To greet the news about California's ballot initiative to legalize and tax marijuana this November, which proponents say could raise as much as $1.4 billion a year, the New York Times ran a story with comments from the president of the California Peace Officer's Association, John Standish. "We just don't think anything good will come of this," he said. "It's not going to better society. It's going to denigrate it."

esquire.com

As an avid stoner and a medicinal marijuana grower I am constantly bombarded by statistics of the latest and greatest strains. With dispensaries, clubs, and your neighborhood dealer all telling you their shit is the best and citing 20% plus figures of THC content it is important to ask the question, 20% of what? And does it matter?

hailmaryjane.com

Thousands of marijuana proponents, many of them openly smoking, crowded the University of Michigan’s Diag plaza today for the 39th Annual Hash Bash, which was scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. today.

Organizers said that a decade ago a record 10,000 people attended the event, and they had hoped for at least that much this year. Police said 5,000 showed up for today’s gathering. However, this is a resurgence from the more than 250 or so who attended a few years ago, when it started snowing just as the event began at noon, U of M Department of Public Safety Spokeswoman Diane Brown said.

freep.com
Hash-Bash-attracts-thousands
annarbor.com

The color of money may soon turn a new shade of green as U.S. states across the country consider legalizing and then taxing marijuana to cure chronic budget problems.

California came the closest to taxing tokes last week by putting an initiative on its November ballot. The top marijuana-producing state could raise $1.3 billion annually, according to the California Board of Equalization, which collects taxes.

reuters.com

The District would allow people to have up to 2 ounces of marijuana a month — enough for about a joint a day — for certain medical uses under a bill that moved closer to passage Tuesday.

washingtontimes.com

One step forward: California voters will get a chance in November to decide if the state should legalize marijuana. Two steps backward: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told authorities in Mexico that the United States was looking at anything that worked to fight the drug cartels killing Mexicans daily -- but responded "no" when asked if anything included legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.

suntimes.com
oregonlive.com

So you think you're a connoisseur, what with your cans of Beluga, Kobe steaks and stash of 1998 Dom Perignon? Think again if you haven't gotten your hands on cannabis caviar, a new kind of top-shelf marijuana popping up at Colorado dispensaries that sells for the astronomical price of $1,400 an ounce -- nearly four times the average price of other high-grade strains.

westword.com

Kalifornien machte mit einer Volksabstimmung 1996 den Weg für die Legalisierung von Medical Marihuana frei; jetzt hat die Initiative “Tax Cannabis” die nötigen Unterschriften beisammen, um den legalen Konsum für alle über 21 auf die nächste “Ballot” zu hieven – und diese Wahl könnte einmal mehr bahnbrechend werden. Denn der “Medical Marihuana”-Initiative sind mittlerweile 13 US-Bundesstaaten gefolgt. Bei einer Umfrage im vergangenen Jahr zeichnete sich eine Mehrheit von 56 % für eine solche Gesetzesänderung.

taz.de