal age would be somewhere around 42 for men and 30 in women.

Most of us are still exercising our hell-raising years until then.

Yet it has been our nation’s modus operandi since 1920 to impose prohibition laws as a means for controlling the masses. But those policies do not work.

Imposing restrictive adult-use marijuana laws are made up of the same beast as prohibition. These policies really only serve to criminalize behavior that technically does not impact or harm others.

So no, adult-use laws do not keep Americans safer. If this is the goal, cannabis advocates should be encouraging responsible consumption by working with lawmakers to impose stricter penalties for those who do not act responsibly. We hate to be the ones to break it to you. But the 21-and-older sales pitch is nothing but a scam.

Final Hit: Should We Lower Legal Adult-Use Marijuana Laws to 18?

Lawmakers in some states are presently working to lower the legal drinking age to 20-years-old, while still restricting retail sales to those 21 and older. Other states are trying to drop the legal drinking age to 18-years-old for active service members only.

This is insanity at its finest. All of the people that fall into this demographic are legal adults. They can go to war, they can be prosecuted for crimes and sent to prison and they can get married.

But because President Reagan tried to convince the public almost 35 years ago that he was doing everything in his power to stop drunk drivers from terrorizing America’s highways, none of these folks can legally purchase alcohol.

Unfortunately, the marijuana advocacy community is now copying this misguided standard with raging enthusiasm. Perhaps the cannabis industry should rise up and become leaders on adult-use marijuana laws, rather than try to impose policies that mirror the alcohol industry because they are “universally familiar” and “comfortable.”

We should be working to pass laws that celebrate freedom and the American way of life, not just trying to legalize a plant.

California Weed Farmers Are Challenging State Grow Regulations

In an effort to fight against the looming threat of cannabis corporatization, California weed farmers are challenging state grow regulations. Small-scale growers were dismayed when the regulations overseeing the legal cannabis economy were released by California state authorities last year, placing no effective limits on acreage that can be used by a single grower.

This led to fears that agribusiness could convert huge holdings in the Salinas and Central valleys to cannabis cultivation, and force the traditional small growers of the Emerald Triangle off the market.

Now the California Growers Association is challenging the regulations in the courts, demanding a one-acre cannabis grow cap.

The California Growers Association

Representing more than 1,000 cannabis cultivators and businesses in communities throughout the state, the California Growers Association filed its suit against the Department of Food & Agriculture regulations in Sacramento County Superior Court on Jan. 24.

The group’s press release cites the text of Proposition 64, the 2016 initiative to establish a legal cannabis market in California. Prop 64 stated that it “ensures the nonmedical marijuana industry in California will be built around small and medium-sized businesses…”

Prop 64, formally the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, and its enabling legislation, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, establish a five-year transition period during which small and medium-size growers are to be protected before the state may issue large-scale cultivation licenses.

But the California Growers Association argues that the new regulations include a loophole that allows a single corporation “to obtain and aggregate unlimited smaller cultivation licenses to operate a cultivation site larger than the legal limit.”

The regulations do limit the number of one-acre grow licenses to one per person or entity—but also allow an individual to apply for multiple licenses for smaller plots, making nonsense of that one-acre limit.

Growers Association director Hezekiah Allen said Food & Agriculture violated the intent of the law. Its lawsuit calls upon the court to prohibit the state from issuing small cultivation licenses in cases in which the applicant’s total size would exceed one acre. The suit is also calling for the court to award attorneys’ fees to the Growers Association.

The association’s director Hezekiah Allen said they had exhausted every other option after meeting with state regulators and staff from Governor Jerry Brown’s office over the past months.

Allen emphasized, “Generally we think the agency is doing a good job, this is not a broad complaint. Our concern is very narrow in scope, but the implications are huge.”

Final Hit: California Weed Farmers Are Challenging State Grow Regulations

The specter of “corporate cannabis” was part of what led to the defeat of the 2010 legalization initiative in California, Prop 19, and also won Prop 64 its skeptics—including the recently departed Dennis Peron, arguably the state’s most prominent cannabis activist.

At least keeping a market niche for the small producers of the plant that gives us THC will clearly now be a challenge for growers, advocates and policy-makers alike.

California weed farmers are challenging state grow regulations, and if they do so successfully, it could help the industry keep true to its grassroots foundation.

Is The Governor of Maine Lightening Up His Anti-Weed Stance?

Is the governor of Maine lightening up his anti-weed stance? Republican Governor Paul LePage has just agreed to delay the implementation of tough new regulations for the state’s medical marijuana community. The proposed rules were scheduled to take effect February 1 but have been postponed until May instead.

New Regulations For Maine?

The new directives would have ended the manufacturing of cannabis products such edibles, tinctures and topicals. Unannounced inspections of caregivers and their operations would have also been permitted.

So is the governor of Maine lightening up his anti-weed stance? It doesn’t look like it. Governor LePage still wants stricter regulations. He’s just willing to wait to get them.

“While I believe strongly that the medical marijuana program needs improved and increased regulation, waiting until May to ensure we do not create unnecessary confusion and complication is a reasonable approach,” LePage said in a letter sent Wednesday to Representative Deborah Sanderson.

Representative Sanderson, also a Republican, serves on the Health and Human Services Committee of the Maine State Legislature. That committee, which is tasked with regulating medical marijuana, had requested the delay and was poised to pass a law that would do just that.

But the law would have failed to take effect before the impending regulations, making passage of the bill a moot point. The committee wants time to craft legislation that would address many of the same issues covered by LePage’s delayed rules.

New Rules Are Still Inevitable

Representative Sanderson made it clear that she was not trying to avoid regulation of the cannabis industry in Maine. “The program needs greater oversight. My request was not a way to avoid more regulation. I just want to do it in a thorough, thoughtful way,” she said.

She also noted that by investing the time and effort now, the government will be able to merge regulation of medical marijuana with the implementation of the legalization of recreational marijuana passed by Maine voters in 2016.

“I think it’s prudent to see what’s in the new rules, parse out what exactly the department was going for as far as oversight and bring industry standards to everyone, and that includes caregivers. That is not something we can just do. We have to hear from the department, the community.

It would be complicated enough on its own, but we also have to look for ways to dovetail some of the policy we are working on with what is going on with adult-use marijuana,” Rep. Sanderson said.

Final Hit: Is The Governor of Maine Lightening Up His Anti-Weed Stance?

LePage has been a staunch opponent of marijuana legalization. In November 2017 the governor vetoed a bill passed by the legislature that would have implemented a commercial adult-use cannabis market in Maine. The bill was intended to enact Question 1, a ballot proposal legalizing recreational marijuana use that was passed by voters in November 216.

Governor LePage defended that action by saying he had sought the advice of United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions while deciding what to do with the legislature’s bill.

“Until I clearly understand how the federal government intends to treat states that seek to legalize marijuana, I cannot in good conscience support any scheme in state law to implement expansion of legal marijuana in Maine,” the governor wrote in a letter explaining his veto.