The same day they rejected a gay marriage ballot measure, residents of Maine voted overwhelmingly to allow the sale of medical marijuana over the counter at state-licensed dispensaries.

Later in the month, the American Medical Association reversed a longtime position and urged the federal government to remove marijuana from Schedule One of the Controlled Substances Act, which equates it with heroin and cocaine.

washingtonpost.com

Kaum hat Barack Obama die Regeln für den Marihuana-Konsum für Kranke gelockert, öffnet in Portland das erste Cannabis Café. Gegner fürchten schon die Legalisierung der Droge.

Vergangenen Freitag wurde der erste Joint angezündet und Geschichte geschrieben im Cannabis Café in Portland. Es ist das erste Café in den USA, wo zu Kaffee und Kuchen ganz selbstverständlich Marihuana geraucht wird. Marihuana als Medizin wohlgemerkt. Bislang gab es in den USA nur Ausgabestellen für das Rauschmittel, sogenannte Pot Clubs. Doch seit Präsident Barack Obama die Regelung des Marihuana-Konsums auf Rezept lockerte, wollen Kiffer die Grenzen testen.

badische-zeitung.de
kleinezeitung.at
Video

Oregon opened another chapter in U.S. marijuana history when at 4:20 p.m. Friday, about three dozen people christened the nation's first cafe for licensed residents to sit down, sip coffee and smoke marijuana.

"Welcome to a place of our own," said Madeline Martinez, a leader in the state's medical marijuana movement and the leading force pushing to open the Cannabis Cafe in Portland. "Welcome to freedom."

Excited patrons spilled down the outside steps at 700 N.E. Dekum St. as the cafe prepared to open at the appointed hour -- "420" being slang for using marijuana. In line were military veterans, grandmothers, young workers, men and women, old and young, black, white and Latino.

oregonlive.com
Reuters

Colorado is gearing up to officially tax and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, a move lawmakers say amounts to legal recognition of a growing industry.

The state Attorney General John Suthers concluded in an opinion issued Monday that medical marijuana is considered personal property that can be taxed and shouldn't be treated like prescription drugs, which are tax exempt.

The move would make Colorado the latest provincial government to tax marijuana for medical use, after voters in California adopted a similar program when the use was legalized in 1996. Cities such as Denver and Oakland, Calif., also plan to levy municipal taxes on local cannabis dispensaries.

Colorado Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he plans to introduce legislation in January that would require dispensaries to buy licenses, as well as pay the state's 2.9 percent sales tax. He estimates the state could collect up to $15 million a year on the sales, and communities could collect an additional $45 million a year through city and county taxes.

chron.com
vaildaily.com
More ski towns may vote to change pot laws
Colorado ski town legalizes pot

Jann Gumbiner, Ph.D. has a post at Psychology Today pondering how young people will be affected by marijuana legalization. She has more questions than answers, but it's interesting to see what concerns come up for a parent who's undecided on the issue.

Her conclusion strikes me as quite sensible:

As a parent, I ask myself, "what are the dangers to teens?" And, what are the likely scenarios? If pot is still illegal to anyone under 21, how will teens get it? I think the most likely scenario is the same as beer and cigarettes. Older brothers and sisters, with IDs, will legally buy packaged marijuana cigarettes at gas stations and share them with younger ones on Friday night parties. As a parent, I ask myself, "how do I feel about this?" And... after a little thought, I actually feel better knowing my child is with trusted friends, ingesting measured substances than on a corner at night buying an illegal substance from a stranger.

psychologytoday.com

The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug.

The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it -- as long as they are out of public view -- despite a federal ban.

Reuters

While Pitkin County and Aspen have long had a reputation for a casual approach to drug enforcement, it may be Durango that is the next Colorado ski town to legalize adult possession of up to an ounce of pot and the paraphernalia used to smoke it.

A group called Sensible Durango is preparing to put a ballot question in front of Durango voters in November 2010.

aspendailynews.com

The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.

Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote. The measure would allow adults over 21 to have up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

bellinghamherald.com