Legalization in the States

The forward progression of marijuana law reform in the United States has been on the fast track in recent years.  Since 1996, 20 states and Washington D.C. have enacted marijuana laws in some form. 21 states have medicinal laws in place, 20 states have tax stamp laws, 16 states have hemp laws, and 16 state decriminalized marijuana to minor infractions. Just last year, two 2 states passed legislation that has legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, carving out a path for other states to follow as cannabis becomes legal in the states. Starting at the beginning of the legislation trail:

The forward progression of marijuana law reform in the United States has been on the fast track in recent years.  Since 1996, 20 states and Washington D.C. have enacted marijuana laws in some form. 21 states have medicinal laws in place, 20 states have tax stamp laws, 16 states have hemp laws, and 16 state decriminalized marijuana to minor infractions. Just last year, two 2 states passed legislation that has legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, carving out a path for other states to follow as cannabis becomes legal in the states. Starting at the beginning of the legislation trail:

Hemp Laws - Hemp is defined in Colorado legislature as a strain with less than 0.3% THC and states with hemp laws on their books have an active hemp industry or are performing authorized ongoing hemp research. We already know that various parts of the plant are used to make durable textiles, paper, cosmetics, food items, skin care, paints, animal feed, insulation etc. and these states are able to utilize the hemp plant in making consumer products.

Tax Stamp Laws - The states with tax stamp programs in place have laws that mandate drug dealers to pay taxes on their illegal drugs, using pre-paid stamps that are to be purchased and affixed to the marijuana packaging. Now this seems odd to have states without any medical or legalization laws, making it still illegal yet taxable. If you get caught with a bag and that does not have the tax stamps on it, you would incur added fines and penalties under the tax stamp law. It’s basically just a way for state governments to get their cut on illegal sales, without changing laws.

Medical Laws - The states with medical marijuana laws on the books allow cannabis to be used in a multitude of medicinal facets, as prescribed by doctors. Uses range from clinical treatments of pain relief, glaucoma, muscle spasms and nausea. It also treats and prevents certain types of tumors and neurological problems, as well as its anti-nausea properties.

Legalization Laws - There are only 2 states with legalization laws enacted; Colorado (CO) and Washington (WA) and only Colorado is using the laws to their full potential so far, with Washington slated to enact its legislation in a year’s time. Theses 2 states are pioneering the revolutionizing of America’s legal pot laws, and are allowing for possession, production and consumption of cannabis and products. It is still illegal to open or consume marijuana in public however, and they even prohibit consumption in any of the licensed retail establishments. Unlike the infamous coffee shops of Amsterdam you will not be able to purchase and consume under the same roof. 

Washington - The state of Washington voted November 6th 2012 on initiative 502 (I-502) for marijuana reform. The initiative passed by a margin of 56 to 44 percent and boasted an 81% voter turnout, one of the highest in the nation (no pun intended). The people of WA voted to stop treating adult marijuana use as a crime and try a new approach that: 1.) Allows law enforcement resources to focus on violent and property crimes, 2.) Generates immense state and local tax revenue for education, health care, research and substance abuse prevention, and 3.) Removed marijuana from the hands of illegal drug organizations and brings it under a tightly regulated, state-licensed system similar to the one that controls alcohol. It gave the state liquor control board full authority to regulate and tax marijuana for persons 21 years or older to consume, cultivate and purchase. 

The I-502 divides up the cannabis market, keeping separate licenses for wholesalers, processors & retailers. Empowering the state liquor board as the governing body over the cannabis market, allowing it to enable rules pertaining to the equipment and management of a retail outlets and spaces where cannabis is produced or processed. They can make rules for anything they see fit. The state of Washington will collect a 25% state sales tax on wholesale and retail sales of recreational marijuana, and have pre-designated specifically where the revenue will go. 

Colorado – Also passed on Election Day in 2012 was Amendment 64, which provides regulation for personal and recreational use of marijuana for adults over the age of 21 in the state of Colorado, and licensing for cultivation facilities, infused product manufacturing facilities and retail stores. Colorado residents voted in favor 55 to 44 with approx 68% voter turnout and by January 1st the laws were ready to take effect. Colorado has long been known to be a cannabis favorable state, and its residents were pushing hard for this reform. 

The licensing in Colorado does not separate the producers and processors as it does in Washington, allowing a grower to process their own harvest for sale to retail shops. Colorado had within their medicinal laws a requirement for all employees of Medicinal centers to obtain what’s called an occupational license. This remains the same in the recreational laws, any employee that is going to ring up a sale on a licensed retail point of sale (POS) system or enter data into a marijuana inventory tracking system (MITS) must have an occupational license. 

The MITS is designed to track every licensed piece of marijuana from the day a cutting or seedling roots until the day it is sold. This system can record and report the strain’s type and origination, what it consists of, where it was grown, batch number, growing method, chemicals used, where it was processed, where it was packed and who it was sold to wholesale. Talk about the ultimate cannabis farm to table (or farm to pipe) information system! 

The states have also been very strict in distinguishing the differences between medicinal and recreational cannabis, and they are designated and grown as such from seedling. The set limits on how much a person can purchase is the same for both states; residents are allowed to possess up to 28g (1oz) of dried bud at a time. CO has allowances for home growers to grow up to 6 plants at any given time, with a maximum of 3 plants mature and blooming and a maximum of 3 immature. The grow room must be fully enclosed and close with a lock. You as a grower are allowed to give people some of your harvest as a gift, but not allowed to sell or trade it for goods or services, which would require a license. Another allowance CO has is for out-of-state residents to purchase up to 7g (1/4 oz), so move over Amsterdam new cannabis vacation destination Colorado is now on the map! 

Colorado collects on average a 25% total tax on retail recreational marijuana, depending on the local tax rate. The first report of recreational revenue from Colorado came in at the end of the first full month of operations in January 2014 totaling $14.02 million in retail sales with the state collecting roughly $2.01 million dollars in taxes.

One can assume that they are going to spread the tax revenue out just like Washington has projected to; long and short term use research, health care and addiction programs. The disbursement specifics have yet to be determined.

The shelves of the initial 160 or so shops that opened in January 2014 with licenses in CO are lined with glass jars. Each one is full of cured colas, meticulously labeled with an employee nearby to inform and discuss every strain. The employees are referred to as ‘Bud Tenders’ and are very knowledgeable on their products. The bud tenders are quick to offer a smile or a quick joke before diving into full descriptions, reviews and suggestions on the indica, sativa or crossbreed of your choice. You can tell these Bud Tenders really love their jobs, and why wouldn’t they? They do have the best job in the world for any connoisseur, something most of us have only dreamed about. Just as you can walk into a jewelry store and have the jeweler walk you through their selection, you can get the same treatment in these small pot shops all over Colorado and soon in Washington too. The stores that sell marijuana are limited to only selling marijuana and its related products, so don’t expect to be picking up any in the produce department of a grocery store anytime soon. 

When you step into a retail shop you will notice the tantalizing aroma of dank herb, and the first things you will see for sale are the smaller pot infused items. They will be hanging on wall pegs, dangling from free standing display racks or neatly lined up on top of the display cases. Some of these items include; gummies, suckers & candies, chocolates, granola bars, goo-balls, brownies, lozenges, drinks, topical lotions and even random things like canna-bubble bath. A lot of the stores are also head shops stocking items to smoke out of, usually mostly a heady glass pipe/bong selection, but can also include plastic pipes/bongs, rolling papers, grinders etc. Look for the employees of the store as they will most likely be standing near the shelves or cases that hold all the green goodness. Everything you can think of is available; pre-rolled joints, honey oils (dabs), sometimes made into shatter hash, earwax hash and even THC/CBD/CBN transdermal patches. One of their biggest selling toys is the vaporizer pens. They come with a refillable chamber and look similar to an e-cigarette. Then, of course, there is that store’s nuggets of choice and the stores usually have a menu listing all their offerings as well as a glass display. 

Some shops have a small inventory of offerings and carry only unique strains their supplier has developed and cross bread themselves and can charge $3-5 more per gram because of its rarity. But most shops have extensive selections of strains that most of us would recognize, like; Northern Lights, Blue Dream, Chem Dog, Bruce Banner, FLO, Super Lemon Haze, Sour Diesel, Durban Poison, Sour Alien, Headband, Glass Slipper, Cinderella 99, Skunk #1, OG Kush, Strawberry Fields, Grape Ape, Blueberry, Kilowatt, Critical, Cannatonic…just to name a few. The jars are usually accompanied by a pair of tongs that the employees carefully remove the buds with. They are then placed on a tray or small dish for the customer to inspect and smell before making a decision. They are offering the same professional service that you would expect to find in any high end retail store; whether or not it is serving a product that the United States Federal Government can still put you in jail for. 

The US Federal Government Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970 classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and severe psychological or physical dependence. They are the most dangerous of all five drug schedules outlined in the CSA and come with stiff penalties. 

 The CSA makes the possession and sale of marijuana a felony crime and uses the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) long armed reach to enforce this law. Their freedoms are, for now, protected by the current president and his administration. In a letter written from the Department of Justice to all federal enforcement agency officials, it states that the federal government will not challenge state laws, and will instead focus on keeping drugs out of the hands of minors and preventing the trafficking to the states where it remains illegal.  So, for now under President Obama and his hand-shake agreement with the marijuana industry states, they are safe.

Is it a coincidence that the two states to legalize pot this year also had their NFL football teams in the championship, dubbed the “Super Bowl”? Hmmm…….. Look for more states to follow their lead, with talks of at least 4 more states in talks for new legislation in the coming years. Without loopholes and inherent indiscretions in state laws, legalization of marijuana is unfolding before our very eyes.