Dennis Peron, the celebrated cannabis activist and backer of 1996’s Proposition 215, which legalized MED in California,
opposes the state’s coming REC vote. “In 1996, it was like a dark room had been left for so long without any light. I let a little light in. A light of compassion, hope and empowerment. We empowered the patients and the voters and the people that don’t believe marijuana is a crime,” Peron said. “But Prop. 64 will destroy that power that we’ve had for the last 20 years.”
In the 1980’s, Peron worked to enable San Francisco AIDS patients to access MED. He’s one of a handful of people whose work is considered essential to the legalization movement.
Public support for REC legalization in the U.S. reached an
all-time high of 57%, according to the Pew Research Center, up from 32% 10 years ago.
More than
900 days since Maryland legalized MED, legal sales have not begun. The earliest dispensaries could open is next summer at the earliest. REC supporters in Maine
disagree on policy details.
A court ruled that Arkansans will get to vote
on at least one of two MED proposals in November. An anti-MED group in Montana
may have violated state election laws according to an official. In Arizona's industry, there are rumors of a
“rigged” system for awarding business licenses.
If Denver voters pass the limited social use initiative, the situation at concerts
will be a bit of a grey area. Though the situation is
emphatically not urgent. Social use has picked up some
last-minute opposition. Fourteen more Colorado counties are also
voting on cannabis ballot measures.
Leaked emails suggest Hillary Clinton has
mixed feelings about legalization. The Atlantic says the election could be REC’s “
point of no return.”
A Drug Policy Alliance report found that in Washington and Colorado, the impact on
traffic safety and child poisonings has been minimal. AAA
opposes legalization.
Rand Corporation policy expert Beau Kilmer talked about
what legalization could mean for road safety, youth consumption and other tricky issues with the L.A. Times. Journalist Johann Hari says
fears surrounding legalization are largely unfounded.
Maine Attorney General Janet Mills (D), a REC opponent, says the language in the state ballot measure
could allow minors to consume.
A judge ruled that Missouri’s “
right to farm” law doesn’t apply to pot.
The U.K.’s pharmaceutical regulator said it
considers some CBD products medicine. The agency said CBD can be “restoring, correcting or modifying” for “physiological functions”
Turkey
legalized growing for medical and scientific purposes in 19 of its 81 provinces.
In Ottawa, a city public health board said the
legal purchase age for REC should be 25, citing brain development. Bruce Linton, CEO of major grower Tweed, said the age should be 19, same as the drinking age in most of Canada.
