Greetings from CV Alliance!

If you’ve been following the news, you’ll know much is happening on the marijuana front nationally, statewide and locally.

The White House’s new drug control policy opposes marijuana legalization for medical and recreational use. The DEA has come under attack in Congress. Administrator Michele Leonhart has taken the brunt of criticisms. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell castigated them for interfering with his state’s economic interests when agents confiscated hemp seeds headed for a research facility. They eventually got the seeds and are looking to develop an industrial hemp industry.

Adult recreational use of marijuana has been legal in Colorado for six months now. Governor John Hickenlooper opposed legalization but was quoted in Forbes “It seems like the people that were smoking before are mainly the people that are smoking now …  If that’s the case, what that means is that we’re not going to have more drugged driving or driving while high. We’re not going to have some of those problems. But we are going to have a system where we’re actually regulating and taxing something, and keeping that money in the state of Colorado … and we’re not supporting a corrupt system of gangsters.”

On July 8, Washington became the second state to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana. Unlike Colorado, which granted licenses to those already holding medical marijuana licenses, Washington created a new industry. Stakeholders spent 18 months crafting regulations. Regulation is the job of Washington’s Liquor Control Board. It is taking a slower approach and David Rheins, CEO of the Marijuana Business Association, bets Washington’s model is destined to be a “Harvard Business Review case study.”

In Los Angeles, two factors may negate the need for dispensaries. Following examples in other states, the first medical marijuana farmers’ market opened on July 4 in Boyle Heights. Thousands flocked to the California Heritage Market to deal directly with growers. And now you can have medical marijuana delivered to your home. The Sunday LA Times ran a story about Speed Weed, one local service. According to the article, “Mobile marijuana businesses now number in the hundreds across Southern California.”

Oy vey!

Suzy Jacobs, Executive Director,
CV Alliance
3131 Foothill Blvd. Suite D
La Crescenta, CA 91214
(818) 646-7867  http://cv-alliance.org/

  Suzy JACOBS