Mark Kleiman responds to a WSJ column expressing concern about increases in marijuana use leading to increases in schizophrenia. Kleiman responds to the specific concerns and then steps back to frame the larger policy decisions. The author of the WSJ piece solemnly announces, “The claim that marijuana is medically harmless is false.” No sh*t, Sherlock! … Continue reading What policy would minimize total damage?
Tag: Cannabis
“Yes, we are Big Marijuana”
The Stranger covers the launch of the first national marijuana brand and stock promotion. It even included a former Mexican President! Flanked by lawyers, a state lawmaker, and former Mexico president Vicente Fox, Shively said he is a "couple weeks" from an initial $10 million milestone, and within three years, he fully expects to … Continue reading “Yes, we are Big Marijuana”
How to Legalize Pot
The NY Times recently had an Op-Ed based on an interview with Mark Kleiman about his plan for implementing Washington's new pot policy. (They voted to legalize it last fall.): If you read the proposal Kleiman’s team submitted to Washington State, you may be a little boggled by the complexities of turning an illicit herb … Continue reading How to Legalize Pot
Drugs + capitalism + innovation = ?
Andrew Sullivan directs us to a story on "dabs", a highly concentrated cannabis product: Most commonly created by a technique in which high quality pot is blasted with butane that is then extracted, these cannabis concentrates approach 70%-to-90% THC. ... Brad Gibbs, of Greenest Green, which has just opened a new state-approved lab in Denver … Continue reading Drugs + capitalism + innovation = ?
Labeling legal weed
Mark Kleiman's looking for ideas about how to label marijuana in a hypothetical legal, commercial market: Imagine – just hypothetically – that a state decided to open a legal (at the state level) commercial market in cannabis, with some of the users intending to use the substance to treat some medical condition and others using … Continue reading Labeling legal weed
What would legalized pot look like?
A RAND analyst lays out seven important questions regarding the establishment of legal marijuana: 1. Production. Where will legal pot be grown -- outdoors on commercial farms, inside in confined growing spaces, or somewhere in between? RAND research has found that legalizing marijuana could make it dramatically cheaper to produce -- first because producers will no … Continue reading What would legalized pot look like?
Sentences to Ponder
Drug policy expert Mark Kleiman: The question about my own use or non-use of pot always comes up, and I always answer the same way, with a polite (I hope) “None of your business.” I don’t think there’s any ill will involved in asking the question: journalists simply want to “place” their sources culturally on … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder
Michigan’s medical marijuana business
Crain's Detroit has an article on the state's medical marijuana business from the grow side to the physicians. The article says that there have been 344,000 patient applications in the state since 2009 and that doctors often charge around $150 to certify patients, that's $51,600,000 in revenue for the docs. Here's a little from the … Continue reading Michigan’s medical marijuana business
2012′s most popular posts #7 – K2, Spice and legalization
I do not consider myself a drug warrior. (Though, few people do these days. It can be a little like racism. People attribute it to others, but never themselves.) I oppose incarcerating people for possession of quantities consistent with personal use. I favor policies that target demand rather than supply. I'm also skeptical of hype … Continue reading 2012′s most popular posts #7 – K2, Spice and legalization
Legal weed
Fresh Air recently aired a great interview on the marijuana legalization. It spent a lot of time looking at the medical marijuana regulation in Colorado and how that will be the model for full legalization. The interview was balanced and informative. (A very rare thing for drug policy discussions.) He also wrestled … Continue reading Legal weed
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