Just as the good vibes from the "Summer of Love" spread out from San Francisco, the 1960s counterculture movement blossomed and marijuana use among the anti-establishment became the norm. Led by poet/activist and "Marijuana Newsletter" publisher Ed Sanders with beat poet Allen Ginsburg at his side, the 1960s saw one of the first ever organized public protests against restrictive marijuana laws. Though the event itself was dubbed "LeMar" (Legalize Marijuana), it later formed the basis for the California based pot reform group Amorphia. - The Huffington Post
Oregon became the first state to reduce the penalty for marijuana possession in 1973, and that same year, The Shafer Commission recommended that small quantities of marijuana should be legalized. President Richard Nixon ultimately rejected the advice of the commission. But the early 1970s still saw the creation of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML), a Washington D.C. based lobby dedicated to drug policy reform. The People's Pot Conference, the first political pro-reform conference, Cheech & Chong, a comedy duo whose material revolves around drug use and much more. Marijuana had begun to go mainstream. - The Huffington Post
Robert Randall became America's first legal medical marijuana patient in 1975, growing the plant himself in Washington, D.C., and using it to treat his glaucoma. Leave it the home of the "Summer of Love"to become the first city to pass an ordinance that gave medical patients access to marijuana. In 1991, in a historic first, San Francisco did just that. Voters passed a ballot initiative in California that legalized the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes. Since 1996, 20 other states and the District of Columbia have followed California's lead, each passing some form of medical marijuana law. - The Huffington Post
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2012, voters in both Colorado and Washington approved ballot measures that leglize marijuana for recreational use for adults in each state. The first recreational marijuana shops opened in both states in 2014. The United States government took a historic step back from its long running drug war in August, when Attorney General Eric Holder informed the governors of Washington and Colorado that the Department of Justice would allow the states to create a regime that would regulate and implement the ballot initiatives that legalized the use of marijuana for adults. - The Huffington Post
Kentucky, a state not exactly known for embracing hippies or marijuana culture, legalized industrial hemp production in early 2013. North Dakota and West Virginia also have hemp laws on the books. Farmers in Colorado made history in 2013 when they harvested a hemp crop, the first in the United States since 1957. For the first time in U.S. history, more than half of Americans think that marijuana usage should be made legal, according to a recent Gallup poll. - The Huffington Post
A pair of scientists in San Francisco found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer. A more recent study from the UK found that compounds derived from marijuana can kill cancerous cells in individuals with leukemia. After using cannabis oil to treat her debilitating seizures, six-year-old Charlotte Figi saw her seizures fall from around 300 a week to just three over an eight-month period. - The Huffington Post
Colorado became the first US state to allow firms to sell recreational cannabis on 1 January 2014. Since then, Medicine Man in Denver, Colorado has been doing a steady stream of business. They've recently outgrown their 20,000 square foot facility and have plans to double their size this year. - World News
At several recreational weed stores, buyers waited in line for three or four hours to be a part of opening day history. (January 1, 2014) Despite the hundreds of people queuing on public sidewalks, no significant problems emerged Wednesday, Denver officials said. "I want to thank the businesses and consumers alike for acting responsibly and with great accountability today," Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a statement. "Denver is a progressive city, a vibrant city, and it is incumbent on all of us to continue getting this right." - CNN
President Barack Obama will conclude his Bay Area visit with a fundraising event at Fox Theater in Oakland tonight (July 23, 2012). The president's appearance at the theater will be preceded by a visit to a private home in Piedmont. The president is expected to make remarks at the Fox around 8 p.m. Outside the theater, groups representing a number of causes are planning protests. Medical marijuana patients and advocates, including the group Americans for Safe Access, will be rallying throughout the afternoon to protest what they call a federal crackdown on the medical marijuana community and Oakland's dispensaries. - PBS
At the 2014 Cannabis Cup in San Bernadino, California, a neverland of sorts that has something for everyone who likes to get high, medicinally of course. Grandmotherly types dole out pot infused oatmeal cookies, young women share blunts the size of their forearms full of medicinal grade kush as rap blasts nearby. Hardworking female politicians and lawyers are out passing around information pamphlets about new proposals for laws that might threaten California's medical marijuana industry, while women dressed in skimpy clothes are out trying to raise awareness about the same issues via their sexiness, which seems somewhat effective too, as everyone stops to talk to them. Wandering through the Cannabis Cup, listening to presentations that touched on topics ranging from how to infuse butter with marijuana to using cannabinoids to alleviate chronic pain, and passed by vendors selling everything ranging from pot infused ice tea to gummy bears, one thing became clear, as lawmakers across North America are trying to come down hard on the medical marijuana industry, women are playing a crucial role in the fight for access to marijuana, and they're a voice to be reckoned with.
Weed. Pot. Kush. Bud. Whatever the name it is given, and no matter the country it is consumed in, marijuana is a contested topic with a rich history. Ancient civilizations in China and Egypt are claimed to have cultivated it. Societies throughout history are said to have used it for medicinal and spiritual purposes. Despite marijuana's deep roots in society, contemporary governments and populations are at odds over its consumption. Beginning in the 19th century, nations began to outlaw the use of weed. Now, more than 100 years since cannabis was widely criminalized, regulations vary widely around the globe. Weed laws are notoriously casual in the Netherlands. Any person over the age of 18 can buy it, and cannabis coffee shops dot its cities, most famously in Amsterdam. Some countries permit weed consumption for medicinal purposes only. Still more governments provide no crime free avenue for citizens seeking a marijuana high. With public opinion in America favoring decriminalization while federal regulations are on the rise, the legal future of marijuana is an open debate, in the U.S. and abroad.
Fifty eight percent of Americans now back legalizing marijuana. That represents an eight point increase from the previous record of 50% in 2011, and a 10 point increase from November 2012, just after Colorado and Washington voted for legalization. - The Huffington Post
The state Liquor Control Board drafted a rule last year that businesses with liquor licenses cannot allow marijuana consumption on their premises. The situation presents a conundrum for tourists coming to get their first taste of legal Washington grown marijuana, If they don't know anyone who lives in the state, where can they go to legally consume the drug? Dufour said the question highlights the need for smoking clubs."By not having these establishments, you are actually encouraging out-of-state people to break the law," he said. "They can't smoke in their hotels, so where do you go smoke?" Despite the limitations, Dufour sees opportunity in the vagueness of the law, and he sees business owners looking to exploit some key loopholes. "As long as you are on private property it doesn't say anything about being commercial or residential, just private property and you're outside the view of the public," he said. "That's all the law really states." - The Columbian
Main Street Marijuana general manager Ramsey Hamide said it was an emotional day for people who have been supporting the legalization of marijuana for decades. "There's a tremendous amount of different feelings, excitement, people can't believe this day finally came, people who have been around marijuana since the 60s," he said. "So, there's a wide range of feelings that are being expressed today." Representatives for police agencies in southwest Washington said they would be conducting business as usual on Wednesday. There was no plan for added enforcement and no mandate to target buyers with Oregon license plates. - FOX12 Oregon
At Main Street Marijuana in Vancouver, Washington, a bud tender sells marijuana on the first day of sales at the store, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The southwest Washington city is just a 10-mile drive from downtown Portland, Oregon. - The Oregonian
Washington state regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of cannabis infused treats by marijuana dispensaries, with one exception nothing that may appeal strongly to kids. "There are no bans except those products that may be 'especially' appealing to children," Brian Smith, communications director for the state Liquor Control Board, told The Huffington Post. "The key word is 'especially.' We recognize that there are some products that adults and children may like. However, there are some products on the medical market now that a reasonable person would say are especially appealing to kids." This means foods like brownies, cookies or other baked goods may be more likely to be approved by the board, while items like candies or lollipops may face more difficulty being approved. - The Huffington Post
The people standing in line outside Main Street Marijuana's storefront Wednesday morning could have gotten their hands on pot quicker, cheaper and away from the glare of TV cameras. But then they would have missed out on being part of history. Washington this week became the second state in the country to open a regulated recreational marijuana market. Anyone 21 and older may possess as much as an ounce of marijuana under a law approved by Washington voters in 2012.
Hector Castro, communications director of the state's Department of Agriculture, told HuffPost that seven commercial kitchens have passed the department's inspection in Washington so far, and 18 more kitchens are in the queue and ready to be inspected. Smith said one kitchen, located in Seattle, has already been fully licensed. Despite shortages of legal weed, Washington state dispensaries began selling recreational marijuana for the first time earlier this month. Fewer than 10 shops were able to open across the state on the first day of sales, but those fortunate businesses were met with throngs of exuberant shoppers and sold thousands of bags of weed in that first week alone. - The Huffington Post
Between 1,200 and 1,300 customers came through the door on opening day. About 900 of them bought marijuana and about 75 just bought items such as bongs and pipes. At the end of the day, the store had 466 marijuana products left. About 100 people lined the street on Thursday morning waiting for Main Street Marijuana to open at 11 a.m. The store expects another shipment sometime on Saturday and yet another on Monday. - The Columbian
The fanfare outside of Main Street Marijuana was equal parts business, street festival and social movement. By midmorning, the line of men and women, young and old, extended two blocks, snaking past an antique shop, a tax preparation business and a record store, which dusted off its collection of bootleg Grateful Dead cassettes to play for the giddy crowd. - Oregon Live
