poledriver
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Florida rejects medical pot; Oregon says yes to recreational marijuana
Florida voters narrowly rejected a plan to legalize medical marijuana, but voters in Washington, D.C. and Oregon both approved recreational pot use by adults, according to preliminary tallies.
Alaska's voters were also considering a measure to tax, regulate and legalize recreational marijuana use.
And in Guam, voters legalized medical marijuana use, according to initial returns showing Proposal 14A passing with more than of the vote.
Supporters say legalization acknowledges that America's pot prohibition is a failure. Twenty-three states and the nation's capital already permit medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington state have legalized recreational use and sales.
Florida's medical marijuana initiative, Amendment 2, received more than 50% of the vote, but failed to reach the 60% needed to pass.
"Wins in Alaska and Oregon will provide a boost to efforts in other states because they will demonstrate the benefits of regulating and taxing marijuana. Losses won't really have much impact. After all, an initiative to make marijuana legal failed in Colorado in 2006," said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.
"Some states will end marijuana prohibition more quickly than others, just as some states ended alcohol prohibition more quickly than others. But they all did in the end, and now just about everybody recognizes that it was a good idea," he said.
View where marijuana is legal
Critics say legalizing pot will lead to increased youth use, and they fear overdoses from popular marijuana-infused foods known as "edibles."
"What we've seen is that the more people hear details about legalization, whether it is details of specific laws or details of experiences in Colorado or Washington, they are turned off from legalization," said Kevin Sabet, director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida.
"Legalization in theory, it seems, fares much better than legalization in practice," he said. "We're so far from national legalization at this point, and the recent and sudden success of legalization advocates two years ago has started a counter movement. This discussion is far from over."
Cont -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/.../11/04/voters-deciding-on-marijuana/18485541/
Florida voters narrowly rejected a plan to legalize medical marijuana, but voters in Washington, D.C. and Oregon both approved recreational pot use by adults, according to preliminary tallies.
Alaska's voters were also considering a measure to tax, regulate and legalize recreational marijuana use.
And in Guam, voters legalized medical marijuana use, according to initial returns showing Proposal 14A passing with more than of the vote.
Supporters say legalization acknowledges that America's pot prohibition is a failure. Twenty-three states and the nation's capital already permit medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington state have legalized recreational use and sales.
Florida's medical marijuana initiative, Amendment 2, received more than 50% of the vote, but failed to reach the 60% needed to pass.
"Wins in Alaska and Oregon will provide a boost to efforts in other states because they will demonstrate the benefits of regulating and taxing marijuana. Losses won't really have much impact. After all, an initiative to make marijuana legal failed in Colorado in 2006," said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.
"Some states will end marijuana prohibition more quickly than others, just as some states ended alcohol prohibition more quickly than others. But they all did in the end, and now just about everybody recognizes that it was a good idea," he said.
View where marijuana is legal
Critics say legalizing pot will lead to increased youth use, and they fear overdoses from popular marijuana-infused foods known as "edibles."
"What we've seen is that the more people hear details about legalization, whether it is details of specific laws or details of experiences in Colorado or Washington, they are turned off from legalization," said Kevin Sabet, director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida.
"Legalization in theory, it seems, fares much better than legalization in practice," he said. "We're so far from national legalization at this point, and the recent and sudden success of legalization advocates two years ago has started a counter movement. This discussion is far from over."
Cont -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/.../11/04/voters-deciding-on-marijuana/18485541/