If you weren’t convinced that legit pot benefits the economy, here’s proof
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Economic Boom
If you weren’t convinced that legit pot benefits the economy, here’s proof
Steve Holmes
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Frivolous Lawsuits Go Up in Smoke
The Kansas attorney general unintentionally proves that cannabis legalization is working
When Colorado legalized cannabis in 2012, government officials in the conservative neighboring states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma were not pleased. Police in those states claimed that they were overwhelmed with cannabis being trafficked from Colorado and went so far as to suggest that Colorado should pay for their increased law enforcement costs. Around the […]
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The People Have Spoken
Weed has never been more popular
Americans’ opinions about cannabis have changed dramatically over the last decade and are now “nearly the reverse” of what they were as recently as 2006, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. The poll, conducted in late August and early September, found that 57 percent of adults favor legalizing cannabis and just […]
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Who Opposes Cannabis Legalization?
Just follow the money!
This November, more Americans will vote on the question of legalizing cannabis than ever before. Voters in five states will vote on so-called recreational use, and voters in another four states will vote on medical marijuana. Recreational use is currently legal in four states, and medical use is legal in 25 states. The District of […]
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Industry Panic
As a new regulatory deadline passes, pot businesses call for an extension
As of Oct. 1, Oregon Liquor Control Commission rules require cannabis products to meet new, higher standards for testing, packaging and labeling. The new rules center around product testing, and are designed to ensure more accurate tests for potency and pesticides. As of the end of September, the OLCC has approved just six labs in […]
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What was in those Mashed Potatoes!?
Now that cannabis has been legal long enough to generate some reliable sales data, people in the industry are starting to ask the question: What type of cannabis products do people really want? A great deal of data, for example, suggests that older consumers are much more likely to buy edibles than younger consumers. Many […]
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Cannabis Policy in Bizarre-o World
Nearly 50 years ago, President Nixon declared war on certain drugs. A lot of people weren’t convinced that cannabis was terrible, so Congress established a commission to study cannabis. That commission reported that cannabis was no more harmful than alcohol and that the harm of the drug was not enough to warrant intrusion by the […]
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Commuting Drug Sentences
Should Oregon’s governor take a cue from the President?
Should you have to stay in prison when your crime is no longer a crime? Last week, Smoke Signals detailed the difficulties facing people who have been convicted of cannabis-related felonies. Even after repaying their debt to society, these folks have great difficulty finding jobs, housing, loans and other basic necessities of modern life in […]
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Is the Cannabis Gold Rush Headed for a Bust?
There is no doubt that the legal cannabis business is booming. In August, the Oregon Department of Revenue announced that it had collected more than $25 million in taxes on cannabis sales in the first six months of 2016. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) had previously estimated only $18.4 million in taxes in the […]
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Stigma Follows those Convicted of Cannabis Crimes, but New Laws Offer Some Hope
People who have been convicted of cannabis-related crimes live their lives with the proverbial scarlet letter sewn onto their shirts. To say these folks face difficulty in doing things many people take for granted is an understatement. Most people convicted of cannabis crimes cannot get a car or home loan, or often the kind of […]