Saturday, April 24, 2010

Legalization of marijuana

Article describing the emerging legal industry of cannabis in California. One danger is, iwll the industry become captured by huge corporations?
Regardless of the outcome of the November referendum to legalize marijuana in California, CannBe, a marketing firm, says it expects to expand its business model nationwide to become what admirers say will be “the McDonald’s of marijuana.”

The federal government continues to oppose any decriminalization of the drug. And while the Obama administration has signaled some leeway when it comes to medical marijuana, raids on dispensaries and growers by law enforcement agencies are still common — even in California, where the industry effectively began in 1996, with the passage of the landmark Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana.

Today, rules vary widely in the 14 states that allow medical marijuana, and a final vote on legalization is pending in the District of Columbia. Some states require sellers to prove nonprofit status — often as a collective or cooperative — and all states require that patients have a recommendation from a physician. But even those in favor of medical marijuana believe that the system is ripe for abuse or even unintentional lawbreaking.

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