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Medical Marijuana: Will Colorado's "green rush" last?

October 21, 2012 4:30 PM

Denver, Colo., has more medical pot dispensaries than Starbucks, but the budding business, legal in 17 states, defies federal laws. Steve Kroft reports.

Medical Marijuana: Will Colorado's "green rush" last?

60 Minutes OverTimeMarijuana like you've never seen it before

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by RaceRod November 21, 2012 2:14 PM EST
I watched the segment on this topic. I heard that there are many marijuana dispensaries in Denver,Colorado and Colorado recieved upwards of 20 million dollars in tax revenue. I also heard that banks and or Credit card companies can not be involved do to the fedreal law against it. One thing I did not hear was how many millions of dolloars the goverment recieved and what did they do with it. With Colorado recieving 20 million dollars, I am guessing the the United States Goverment recieved that much or more. With all the business tax, Federal witholding tax, social security tax & medicare tax that businesses and employees pay in to them. My question is where is that tax money that the goverment recieved? Is it in a box somewhere until the goverment makes it legal or did they use it like any other businesses tax money? If the federal tax dollars have been used within the federal system why is it illegal in the state and city systems. Can someone find out?
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by knowa2 November 17, 2012 3:15 PM EST
Please sign the White House petition to let Marc Emery complete his sentence in Canada
http://wh.gov/XXp9
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by badboyofgolden November 10, 2012 12:05 AM EST
It's not uncommon for people to walk around Denver and see a dispensary on every street corner. People are starting websites like ilikebud dot com to cash in on the business of medical marijuana.
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by Hemporer November 5, 2012 1:48 PM EST
If you are seeking an opportunity to get into this industry be warned, you cannot unless you already have two years residency in Colorado. BUT, there is an exciting way for you to make some money by lending to the industry. As they said in the report there are no banks who will lend to dispensaries, no matter how much profit they generate. That's where you come in... if you can lend $5,000 to $250,000 for a short time and you want to earn an interest rate from 10% to 30% then please contact me today at: mmjviceroy at g mail.com

Then you can tell all your friends you are "in" the medical marijuana industry and more importantly you can help sick patients get access to the same high potency cannabis they purchase now for less money than they pay today.
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by billeisen5 November 5, 2012 2:32 AM EST
There's no logical reason why marijuana can't be legalized for adults and taxed like alcohol.

If it is not misused it can have substantial health benefits. For example, as noted on page 47 of "Marijuana Gateway to Health," Dachstar Press, San Francisco, 2011, the non-THC component of the plant "is a nontoxic and highly effective antagonist of breast cancer cells."

Substantial research on this has been done in Europe but little has been done in the US because marijuana has been classified as a schedule 1 drug similar to heroine.
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by LWinOlympia November 3, 2012 5:33 PM EDT
I am for the legalization of marijuana, but I'm not for I-502 in Washington State! Many people in the State of Washington have only been exposed to misleading tv commercials and other propaganda. Unfortunately most people in general, don't read through initiatives before they vote. And that is what the backers (law enforement and government officials), of this initiative are counting on. I-502 doesn't even address the medical marijuana communuity. It's a wolf in sheep's clothing.
The taxes on pot will make it unaffordable, forcing people to continue to buy it illegally; the Liquor Control Board having 100% control on who can grow it and sell it; DUI's will be given out based on unscientific blood tests; newly developed government and private businesses will profit from the taxes....not just the current gov programs; there will be unrealistic restrictions on the quantity of pot you're allowed to have...that's like saying you can't have more than 1 bottle of wine or six pack of beer in your home, etc.. This initiative is another form of prohibition.
A 25% sales tax will be imposed on the consumer, which is in addition to our current sales tax of around 8.9%....that puts it near 34%. But that is still after the grower is charged 25% on what they sell to the middle man-distributor, who then in turn sells it to the retailer, for another 25% tax. I can't imagine how much an ounce of pot will cost by the time it trickles down to the consumer. The commericals only state that we should be taxing the sale of pot, so our state will benefit, but of course leave out how much.
Under this initiative, an individual will only be allowed to buy or possess only 1 oz of marijuana, and no more than 1 pound of edibles. They say this initiative will be treated like our laws governing alcohol. I don't see any laws on the books that limits the amount of alcohol we can buy or possess. Again, that's like saying we can only have 1 bottle of wine, and no more then a six pack of beer! Any more than that, and we might be suspicious of having a distillery in our back yard and selling it in the black market. I guess the backers of this initiative are stereotyping the typical pot smoker as a dealer if they have 2 oz instead of 1. Again, another form of prohibition.
I don't encourage anyone to drive while impaired. The DUI enforcement for having a blood analysis of the person's THC concentration, will be based upon 5 nanograms per milliliter of whole blood. This has not been scientifically proven to show whether this impairs a person's ability to drive. Also, as most of us knows, marijuana can stay in a person's system for up to a month, and not be high or impaired.
The liquor control board will have full control of everything. Their cut for doing this, is to the tune of up to $1,250,000 dollars every year. The other revenue won't just go to current government programs, but to newly created government programs. Only a small portion will go to the state's general fund, once everyone else has gotten their cut. The liquor control board will have total control as to who can grow it, distribute it, and sell it. That's like telling Jack Daniels or Budweiser how to run their businesses and where they are allowed to sell it. They would lose any kind of profits if the government taxed their alcohol like they want to do with marijuana, along with the fact that the public would only be allowed to buy a small amount because of purchase and possession limitations. I-502 isn't treating the legalization of marijuana like our current alcohol laws. Again, this initiative is another form of prohibition.
If this initiative passes, there will be a string of law suits, until the wrongs are corrected. If it doesn't pass, there is already petitions being signed, in order for a new initiative to be presented to the citizens of Washington. We have waited this long for the legalization for Marijuana, another year or two to get it right, only makes sense. Let's truly end the prohibition of marijuana. I-502 isn't it.
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by mikelwallacejr October 28, 2012 10:19 PM EDT
I have been trying to avoid making statements that can bring chaos to America but it seams impossible. our government must control THC amounts, varieties, production, & sales of marijuana for recreational use so that Americans can unwind & relax. like what is intended for with alcohol which is a stimulant & depressant. for the past 30 years our government has been promoting & funding a satanic cult. people under the influence of the readily available alcohol commit crimes that they would not have committed if they would not drank the alcohol. the courts then ordered these people to attend an anti-drug support group that uses step from the king james bible but encourages new members to fabricate a god from that individuals belief & encouragements from the groups literature. which goes against the commandment " Thou Shalt Have No Other God Before Me ". the group is very deceptive in many ways. that I'm not going into. so instead of consuming marijuana & relaxing. our government makes alcohol ( stimulant, depressant ) available & if you do a crime in your drunken stupor you will be ordered to attend a satanic cult. who will encourage you to live a sinful life especially if your naive. this group has brought about the degradation that is america today.
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by no_dope October 28, 2012 12:59 AM EDT
amazing that pot (dope) has somehow achieved elevated status as a medical treatment unlike cigarettes and alcohol...this is an amazing scam and I'm shocked - absolutely shocked 60 minutes is not covering that angle of the story since just about anyone can claim they have a medical need to use. The reality it that it makes folks dumber and stupid over time just sitting around and munching away at whatever at all hours. Eventually they become part of the 47% in the parlance of class warfare accounting that has become so in vogue.
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by no_obama October 26, 2012 3:57 PM EDT
Why isn't this a constitutional level matter, since science proved (over a year ago) the exact receptor/neurotransmitter THC interacts with & what the sole function of that neurotransmitter is, which is to regulate stress,anxiety, & happiness.

"*unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

By definition then, it already is legal. No?

Declaration of Independence
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by seethroughthebull October 26, 2012 2:56 PM EDT
Having smoked alot of pot in the 60's and 70's if you plan to acquire some of this NEW stuff be warned. This stuff is 50 times stronger that what you used to smoke. You would NOT smoke it before work! You would NOT smoke this and drive. I'm not saying you couldn't, people who are used to using this super pot get used to being stoned and seem to be able to function normally, but if you're trying this for the first time or not a frequent user, don't plan on getting up from the couch.
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