Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Welcome back to Weed Wednesday, your weekly dose of pot news. Wondering what this is about? Click. Looking for our previous marijuana coverage? Click. Got a question or tip? Email me at [email protected].
The state has now licensed 218 producers, 178 processors and 57 stores, including five in Spokane County. Those are the same five I've been telling you about every week, so I'll just direct you to our map here. Prices seem to be holding steady, starting at around $16 a gram. Since sales began on July 8, stores statewide have sold a total of just over $14 million in product, raising $3.5 million in taxes.
Spokane Public Radio is hosting an on-air discussion Tuesday at noon called "The Budding Business of Marijuana." A look at the lineup promises a good listen: Alison Holcomb, who works at the state ACLU and was the primary author of Initiative 502; Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich; Chris Marr, a Washington State Liquor Control Board member and former state senator representing Spokane; and Kevin Oliver, a licensed producer and head of the state chapter of NORML.
The guy who bragged to TV news about being the first customer in line for legal weed in Spokane tells KREM he's struggling to find a job.
In Seattle, the new police chief is looking to get 66 tickets for public use of marijuana dismissed after determining they were part of an officer's personal anti-pot agenda, reports the Seattle Times.
A Washington state representative is pushing a "no welfare for weed" bill back in the other Washington. (NBC)
In Colorado, marijuana activists and industry members are fighting against stoner stereotypes, The Cannabist reports. That effort includes this new billboard mocking New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's June column about her terrifying experience with edibles:
Also, The Cannabist is hiring a columnist to write about sex and marijuana.
Elsewhere:
The NFL players union has tentatively approved a new drug policy that increases the amount of THC allowed in the system before triggering a positive test. (ESPN)
The Alaska Conference of Mayors is coming out against a legalization initiative there. (KTVA)
A New York state senator wants to legalize marijuana in the state with a model based on Washington and Colorado. (WSJ)
The Washington Post editorializes against legalization.
Finally, Rastafarians in Jamaica say relaxations in pot laws around the globe could help their efforts to get the divine herb decriminalized. "The world is catching up now," reggae legend Bunny Wailer told the AP.
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