Pubdate: Thu, 06 Nov 2014
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2014 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93
Author: Shelby Sebens, Reuters
Page: A10

LEGAL TOKING STILL MONTHS AWAY IN 2 STATES

The Recreational Use of Marijuana Is Now Legal in Alaska and Oregon, 
but the Change Won't Take Effect Until Next Year. Pot-Legalization 
Groups Are Looking Ahead to California in 2016.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Voters in the blue state of Oregon and the red state 
of Alaska have joined the fledgling green column of the U.S. 
political map by choosing to legalize recreational marijuana, but 
supporters are not at liberty to light up or buy their cannabis just yet.

Ballot measures approved in both states on Tuesday will take months 
to go into effect, with pot enthusiasts in Oregon having to wait 
until next summer to legally indulge. Neither state is likely to make 
marijuana available for commercial sales before 2016.

"Anyone who is driving down the freeway and lights up a doobie and 
waves at an officer is going to get a ticket," said Clatsop County 
District Attorney Josh Marquis, spokesman for the defeated "vote no" 
campaign in Oregon.

The Oregon and Alaska measures will legalize recreational-marijuana 
possession and usher in state-licensed retail pot shops similar to 
those that opened this year in Washington state and Colorado, which 
became the first to allow cannabis use for pleasure under 2012 voter 
initiatives.

Also on Tuesday, District of Columbia voters approved legalization of 
marijuana possession but not its sale.

Supporters pointed to the outcome as a sign of growing acceptance of 
marijuana consumption as part of the American mainstream, with 
advocates of liberalized pot laws looking to California as their next 
battleground in 2016.

"In 2016, we're going to push the ball forward in several states 
until we end prohibition," said Leland Berger, a Portland attorney 
who helped write the new Oregon law.

But nothing changes immediately on the ground in Oregon or Alaska. 
The newly passed Alaska law is expected to go into effect in 
February, while Oregon pot smokers will have to wait until July 2015. 
Retail outlets are not expected to open in either state until the 
following year.

"Nothing will change for us in the interim, as marijuana possession 
has been a very low law-enforcement priority for a long time," 
Portland police spokesman Peter Simpson said.

Legalization opponents in both states said they would push state 
legislators for tighter rules, including measures aimed at keeping 
marijuana out of the hands of children and to bar advertising that 
would appeal to youngsters.

Marijuana remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal 
law, though the Obama administration gives individual states leeway 
to carry out their own recreational-use statutes.

Kevin Sabet, co-founder of anti-legalization group Smart Approaches 
to Marijuana, said his group would redouble efforts to build a 
broader coalition to beat back better-funded pro-cannabis groups before 2016.

Meanwhile, a proposed state constitutional amendment to make Florida 
the 24th state and the first in the South to allow medical marijuana 
fell short of the 60 percent support needed to pass on Tuesday.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom