Pubdate: Mon, 30 Dec 2013
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Section: page 9
Copyright: 2013 The Detroit News
Contact:  http://www.detroitnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Kristan Wyatt, Associated Press

STATES AIM TO AVOID BUZZKILL OVER POT

Colo., Wash. Face Risks in Establishing Markets for Legal Sale of
Marijuana

Denver (AP) - Colorado and Washington state are launching the world's
first legal recreational marijuana markets in 2014. Though pot has
been sold for three decades at coffee shops in the Netherlands, the
two states are the first to regulate and allow a full industry.

Being first to allow growing it, processing it and selling it doesn't
come without risks. The states face plenty, from a potential crackdown
over a drug that's still illegal under federal law to threats to
public health.

A look at some of the pitfalls the two states will want to
avoid:

Youth Use: The U.S. Department of Justice has told the states it
won't interfere with state marijuana laws as long as they keep the
drug away from those without permission to use it. Neither state will
allow people under 21 to buy pot.

Health: Some doctors warn that increased marijuana use will result in
more emergency-room visits. There's not enough data to show if that
is happening, though some hospitals have reported spikes in child
admissions for pot overdoses.

Crime: Legalization opponents say residency requirements won't
prevent criminal cartels from setting up straw-man growing
operations. The states also have tracking systems to make sure what
is grown ends up sold legally. Colorado, however, also allows people
to grow pot at home.

Driving: The states set up marijuana analogies to drunk-driving laws,
setting driver blood limits for pot's psychoactive chemical, THC. The
laws are new, and it's too soon to say whether legal pot has made
highways more dangerous in Colorado and Washington.

Taxes: Nobody knows how and at what level to tax pot. Too low, and
the states won't be able to afford intense regulatory supervision of
the industry. Too high, and pot users may stay in the black market. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D