Legalization efforts in Arizona and Massachusetts get rolling, there's more good polling, Idaho's governor vetoes a CBD cannabis oil bill over fears of "misuse and abuse," China is waging a major drug war, and more. 

[image:1 align:left]Marijuana Policy

Bloomberg Poll Has 58% Saying Pot Will Be Legal Within 20 Years. Nearly one-third (32%) think marijuana would never be legal, but two-thirds think it will, and the majority think it will happen in all 50 states within the next 20 years. Just 17% thought it would be legal within five years, but more than one-quarter (26%) thought it would be legal within 10 years and 13% said it would take the whole 20 years. Some very excitable folks (2%) thought legalization everywhere would happen in the next year.

Arizona Legalization Initiative Filed Today. The Marijuana Policy Project-backed Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol filed its initiative to tax and regulate marijuana with the secretary of state this afternoon. The initiative would allow adults 21 and over to possess, consume, and grow limited amounts of pot and would create a system of licensed and regulated marijuana commerce. It would let local governments opt out of allowing pot businesses and it would set a 15% tax on retail sales beyond the sales tax. Now, initiative backers must collect signatures from 150,642 registered Arizona voters by June 2016 in order to qualify the initiative for the November 2016 ballot.

Massachusetts Legalization Initiative Filed Today. Bay State Repeal today filed with the attorney general's office a first draft of its proposed 2016 legalization initiative. The measure would repeal the state's marijuana laws and replace them with a system of taxed and regulated legal commerce. Adults 21 and over would be allowed to possess, consume, and grow limited amounts of marijuana for their personal use.

Medical Marijuana

Idaho Governor Vetoes CBD Cannabis Oil Bill. Gov. "Butch" Otter Thursday vetoed a bill that would have allowed the use of CBD cannabis oil to treat children suffering from epileptic seizures. Senate Bill 1146 had passed the House 39-30 and the Senate 22-12. Otter said the bill asked the state to ignore the potential for abuse and misuse, even though the oils don't contain enough THC for anyone to get high.

Asset Forfeiture

Texas Legislator Modifies Asset Forfeiture Bill to Counter Law Enforcement Objections. Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) said Thursday he is amending his civil asset forfeiture reform bill to address concerns raised by law enforcement. He said he would change it to allow the state to keep seized money if the person from whom it was seized absconds and to allow the seizure of vehicles valued at under $10,000. The bill is House Bill 3171.

International

China in Midst of Full-Blown Drug Crackdown. More than 133,000 people have been arrested and more than 43 tons of drugs seized in an ongoing six-month anti-drug campaign, the Ministry of Public Security announced. Authorities also announced that they had handled 115,000 "drug related" crimes, mostly robberies, and 606,000 cases of drug use. Officials said drug trafficking had suffered "a heavy blow" and drug users "forcefully regulated," but added that nine police had been killed in the campaign.

Stratfor Quarterly Update on Mexican Cartels. The Austin-based private intelligence and research firm has issued its quarterly update on the Mexican drug wars. It's quite detailed. Click on the link to read it.