Voters in Washington and Colorado legalize recreational marijuana

Voters in Washington and Colorado legalize recreational marijuana

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 1 hr 23 mins ago

It's been quite the night for marijuana in several ballot measures across the country.

Voters in Washington state and Colorado voted to approve measures that would legalize the sale of pot to adults, without the need for a doctor's prescription.

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/9b...icket/Weed.jpg
Massachusetts voters have overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana ballot measure. (AP)

And earlier Tuesday evening, voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly approved the measure to allow the use of medical marijuana.

While the final votes are still being counted in Washington and Colorado, voters appear to have approved the marijuana legalization initiatives by a broad margin.

So far, states that have approved medical marijuana have walked a fine line with federal laws that still prohibit the sale of marijuana under any circumstances. The full legalization of marijuana in these two states is expected to increase that tension between local and federal laws.

In total, six states are considering marijuana initiatives.

"Now that this law has been passed, it will finally be legal and safe for myself and many others in the state to procure the medicine," Eric McCoy, 59, told the Boston Globe.

Oregon voters are considering a similar measure to those passed in Washington and Colorado, which would allow marijuana use for any individual over the age of 21.

In addition, Arkansas and Montana have medical marijuana initiatives on their ballots. Medical marijuana is already legal in Montana, but voters are deciding whether to restrict patient access in the state.

NBC News reports that 17 states and the District of Columbia already have laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Council of Legislatures.

Voters in Washington and Colorado legalize recreational marijuana | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

Pot legalization puts bankers in a pickle

By Brett Wolf | Reuters – 18 hrs ago.. .

ST. LOUIS, Nov 8 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - Colorado and Washington may have voted to legalize recreational marijuana, but it is far from a green light for banks to provide accounts or other services to the pot industry in those states.

Financial institutions across the country still face legal risks if they do business with marijuana shops because pot remains illegal under federal law.

"If financial institutions are federally licensed or insured, they must comply with federal regulations, and those regulations are clear about conducting financial transactions with money generated by the sale of narcotics," said Jim Dowling, a former Internal Revenue Service special agent who also acted as an anti-money laundering advisor to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The ballot measures on Tuesday made Colorado and Washington the first states to permit recreational marijuana sale and use. Medical-marijuana laws have been around in some states for more than a decade.

California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. With the addition of Massachusetts, which passed a medical-marijuana ballot initiative on Tuesday, 18 states and the District of Columbia now have such laws on their books.

The medical marijuana business was worth $1.7 billion in 2011 and growing, according to a study by financial-analysis firm See Change Strategy.

The federal government does not recognize states' authority to legalize marijuana under any circumstances, however. It has targeted some medical-pot businesses for violations of the 40-year-old Controlled Substances Act, which classifies the drug a Schedule 1 narcotic, meaning it is considered addictive and with no medical value.

The Justice Department on Wednesday said its marijuana enforcement policies remained unchanged. "We are reviewing the ballot initiatives and have no additional comment at this time," its public statement said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman did not respond to a request for additional comment related to banking activity.

DEA WARNS BANKS

Under President Barack Obama, federal authorities have focused enforcement efforts on large commercial medical marijuana operations that generate a lot of money. In some cases, federal money-laundering and forfeiture laws have been used against such businesses.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began warning banks and credit card companies away from medical marijuana businesses four years ago, and many, if not all, have responded by closing the businesses' accounts. Even small regional banks that once publicly embraced the industry have abandoned it.

Some medical marijuana businesses pose as traditional medical clinics to open bank accounts, or clandestinely misuse existing personal or business accounts.

U.S. attorneys offices in states with medical marijuana laws have had a large degree of autonomy in determining when to bring criminal prosecutions for marijuana-related infractions of the Controlled Substances Act.

In 2010, Californians considered legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. While the measure ultimately failed, prior to the vote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder vowed to aggressively prosecute "organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use".

After Tuesday's votes, the Justice Department and individual U.S. attorneys offices will have to clarify their intentions with regard to enforcing the federal marijuana ban in Colorado and Washington, former federal enforcement officials said.

The recreational marijuana measures in both states will allow pot to be sold at state-licensed stores.

However, former Justice Department officials said that financial institutions, even those in Colorado and Washington State risk possible criminal or civil penalties for doing business with pot shops.

Once the states have begun their licensing processes, financial institutions may need to update their reviews on existing business customers by ensuring they are not on lists of state-licensed marijuana stores, the sources said.

(This article was produced by the Compliance Complete service of Thomson Reuters Accelus (Governance, Risk and Compliance | GRC | Thomson Reuters Accelus) . Compliance Complete (Compliance Complete | Thomson Reuters Accelus) provides a single source for regulatory news, analysis, rules and developments, with global coverage of more than 230 regulators and exchanges. Follow Accelus compliance news on Twitter at: Compliance News (GRC_Accelus) on Twitter )

Pot legalization puts bankers in a pickle - Yahoo! News

Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press

Aspendam? Pot votes in Colo., Wash., raise specter of weed tourism

DENVER -- Hit the slopes — and then a bong?

Marijuana legalization votes this week in Colorado and Washington state don't just set up an epic state-federal showdown on drug law for residents. The measures also open the door for marijuana tourism.

Both marijuana measures make marijuana possession in small amounts OK for all adults over 21 — not just state residents but visitors, too. Tourists may not be able to pack their bowls along with their bags, but as long as out-of-state tourists purchase and use the drug while in Colorado or Washington, they wouldn't violate the marijuana measures.

Of course, that's assuming the recreational marijuana measures take effect at all. That was very much in doubt Friday as the states awaited word on possible lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice asserting federal supremacy over drug law.

So the future of marijuana tourism in Colorado and Washington is hazy. But that hasn't stopped rampant speculation, especially in Colorado, where tourism is the No. 2 industry thanks to the Rocky Mountains and a vibrant ski industry.

The day after Colorado approved recreational marijuana by a wide margin, the headline in the Aspen Times asked, "Aspendam?" referring to Amsterdam's marijuana cafes.

Colorado's tourism director, Al White, tried to downplay the prospect of a new marijuana tourism boom.

"It won't be as big a deal as either side hopes or fears," White said.
Maybe not. But many are asking about marijuana tourism.

Ski resorts are "certainly watching it closely," said Jennifer Rudolph of Colorado Ski Country USA, a trade association that represents 21 Colorado resorts.

Any plans for an adults-only après lounge where skiers could get more than an Irish coffee to numb their aches?

"There's a lot that remains to be seen," Rudolph said with a chuckle. "I guess you could say we're waiting for the smoke to clear."

The Colorado counties where big ski resorts are located seem to have made up their minds. The marijuana measure passed by overwhelming margins, with more support than in less visited areas.

The home county of Aspen approved the marijuana measure more than 3-to-1. More than two-thirds approved marijuana in the home county of Colorado's largest ski resort, Vail. The home county of Telluride ski resort gave marijuana legalization its most lopsided victory, nearly 8 in 10 favoring the measure.

"Some folks might come to Colorado to enjoy some marijuana as will be their right. So what?" said Betty Aldworth, advocacy director for the Colorado marijuana campaign.

Washington state already sees a version of marijuana tourism.

Every summer on the shores of the Puget Sound, Seattle is host to "Hempfest," which according to organizers attracted around 250,000 people over three days this year. For those three days, people are largely left alone to smoke publically at a local park, even as police stand by.

"People travel to Seattle from other states and countries to attend Seattle Hempfest every year to experience the limited freedom that happens at the event," said executive director Vivian McPeak. "It's reasonable to assume that people will travel to Washington assuming that the federal government doesn't interfere."

McPeak draw parallels to Amsterdam where an annual "Cannabis Cup" attracts tourists from all over the world and Vancouver, British Columbia, which has lax marijuana rules that have borne marijuana cafes drawing travelers.

Amsterdam's marijuana tourism is in a hazy spot these days, though. The incoming Dutch government suggested a national "weed pass" that would have been available only to residents and that would have effectively banned tourists from Amsterdam's marijuana cafes. The "weed pass" idea was scrapped, but under a provisional governing pact unveiled last week, Dutch cities can bar foreigners from weed shops if they choose.

In Denver, some feared that the Colorado marijuana vote could deter tourists, not to mention business visitors.

"Colorado's brand will be damaged, and we may attract fewer conventions and see a decline in leisure travel," Visit Denver CEO Richard Scharf said in a statement before the vote.

Colorado's governor opposed the measure but said after its passage that he didn't envision marijuana tourism materializing.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper said. "They're going to flock here to buy marijuana as if they're going to take it back? On an airplane? That seems unlikely to me."

Colorado's measure specifically bans public use of the drug. But guidelines for commercial sales are still to be worked out. The state's 536 medical marijuana dispensaries are banned from allowing on-site consumption, but lawmakers could set different rules for recreational marijuana shops.

Marijuana backers downplayed the impact on tourism. Aldworth pointed out that pot-smoking tourists wouldn't exactly be new.

Colorado ski slopes already are dotted with "smoke shacks," old mining cabins that have been illicitly repurposed as places to smoke pot out of the cold. And the ski resort town of Breckenridge dropped criminal penalties for marijuana use two years ago.

"Some folks come to Colorado and enjoy some marijuana while they are here today," Aldworth said.

The sheriff of the county including Aspen was sanguine about the prospects of pot-smoking visitors.

"For me, it's going to be live and let live. If people want to come to Colorado because pot is legal — and that's the sole reason — it's up to them," Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo told The Aspen Times. "I am not the lifestyle police."

Aspendam? Pot votes in Colo., Wash., raise specter of weed tourism - Travel on NBCNews.com

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f12/could-legal...olence-267477/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f9/cops-politic...ot-law-267547/

View gallery
.
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/yTY...itairlines.jpgSpirit Airlines

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f19/new-mexico-...ijuana-295983/