• U.S. marijuana vote threatens to nip B.C. market in the bud

    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Thursday, November 8, 2012

    bc-bud-economyBritish Columbia’s multibillion-dollar marijuana industry could take a “significant” blow now that two U.S. states – including its closest neighbour to the south – have voted to legalize marijuana. “The outcome of these votes in Washington State and Colorado is going to be a significant factor for this industry here in British Columbia,” Werner Antweiler, a professor at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business, said in an interview Wednesday.

  • U.S. marijuana vote may have snowball effect in Latin America

    One expert said that if U.S. states such as Colorado and Washington could permit a system for consumption of marijuana that didn't cause usage to soar, "it could mark a snowball effect on Latin America"
    Tim Johnson (McClatchy Newspapers)
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    Voters in Colorado and Washington state who approved the recreational use of marijuana Tuesday sent a salvo from the ballot box that will ricochet around Latin America, a region that's faced decades of bloodshed from the U.S.-led war on drugs. Experts said the moves were likely to give momentum to countries such as Uruguay that are marching toward legalization, to undercut Mexican criminal gangs and to embolden those who demand greater debate about how to combat illegal substances.

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  • Colorado officials seek clarity after passage of marijuana measure

    The Denver Post (US)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    Colorado officials and marijuana advocates on Wednesday looked toward an imminent confrontation with the federal government one day after voters in the state endorsed a measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Gov. John Hickenlooper said he is trying to speak soon with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to learn how the Justice Department will respond to the legalization measure's passage. (See also: Colorado attorney general Suthers says he will respect marijuana measure)

  • Mexico's new gov to review pot fight after US vote

    Michael Weissenstein and E. Eduardo Castillo (Associated Press)
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    yes-we-can2The legalization of recreational marijuana in the U.S. states of Washington and Colorado will force Mexico to rethink its efforts to halt marijuana smuggling across the border, the main adviser to Mexico's president-elect said. Luis Videgaray, head of incoming President Enrique Pena Nieto's transition team, told Radio Formula that the Mexican administration taking power in three weeks remains opposed to drug legalization.

  • Pot legal Dec. 6, 'jury is out on what happens' after that

    Possession of small amounts of marijuana becomes legal on Dec. 6 in Washington thanks to Initiative 502. But will the feds stop the state from licensing stores to sell it?
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    Washington's grand social experiment with marijuana legalization begins Dec. 6 with a simple step: On that date, it is legal to have an ounce of the stuff, and there is little the federal government can do about it. But how the state takes the next big step — transforming the marijuana black market into a closed, regulated and taxed marketplace — is unclear. And the federal government didn't help clarify its potential response on Wednesday. (See also: I-502 Fact Sheet from ACLU )

  • Pot votes in 2 states challenge US drug war

    First came marijuana as medicine. Now comes legal pot for the people
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    yes-on-i502Those who have argued for decades that legalizing and taxing weed would be better than a costly, failed U.S. drug war have their chance to prove it, as Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow pot for recreational use. While the measures earned support from broad swaths of the electorate in both states, they are likely to face resistance from federal drug warriors. As of Wednesday, authorities did not say whether they would challenge the new laws.

  • What Tuesday's marijuana victories mean for the war on drugs

    Voters in three states helped overturn marijuana prohibition this past Tuesday, but the War on Drugs is far from over
    Forbes (US)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    no-more-drugwarIn three states — Washington, Colorado, and Massachusetts — efforts to liberalize marijuana laws succeeded last night. In Washington and Colorado, the new laws enacted go even further than past efforts. In these two states, fully regulated recreational pot use has now been approved by voters. Maybe these victories shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, in 2011 Gallup found that a plurality of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, and in 2010 fully 70% of Americans supported using marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering. What does all this mean for the four-decade-old War on Drugs?

  • B.C. pot activists push for legalization after Wash. vote

    CBC News (Canada)
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    Pot advocates in British Columbia (Canada) say now that voters in Washington have passed a law to legalize possession of marijuana, it is time for a similar referendum. On Tuesday 55 per cent of voters in Washington State approved Initiative 502, legalizing the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by anyone over the age of 21. Dana Larsen, the leader of Sensible BC, has been campaigning to trigger a similar B.C. referendum on legalization of marijuana in the fall of 2014.

  • Colorado, Washington first states to legalize recreational pot

    Reuters
    Wednesday, November 7, 2012

    marijuana-legalColorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use in defiance of federal law, setting the stage for a possible showdown with the Obama administration. Another ballot measure to remove criminal penalties for personal possession and cultivation of recreational cannabis was defeated in Oregon. The Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy group that backed the initiatives, said the outcome in Washington and Colorado reflected growing national support for liberalized pot laws.

  • Voters approve I-502 legalizing marijuana

    Washington state voters made history Tuesday by legalizing the recreational use of marijuana
    The Seattle Times (US)
    Tuesday, November 6, 2012

    Washington enthusiastically leapt into history Tuesday, becoming the first state, with Colorado, to reject federal drug-control policy and legalize recreational marijuana use. Initiative 502 was winning 55 to 45 percent, with support from more than half of Washington's counties, rural and urban. The vote puts Washington and Colorado to the left of the Netherlands on marijuana law, and makes them the nexus of a new social experiment with uncertain consequences.

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