FireDogLake and Students for Sensible Drug Policy are officially launching the Just Say Now campaign this week. It's an exciting new effort to amplify the marijuana legalization debate and bring out the vote leading up to California's Prop 19 in November, as well as future initiatives in 2012.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 3, 2010
Colorado Nets $7,340,000 From Medical Marijuana Dispensary License Applications
Seeking Regulation and Legitimacy, More than 700 Apply for Licenses that Will Generate Millions in New Revenue for Colorado
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or 443-927-6400
DENVER, COLORADO — More than 2,000 people in Colorado applied for licenses to run state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, growing facilities or related businesses before this weekend’s application deadline, according to state officials. In total, the state made $7.34 million from application fees alone.
More than 700 applied specifically for dispensary licenses, far exceeding the number expected by state officials, who estimated that only half of the state’s roughly 1,100 pre-existing dispensaries would apply for licenses. State officials will now conduct thorough background checks on applicants before awarding licenses, which are expected to generate additional millions in annual revenue for Colorado.
“This outpouring of applications is another sign of how willing and eager marijuana business owners are to be taxed, regulated, and given equal treatment to other legitimate establishments,” said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. “By sensibly regulating its medical marijuana industry, Colorado stands to gain untold millions in new revenue while at the same time providing legal clarity and rational oversight to what may soon be the largest regulated marijuana market in the world.”
In June, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed legislation designed to regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry through a system of local and state licenses. A state-licensed medical marijuana program is up and running in New Mexico, and similar programs will soon be operational in Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. – but the number of sanctioned dispensaries to be allowed in each of those states is fewer than 10. Colorado’s law will authorize hundreds, and potentially more if future demand increases.
A Rasmussen telephone poll released May 15 showed that there is also plurality support among Colorado voters for further expanding the state’s marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, with an additional 13 percent still undecided.
With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 3, 2010
Gubernatorial Candidate Peter Shumlin to Discuss Marijuana Policy Reform at University of Vermont
Former State Rep. Daryl Pillsbury Will Also Speak At Aug. 10 Event
CONTACT: 802-579-1377 or [email protected]
BURLINGTON, VERMONT — Next Tuesday, Aug. 10, the University of Vermont will be the setting for a discussion on current marijuana laws in Vermont and efforts to decriminalize the substance in the Vermont legislature. Speakers will include Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Pete Shumlin, as well as former Vermont State Representative Daryl Pillsbury. The event will be sponsored by Marijuana Resolve, a Vermont non-profit focused on marijuana policy reform issues.
WHAT: Discussion of marijuana decriminalization efforts in Vermont
WHO: Gubernatorial candidate Pete Shumlin and former State Rep. Daryl Pillsbury
WHERE: University of Vermont, Ira Allen Lecture Hall, 42 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405
WHEN: Tuesday, August 10, 7 to 9 p.m.
Legislation that would have made possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a civil, rather than criminal violation, punishable by a $100 fine without the possibility of jail time was pending throughout the latest legislative session and had the support of Vermont voters. A 2009 Mason-Dixon poll of voters in the state showed 63% supported the measure with just 27% opposed, and a nonbinding resolution on the Montpelier town meeting day ballot urging the legislature to pass the bill got over 72% of the vote. Nonetheless, the bill never received a hearing.
If elected, Shumlin has pledged he will work to pass such a measure, which has the support of at least one of Vermont’s State’s Attorneys, Windsor County’s Robert Sand. “Police officers could respond, but they could respond roadside and issue a ticket without the need to arrest, process, run a criminal history, prepare a docket for state’s attorney review,” Sand told the Rutland Herald last month. “That would be a significant savings in law enforcement time, which would allow police officers to then move on to what I would suggest are more pressing matters, like patrolling for drunk drivers or responding to crimes against persons.”
Tuesday’s event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Vidda Crochetta, Marijuana Resolve’s State Coordinator, at (802) 579-1377 or email [email protected].
With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.
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