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Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

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Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#51

Post by chimeracoder »

showerst wrote: post #37
Shivetya wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't DC just vote to legalize it, you just cannot buy or sell it. Here is to hoping the next big issue after marriage equality if fixing our drug laws, which are more damaging than many will admit and far too profitable to law enforcement and the prison industry.

I think in DC the situation will be that private individuals can't sell it, but there will be licensed dispensaries. That's pending congressional approval though. (Really it's pending congress not striking it down, which they seem loathe to do except for one very zealous committee member without much power).

> I think in DC the situation will be that private individuals can't sell it, but there will be licensed dispensaries.

No, the DC provision does not allow for licensed dispensaries for recreational use[0]. (Dispensaries for medical use have just begun opening under the medical law passed in 2011, but this is separate from the situation in Colorado post-Amendment 64).

> That's pending congressional approval though. (Really it's pending congress not striking it down, which they seem loathe to do except for one very zealous committee member without much power).

Do you have a source for this? Congress has struck down similar measures from DC in the past.

[0] http://dcmj.org/ballot-initiative/

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#52

Post by evincarofautumn »

chaostheory wrote: post #32

I still find it very strange that California wasn't one of the first states to legalize marijuana. Now there are three states ahead. EDIT: Looking at the results, these counties that voted 'No' surprised me Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Pomona, Palmdale, Pasadena, Torrance, Inglewood, Burbank, Carson, Santa Monica etc.) Santa Clara County (San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Gilr…

Maybe illicit growers and sellers in those areas want to avoid government intervention in their process and profits? I have no idea how much voting power that industry has, though.

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#53

Post by Tiktaalik »

The Liberal Canadian government of the 90s toyed with the idea of marijuana decriminalization, but the opposing argument that was always raised was that the Americans would be so staunchly against it.

Back in the 90s I would not have expected all other "Cascadian" states would legalize marijuana before British Columbia.

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#54

Post by munificent »

kyleblarson wrote: post #11
japhyr wrote: post #7

Here's an interesting piece of the Alaska marijuana legal status. We just voted to legalize recreational marijuana use, which includes growing and selling marijuana. I'm happy to see it pass because possession has been legal here for a long time, but sales and distribution has not. That's a murky legal situation, which I'm happy to see cleared up. But last night an article ran in our local paper stating that the Coas…

As a Seattleite I was optimistic things might change at the federal level when Obama appointed Kerlikowski as drug czar, given his experience as police chief in what even in 2009 was a very cannabis friendly city. I guess I was just another sucker for hope and change that never materialized.

The US government is a pretty big boat and takes a while to turn around. You have to have patience and a longer view, but change does happen. In 2012 it was two states. Now it's four. We're getting there.

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#55

Post by munificent »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #47
techpeace wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe they're referring to the private prison industry, which makes a pretty penny off locking up non-violent drug offenders. Their trade organization listed liberalizing drug laws as a potential threat to their bottom line in their last annual report, so we can expect that they will fiercely lobby against anything happening at a federal level.

I feel like this situation is overstated a lot. Something like 8% of prisoners in the US are in privately run prisons, which could be a problem, but it's not the massive number that is often implied.

> Something like 8% of prisoners in the US are in privately run prisons

For the other 92%, how much work does that state-run prison contract out to private companies?

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#56

Post by eli »

afiedler wrote: post #46
eli wrote: post #2

DC and Oregon too. I think DC in particular will be interesting because Congress has power over DC it does not have with states. Could be the opening for a national debate (or the newly elected Congress could simply crush it).

One thing that is interesting is that Congress usually blocks funding for DC laws by restricting how we can spend our local tax dollars (through the appropriations process). When DC decriminalized possession, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland tried to block the decriminalization by blocking funding for decriminalization. If that sounds like the legislative equivalent of a double-negative, it is! Harris's legislation poten…

Yeah, I read that article about the Harris amendment and it was a cute legal theory, but I don't really buy it. It certainly wasn't validated by any court -- nobody would even put their name on it! It certainly isn't proof that an amendment couldn't be crafted that would prevent legalization.

My understanding is that literally everything the city does requires at least some nominal amount of staff time and funding, so Congress has considerable power through the appropriations process. But IANAL. It would certainly be an interesting court case.

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#57

Post by ghshephard »

chaostheory wrote: post #32

I still find it very strange that California wasn't one of the first states to legalize marijuana. Now there are three states ahead. EDIT: Looking at the results, these counties that voted 'No' surprised me Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Pomona, Palmdale, Pasadena, Torrance, Inglewood, Burbank, Carson, Santa Monica etc.) Santa Clara County (San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Gilr…

The marijuana growers in California did not support legalization as they felt (correctly) that it would impact their profit. They supported the status quo, which was enough to defeat legalization in California.

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#58

Post by shitehawk »

eli wrote: post #5
ericcumbee wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DC legalizing- Christmas came early for Late Night show writers and hosts.

I expect it to get a lot of play in the media. In addition to being the seat of government, DC is the first place to vote for legalization on the East Coast. Although the change has already been passed (overwhelmingly) by referendum, the city council still has to submit the changes to Congress, which will have 60 days to veto them. Further, at any point in the future they can restrict what DC can do via amendments to…

>DC is the first place to vote for legalization on the East Coast.

That is true but most of the Northeast has decriminalized it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_U.S._st...

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#59

Post by eli »

chaostheory wrote: post #32

I still find it very strange that California wasn't one of the first states to legalize marijuana. Now there are three states ahead. EDIT: Looking at the results, these counties that voted 'No' surprised me Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Pomona, Palmdale, Pasadena, Torrance, Inglewood, Burbank, Carson, Santa Monica etc.) Santa Clara County (San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Gilr…

California had a legalization ballot initiative some years ago that was poorly written and went too far. It failed.

Re: Alaskans vote to legalize marijuana

#60

Post by maxerickson »

jonnathanson wrote: post #29
phantom784 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious as to how the Washington-Oregon border will be treated, since both states now have legal marijuana. Will the states allow marijuana from the other to cross over? Does "crossing the state line" make it easier to enforce federal anti-drug laws?

I really doubt there will be much trouble moving weed between WA and OR. Even during the period when it was legal in WA and illegal in OR, OR police pretty much turned a blind eye to interstate "tourists" on suspiciously short trips across the border and back. Now that both states have legalized weed, this will be even less of an issue. And the likelihood that you run into a federal officer while crossing the WA/OR b…

I guess the only times (in recent history anyway) that states vigorously defend their borders is when it impacts their tax revenues.

Are there big differences in how Washington and Oregon are taxing marijuana?

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