New Mexicans: Give Us Legal Marijuana

New Mexico is not at the top of many lists of the states most likely to legalize marijuana in the next few years, but a new poll suggests it should be.

The telephone survey was conducted by a local polling firm and queried 406 adults across the state. It found fully 61 percent of New Mexicans want to see cannabis legalized for personal use. It is already allowed by the state as medicine.

Legalization supporters pointed to the poll as proof they’re backing a winning proposition.

Public support is strong

“If it can get on the ballot, it’s going to pass,” said state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, sponsor of a referendum that would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for recreation.

The odds aren’t good, at least not yet, but the poll suggests that could change as lawmakers come to terms with public opinion. Ortiz y Pino failed last year to put a similar bill through the state Senate, which is controlled by Democrats. The House, led by Republicans, is even less likely to go along this time.

The poll asked New Mexicans whether they favor legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis for adults aged 21 and over. Sixty-one percent said yes, while 34 percent said no. The remainder said they weren’t sure.

But the numbers were even stronger when respondents learned the details of the proposal and how tax revenues would be used, including drug education and addiction rehabilitation programs. At that point, 69 percent of respondents said they support legalization.

Strongest support from young, male voters

The strongest support, as usual in such polls, came from men, younger voters, those registered as independents or Democrats, and New Mexicans who are not registered to vote. Every major geographic region provided majority support for the idea.

The results also demonstrate “a tremendous level of support” for medical marijuana, 71 percent, said Research & Polling President Brian Sanderoff. And support for full legalization has increased steadily over the years. It first topped 50 percent in 2013, when a poll measured support at 52 percent.

The new poll was already likely to show stronger results, since it includes residents who are not also voters. But the numbers are still high enough to put money on future reform in New Mexico.

“The data is very impressive,” said Duke Rodriguez, former secretary of the Human Services Department and manager of a marijuana cultivation company out of Arizona. “Clearly New Mexicans want to legalize and have adult use.”

Unlikely to legalize in 2016

It’s not clear when legalization will reach New Mexico, but it is unlikely this year unless Ortiz y Pino’s bill succeeds despite long odds. Still, public support is stronger there than in most other places, even some considered good bets for reform. And the state could use the estimated tax windfall of $20 million to $60 million each year, Rodriguez said.

“It’s money we desperately need, and it’s taking money out of the (drug) cartel and putting it back in the mainstream,” he said.

Other supporters, including state Rep. Bill McComley, said the push for legal cannabis could spur young people to care more about politics and register to vote.

“Why would we not work on a policy that 87 percent of young people think is worth doing?” Mccauley asked.

New Mexicans: Give Us Legal Marijuana

California Tries to Fix Marijuana Mistake

When California lawmakers finally got around to regulating medical marijuana last year, they made a humdinger of a mistake. Now they’re trying to fix it, but it may already be too late.

The new rules, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, provide a framework for licensing and regulating the state’s chaotic medical cannabis industry. In order to appease local officials who feared a flood of marijuana grows and dispensaries, lawmakers said communities could ban or limit both cultivation and sales. If they don’t, the state will regulate in their place.

Unfortunately, the bill provided a deadline, after which cities and counties would lose all local control over marijuana regulations. The deadline, March 1, is fast approaching, and the rush has driven hundreds of municipal governments to outright ban cannabis.

Patients will have no access to cannabis

Californians who live in these places may still possess and use marijuana as patients. But in many cases they will no longer be able to grow it at home or buy it at local dispensaries. Instead they must drive long distances for a medication that many need on a regular basis.

Most of the press by local officials is driven by the deadline. With only a short window, localities decided they had no choice but to prohibit all MMJ businesses.

Lawmakers quickly acknowledged they had made a mistake and vowed to fix it. To that end, they presented Brown with new legislation in January, designed to remove the deadline and give communities more time to shape sensible local rules.

Legislation being pushed to remove deadline

“My concern with the March 1 deadline was that these bans were happening without input from communities and stakeholders,” said Assemblyman Jim Wood, a sponsor of the bill

But the damage is already done in many places, and it is unlikely there will be a widespread movement to repeal the bans already in force. That means large swaths of California will have no practical access to medicinal cannabis, regardless of their health conditions.

Of course, all this is likely to change, soon. Plans are underway to put a ballot initiative before the public this year that would legalize marijuana for recreational use statewide. Though the details are still being hashed out, the proposal would likely make it much easier for patients and other users to find cannabis – though local governments may still have the power to ban shops.

The new bill passed the state Senate in January, 35-3, followed by a unanimous win in the Assembly Jan. 28. Brown was expected to sign it.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California for 20 years, since voters approved the Compassionate Use Act in a public referendum. But the program was never fully regulated, leading to constant complaints of lawlessness and easy access to cannabis. The new rules were designed to impose order on the system and answer those complaints.

They establish a state Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to regulate the industry and classify the drug as an agricultural product. That means it is subject to general rules on water, pesticides, and other products.

California Tries to Fix Marijuana Mistake

McMahon: MJ Helped Me Bounce Back After Football

The list of athletes, musicians, and other celebrities who endorse medical marijuana has now grown to include Jim McMahon, former Bears quarterback and onetime Super Bowl champion.

In a report in January by The Chicago Tribune, McMahon explained he suffers from a wide array of health problems, most following his 15-year career with multiple NFL teams and most successfully treated with cannabis. He is perhaps best known for his performance in Super Bowl XX, when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots 45-10.

McMahon, now 56, says he has been diagnosed with early onset dementia, severe headaches, depression, memory issues, and hearing and vision problems. He also broke his neck and said he still suffers the consequences.

Those difficulties, tied to his football career, are the focus of an ESPN documentary, “30 for 30.” McMahon returned to Chicago for a screening and a 30-year reunion of the Bears team that won the Super Bowl in 1986.

McMahon lawsuit against NFL

McMahon’s injuries spurred him to join a class-action lawsuit against the NFL. The suit alleges the league was negligent and committed misconduct in its response to evidence that repeated concussions cause lasting brain trauma. The same problems also turned him toward medical marijuana.

Other treatments helped, he told the Tribune, including chiropractic adjustments, but he also took powerful opiate painkillers with the power to cause addiction and kill. A recent rash of fatal heroin overdoses across the country has been tied to over-prescription of these dangerous drugs.

The marijuana, McMahon said, helped him quit the opiates he started while playing. He first became a patient in Arizona, where medicinal cannabis was legalized in 2010, and that got him off the 100 Percocet pills he took each month for shoulder, neck, and arm pain.

Marijuana more effective than opiates

“They were doing more harm than good,” he said. “This medical marijuana has been a godsend. It relieves me of the pain, or thinking about it, anyway.”

McMahon said he usually smokes his first cannabis of the day in the morning to help wake up, followed by a few puffs in the afternoon if he doesn’t feel well, and a bit more before bed to help him sleep. He usually goes with indica, and he said it keeps his head clear in a way that wasn’t possible while taking painkillers.

He has tried to enter the medical marijuana business in Arizona, but those plans fell through. He told the Tribune he decided to talk about his marijuana use so he could help other people who could benefit from the drug.

Medical marijuana is also legal in Illinois, though the program has run into difficulties. Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, could soon approve an additional eight conditions to the list of illnesses that qualify for medicinal cannabis. But patients still have a hard time getting their hands on their medication.

McMahon’s views on the issue will undoubtedly help other patients, but it won’t change many minds. Opponents of medical marijuana in Illinois and elsewhere are already set in their beliefs. The program there is unusually restrictive in large part because lawmakers were terrified of overdoing reform.

Still, the epidemic of opiate deaths is convincing an increasingly large portion of the population that marijuana is a much safer choice – whether for college students, drug addicts, or pain patients. McMahon’s use of cannabis to leave pain pills behind may be the most earnest endorsement of his career.

McMahon: MJ Helped Me Bounce Back After Football

Are Traffickers Hiding Behind Legalization?

Illegal drug dealers are using Colorado’s legal marijuana industry as cover for large trafficking operations, according to a report by The Associated Press in January. The traffickers are buying cannabis in stores or growing it among legal plants, then shipping it to other states at a massive profit, AP reports.

Federal authorities say many large drug traffickers have moved to Colorado in recent years, where they allegedly grow black market pot and ship it to dealers in other states. At least 20 alleged dealers have been accused of growing marijuana in Colorado and sending it to Florida, where prices for quality cannabis are more than double those in Colorado.

A man who owned a skydiving business flew hundreds of pounds of legal marijuana from Colorado to Minnesota, where it fetched millions of dollars on the street, according to AP. In another case, a man from Denver allegedly shipped more than 100 packages of pot to Upstate New York. The AP article points to these as examples of traffickers using legalization to disguise their domestic activities.

AP contradicts previous reports

Previous reports suggest legal marijuana has hurt international drug cartels, increasingly driving them out of the cannabis marketplace. But according to the AP report, these cases “confirm a longstanding fear of marijuana opponents that the state’s much-watched experiment in legal pot would invite more illegal trafficking to other states where the drug is still strictly forbidden.”

Some legal cannabis is obviously leaving Colorado. Much of it is carried by tourists bringing home less than an ounce for personal use. These users buy their drugs legally and pay taxes on them, but are still treated as criminals under federal law.

Other marijuana leaves the state in the hands of low-level dealers who pay full retail price and then resell the product back home. These people pose little threat to society, but authorities say they’re more worried about big-time traffickers who use Colorado as a grow site and then sell marijuana elsewhere.

Neighboring states suing Colorado over inter-state smuggling

Doubtless officials in neighboring Nebraska and Oklahoma will jump on the report as confirmation of their beliefs. These officials have sued the State of Colorado, seeking to prevent the legal cultivation and sale of cannabis, even to Colorado residents. The Obama administration has intervened, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the lawsuit.

Other law enforcement officials quickly pointed to the report as proof trafficking has increased – even though it relies on anecdotal evidence rather than hard empirical data showing an increase in illegal distribution from Colorado.

“There’s no question there’s a lot more of this activity than there was two years ago,” said Colorado’s U.S. attorney, John Walsh.

Not everyone agrees. Advocates for legalization note that police have a long history of exaggerating problems related to marijuana, especially when it comes to cannabis crossing state lines. Nebraska and Oklahoma officials have been repeatedly accused of hyping their statistics to blow the issue out of proportion.

Still, AP’s reporting is unlikely to have much effect on the debate over marijuana reform. If anything, the conflicting information suggests legalization may have spurred some low-level trafficking – the kind of dealer who drives his own product back from Colorado – while fighting the operations of big Mexican drug cartels. In net, that may still be a good thing.

Are Traffickers Hiding Behind Legalization?

Medical Marijuana Push Underway in Ohio

A recent attempt to legalize marijuana for any use in Ohio met with utter failure. But that doesn’t mean advocates are giving up.

In fact, a large national lobbying group has joined an effort to put medical cannabis on the statewide ballot in November. The Marijuana Policy Project announced in January that it would back the MMJ cause in Ohio.

The system would be similar to medicinal marijuana in the 23 other states where it is allowed, plus the District of Columbia. Major lobbying groups are not pushing for full legalization in 2016, perhaps recognizing that last year’s defeat would make that much harder to accomplish.

The campaign is still young, said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. Nothing has been drafted yet, though the proposed ballot initiative would let people with certain “serious medical conditions” buy, possess, and use cannabis as medicine. Patients would have to secure doctors’ recommendations before they could buy the drug from dispensaries.

The law would also legalize a medical marijuana industry, creating licenses for cultivation, processing, laboratory testing, and retail sales.

The Marijuana Policy Project is the largest group of its kind in the United States and has a great deal of influence over the cannabis debate. The group played a key role in legalizing marijuana in Alaska and Colorado, plus MMJ initiatives in Arizona, Michigan, and Montana. The organization also helped draft medical weed legislation in several other states.

The Marijuana Policy Project’s support in Ohio marks a departure, as the group has historically avoided the state. Ohio is completely dominated by conservative Republicans who oppose legalization, and while public support is strong, it is weaker than in some other states. Grassroots groups also find it hard to secure the funding needed to gather hundreds of thousands of voter signatures.

Another group, ResponsibleOhio, put a legalization proposal on the ballot last November, but it went down to defeat over concerns it would create a marijuana monopoly. Even some prominent lobbyists begged off the petition, saying it was an example of greed run amok. The Marijuana Policy Project supported it but never threw its full weight behind it.

Even as they rejected the ResponsibleOhio proposal, which would also have legalized medical cannabis, voters approved a competing measure that now bars any kind of monopoly in the state.

“The discussion was not about marijuana being legal,” Tvert said. “Lost in the mix was the important discussion about safe access to medical marijuana for seriously ill people.”

ResponibleOhio has disbanded, at least temporarily, and its backers will play only a quiet role in the new push for MMJ, focusing on legislation rather than a referendum. A local consulting business will handle most of the work, Tvert said.

Medical Marijuana Push Underway in Ohio

Maryland Legislature Overrides Veto on Paraphernalia

Thanks to lawmakers in Maryland, possession of marijuana paraphernalia is no longer treated as a crime.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan

The state’s General Assembly voted to override a veto by Gov. Larry Hogan that sought to stop decriminalization of pipes, rolling papers, and other paraphernalia. Both the state Senate and House mustered the three-fifths majority needed to override the governor’s veto.

Hogan is a Republican while both houses of the legislature are controlled by Democrats. They voted to override other vetoes, including a law that allows felons to vote while on probation or parole.

Amending inconsistent laws

The General Assembly overrode Hogan’s veto of the paraphernalia bill after failing to include the new policy when lawmakers decriminalized marijuana itself in 2014. Pot smokers were left in a situation where they could get a ticket for cannabis possession and jail time for the items needed to consume it.

Hogan has generally tried to block all marijuana reform in Maryland, to little effect. Medical cannabis was also approved in 2014.

The paraphernalia vote followed a passionate debate in both houses of the General Assembly. The state already issues civil tickets rather than criminal penalties for simple possession, measured as less than 10 grams. Supporters of the veto vote say it’s needed to bring the law in line with itself.

Marylanders issued a fine for simple possession

Minor possession is subject to a fine of no more than $100, while public consumption carries a maximum fine of $500. Possession of larger amounts is treated as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the weight and whether the person intended to distribute the drug.

Delegate Anne Kaiser, a member of the state House who voted to override the paraphernalia veto, drew an analogy between cannabis, blue crabs, and Old Bay seasoning, a Maryland favorite.

“Imagine that they were both illegal, and suddenly we allowed people to eat Maryland blue crabs, but we still kept the Old Bay illegal,” Kaiser said. “It would be inconceivable.”

Unsurprisingly, Republicans criticized the new law, saying there should be serious penalties for possession, paraphernalia, and public toking. Marijuana smokers should be treated no differently from a “Bubba” drinking on the street, said Delegate Herb McMillan.

“If this veto override is not sustained, then you’re going to have a situation where Bubba can go to jail, and Jeff Spicoli can take the piece of paper he was given by the police officer, make a doobie out of it, and smoke it,” McMillan said.

But lawmakers who supported the vote to override the veto say it’s time to close the loophole that allowed police to jail stoners over their use of bongs, spoons, and plastic baggies.

Maryland Legislature Overrides Veto on Paraphernalia

NBA Star Cliff Robinson Starts Marijuana Grow Business

Former NBA star Cliff “Uncle Cliffy” Robinson has moved on from his basketball days, but he’s found a new passion: the marijuana industry.

Robinson, best known for his playing days at the University of Connecticut, plans to open a grow operation in Oregon soon. Dates aren’t set in stone, but the business already has a website with a marijuana leaf and a notice the rest of the site is “Coming Soon.” Robinson says the farm should produce a harvest by 2017.

The business is registered under the name “Uncle Spliffy,” a cannabis-themed take on his basketball nickname. It will open in Portland, Ore., funded by a small group of marijuana investors. Marijuana is legal for any adult use in Oregon, as it is in Colorado, Washington State, Alaska, and the District of Columbia.

Legalization took effect in Oregon last summer, while the drug first went on sale at licensed medical marijuana dispensaries across the state in October. The first shops selling cannabis only for recreation will open sometime after June.

Robinson advocates for medical marijuana and recreational legalization

Robinson is a passionate advocate for legal weed. He was suspended over cannabis use twice in his career with the NBA, and now he is pushing for medical access and full recreational legalization. He is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the Cannabis Collaborative Conference in February as a “cannabis advocate,” the website explains.

“People in Oregon know me as a basketball player,” said Robinson, who played for five NBA teams, including the Portland Trail Blazers. “But I want to distill the stigma around cannabis, the misperception that athletes and cannabis are incompatible.”

Robinson is an exception to the usual rule that professional and college athletes face professional ruin if they advocate for marijuana use. Every pro sports league but the NHL bans pot use for any reason, as does the NCAA, where he led Connecticut to the NIT championship in 1988.

Excessive penalties for marijuana use

It’s time for leagues to remove penalties for cannabis use, Robinson said. Those sanctions can be severe, including multiple-game and even season-long suspensions.

“When you talk about guys playing a professional level, there’s a lot of physical and mental stress that comes with that,” he said. “To have something available to you that has health benefits, I don’t see the issue with it myself.”

Robinson has been outspoken about politics and social issues since he retired. He joined the cast of “Survivor” in 2014 and teamed up with Dennis Rodman in a failed and controversial attempt to broker a diplomatic settlement to the Korean conflict. The two players played for dictator Kim Jong Un on his birthday.

NBA Star Cliff Robinson Starts Marijuana Grow Business

Customs Catches $500K in Marijuana Disguised as Fake Carrots

Agents at U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized what they described as $500,000 worth of marijuana hidden in fake carrots. The bust happened at a crossing between Mexico and Texas on Jan 10, agency officials said.

When a truck stopped at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge outside McAllen, Texas, agents found a large shipment of what appeared to be carrots bound for grocery stores in the United States. A “non-invasive” scan turned up no definitive proof of smuggling, but agents brought in dogs to sniff for drugs. Reports didn’t indicate whether the dogs responded, but agents inspected the carrots and said they found more than a ton of cannabis.

The marijuana was wrapped in orange tape and shaped like large carrots, Customs officials said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched an investigation following the bust.

Creative smuggling techniques

“Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the US/Mexico border,” said Port Director Efrain Solis Jr. “Our officers are always ready to meet those challenges and remain vigilant towards any type of illicit activities.”

This is far from the first time smugglers have used produce to move large shipments of marijuana into the United States. On New Year’s Day, police in Minneapolis raided a warehouse and said they found a large amount of cannabis hidden under a shipment of lettuce and cucumbers.

That bust involved 260 individually wrapped packages, according to the office of the Hennepin County attorney. Each allegedly contained a pound of “high potency” marijuana, though claims that THC levels have increased dramatically since the 1960s are typically overblown.

Ton of marijuana seized near Chicago

Early last year police outside Chicago seized more than a ton of marijuana, valued at roughly $10 million and disguised as boxes of avocado pulp. And in 2014, Customs agents stopped a truck full of cannabis packages painted to look like watermelons and other fruit.

The tactic is likely used as often as it is because produce shipments are very common at most crossing points, especially the larger crossings. And for every shipment that gets stopped by Customs, many others get through. If they didn’t, smugglers wouldn’t continue to use this method.

Unfortunately, efforts to prevent marijuana from reaching the United States may exacerbate the dangers of the black market. With legalization, Mexican drug cartels lose a massive portion of their illegal cannabis market, as studies already show. If the federal government were to end prohibition, cartels would have no American market at all.

Customs Catches $500K in Marijuana Disguised as Fake Carrots

Maine Lets Kids Use Medical Marijuana at School

A school board in Maine has joined a small but growing number of governments that allow schoolchildren to use their medical marijuana on campus.

The decision applies only to the school district that serves Auburn, Maine. But it could signal a rapid evolution of medical cannabis law, experts say.

“It tells me that certain medical marijuana states are really maturing,” said Marta Downing of Coo Cana Care Docs, an advocacy group in neighboring Massachusetts.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, just three years after California adopted the first MMJ law in the world. Maine is considered a strong bet for full legalization in the November election.

The school board decided that effective in January, students in pre-kindergarten though high school would be allowed to have a parent or caregiver administer medical cannabis at school as long as they have valid MMJ ID cards.

Parents must administer drugs

The rules aren’t perfect. Similar restrictions in other locales have drawn complaints from parents who say they can’t afford to leave work to give their kids medicine. School nurses should be allowed to do it, they say.

What’s more, the new policy bars smoking, though that likely won’t prove a problem for most students, as they typically consume concentrates or tinctures. Those are usually high in CBD and low in THC. The former chemical is non-intoxicating and especially useful in treating epilepsy, while the latter gets users high.

Colorado and a single school district in New Jersey have already legalized on-campus use of medical marijuana. Experts in other states say the changes are likely to spread. Downing of Massachusetts said her state is likely to adopt similar rules within a matter of years.

“I would say it’s five years away from a school board voting almost unanimously allowing children to use a cannabinoid therapy,” she said.

Campaign to let students take their own marijuana

Though Colorado has approved student use of MMJ statewide, most of the fight is currently at the local level, with parents and advocates trying to convince more school boards to let students take their marijuana when they need it.

“School districts are trying to find their way and navigate this landscape as laws develop and social norms change,” said Francisco Negron, general counsel of the National School Boards Association. “This is a situation in which the changing social norms are ahead of the existing operational structure.”

Parents have complained that rules against on-campus consumption hurt their children. Morning doses may help into the early afternoon, but they wear off, leaving the children to suffer through the rest of the day until they can return home for a new dose. Some parents of children with epilepsy say the number and severity of seizures increase through the afternoon until school ends.

Maine Lets Kids Use Medical Marijuana at School

Could Vermont Be the Next State to Go Legal?

It’s looking increasingly likely that the liberal New England state of Vermont could move to legalize marijuana during this year’s legislative session – before other states get a chance in November.

The state’s governor announced in January that he would back a plan to make cannabis legal through the state Legislature. If events progress rapidly there, a vote could come by as early as May. Observers say there’s a good chance such a bill would succeed.

Vermont is an obvious choice for legalization, but it typically doesn’t appear at the top of lists of states most likely to legalize in 2016. In part that’s because no state has done so by way of its legislature. So far, legalization has happened only as a result of public referendums.

Would be first state to legalize by legislation

That could change soon. Vermont is on track to become the first state to make marijuana legal by legislation, even as New York and other Northeastern states consider the possibility.

“It’s looking more and more likely that Vermont will be the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislature instead of by a citizen ballot initiative,” said Tom Angell of the Marijuana Majority. “This signals an important shift in the politics of marijuana.”

Observers say legislation may be the best way to change cannabis law, as it lets lawmakers fine-tune the regulations and legal boundaries of legal marijuana. Referendums are the usual means of reform, if only because it’s easier for activist groups to get them passed.

Legislation allows technical policy refinement

“Ballot initiatives are a terrible way to make policy changes when the technical details matter,” said policy expert Mark Kleiman, who helped shape regulations on legal cannabis in Washington State. “But sometimes initiatives are the only way to go, because legislators simply won’t do what a majority of voters want.”

The recent remarks by Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin were a turnaround after he said he was “still struggling” over the idea just days before announcing his support. And it signals that his proposal will get a full hearing by the legislature.

Shumlin said he made up his mind because Vermont’s stoners, who make up more than 10 percent of the population, are still forced to get their marijuana from the black market. There, he said, the rules of decent society don’t apply.

“These illegal dealers couldn’t care less how young their customers are or what’s in the product they sell, or what illegal drugs you buy from their stash, much less whether they pay taxes on their earnings,” Shumlin said.

Enforcing five key priorities

Any legalization plan, he said, would have to enforce five key priorities: protecting minors, imposing taxes low enough that they don’t drive up prices and fuel the illegal market, funding addiction prevention programs with cannabis tax revenue, strengthening DUI laws, and at least temporarily banning edibles until the state can decide how to regulate them.

Concern about edibles is wildly overblown in many places, but Colorado has had problems with them. Marijuana food was blamed for a suicide in Denver in 2013, while another man claimed he shot his wife after eating cannabis candies.

Vermont is a natural fit for legalization. The state’s liberal lawmakers have been considering the idea for several years, giving momentum to the cause and increasing the likelihood it will pass this time around. Now the governor supports it, as do a large majority of voters.

Vermont has a long left-leaning political tradition, one well-suited to marijuana reform. And 80,000 Vermonters smoke marijuana on a regular basis, more than one in 10. Vermont already has medical marijuana, as do all of its neighbors, including Canada.

Could Vermont Be the Next State to Go Legal?

When Did the Drug War Start?

Few words bring disgust to the heart of any true marijuana advocate like “the War on Drugs.” It’s a hard-edged term of the Nixon era, one designed to evoke a winnable battle against vague but evil forces, and its use is now widely viewed as an unmitigated catastrophe.

In part that’s because this futile “war” was launched mostly against a vast sea of helpless addicts. Seen as the enemy in its most human form, they were easy to shame, punish, and blame for the problems of an imperfect society. It was only in recent years, after addiction began to hit white, conservative America, that this view began to change.

Now most people outside of law enforcement and the right wing of the Republican Party acknowledge the drug war has been a colossal failure. But there’s one thing few people seem to agree on: when it began.

1970: Controlled Substance Act

The modern notion of drugs as a military foe came about in the early 1970s, during the presidency of Richard Nixon. In 1970, he pushed a series of drug laws through Congress, including the Controlled Substances Act. That law divides legally controlled substances into five categories, each ranked by danger, propensity for addiction, and medical usefulness.

Marijuana was placed in the top category, along with heroin, LSD, and peyote. Reformers have been trying to get it placed in a lower category for many years, with no success, though several lawmakers have pushed the idea in recent months.

1971: Nixon popularized “war on drugs”

It was in 1971 that Nixon first popularized the notion of a “war on drugs.” But in a technical sense, the “war” really began long before that.

In some ways, it can be traced back to an epidemic of addiction that swept the United States in the late 19th century – the patent medicine era. These legal “medicines” typically contained strong doses of heroin, morphine, cannabis, and other powerful drugs. All were unregulated at the time.

Cocaine and heroin addictions raged across the country for decades. By the early 20th century, the epidemic was fading, but not before it gave birth to the idea of prohibition.

1914: Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914

The first domino to fall was the federal Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914. This law provided the first regulations on opiates and derivatives of the coca plant, though it did nothing to regulate marijuana.

Around the same time, however, states began to enact their own laws barring cannabis possession. Unlike the Harrison Act, these laws didn’t attempt to tax and regulate drugs but rather to ban them outright – an approach that many believed would be unconstitutional at the federal level.

1920: 18th Amendment and Prohibition

That perspective changed in 1920 with the 18th Amendment and Prohibition. For the first time, the federal government passed laws that completely barred its citizens from putting intoxicating chemicals into their bodies, though the law applied only to alcohol.

1933: Prohibition was repealed

Prohibition died in 1933, but the idea lived on. So did much of the police apparatus used to enforce it. Out of that tradition came the Federal Narcotics Bureau, the predecessor to the DEA.

Harry Anslinger ran the Narcotics Bureau from 1930 to 1962, almost as long as J. Edgar Hoover ran the FBI. Anslinger, more than anyone else, may be the starting point of the “war on drugs.”

1937: Marihuana Transfer Tax Act

Entirely on his initiative, Congress banned all marijuana in 1937 with the Marihuana Transfer Tax Act. Like the Harrison Act, this new law sought to “regulate” marijuana, but in such a way that no one could grow, sell, possess, or use cannabis for any reason. It was a tax law, but it criminalized the drug. And for practical purposes, it marks the true start of the drug war.

The term wasn’t common at that time, although it occasionally appeared in newspaper headlines. But Anslinger and his many deputies openly treated their jobs as a war, one they were convinced they could win. Nixon may have made the words popular, but he certainly didn’t invent the bad policy behind them.

When Did the Drug War Start?

Man Who Sold MMJ Gets Lighter Sentence

A court in Michigan has lightened criminal charges against a man accused of selling medical marijuana out of his house.

Anthony J. Green, 51, of Williams Township in Michigan’s central Lower Peninsula was given a delayed sentence Jan. 4. Bay County Chief Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt instead put Green on probation with home monitoring until November. He also must pay $400 in fines and court costs.

Green originally faced as many as seven years in prison on serious felony marijuana charges. The case is notable because he was busted for selling a small amount of cannabis to a patient. Michigan law requires that licensed caregivers provide medication only to a small number of specific patients, a requirement Green violated when he sold to others. But the rule is widely ignored across the state.

Insufficient supply of medical marijuana

That is in large part because Michigan’s medical marijuana program is overly burdensome. Until recently, dispensaries were banned, and patients were forced to grow their own cannabis or obtain it from a licensed caregiver. The program is popular statewide, yet many local and state politicians are vehemently opposed to any degree of marijuana reform.

Green pleaded guilty in 2015 to felony charges of delivering or manufacturing a controlled substance, which carries a maximum four-year prison sentence. Under Schmidt’s ruling, he will be allowed to withdraw that plea if he completes probation successfully.

Prosecutors dropped a felony charge

He will then face only a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. The maximum penalty is one year in jail, but that appears unlikely in Green’s case. Because he pleaded to the felony charge, prosecutors dropped an even more serious count of delivering or manufacturing between 5 and 45 kilograms of cannabis, a charge that carries a top penalty of seven years in prison.

Green was arrested in June during a police investigation of alleged marijuana sales from his home. The Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, a cross-county task force, staked out the house June 25, tailed a car that left the property, and pulled it over. Inside they found a 63-year-old medical marijuana patient in possession of 4 ounces purchased from Green. The man admitted he didn’t have a legal caregiver and instead turned to Green.

Police searched Green’s house

Police then pulled Green over as he left the house in his car, arrested him, and returned him to the home. They searched the property with a warrant and found two grow rooms in the basement. They hauled away more than 28 ounces of marijuana, 110 plants, two syringes with hash oil, edibles, a scale, $800 in cash, a cell phone, and a car that belonged to Green’s husband.

Green told police he’s a patient as well as a medical marijuana caregiver with a license from the state. He was growing for just five patients, he said, though police claimed that didn’t include the 63-year-old man. Green said he was cultivating only 72 plants.

Michigan MMJ law allows caregivers to grow up to 12 plants per person for up to five patients, as well as themselves. Patients may possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis for medical use. Green will still be able to grow marijuana while on probation, as long as he follows those rules.

Man Who Sold MMJ Gets Lighter Sentence

What Is a Marijuana Trial Like?

Thankfully, the marijuana criminal trial is becoming an increasingly rare beast. Possession of small amounts of the drug for personal use is now legal in four states and the District of Columbia, while more than two dozen other states allow medical cannabis.

But in many places, marijuana possession, sale, manufacture, and shipping remain crimes. That means getting caught can involve arrest, bail, criminal charges, and in some cases, trial.

So what is a marijuana trial like? What happens if you’re found guilty? And what happens if you’re acquitted?

First, it should be noted that most such charges end in guilty pleas, not trials. More than 90 percent of all criminal cases are resolved through plea bargains. If the courts allowed every case to go to trial, the system would collapse under the weight of those millions of prosecutions.

But trial is always possible, especially if defendants believe they’re innocent. Getting to this point can take some resistance, as defense attorneys often encourage all their clients to plead in exchange for lighter sentences. And once you get there, there are lots of rules, many of which are not in your favor.

Prosecutor issues criminal charge

The process starts with a criminal charge, typically issued by the prosecutor. In felony cases, defendants may typically demand a grand jury indictment, though this rule varies from state to state. The federal government is required by the U.S. Constitution to use a grand jury for all felony charges.

Pretrial hearings

Next, there are pretrial hearings. The most important is arraignment, at which a plea is entered. This typically coincides with a bail hearing, after which the defendant is typically released without bail or upon payment of a smaller share of the full bail amount. Failure to appear at future hearings, including trial, could result in the defendant losing the full amount.

Depending on the severity of the charges, the quality of the defense attorneys, and the nature of the evidence, pretrial proceedings could be wrapped up quickly, or they could drag on for months. They often involve the admissibility of testimony and other evidence.

Admission of evidence

To admit evidence, an attorney must demonstrate that it is relevant to the case, that it wouldn’t be highly prejudicial to present it to a jury, and that there are reasons to believe it is reliable. The lowest legal standard for admission of evidence is that there must be more than a 50 percent likelihood it will illuminate a critical fact involved in the case.

Seating of the jury

Pretrial proceedings also include the seating of a jury. This process is known as “voir dire,” during which lawyers work to exclude potential jurors they believe are likely to rule against their clients. Typically there are 12 jurors in each criminal trial, but this varies between jurisdictions.

Opening statements

Once the jury is seated, the trial begins. First, the prosecution makes its opening statement, followed by the defense. The prosecution goes first because it bears the burden of proof in the trial – a standard famously known as “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This means that if prosecutors build a strong drug case and defense attorneys can’t poke sufficient holes in it, the defendant must be convicted.

Presentation of evidence

The bulk of most trials is given to the presentation of evidence: witness testimony, forensics, documentary proof. This is followed by closing statements. Because the prosecution bears the burden of proof, the defense has no obligation to present evidence. In rare cases, defense lawyers simply make opening and closing statements. But this is a particularly risky strategy in any criminal case.

If the evidence is relevant and establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, jurors must convict; otherwise they must acquit. If they cannot reach either conclusion, a mistrial will be declared by the judge.

If this happens, prosecutors usually will be allowed to pursue a new trial, though they often decline to do so. If the trial ends in a conviction, the defendant may appeal it to higher courts, along with any sentence imposed by the judge after trial. If it ends in acquittal, the prosecution cannot appeal the verdict.

This is because of the constitutional ban on “double jeopardy,” or retrial for the same crime following a verdict of guilty or not guilty. Only mistrials may lead to a subsequent trial.

Sentencing is the final phase of a criminal trial resulting in a conviction. In some cases, mandatory minimum sentencing laws may dictate a minimum jail or prison sentence. But in other cases, the sentence is left to the discretion of judges.

Possible sentences for marijuana offenses include incarceration, fines, and probation. Critically, each conviction will also result in a permanent criminal record – a punishment that could make it impossible to find housing, work, or government benefits. That, for many defendants, is the worst penalty of all.

What Is a Marijuana Trial Like?

Girlfriend Rats on Boyfriend Over Marijuana

Sometimes, love and marijuana don’t mix.

An irate Pennsylvania woman, arguing with her boyfriend, called police and told them he was growing cannabis plants in her house. The incident occurred in August, but details were withheld until January.

Police in Uniontown, Pa., reported that an unidentified woman called 911 Aug. 14 and made the allegations against her boyfriend, James Ferguson. Prosecutors waited until December to file formal criminal charges against Ferguson – but not the girlfriend who allowed the indoor grow.

Woman gave police permission to search

The 50-year-old man was allegedly tending multiple marijuana plants in the woman’s home, said police Lt. Tom Kolencik. They got into a heated argument, during which she phoned police. She then gave officers permission to search her home. Ferguson had no legal say in the matter, but police said he also consented to the search.

“I also spoke to Mr. Ferguson as well,” Kolencik said. “He said, ‘Yeah, you can come in.’ And that he does have some marijuana plants growing for his own personal use.”

Officers reported that they discovered four small plants in the house, along with boxes of ziplock bags, soil, planters, and plant nutrients. Ferguson allegedly said he used the supplies on a garden in the back yard, but police said there was no large garden there.

Up until the argument, Ferguson had apparently done a good job of keeping a lid on his alleged operation. His girlfriend was the only reason police learned of it, Kolencik said.

“I’m sure that caused some tension afterward,” Kolencik said.

Both Ferguson and his girlfriend moved after the incident, but it was unclear from press reports whether they are still together. A local reporter tried to reach them in late December for comment, with no success.

Lack of trust

This case offers a clear example of why personal relations are so critical in any illicit business. Rage and a lack of trust give people a reason to seek revenge, and tipping off the police is an ideal option for many angry people.

Among other considerations, it’s usually a bad idea to grow marijuana plants in someone else’s home. That creates a legal risk, which leads to fear, which could incentivize them to turn you in. This is especially true in a romantic relationship, where feelings are often raw.

The takeaway: Unless your significant other also grows cannabis, never tell him or her that you do, at least not until you’re headed for marriage. And definitely don’t try to drag them into the game unless they want to do it.

Girlfriend Rats on Boyfriend Over Marijuana

California Drug Warrior Busted for Marijuana

A deputy sheriff who works on a narcotics squad in Northern California was arrested in late December and accused of driving $2 million worth of marijuana from his state to Pennsylvania.

Deputy Christopher M. Heath was busted in West Manheim Township, Pa., along with another man, Tyler Long. The two allegedly drove cross-country with more than 120 packages of cannabis for a third person living in the township.

A tip led officers in that community to stop Heath’s car shortly after Christmas. They arrested Heath and Long, as well as a third man, Ryan J. Falsone, who was allegedly driving a second car involved in the incident.

Officers found marijuana and cash

Officers found marijuana, $11,000 in cash, and Heath’s duty gun and badge, said the chief deputy prosecutor for York County, Pa., David Sunday. The cannabis weighed 240 pounds and was valued at more than $2 million. Prior to the traffic stop, police didn’t know Heath was a deputy sheriff, authorities said.

York County District Attorney Tom Kearney announced the charges, which include felony drug counts, Jan. 4, a week after the bust. The three men posted bail of $1 million each.

“One has to be both saddened and angry when you hear of something like this,” Kearney told local reporters. “The work that is done by the task force and police officers in general is very dangerous work, and it is made more dangerous by the fact that occasionally there is a bad apple in the barrel.”

The arrests have led officials in Northern California to review drug cases in Yuba and Sutter counties. The inquiry is focused on cases involving Heath.

Marijuana issues have drawn intense public input in Yuba County, where county supervisors passed restrictions on cannabis grows early last year despite protests by activists who support increased access to medical marijuana. Yuba County is located north of Sacramento.

Heath on anti-drug task force

Heath, who works for the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department, was appoited to NET-5, a task force that focuses on use, possession, manufacturing, and sale of illicit drugs in Yuba and Sutter counties. He joined the group three years ago, where he investigated crimes and testified in court. According to officials on the task force, Heath led at least 62 cases, including many marijuana investigations.

The review will cover each of those cases, as well as any others in which Heath took part for his department. As of yet there has been no public evidence cases were tainted.

“If Heath’s work was witnessed or can be otherwise credibly covered by the testimony of another investigator, the case may not be significantly impacted,” said Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath. “In other situations, the case may be tainted to such a degree that we cannot proceed and the case will be dismissed.”

Heath was reportedly placed on paid leave by his department during the internal investigation.

California Drug Warrior Busted for Marijuana

Medical Marijuana Brings Problems in New York

It was supposed to be a milestone moment in the development of marijuana reform, with medicinal cannabis reaching the nation’s largest urban market. Now it looks like a problem in the making.

Medical pot took effect in New York State in early January, bringing an end to more than a year of planning and legislative tinkering. The end result will likely be anything but pretty.

Among other problems, critics note that there will be few dispensaries available to patients, that patients and doctors will be subject to mind-boggling paperwork, and that not many physicians are even interested in taking part.

Limited access to medical marijuana

All that will mean is fewer patients, less marijuana, and less medical benefit. It has become clear that New York’s political leaders are abjectly terrified of cannabis reform, no matter the circumstances.

The program officially opened Jan. 7, 18 months after the New York Legislature approved it. Already there is a shortage of vendors, growers, and doctors. And everyone involved will be buried under tight restrictions, with doctors forced to attend a special class on time most can’t afford to lose.

Taken together, these factors could be enough to hobble medical marijuana in New York. Don’t be surprised if lawmakers are forced back to the drawing board after a few months of failure.

Restrictive laws

The program “is definitely better than no program at all,” said Karen O’Keefe of the Marijuana Policy Project. But the improvement is small, she said. “It’s a shame that some politicians want to race to the bottom to enact the most restrictive – meaning the worst – medical marijuana law.”

Just eight dispensaries were set to open Jan. 7 under the 2014 law. Another 12 should open later in the month. But that’s not nearly enough.

“Twenty dispensaries in a state as large as New York is woefully insufficient,” said Mike Liszewski of Americans for Safe Access. “States seem to have this fear of letting the genie out of the bottle.”

Already many patients are complaining they won’t be able to access the medicine they need, all so that conservative Upstate politicians can avoid irritating right-wing voters who still think the drug war is working.

Patients do not have sufficient access

One woman, Missy Miller of Atlantic Beach, N.Y., said her son would find it impossible to get his pot. He suffers from severe pediatric epilepsy, a condition that frequently responds to medical marijuana, sometimes dramatically. Miller said the shortage of dispensaries is the biggest problem.

“There are none opening on Long Island, which leaves my son Oliver, who suffers from life-threatening seizures, out of luck,” Miller said in a statement released by the Drug Policy Alliance. What’s more, she said, the rule allowing only five growers means variety will be limited, a problem for patients like Oliver who need strains high in the chemical CBD.

“Unfortunately, New York doubled down on keeping variety low by only allowing the growers to produce a handful of strains,” Liszewski said.

In order to recommend cannabis, doctors must complete a four-hour online class at a cost of $249. So far, just 150 have done so, and the number doesn’t look likely to grow significantly anytime soon. The requirement is simply too onerous for physicians with other, more lucrative practices.

No such class is required in the other states with medical marijuana, and advocates say the New York rule is motivating doctors to avoid the program. Patients will likely struggle to find qualified physicians willing to prescribe the drug.

“The hoops doctors have to jump through are ludicrous and do not apply to far more dangerous medications, such as opiates,” O’Keefe said. “These onerous rules will only restrict doctors, and thus their patients’ participation, making life harder and more painful.”

Medical Marijuana Brings Problems in New York

2015: The Year in Marijuana

You would be forgiven if you slept through most of the marijuana-related news that happened in 2015. It was far from a stellar year for reformers.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t important. The year’s biggest defeat provided activists and other cannabis proponents a road map for how not to get legalization past voters in statewide elections.

The cause of reform advanced in other ways, too. The federal government took several steps over the year toward acceptance of legal marijuana, while advocates across the country began preparing for new fights in 2016.

Ohio proposal scared voters off

The biggest story of the year came in Ohio, and it wasn’t a good one. A group of business-oriented reformers tried to push through a ballot initiative that would have legalized cannabis throughout the state for both medical and personal use. They failed.

Their proposal was defeated in the November election in large part over concerns its backers had become greedy. The proposal would have granted monopolistic powers to a small group of marijuana growers and retailers, the same people who were funding the ballot campaign.

That conflict of interest didn’t sit well with voters – or, for that matter, with mainstream reform advocates such as NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project. After the initiative failed, observers said its grabby provisions turned voters off.

That doesn’t mean legalization is dead in Ohio, or anywhere for that matter. But it does provide a guide for activists in the future. Legal marijuana is a for-profit business, but nobody likes the appearance of greed, especially voters.

Legal marijuana took effect in Oregon

It wasn’t all bad news in 2015, though. Legal pot came on line in Oregon, whose voters legalized the drug in 2014, along with Alaska and the District of Columbia. The latter two places still don’t have access to retail marijuana, though it should be available soon in Alaska.

The greatest movement, ironically, came at the federal level, which has historically been more hostile to reform than the state governments. Cannabis is still prohibited for any use by federal law. But signs of progress were everywhere last year.

Feds instructed not to interfere in states where marijuana is legal

President Obama made at least one remark supporting the advancement of medical marijuana, while simultaneously instructing his administration to back off providers in states where the drug is legal for medicine or recreation.

In the Senate, Vermont Democrat Bernie Sanders introduced comprehensive legislation to remove the drug from schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. That law ranks marijuana as one of the deadliest, most addictive, and least useful drugs known to man, a position reformers complain is not based on science.

Progress in Mexico and Canada

Two of the year’s biggest stories came not from the United States but from its two closest neighbors. The Mexican Supreme Court ruled in November that a small group of citizens may grow cannabis for personal use. The ruling didn’t legalize the drug completely, but it did open the door to that possibility.

In Canada, meanwhile, new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau swept into office with a firm mandate and immediately signaled his intent to legalize marijuana nationwide, for any use, as soon as possible. The importance of this to the United States can’t be exaggerated.

Also in 2015, the DEA, as usual, stepped in it. New head Chuck Rosenberg stuck his foot in his mouth when he called medical marijuana a “joke.” More than 150,000 people immediately petitioned for his resignation, a sign of how strong the reform movement has become.

Finally, 2015 saw public support for legalization reach its highest level yet, 58 percent in a Gallup poll. Soon to cross 60 percent, this figure suggests the future of reform is secured: Legal cannabis is coming, and it’s coming soon.

2015: The Year in Marijuana

Company Will Sell Kosher Marijuana

Medical marijuana has gone kosher. A company based in Albany, N.Y., says it plans to offer the world’s first kosher marijuana for medical use.

Vireo Health of New York obtained certification in December from the Orthodox Union, a group that oversees kosher rules in the United States. Its certification marks the first time marijuana has been officially labeled kosher.

Vireo is one of five providers licensed under the state’s new medical marijuana program. The first legal medical cannabis will become available in New York this month, and only Vireo will offer kosher product.

“Being certified kosher by the OU will not only help us serve the dietary needs of the largest Jewish community in the United States, but also combat unfortunate stigmas associated with medical cannabis,” CEO Ari Hoffnung said in a press release. “Today’s announcement sends an important message to New Yorkers of all faiths and backgrounds that using medical cannabis to alleviate pain and suffering does not in any way represent an embrace of ‘pot’ culture.”

Kosher marijuana is for medical use only

Indeed, the certification only applies to medical use. Though many Jews smoke marijuana, the drug is prohibited for recreational use under strict interpretations of Jewish religious law.

Judaism proscribes a complex set of rules regarding behavior, diet, and alcohol consumption, among other issues. The religion’s three main sects observe the rules to varying degrees, with Orthodox Jews the most observant and Reform Jews typically the least.

Judaism allows exceptions when health is concerned

Intoxication is discouraged outside of specific holidays and settings, and cannabis has traditionally been banned. But Judaism makes explicit exceptions to many of its rules when a person’s health is at stake. Diabetics are excluded from fasting requirements, and people who need marijuana are allowed to use it.

Vireo’s kosher products “were developed to alleviate pain and suffering in accordance with the New York State Compassionate Care Act,” said Rabbi Menachem Genack, head of the kashrut department of the Orthodox Union. “Using medical cannabis products recommended by a physician should not be regarded as a ‘chet,’ a sinful act, but rather as a mitzvah, an imperative, a commandment.”

Dispensaries opening imminently

Dispensaries will open across the state in January. Vireo is already growing marijuana in Upstate New York, in the town of Perth, and the company plans to open four retail shops, including two in or near New York City.

The state’s medical marijuana program is one of the nation’s most restrictive. Only certain hospitals are allowed to provide patient recommendations, and users are not allowed to smoke the drug. Instead they must vaporize it, eat it, or drink it.

Company Will Sell Kosher Marijuana

Legalization Robbing Mexican Marijuana Farmers of Profit

Marijuana reformers make a frequent argument for legalizing the drug: Allowing a legal market for cannabis is the United States would rob violent criminal drug cartels of income and ultimately drive them out of business.

A new report in the Los Angeles Times suggests that is exactly what has been happening in the years since Colorado and Washington first legalized marijuana in 2012. The looser rules in those states and in Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia, the newspaper says, have undercut the profit margins of cannabis farmers in Mexico and forced some of them to abandon the crop.

An unidentified 50-year-old marijuana farmer who tends an illegal plot in the mountains of western Mexico told the Times he had decided to stop growing cannabis plants. Prices, he said, are too low to make it worth the effort.

Undercutting the illegal market

“I’ve always liked this business, producing marijuana,” he said.

The reason he and other farmers are quitting is simple. Legalization north of the border has put drug cartels in direct competition with legal cannabis growers and retailers. And the market for Mexican brick is likely to continue its sharp contraction as more states legalize in coming years.

According to the Times, low-level farmers in the Sinaloa state, a major marijuana producer, report that the price they can get per kilogram has dropped from $100 to $30 since 2012. As a result, cannabis cultivation has declined, along with trafficking to the United States.

“People don’t want to abandon their illicit crops, but more and more they are realizing that it is no longer good business,” said Juan Guerra, the agriculture secretary for Sinaloa.

These developments could mark a turning point in the fight over marijuana reform. The sheer size of the price decline, along with the drop in production, could convince many policy makers still on the fence about legalization.

Reduced marijuana flow across the Mexican border

Mexico and the United States have tried for decades to stem cultivation and stop the flow of cannabis across the border. All those attempts have failed, in large part because farmers could always make more money growing marijuana than any other crop. That no longer appears to be the case.

Americans increasingly get their cannabis from inside the country. This is especially true on legal markets, but it is also true on the U.S. black market, where much of the product now comes from California instead of Mexico.

Most Mexican marijuana is known as “brick” due to the brick-like packages shipped into the United States. It is usually of low quality and sells as “reggies” or “middies” on the black market. American bud, on the other hand, typically contains more THC and produces stronger effects.

Local growers now providing for majority of U.S. market

Until just eight years ago, Mexico provided up to two thirds of the cannabis sold in the United States, Beau Kilmer, co-director of the Drug Policy Research Center, told the Times. But legalization has opened a large share of the American market to local growers.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996. The following years have made the state the biggest producer of cannabis in the country, for both legal medical consumption and illegal recreational use.

Four years ago, with an increasing number of states allowing medical marijuana, the drug was completely legalized in Colorado and Washington. Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. followed suit in 2014. California is considered a good bet to legalize cannabis in 2016, along with Nevada, Arizona, Massachusetts, and other states.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which almost recommended global legalization in 2015, said reforms at the state and federal levels have cut into cartel revenues. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but the Obama administration has allowed legalization to continue at the state level.

“Changes on the other side of the border are making marijuana less profitable for organizations like the Cartel de Sinaloa,” said Antonio Mazzitelli, the Mexican representative for the Office on Drugs and Crime.

Legalization Robbing Mexican Marijuana Farmers of Profit

States Will Push Marijuana Lawsuit Against Colorado

Officials in Nebraska and Oklahoma say they will push ahead with a lawsuit seeking to ban retail marijuana in Colorado, even as the Obama administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the case.

Administration lawyers intervened in the suit in December, arguing in a legal filing before the Supreme Court that the justices don’t have jurisdiction to hear the states’ complaint. The move was seen as yet another sign the government is coming around on legalization.

But Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said shortly after the federal filing that he plans to continue the suit before the court. Nebraska, like Oklahoma, is asking the Supreme Court to hear its case.

Government lawyers say the court lacks both the “original jurisdiction” to hear the case before it passes through lower federal courts and the plain jurisdiction to hear the case in the first place. Original jurisdiction allows the justices to bypass the lower courts on certain types of cases, and the plaintiffs say their case qualifies because it involves a dispute between states over one state’s laws. The administration disagrees.

False claims of large marijuana quantities passing state lines

Voters in Colorado legalized marijuana for personal use in 2012, as did voters in Washington State. Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have since followed suit. Oklahoma and Nebraska filed suit in December 2014, saying the regulations in Colorado were allowing large amounts of cannabis to flood across the state lines (despite voluminous data to the contrary).

The lawsuit contends that Colorado is violating federal anti-drug laws by allowing legalization, and that Nebraska and Oklahoma are suffering the negative consequences. It would be a landmark decision if the Supreme Court were to side with those states, as it would allow them to dictate the policy of a third state on the grounds that it might encourage adults to break federal law or state laws in Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Claim: Colorado legalization violates federal drug laws

A spokeswoman for Peterson said he wasn’t surprised by the administration’s objection to the lawsuit. As her comment makes clear, Peterson’s real concern is fighting the existence of marijuana, not the people who carry it from one state to another. He is a classic drug warrior and fears losing his favorite fight.

“The federal government, specifically the Department of Justice, has been providing mixed messages on the enactment of drug laws in our nation,” the spokeswoman said. “Nebraska remains undeterred in our resolve of asking the highest court for their judgment on this issue.”

The office of Oklahoma’s attorney general, Scott Pruitt, said his state plans to file written briefs before the court in January.

The lawsuit doesn’t technically seek to recriminalize cannabis in Colorado. Instead, it takes issue with the regulations the state uses to manage the legal marijuana industry. If they succeed, Nebraska and Oklahoma could force the closure of every pot shop and cannabis farm in Colorado.

In its legal filing, federal lawyers noted that the justices typically refuse to hear disputes between states unless one alleges a “direct injury” by another. The U.S. solicitor general’s office argued that doesn’t apply to this case because the alleged injury is caused by third parties – marijuana scofflaws – rather than by Colorado itself.

“This case does not satisfy the direct injury requirement,” the administration’s brief says.

States Will Push Marijuana Lawsuit Against Colorado

No Suit Allowed Over Kansas MJ Search

A Kansas couple whose home was searched by heavily armed police over discarded tea leaves will not be allowed to pursue a civil rights lawsuit, a judge ruled in December.

Robert and Adlynn Harte are both former CIA agents and have two children, who were 7 and 13 years old at the time of the raid in 2012. Their home was searched based on an investigation that started with a legal purchase at a hydroponics store.

But U.S. District Court Judge John Lungstrum ruled Dec. 18 that the Hartes are not entitled to sue because police acted legally and reasonably when they planned and carried out the pointless marijuana raid. Police held the entirely family at gunpoint for nearly three hours until handing them a receipt that said “no items taken” as they left.

No cannabis was found, in other words. And deputies wouldn’t tell the Hartes what they were looking for. In fact, it took the family a year in court and cost them $25,000 in legal fees to get their hands on the affidavit attached to the search warrant.

Police must have ‘probable cause’

Such affidavits typically lay out the legal grounds for a search and describe the items police hope to find, or at least the nature of the property they want to search. To win a warrant, police must establish a legal standard known as “probable cause,” which essentially means they have evidence that would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime has been committed.

Johnson County, Kansas, sheriff’s deputies launched their investigation after a Missouri state trooper spotted Robert leaving a hydroponic gardening store in Kansas City in 2011. Harte had purchased supplies for growing tomatoes, squash, and melon plants, all legal.

That alone isn’t enough for probable cause. But deputies, who apparently had little else to do, went on a fishing expedition, rifling through the Hartes’ garbage after they left it on the sidewalk. Inside was a wet “plant material” the deputies assumed was marijuana.

Tea leaves triggered positive result for cannabis

The Hartes say it was probably used loose tea leaves, a herbal flavor Adlynn Harte likes to drink. A field test supposedly showed positive results for cannabis, but a later laboratory test refuted that finding. Field tests are often unreliable and are used to trick suspects into talking.

The Hartes say the deputies should have known not to trust these tests. In one series of experiments, a scientist at Claflin University in South Carolina proved that field tests frequently misidentify spearmint, basil, peppermint, oregano, vanilla, patchouli, cinnamon leaf, bergamot, lemongrass, lavender, anise, ginseng, ginkgo, rose, eucalyptus, cloves, frankincense, ginger, vine flower, olive flower, chicory flower, St. John’s wort, and cypress as marijuana.

Many of these substances are ingredients in herbal tea, as the Hartes note in their lawsuit. Field tests produce false positive results on them at a rate of 70 percent, they say, and the test isn’t designed for use on “saturated or liquid samples” such as wet tea leaves.

But Lungstrum ruled that the hydroponics purchase and shoddy test result were enough to support probable cause and a search warrant. That’s not entirely surprising, as the standard for probable cause is notoriously low, but it’s a blow to the Hartes – and to the many others who believe the criminal justice system has gone too far.

No Suit Allowed Over Kansas MJ Search

Colombia Adopts Medical Marijuana

When it comes to the drug war, Colombia is notorious for its long history of corruption and narco-terror, even as those perceptions have faded in recent decades. Now, the reality is changing to match the image.

The nation is the latest in Latin America to legalize the cultivation and use of medical marijuana. On Dec. 22, President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree that legalizes and regulates medicinal cannabis. It marks the latest step in a move away from the hard line of the anti-drug era.

Santos said he would make it legal for Colombian adults who are ill to grow, process, import, and export marijuana for medical and research purposes. Cannabis derivatives such as hash oil will also be legal.

“This decree allows licenses to be granted for the possession of seeds, cannabis plants, and marijuana,” the president said in a televised address. “It places Colombia in the group of countries that are at the forefront . . . in the use of natural resources to fight disease.”

Colombia remains committed to drug control

But Santos stressed that the new law “does not go against our international commitments on drug control.”

Those commitments have seen the Colombian government partner with U.S. law enforcement to cut the flow of cocaine and eradicate illegal drugs. The country received billions of dollars from the United States to fund drug interdiction efforts.

But Colombia, like other Latin American countries, is changing when it comes to drug policy. The government recently moved to stop spraying a herbicide that is “probably carcinogenic” on the fields where coca leaves are grown to make cocaine. And in December, Santos announced a new anti-cocaine approach that will grant land to farmers who stop growing the drug.

That policy dates to a law passed in 1986, but it was never fully enforced at a national level. Neither were the rules that allowed medicinal pot.

1986 law never became fully enforced

“The manufacture, export, sale, and medical and scientific use of this and other substances have been permitted for several decades in Colombia,” Santos said. “However, they were never regulated. That is what we are doing today.”

The new law will allow growers to apply for permits from the country’s National Narcotics Council, while processors can apply for licenses from the Colombian health ministry. That agency will also handle permits for export of the drug.

Santos’ announcement is just the latest in a growing tide of marijuana reform sweeping Central America, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean – as well as the rest of North America. Latin countries have long suffered the worst violence of the drug wars, and are increasingly turning away from that model of fighting traffickers.

Reform spreading through the Americas

Cannabis is now fully legal in Uruguay, though that country’s legal market remains in some doubt. The Chilean Congress could soon vote to legalize pot, while Mexico is not far behind. That nation’s highest court recently ruled against its harsh anti-marijuana laws, and a “national debate” on legalization is expected to start in January.

Cannabis is already decriminalized in Colombia, where it has been a civil offense to possess up to 20 grams since 2012. Locals are legally allowed to grow up to 20 plants at home. But it remains a criminal offense to use the drug in public or sell it.

Medical marijuana is also not entirely new in Colombia, though it previously existed only on a small scale. CBD oil, for example, is allowed for the treatment of severe seizure disorders, as it is in the vast majority of the United States.

Colombia Adopts Medical Marijuana