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Lots to cover:

Indonesia plans  to execute 15 drug offenders  by firing squad, 10 of them foreign. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo justified the extreme measure by saying the country's drug crisis demands “shock therapy.” The world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia  has an estimated 4.5 million meth and heroin addicts , about 2 percent of the population. 

In response, the country’s narcotics agency has proposed cruel measures like prisons guarded by crocodiles and executing traffickers by forcing them to eat their supply.  In this climate of fear, more addicts are sharing needles and HIV infection is on the rise. Here’s  another important article  on Indonesia’s drug war. 

The Montana Cannabis Industry Association has filed to  take its case against the state’s strict MED law  to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court will now decide whether to hear the case. Law professors Randy Barnett of Georgetown and Doug Berman of Ohio State discuss  marijuana and the Constitution  in a podcast.

Colorado’s legislative session ended and WestWord  tallies the results : Tourists may soon be able to buy as much as the locals.  The “Potency Amendment,” that would limit the strength of cannabis products, and upend the industry, did not pass.  The state is  poised to drop its two-year residency requirement  to own a cannabusiness. 

Colorado will create a  new class of cannabis license , for couriers, but not an organic standard for growers. Labeling requirements remain under discussion. State law enforcement officials  want a two-year moratorium on new pot laws  so they can catch up.

Washington state  doesn’t face a weed shortage . In Denver, a crackdown on Craigslist pot sales is underway.

Ohio’s Republican-controlled House  passed a MED bill .  Ditto Louisiana.  The likely Massachusetts REC initiative  looks like a tight race . Missouri  could vote on MED  in November. 

Pro-cannabis Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is on  a pro-legalization tour . On a recent visit to the Bay Area he met with Uber and Google and spoke at Stanford. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) wants the Justice Department to drop its case against San Diego manufacturer Med-West.

New Jersey had almost 25,000 pot busts in 2014, the second highest total on record. In Elmore County, Idaho,  a man was hospitalized  for after using cannabis laced with a toxic chemical. Police told users to be careful. 

Rhode Island’s Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin said legalization will lead to the “ land of oblivion .” Rhode Island is the most Catholic state. It could also be the first to legalize REC through its legislature. 

The Atlantic has an interesting article on “ The Failed Promise of Legal Pot. ” Author Tom James finds that legalization hasn’t stamped out the street market because dealers are willing to work for smaller margins than shops. It paints a bleak picture of selling bags outside a fast-food location nicknamed “Stab in the Box.”

Arizona’s Supreme Court  limited the immunity provided to doctors  by the state’s MED law. In the case, Robert Gear, a naturopath, allegedly issued a police informant a MED card before he received her medical records, which he was required to read. The risk, the judge wrote, is that extending immunity could lead to theft or sexual assault during patient evaluations. Gear will face criminal prosecution.

In Denver,  many more dogs are going to the emergency room  for ingesting cannabis or edibles. Dog owner Kate Pinto came home to find her Great Dane mix drooling uncontrollably and struggling to walk. "It was just so terrifying, infuriating and sad,” Pinto said. “I felt so helpless for not being able to explain to [Tembo] what was happening. I can't imagine tripping as a dog and not knowing when it would end,"

If the dog arrives at the ER within four hours of ingestion, vomiting can be induced. Otherwise, typical treatment is an IV and rest. According to the Fox affiliate, an overdose can trigger mental health problems or even seizures. “Very few animals die,” a vet said. Dog owners should be on high alert during walks at Red Rocks Amphitheater. 

Five white guys control 13 percent of Denver's thousand-or so licenses, according to The Denver Post. They are  John Fritzel (Lightshade Labs, Buddy Boy, PotCo and MJardin),  Josh Ginsberg, Peter Knobel and Rhett Jordan (Native Roots) and  John Lord (LivWell).

A company called 22nd Century Group  wants to produce cannabinoids from tobacco  and other plants. According to a press release, it has “exclusive rights in the U.S. to genes required for cannabinoid production in the cannabis plant.” It is focused on “medically-important cannabinoids.”

Most cannabis businesses are  “very profitable” or “modestly profitable.” An online petition urges Google to accept weed ads.

Pineapple Express co-founder Vincent Mehdizadeh  said the SEC was not in touch  before it suspended trading in the company's stock. Mehdizadeh was  briefly a paper billionaire  after shares in his previous company, Medbox, soared. They later crashed.

U.S. prosecutors have begun  charging people who provide fatal doses of heroin  with murder, even when the victim was a loved one. The trend can conflict with Good Samaritan laws that protect those who call 911 during an overdose.

Cannabis impairment tests  aren’t reliable , according to a study commissioned by AAA.

A legal, national U.S. industry  could generate $28B in taxes a year , according to a report by the right-leaning Tax Foundation. The foundation's research is not always credible.

There was a  big industry conference  in Orlando. The city council also  voted to decriminalize .

In New York, Rabbis have begun to certify kosher pot. San Francisco’s last gun shop closed in the fall and a cannabis club is moving into the space.

Dead and Company, the current incarnation of the Grateful Dead, called for national legalization on Jimmy Kimmel.

Bank of America rejected this newsletter’s application for an account on grounds that it promotes marijuana use. They declined to read it first.

I’ll be on the CannaInsider podcast this Monday. Subscribe here.

Tips? Feedback? Write to [email protected].

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Bye,

Alex

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