HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017/08/03 Public Comments - LippittColorado Officials Tell Out -of -State Delegation
It's Impossible to Regulate Legal Pot
The Marijuana Policy Initiative, a national citizens' group that opposes
commercializing marijuana, published a must -read account for any state
considering recreational marijuana legalization. Written by Coloradan Jo McGuire,
an expert in safe and drug-free workplace policies, the account details a tour of the
Colorado marijuana industry with state officials who try to regulate it. Ms. McGuire
accompanied the delegation on the tour.
Two officers of the state's Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) began the tour
with a presentation, repeatedly stressing how impossible it is to regulate legal pot.
Although MED has 98 employees, only about 25 percent can do on-site inspections
of the state's 3,000 marijuana facilities. They rely on spot-checks and respond to
complaints, the majority of which they say come from marijuana facilities trying to
close down competitors.
Top violations are:
G Using pesticides banned in the US
• Not using the proper inventory tracking system
• Waste disposal violations
C Circumventing the required video -monitoring system.
At a visit to a growing facility in downtown Denver, which produces 600,000 plants
at a time, the delegation noticed plants labeled "REC" and "MED." Asked what the
difference between recreational marijuana plants and medical marijuana plants
was, the grower replied, " The tags and the tax rates."
A visit to a facility that plays by the rules brought forth this warning from its owner,
"If you go to any other place, don't touch anything, don't go near any equipment,
and be careful of anything that could contaminate you. This business is filthy, dirty,
scummy, underhanded and full of cheaters, liars, and the majority of this industry is
shady as hell. Just be careful."
Read full account on The Marijuana Policy Initiative website here.
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Study: Marijuana Use
Increases Risk of Metabolic Syndrome
A team of researchers from Georgia State University's School of Public Health
finds that every year of marijuana use increases by five percent the risk of
developing high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high concentrations of fat in the
blood, and diabetes, a cluster of symptoms known as metabolic syndrome.
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The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recommends that rather than an arbitrary
legal limit for THC, police officers be trained to recognized marijuana -impaired
drivers and use a drug test only for backup.
California is doing just that. It has passed many laws this year in preparation for
implementing legal recreational marijuana January 1, 2018. The state has been
pilot -testing a roadside swab test that produces more accurate results than the
traditional saliva test. It is investing $3 million to train every state highway patrol
officer in drug -recognition techniques and the use of its new technology to quickly
and accurately detect THC levels.
Despite contradictory studies, most experts agree that the number of drivers testing
positive for THC has increased significantly in states that have made marijuana
more available by legalizing it.
Canada is preparing for nationwide legalization in the near future with a public
health campaign that includes the poster pictured above that asks: "If it doesn't
make sense here, why does it make sense when you drive?"
Read Healthline summary of marijuana and driving studies here. [Note: Healthline's
article contains an error in the section subtitled "Mixed Marijuana Research," 5"'
paragraph, which reads, "In driving simulator experiments, marijuana increased
drivers' reaction times." Marijuana decreases drivers' reaction times, as
subsequent paragraphs confirm.]
Read about California's approach to marijuana -impaired driving here. Read about
Canada's Pot and Driving Campaign here.
San Francisco Parents Protest Proposed
Marijuana Dispensary in Their Neighborhood
Parents in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood do not want a proposed medical
marijuana dispensary in their community. They say a daycare center and a pre-
school are near the proposed site and worry about the bad smell marijuana makes
and a potential increase in crime. They launched a protest in front of city hall to
make their feelings known.
A spokesperson for the proposed dispensary says they have never had a police
incident at their other dispensary in the Castro and that polling data show a majority
of Sunset residents voted to approve legalization last year. The article does not
make clear whether the data were actual votes, exit polls, or pre-election telephone
polls.
Read Kron4 story here.
Correction
In last week's issue of The Marijuana Report, the story titled "Pay to Play:
Congressional Cannabis Caucus and Colleagues—More Tracking the Money" lost
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Researchers gathered data on 3,051 adults age 20 and older from the 2011-2012
National Health and Nutrition Survey who used marijuana even once in their
lifetimes or regularly, defined as at least once a month for a year.
"Each year of marijuana use showed increased odds of having metabolic
syndrome," say the researchers. "This may constitute an important pathway
between marijuana use and cardiovascular disease in later life."
Read Georgia State University News Release here. Read full text of study here.
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Two Pre -School Children Hospitalized After
Eating Marijuana -Laced Gummy Bears
A Pasco County, Florida woman faces child abuse charges after leaving two
packages of pot gummy bears, similar to those pictured above, within reach of a 3 -
year -old and a 5 -year-old. The children found the gummy bears and ate them.
The younger child began to feel sick and was fading in and out of consciousness.
She was rushed to the hospital where the 5 -year-old fell ill. Both were flown to All
Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg for more intensive treatment.
The woman lived in their house and was aware that children lived there also.
Read 22 News WWLP.com story here.
Does Marijuana Increase
the Risk of Auto Crashes?
Two contradictory studies of marijuana and driving were published last month,
intensifying the debate about whether using the drug and driving increases risks for
crashes, injuries, and fatalities, and if so by how much.
This article does a nice job of examining several studies and seeking comments
from scientists at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE),
renowned for its work in drunk driving research.
Because THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana chiefly responsible for
the "high," stays in the user's system for several days, the debate rages on about
exactly when impairment ends. There is not yet a universal roadside test to
determine marijuana impairment as there is for alcohol nor a scientifically
determined blood level that denotes marijuana impairment, again as there is for
alcohol.
a zero. The correct amount for the Marijuana Policy Project's contribution to Rep.
Ruben Kihuen (D -NV) is $1,000.
The Marijuana Report is a weekly e -newsletter published by National Families in Action in partnership
with SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana). Visit our website, The Marijuana Report.Orq, to learn more
about the marijuana story unfolding across the nation..
About National Families in Action (NFIA)
NFIA consists of families, scientists, business leaders, physicians, addiction specialists, policymakers, and
others committed to protecting children from addictive drugs. Our vision is:
a Healthy, drug-free kids
o Nurturing, addiction -free families
o Scientifically accurate information and education
o A nation free of Big Marijuana
o Smart, safe, FDA -approved medicines developed from the cannabis plant (and other plants)
o Expanded access to medicines in FDA clinical trials for children with epilepsy
About SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana)
SAM is a nonpartisan alliance of lawmakers, scientists and other concerned citizens who want to move
beyond simplistic discussions of "incarceration versus legalization" when discussing marijuana use and
instead focus on practical changes in marijuana policy that neither demonizes users nor legalizes the drug.
SAM supports a treatment, health -first marijuana policy. SAM has four main goals:
o To inform public policy with the science of today's marijuana.
a To reduce the unintended consequences of current marijuana policies, such as lifelong stigma
due to arrest.
o To prevent the establishment of "Big Marijuana" - and a 21 st-Century tobacco industry that would
market marijuana to children.
o To promote research of marijuana's medical properties and produce, non -smoked, non -
psychoactive pharmacy -attainable medications.
SAM SAM SAM