Smoking marijuana for any reason is illegal under federal law, but there are several states where it’s legal to smoke it for medical reasons. This is because marijuana can help relieve chronic pain and the symptoms of some other medical conditions that often don’t respond well to other medications. In the states where it’s legal to smoke marijuana for medical reasons, you should get a Medical Marijuana Card in case you’re ever questioned by law enforcement.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Be aware that a Medical Marijuana Card usually costs over $100 and you must apply for it through your county. Not all counties issue the cards, but in states where medical marijuana is legal, more counties have started complying.

2. Ask your doctor to write you a recommendation for the medical use of marijuana. Explain to him how you get relief for your medical condition by using it.

3. Contact The Hemp and Cannibis Foundation (see Resources) if you aren’t able to obtain a recommendation from your doctor. The foundation has clinics in many states where medical marijuana use is legal and they can arrange for you to see one of their doctors. It’s possible to use the recommendation of a doctor outside of your county.

4. Check with the county office where you reside to see what other documentation is required besides a doctor’s recommendation. You need to reside within that county to obtain a card and will be asked for proof of residency.

5. Know that there are usually marijuana dispensaries located in the states where medical marijuana use is legal. Individual cities decide whether to allow the dispensaries to operate. But since the sale and use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, dispensaries are occasionally raided by federal agents.

Original Content from: How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4577244_medical-marijuana-card.html#ixzz0w5mO6shZ

User-Submitted Article

This article is on how to clone medical marijuana plants for a constant supply of medicine for patients with ailments. These simple steps will have you getting a great success rate of clones rooting for growth.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

1. Scissors or a razor blade or both.
2. Rooting hormone (Gel or powder).
3. Small growing medium container. Either soil, or whatever you use.
4. Something to poke hole in medium for clone to go in. A small thin paintbrush will do, or a small pen or pencil.

1
Get all your supplies ready and sanitized. You don’t want the plant to get infected where you make the cut because it might not root and die.

2
Find a good spot on the plant to make a clone. Don’t clone just a fan leaf. You need to clone growth where it is new and young, with at least two sets of fan leaves. The lower on the plant the clone is taken, the better chance to have it root faster. You can take clones off of near tops of plants, but they will take a little longer to root. Take your razor blade and make a 45 degree angled cut so you can give the base of the clone more room to have its roots grow.

3
Make sure the cutting is big enough and make sure there is enough surface area at the bottom of the stem to grow enough root mass.

4
To give the clone more chance to root, take your razor blade and make a small incision down the middle of the bottom of the stem going up towards the top. Only go about one inch, but this will give more area for the clone to root. This is also optional, you don’t need to do this to have a successfully rooted clone.

5
Put it in a glass of water as soon as the cut is made to make sure no air gets to the rooting area.

6
When ready to dip into rooting powder or gel, make sure you are careful and dip the bottom of the plant into the rooting hormone. Make sure to cover the area with enough hormone so it can root. Once dipped, flick the plant or blow off the excess powder or gel.

7
Poke a hole in the soil or whatever medium you’re using down the middle of the container. Make sure to make the hole at least 2 inches in depth, but no more than 6 (or however tall your cutting is). Place the bottom of the plant with the hormone on into the hole in the medium. Make sure to pack the stem in the medium nice and firm, and then water to saturate the medium. Also, pack more after to make sure it’s firmly in place. MAKE SURE there are no air pockets in the soil where your clone is trying to root. Pack it down and all around.

Tips & Warnings

1. Practice cloning and you will be able to make cutting after cutting to give yourself a constant supply of medicine.
2. Clones don’t need a lot of light to root. In fact they prefer less light than a standard vegetative room gives. One 23 watt CFL could root many clones.
3. You don’t have to put a humidity dome over the clones, but it helps retain humidity and helps root them. As long as the root area and the medium is at a constant good level of moisture, then they will root.
4. Always make sure you’re working in a clean environment and you’re working with clean equipment at all times.Be careful with sharp razor blades because they will cut you easily.
5. Don’t over water to make the medium soggy, because bacterial growth that is not good for your plants will occur.
6. Only patients who are LEGALLY prescribed medical marijuana can grow. If you are not legally able to grow medical marijuana in where you reside, don’t do it.

Read more: How to Clone Medical Marijuana Plants | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5834559_clone-medical-marijuana-plants.html#ixzz0w5rpH5Pg

Putting the question of marijuana legalization on state ballots in 2012 may be one of the most effective ways for a dispirited Democratic Party to get reluctant voters out to the polls. The wild card in the coming midterms and in 2012 will be the “surge” voters — people who were driven to the polls in 2008 through a once-in-a-generation mix of shame at the outgoing administration and hope in a new, barrier-breaking candidate. Democrats are investing millions in figuring out how to get those voters out, and the marijuana issue is getting increasing attention from political operatives.

A survey making the rounds among strategists, which has yet to be made public, indicates that pot could be just the enticement many of these voters need: Surge voters, single women under 40 and Hispanics all told America Votes pollsters that if a legalization measure were on the Colorado ballot, they’d be more likely to come out to vote. Forty-five percent of surge voters and 47 percent of single women said they’d be more interested in voting if the question was on the ballot. Most of these were energetic, with 36 and 30 percent, respectively, saying they’d be “much more interested” in coming out to vote. Roughly half said it would make no difference. For Latinos, 32 percent said they’d be “much more interested” in voting and another 12 percent said they’d be somewhat more attracted to the idea of trudging to the polls.

Surge voters said they would support the measure by a margin of 63-35. Young single women would back it 68-31. Latinos, meanwhile, oppose it 52-46, according to the survey. “Whether it can pass or not is another question, but I think it’s clear that a marijuana legalization measure has the potential to increase turnout among voting groups that are critical to Democratic success in November,” said a Colorado Democratic operative, who, like most strategists employed by campaigns, prefers not to talk about marijuana on the record — highlighting the difficulty Democrats will have threading the political needle.

Turning out an extra few percent can be the difference between winning and losing in swing states, a reality Karl Rove exploited in 2004 by papering the nation with anti-gay marriage initiatives.

Support for marijuana legalization has been ticking up over the past decade as residents of states with legal medical marijuana realize that the sky hasn’t fallen. And backing has surged more recently amid deficit hysteria and a declining economy, as voters are less inclined to spend tax dollars on a drug war when instead marijuana could itself be taxed and used to create jobs.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who’s been working to liberalize marijuana laws for decades, thinks that the goal may finally be in sight, saying recently that his bill to remove federal criminal penalties would pass in the next five years. “I want to be clear; that’s not my major motivation,” said Frank of the revenue argument. “My major motivation is personal freedom. When we outlaw marijuana or online gambling, all you do is create more criminals and deprive us of revenue.”

The Service Employees International Union explored putting a pot initiative on the 2010 ballot in Washington state and engaged Project New West to poll whether it could turn liberals out. The union concluded that the move had merit in general, but in particular it wasn’t impressed with how the petition drive and campaign was being organized, so didn’t pursue it. (As if to confirm the SEIU’s conclusion, the would-be pot organizers issued an angry statement aimed at the union when it decided not to get involved.)

Story continues below

In California, Democrats hope the state’s legalization initiative will drive turnout and help send Barbara Boxer back to the Senate and Jerry Brown to the governor’s mansion, even though both have taken positions against the measure. Because Democrats have yet to coalesce around reform of marijuana laws, the effort to link pot to the party’s electoral hopes is going on quietly, the opposite of Rove’s coordinated campaign with religious groups opposed to marriage rights for all Americans. A recent survey has California’s marijuana initiative up 56-42, though proponents worry about the threat of major spending in opposition from the prison guards union, alcohol interests and pharmaceutical companies.

Nevada, a swing state, has twice rejected pot legalization initiatives in the past, though support increased to 44 percent in 2004, the last time it was on the ballot. Supporters plan to put it on again in 2012. Whether it can pass isn’t some Democrats’ top concern: As long as it can get unlikely voters to a polling station they’d otherwise avoid, it’s a success.

Activists are also looking at several other states, including Oregon, Illinois, Maine and Massachusetts, the last of which greatly liberalized its pot laws through a 2008 ballot measure. Illinois and Massachusetts are unlikely to be competitive at the presidential level, but having pot on the ballot could help with House races or assist in unseating Scott Brown in 2012.

The very thought of relying on marijuana to increase motivation, however, is a difficult one to absorb. “I’d be shocked if this was our version of the right’s anti-gay initiatives,” said Markos Moulitsas, founder of DailyKos. “I certainly wouldn’t bank on these initiatives as part of a Democratic turnout initiative.”

UPDATE: The Atlantic’s Josh Green explored this question earlier.

Ryan Grim is the author of This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America

Original Content from www.huffingtonpost.com

Watch out as you drive down West Colorado Avenue these days. You might get a contact high.

From Interstate 25 to Old Colorado City, you’ll pass a medical marijuana dispensary on almost every block. Businesses like Springs Natural Medicine, The Healthy Connection and Altitude Organic Medicine — “home of the $39 special” — can make you feel like you’re in pot head heaven.

But for residents and business owners in the midst of the business boom, their presence has raised eyebrows and often ire.

“It’s no longer West Colorado Avenue, it’s West Cannabis Avenue,” said  Jim Lamphear, who lives a block north on Pikes Peak Avenue. Lamphear chuckled to himself when he saw the first dispensary pop up because he figured every neighborhood would have one. But he’s not chuckling any more.

“They just came suddenly: boom, boom, boom. Soon enough, every time a storefront opened up you knew what was going in there.”

Lamphear and his wife, Ella, bought their historic home 38 years ago — back when they say the neighborhood was rundown and their friends and family questioned the move. Now after years of renovating their house and making an immaculate backyard garden, they’ve been delighted to watch other neighbors follow suit and upgrade the neighborhood one home at a time.

He worries the dispensaries could turn off potential buyers and erode the home values he and his neighbors have worked to raise.

“Like any business that operates on the fringe of morality, like adult bookstores and topless bars, dispensaries threaten the neighborhood concept,” he said.

Lamphear’s neighborhood isn’t the only one that has been inundated with dispensaries. As of July 29, the City of Colorado Springs had active sales tax licenses for 230 dispensaries. While there are dispensaries in virtually every neighborhood, West Colorado Avenue, East Platte Avenue and the area circling the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are among a handful that have several dispensaries apiece.

A comprehensive interactive map of local medical marijuana dispensaries is available at gazette.com.

Tanya Garduno, director of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, said dispensary owners are trying their best to be good neighbors. Many post signs warning customers to be quiet and respectful outside of the business and not to litter. When the council receives complaints, Garduno said members follow up to make sure everything is going as it should. She said the council would love to meet with neighborhood groups to discuss their concerns face-to-face.

“We will make every effort possible to do what we can,” she said. “We’re not trying to be fly-by-night. We’re not trying to get rich quick. In order to be here for the long run, we have to be good neighbors.”

Still, she said, she knows that there will always be unhappy people.

“Sometimes, no matter what the dispensaries do, the neighbors won’t be happy,” she said. “A lot of times, it’s that they don’t like the business itself.”

Lamphear admits that might be part of the problem. He hasn’t noticed an increase in crime and admits that it’s a bit reassuring to know where marijuana is being sold in his neighborhood. Still, he wishes the dispensaries weren’t allowed in residential neighborhoods.

Soon enough, he fears, the friendly, small-business feel of West Colorado Avenue will change beyond recognition.

Not everyone in the neighborhood shares those fears. Firehouse Southern Style BBQ on West Colorado Avenue is across the street from a dispensary, and Firehouse general manager Peter Karnincic said he has no problems with his new neighbor. He hasn’t noticed an increase in crime or decrease in business since it moved in.

To be friendly, and drum up business, he even stopped by to say hello.

“I gave some of those guys our menu so if they get the munchies they can come over and eat,” Karnincic said. He said a few have taken up his offer.

Six blocks west of Firehouse, Jug & Basin Antiques owner Joe Roina isn’t so enthusiastic. His customers are mainly tourists and antiques collectors, two groups that he believes might be turned off by dispensaries. Also, he objects to them as a resident — he and his family have lived at the store more than 30 years.

“We’re scared that it’s going to bring a clientele that is not conducive to family life,” he said. “I’m not happy. We raised our kids in this house and I feel for the other kids out there.”

On Pikes Peak Avenue, homeowner Becki Davis doesn’t see what all of the fuss is about. She has no problem with medical marijuana, in fact, she thinks marijuana should be legalized. Yes, there are a lot of dispensaries in the area, she said, but they aren’t hurting anyone.

“We have liquor stores in our neighborhood and nobody seems worried about those,” she said.

In time, she suspects the dispensary inundation on West Colorado will cure itself. Soon enough, most of the dispensaries will disappear as customers flock to bigger and better places.

“Natural selection,” she said. “Hey, that would be a good name for a pot shop. Maybe I should open one.”

—

Contact the writer at 719-636-0274.

Original Content from www.gazette.com

The continued reluctance of banks to work with medical-marijuana dispensaries could complicate the state’s brand-new efforts to regulate the businesses.

Dispensary owners say there are virtually no banks willing to take their business. Wells Fargo & Co., which stopped accepting new dispensary accounts months ago but continued to have a number of pre-existing dispensary accounts, last week began sending out letters to those dispensary owners telling them they have until Oct. 4 to close their accounts.

“It’s based really on the complex and inconsistent legal environment across the country related to medical-marijuana dispensaries,” said Wells Fargo spokeswoman Cristie Drumm.

Evan Anderson, the owner of 14er Holistics in Boulder, said his banker at Wells Fargo told him Wednesday he would have to close his account.

“They were the only bank that I know any of my colleagues were using,” Anderson said of Wells Fargo.

Anderson hasn’t been able to find a new bank, and he said he’s heard stories of fellow dispensary owners going to more than 100 banks trying unsuccessfully to find one to work with. Without a bank account, Anderson said his dispensary may have to operate as cash-only.

“They’re forcing us into illegitimacy,” he said.

That is exactly what state officials fear.

State Sen. Chris Romer, a Denver Democrat who sponsored the new dispensary rules at the legislature this year, said if dispensaries have to conduct all their transactions in cash it will make it harder to track their activity. That, Romer feared, could undermine new regulations requiring detailed accounting by dispensaries in the hopes of bringing more transparency to the industry.

“It would be bad for our compliance regime if they had to do 100 percent cash,” Romer said.

The banks’ squeamishness over dispensary accounts comes down to this: All marijuana is illegal under federal law, and it is a no-no for banks to work with illegal businesses.

“Banks are caught between the conflicting state and federal laws,” said Tim Powers, a spokesman for the Colorado Bankers Association. “One is saying the action is legal, the other is saying it’s not.”

Powers said the bankers association plans to ask federal regulators for clarification.

Banking headaches are not new to dispensary owners. A handful of marijuana activists held noisy protests outside several downtown Denver banks last week to decry the problem.

Ed Kieta, the owner of the Alternative Wellness Center in Denver, said he has gone through three banks in the eight months his dispensary has been open. One closed his account right after Kieta wrote a sizable check for local licensing fees, sending Kieta scrambling to make sure the bounced check didn’t derail his application.

Kieta said forcing dispensaries to operate as cash-only makes them more of a target for crime, and he’s frustrated that his business is considered legitimate enough to pay taxes but not enough to have a bank account.

“We’re at the point where we’re going to have to start putting money in mattresses,” Kieta said, exasperated. “It’s just been crazy.”

Original Content from www.dailycamera.com

​This week’s marijuana-cultivation arrest of Broomfield’s Johnny Jones wasn’t an isolated incident. According to Commander Jerry Peters of the North Metro Task Force, which assisted on the Jones bust, illegal marijuana seizures are up 380 percent from 2009 — and he believes surplus medical marijuana is helping to fuel a growing pot black market.

These revelations were prompted by a conversation about an I-News Network investigationarguing that “thousands of pounds of surplus marijuana” grown as MMJ is finding its way into the illegal marketplace due to a loophole in state law.

Does the measure need to be tightened? Peters, who’s long maintained that drug dealers are taking advantage of the medical marijuana industry, isn’t sure that’d help.

“I don’t necessarily like the law the way it is anyway,” he concedes. “I think this effect will be there no matter what happens.”

In his view, “the production of each plant, and how to verify that when you’re trying to regulate this as a business, is problematic. You don’t necessarily have an opportunity at the point of cultivation for someone to do an inspection to find out how much a plant is yielding. It’s kind of difficult to say this plant will yield two ounces, or three ounces, or a pound. And each yield is different depending on the grow cycle as well.

“Sometimes you’ll be short, and sometimes you’ll be over. And each of these are issues that causes the black market to exist even more than it has been before. Because anytime you try to regulate an illegal business, you’re going to drive other sources. It’s a Whac-A-Mole. You push it down in one place and it pushes up in another — and extra yields will be pushed out the back door.”

Such factors contribute to “a 380 percent increase in seized marijuana, illegal marijuana, from last year,” Peters believes. But he doesn’t think surplus MMJ accounts for all of the illicit product.

“It could be an overage out the back door from a legal source or Mexican marijuana coming up across the border,” he says. “But I honestly believe dispensaries in our state are going to drive up the amount of Mexican marijuana we see. They [the drug cartels] see a market already built up, so you’re going to see a lot more marijuana coming in. We’re seeing it by the pound — ten pounds here, twenty pounds there, coming in from California, Arizona, Mexico.”

At the same time, Peters points out that the number of arrests focused on allegedly illegal local grows like Jones’s that the Task Force has shut down has actually fallen in recent months — at little, anyway.

“We’re not doing as many of them as we once did,” he allows. “It’s still a huge part of our day-to-day investigations, but it’s not everything we’re doing.”

Could the Task Force’s aggressive stance be one reason for this dip?

“I hope so,” he says. “I hope people realize that if you break the law, you’re going to get caught — and when you get caught, you’re going to be prosecuted, so stop breaking the law. That’s the message we want to get across in Adams County.”

At the same time, though, “if you’re legitimate, you’re legitimate, and we respect that,” he goes on. “That’s the way we look at it, and the way the DA’s office looks at it. If you’re a legitimate cardholder or caregiver or business owner and you’re operating within the confines of the law, that’s perfect for us. That’s exactly what we want to see.”

And if you’re not? Then that 380 percent increase might only be the beginning.

Original Content from www.westword.com

Many cultures throughout history have smoked tobacco through a gravity or water bong as a form of socialization. Owning a bong is not illegal and some people collect unusual bongs from all over the globe. Flavored tobaccos may be smoked and savored and passed around the table; taste and flavor is said to be far superior when smoked through water. This social activity may be done in full view of the general public; as long as no illegal substances are smoked from your simple bong, nobody will get arrested.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions
Things You’ll Need: Plastic 2-liter soda bottle 1/4-inch wide 8-inch long hollow metal pipe Socket (metal) as a cap for the metal pipe Pocket knife Soda can

1
Wash out a 2-liter soda bottle, and make a small hole with your pocket knife approximately one-third of the way up the bottle.

2
Insert the thin hollow metal pipe into the hole and place the metal socket over the hole. This is where the flavored tobacco is placed and lit when you are ready to savor the smoke.

3
Make a small hole near the shoulder of the plastic bottle; this is your carburetor, and will be used to control the smoke when the tobacco is lit. The thumb will block and unblock the top hole when the tobacco is lit to enable the smoker to inhale the smoke.

4
Fill the gravity bong with enough water to sit below the first hole that you made but fill with enough water to enable the end of the hollow metal pipe to be in the water.

5
Try another simple method to smoke flavored tobacco. Make a hole with your pocket knife in the middle of a metal soda can about halfway up. Bend the soda can to make a small depression around the hole you have just made. Make a small hole in the side of the can near the top to use as a carburetor or breather valve. Place the tobacco on the depression above the hole halfway down the can and smoke your favorite flavored tobacco.

Tips & Warnings:
1. Always change the bong water after use.
2. Never use these methods to smoke illegal drugs.

Read more: How to Make a Simple Bong | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4810089_simple-bong.html#ixzz0w5q1IaHu

Cannabis Therapy Institute’s Laura Kriho and Colorado Coalition for Patients and Caregivers’ Robert Chase succeeded in getting theDepartment of Revenue to postpone the first meeting of its new medical marijuana advisory working group because it wasn’t open to the public. But they don’t want to stop there. The activists are now calling for the DOR to “re-open their Advisory Committee appointments to a public application process.”

Moreover, a CTI release compares the revenue department’s approach unfavorably to that of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, an agency MMJ activists have regularly excoriated for blocking public participation — as in an alleged “emergency” meeting in November whose actions were subsequently tossed out by Judge Larry Naves after attorneys filed a court complaint.

Granted, the health department’s process wasn’t perfect. Among those initially selected for its MMJ advisory body was Ken Weaver, a plane-stealing Texan who made up a fake life.Weaver later resigned from the committee.

Even so, the Cannabis Therapy Institute believes the revenue department’s method of working-group selection was considerably more problematic, declaring, “The creation of a hand-picked board causes the appearance of impropriety.”

Look below to read the rest of the CTI release:

Dept. of Revenue Cancels Secret Medical Marijuana Meetings{Denver} — The Colorado Department of Revenue canceled a secret meeting of a government advisory board that had been scheduled for Wednesday after medical cannabis activists protested that these meetings are subject to Colorado’s Sunshine Law, also known as the Colorado Open Meetings Act. This requires that any meeting of any public body be “open to the public at all times.”

Read the Westword article about the meeting cancellation.

Activists discovered the plans for secret meetings last week when Matt Cook, head of the Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, was asked if he was planning on appointing an advisory committee similar to the committee appointed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Matt Cook responded that he had already appointed the committee and that the meetings would not be open to public observation because “we would not be able to get anything done.”

Apparently, the Department of Revenue had quietly selected a 25-person Advisory Committee over the past several weeks to advise them on the hundreds of new rules that the Department of Revenue needs to promulgate to enact the new Colorado Medical Marijuana Code (formerly part of HB 10-1284) over the next year. You can see the members here.

According to e-mails from Matt Cook, the Department of Revenue then intended to meet with this Advisory Committee in private until they had a set of regulations to share with the rest of the industry. Only at that point would they make the rulemaking process public and allow other interested parties to observe.

However, the Colorado Sunshine Law requires that any meetings by any advisory board be open to the public at all times. The Cannabis Therapy Institute pointed this out to the Department in several emails over the course of the last few days. Originally, the Department claimed this meeting was exempt from the Open Meetings Act. However, on Tuesday evening, after discussion with the Department’s legal team, Matt Cook decided to cancel the Wed. meeting. He told CTI, “In light of the concerns about this meeting, I will reschedule at a later date and give you Notice.” Presumably, this means the Department will now comply fully with the Open Meetings Act and give public notice of the meeting and as well as allow public observation.

However, it is unclear how the Department of Revenue appointed these board members in the first place. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) recently appointed their Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee. The CDPHE went through a process where they allowed the public to apply for positions on the Committee. They then reviewed over 100 applications before they selected the candidates and announced them in a press release on July 16. The first Advisory Committee meeting was open to the public.

Why did Matt Cook decide to hand-pick his advisory board and not allow other members of the industry to apply for these positions? The Department of Revenue just received $7 million in state application fees from over 1,000 different dispensaries, manufacturers and growers. Surely, some of these parties deserve a chance to apply for a position on the Advisory Board that will help decide how the medical marijuana industry in Colorado is regulated.

The Department of Revenue is not off to a good start in showing accountability and transparency in its rulemaking process. On Monday, the Department called its first-ever rulemaking meeting as an “emergency” meeting, which allowed them to get around the public notice and comment period, where no real emergency was discussed.

According to Senator Chris Romer, the main proponent of Colorado’s new medical marijuana law, the Department of Revenue was chosen to run the medical marijuana program instead of the CDPHE because the CDPHE had proven that they were antagonistic to the medical marijuana law over the years. The Department of Revenue was supposed to fix that problem and be better and more competent than the CDPHE at implementing the law.

Given this, we would like the Department of Revenue to strive for the highest standards with their rulemaking authority, and with all the other authorities that they have over the medical marijuana program.

Members of the Cannabis Therapy Institute and the Colorado Coalition for Patients and Caregivers are calling on the Department of Revenue to re-open their Advisory Committee appointments to a public application process, just as the CDPHE did for their advisory committee. The creation of a hand-picked board causes the appearance of impropriety.

Original Content from www.westword.com

After California, Colorado is the state with the most extensive medical marijuana system. The Mile High state has raked in over $7 million in taxes and fees from medical cannabis applications that were due by August 1st.

One of the major arguments by those against CA Prop 19 is that it won’t bring any money to the state. We’ve pointed out the fallacy of that argument time and again on this site, but it bears repeating. When has a government not made any money by taxing something? Colorado is much smaller than California, and it’s 700 dispensaries applications are about the same number of dispensaries that used to be in Los Angeles alone. Are we supposed to believe that L.A. wouldn’t have been able to raise $7 million from it’s dispensaries had they left them open to operate? Does the city not need $7 million?

And this is just for medical marijuana. If Prop 19 passes, recreational users in California will be paying taxes on the marijuana they buy as well, not to mention the application fees from all the new businesses that will open. And I would dare say that recreational users far outnumber medical users in CA. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars for the state.

Money doesn’t lie. If you follow it, most of the time you will find the right path.

Original Content from www.the420times.com

Every Colorado dispensary and associated business had to apply for a state license by August 1 — which means we finally have a total number of Colorado pot shops willing to navigate the state’s new rules and fees. The tally: 717 dispensaries, 271 marijuana-infused product manufacturers and 1,071 grow facilities — in total earning the state $7.34 million in fees.

Considering that there are roughly 105,000 medical marijuana patients in Colorado, that breaks down to about 150 patients for every dispensary in the state.

When the dust settles, the number of dispensaries may actually be slightly higher, says Department of Revenue spokesman Mark Couch, since there are roughly a hundred mail-in applications that have yet to be processed. In total, the department received slightly more applications than it expected, since it had figured about half of the 1,100 or so dispensaries that officials had guessed had opened shop in the state would actually go through with the application process.

The numbers also shed light on the size of most Colorado dispensaries. All but 35 of the 717 dispensaries applied for a “Type 1″ medical marijuana center license, meaning they serve 300 or fewer patients. Only fifteen applied for a Type 2 license, meaning they work with 301 to 500 patients, and twenty applied for Type 3, reserved for behemoths with 501 or more customers.

What’s interesting is that there are more grow-facility license applications than the total number of dispensary and product-manufacturer applications, even though only dispensary owners or product manufacturers can own a grow facility. That’s because several business owners appear to own more than one grow facility, according to Couch. “It protects them,” he says. “If they have blight on a grow at one facility, they will still have another source for their crops.”

Still, other questions remain. For example, how many businesses will make it through the application process and actually be granted the all-important state license?

Original Content from www.westword.com