Why hasn’t N.J. legalized marijuana?

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lashed out this week against backers of legalizing marijuana in the state, calling the push “beyond stupidity.”

Christie called out Democrats, saying they are willing to “poison our kids” to receive “blood money” from the taxes legalized pot would bring in.

“We are in the midst of the public health crisis on opiates,” Christie said Monday during a speech at a forum on substance abuse in Princeton.

According to Source: Vote: Should N.J. legalize marijuana? | NJ.com

Sound like a reefer madness? We thought so too. And we still do not understand why N.J. hasn’t legalized marijuana.

Leaders of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature are planning to introduce a bill next year that would legalize, tax, and regulate recreational marijuana. 

A 2014 study found a 25 percent decrease in prescription drug overdoses in state with medical marijuana laws.

Explains the NJ.com article. New Jersey does have medical marijuana laws and a program ran by the Department of Health, which has struggled to serve it’s patients. Many blame Christie for the lack of marijuana industry growth, and describe him as out of touch.  

Read more about New Jersey Seed to Sale Here. 

Four New York medical marijuana companies want to block the state from licensing more cannabis firms.

The lawsuit, first reported Friday by the Times Union in Albany, was filed by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association in state Supreme Court in Albany on behalf of Vireo Health of New York, PharmaCannis, Etain and Bloomfield Industries. Columbia Care did not sign on.

Source: Four New York medical marijuana companies want to block the state from licensing more cannabis firms | Crain’s New York Business

Vermont lawmakers have approved a modest expansion to the state’s medical marijuana program.

Vermont allows for more conditions and more dispensary’s according to Source: Vermont House approves medical marijuana expansion plan – MYNBC5.com

The Florida House passed legislation that would put medical marijuana into effect in the state after making last-minute changes released by bill sponsors Tuesday morning.

Under the House’s proposal (HB 1397), patients with a list of conditions — including cancer, HIV/AIDS and epilepsy — could be certified to obtain medical marijuana by a doctor. The bill also says that patients with chronic pain can access the drug, but only if that pain is directly linked to a debilitating condition that would have qualified them regardless.

Restrictions and limitations in the bill — including a limited number of license holders and a ban on smoking — are inspired by concerns that the federal government might decide Florida’s medical cannabis program is too unregulated, House sponsor and Republican Leader Ray Rodrigues of Estero said.

Read more from the Source: Florida House passes medical marijuana language | Naked Politics

At least for now, the DOJ in Congress is likely to be barred from going after pot growers, sellers and users in states where medical marijuana is legal.

The compromise bill to fund the government through September includes an extension of a provision that keeps Sessions’ hands tied by explicitly barring the Department of Justice from using its resources to go after marijuana growers, sellers and users in the more than two dozen states, plus D.C., that have legalized medical marijuana

Source: Congress Ties Jeff Sessions’ Hands on Medical Marijuana – Rolling Stone

The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment was first passed in 2014, by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who introduced this legislation in 2003, along with colleagues Sam Farr & Maurice Hinchey. Their intention was to prohibit the use of state resources to prosecute legal businesses that were passed on the state level.

During the Obama administration in 2013, former U.S. Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, issued the Cole Memo. His memo stated in part that, outside of the federal government’s top enforcement priorities, they have “traditionally relied on state and local law enforcement agencies to address marijuana activity through enforcement of their own narcotics laws.”

Source

FEDERAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROTECTIONS EXTENDED THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2017

: High Times

See our District of Columbia Seed to Sale Solutions Here.

North Carolinians overwhelmingly want medical marijuana legalized, according to a new Elon poll.

Source: Medical Marijuana: North Carolinians want medical marijuana legalized, Elon University poll says | News & Observer

Akron City Council unanimously approved legislation regulating the cultivation, processing and sale of medical marijuana in Akron. Akronites can apply for a state permit to grow marijuana without local permits, if they have the signature of a local zoning authority.

Source: Akron approves medical marijuana law, and Akronites can apply for state permit before local approval | cleveland.com

The state Department of Health is looking to hire staff and write rules on medical marijuana following passage of the state’s new law two weeks ago.

Source: North Dakota Health Department begins implementing new medical marijuana law | North Dakota News | bismarcktribune.com

Most business owners in the cannabis industry are missing out on a huge opportunity to scale growth, decrease advertising costs, and reach more customers. What’s that opportunity, you ask? Social media. It’s time that we get real, many cannabis dispensaries are failing in their social media endeavors. But the good news is — you don’t have to.

Source: Why So Many Dispensaries Are Failing at Social Media 420intel

The Washington, D.C. cannabis analytics firm found that in 2016, medical consumers shopped for cannabis every 10 days, spending an average of $136 per transaction. Adult use consumers shopped every 14 days and spent an average of $49 per transaction.

Medical marijuana sales are projected to reach $5.3 billion in 2017 and account for 67 percent of total cannabis sales. By 2025, medical marijuana sales will grow to $13.2 billion and account for 55 percent of all legal cannabis sales. Adult use sales are projected by reach $2.6 billion in 2017 before growing to $10.9 billion by 2025.

Source: Medical Cannabis Users Outspend Recreational Consumers 3 to 1 – Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA)