This week at progressive state blogs: GA's phony medical pot law; shuttering ICE; Trump's betrayals
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This week at progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Here is the April 14 edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or enThis week at progressive state blogs: GA's phony medical pot law; shuttering ICE; Trump's betrayals
This week at progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Here is the April 14 edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents. A staffer at ColoradoPols writes—Jared Polis: The Governor Colorado’s Weed Industry Needs? A new story on cannabis culture news site Herb argues strongly that Rep. Jared Polis is the candidate for governor of Colorado best suited to champion he state’s legal marijuana industry–after the current Gov. John Hickenlooper disappointed marijuana advocates with his on-again-off-again support following the passage of Amendment 64 in 2012 [...] When Colorado became the first state to legalize the sale and use of marijuana by adults without any license or medical prescription, it was risky territory for the state. The initial reaction from Gov. Hickenlooper and many other local political leaders in both parties was one of caution, with great doubt over whether the federal government would ever allow the legal retail sale of marijuana to begin. Six years after Amendment 64, Colorado’s nervous foray into legal marijuana sales has become a model that other states have followed–most prominently the state of California, whose retail marijuana operations began at the beginning of this year. Today, the rush of larger states to legalize marijuana has taken the pressure off Colorado as a petri dish for an uncertain experiment. The explosive growth and maturation of the marijuana industry has unquestionably validated the wisdom of legalization in 2012, and makes Gov. Hickenlooper’s recent well-publicized fumbles on the issue seem terribly out of touch. In the first post-Hickenlooper gubernatorial election, it will be very interesting to see how much influence the marijuana business wields. Whatever Hickenlooper says from day to day, public support for legal weed remains strong—so we don’t see Republicans campaigning in 2018 on a Reefer Madness platform of recriminalization. That means candidates will be jockeying to be the industry’s friend–and Polis has the bonafides here. Read more