Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jan 2014
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2014 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.trentonian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006

POT DEBATES CONTINUE EVEN WHERE IT'S LEGAL

DENVER (AP) - Recreational marijuana may be legal in Colorado and
Washington, but debates over the drug are far from over. Here's a look
at debates emerging in the states where the drug is already legal
without a doctor's recommendation:

MORE WEED FOR MORE PEOPLE

A group of marijuana activists want another pot vote in Colorado - to
loosen restrictions on who can have it. A proposed ballot measure
cleared for ballots Wednesday would effectively discard Colorado's
1-ounce possession limit and 21-and-over restriction. A similar pot
possession measure has been proposed before in Colorado, and failed to
get enough signatures to make ballots. There's little reason to expect
more success for the 2014 version of the legalize-for-all proposal.

SICK PEOPLE FEAR PRICEY POT

Another group of pot activists - longtime users with medical
permission to use the drug - are also unhappy. A patient advocacy
group has written to lawmakers requesting the creation of a "Cannabis
Patient Fund" to provide subsidies for some 120,000 Coloradans on a
list of approved medical pot users. The group is alarmed over
escalating pot prices, which aren't regulated by the state and have
more than doubled in retail shops since Jan. 1, when recreational
sales began. So far, the group hasn't found any lawmakers willing to
sponsor its idea.

WASHINGTON HAS THEM PILED UP

Washington has a curious economic problem as it prepares for retail
pot sales: too many growers and shops. According to figures released
last week, more than 2,600 applications have been submitted to produce
pot. That's a problem because officials are, at least initially,
capping total production at 2 million square feet, or about 46 acres.
They're seeing too many would-be retailers, too. In Seattle, where the
state has allotted 21 pot shops, there have been 408 retail license
applications. In Spokane, which will have eight marijuana stores,
there have been 84 applications.

PACKAGING PROBLEMS

Colorado's pot regulators have been widely praised for trouble-free
openings when recreational pot sales opened this month. But the
openings haven't been without problems. Last week, they sent pot shops
a warning about marijuana packaging. The shops were allowed to
transfer raw pot from their medical inventory to their recreational
inventory, but they needed new packaging and labeling. Some shops
continue selling pot in old packaging, instead of using the stricter
packaging requirement passed for recreational sales. There was no
immediate word on licenses being revoked.

FOOD STAMPS FOR POT?

Internet rumors of people using food stamps to buy edible pot appear
to be urban legends. Colorado Republicans want to make sure they stay
that way. A bill proposed last week by several Republicans would add
marijuana dispensaries to liquor stores, gun shops and casinos as
places where recipients of public assistance payments and food stamps
can't use their electronic benefits cards to access cash.

CLOSING A LOOPHOLE

Colorado lawmakers are also taking another look at the state's 5,000
marijuana caregivers, a loosely regulated group whose members are each
allowed to grow pot on behalf of five people on the state medical pot
registry. Colorado's chief medical officer and the head of the agency
that regulates marijuana persuaded a panel Tuesday to tighten
caregiver restrictions so that fewer get exemptions to grow for large
numbers of people, which they say is a way to avoid hefty taxes and
avoid strict oversight required of commercial growers. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D