In one of the first looks at how legalizing marijuana affects neighborhood crime rates, a new study revealed a drop in crime in areas that have a dispensary, according to Marijuana Moment. 

The results of the study published in the journal Regional Science and Urban Economics last week indicated that the opening of a dispensary in a Denver neighborhood resulted in a 19% decline in crime.

Rohan Marley, son of late legendary reggae singer and cannabis enthusiast Bob Marley, has announced his intention to open a medical cannabis dispensary in Montclair, New Jersey.

In partnership with Colorado-based dispensary chain Lightshade, Rohan Marley has completed an application for one of the state’s 15 retail licences.

If the application gets state’s approval, Marley will aid marketing and publicity efforts and contribute to the hiring process.

The wholesale market for legal cannabis is marked by great regional variation, but the oversupply that has sent prices plummeting in Oregon and other Western states has not been able to dampen the general upswing on the national level. 

The potential tax revenue from the legalization of cannabis has been at the center of the argument between republicans and democrats. Proponents of legalization say states who haven’t legalized cannabis should look at the revenue generated from alcohol and other sin taxes as a window into what could be. 

• Since 2014, when Colorado became the nation’s first fully legal cannabis market, it has generated over $6 billion in legal cannabis sales.
• Adult-use sales grew 300% between 2014-2018, accounting for 2/3 of all cannabis purchased, and reflecting strong, sustained demand from adult consumers.
• Meantime, medical sales through 2014-2018 gradually declined, while bolstered by a strong medical framework (i.e., tax exemptions, higher quantity allowances for registered patients).
• Colorado’s results demonstrate the significant industry to be created through legalized cannabis, with economic benefits derived through effective regulations.

Marijuana advocates have long supported the use of cannabis for the treatment of pain. State lawmakers, at least in Colorado, New York and Illinois, have finally decided to give the people what they want giving the green light to doctors to prescribe marijuana for the management of pain. Doctors can do the same in Illinois through a state pilot program that focuses on using cannabis to lower opioid use.

It’s a substantial change from the laws in most states, which allow medical marijuana use for a narrow list of conditions. Typically, they include epileptic seizures and the discomfort and pain associated with treatment for cancer or AIDS. 

One of the main drivers behind the change is the opioid epidemic.

Starting on Friday, doctors in Colorado will be able to legally recommend medical cannabis for patients who might otherwise get prescribed opioids. 

That’s thanks to a new law signed in May by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis that makes Colorado the third state in the country (New York and Illinois are the other two) to permit doctors to do that. 

As the nation grapples with an opioid crisis that kills more than 130 people every day, Colorado thinks a solution may lie in a joint, a vape pen or a topical.

On Friday, it becomes the third state in the nation after New York and Illinois to allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana for any condition for which they would prescribe an opioid.

In two other states, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, patients diagnosed with opioid use disorder may be advised to use medical marijuana instead of opioids.

 In 2014, when recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, Matt Karzen, an assistant district attorney in Routt County at the time, noticed a lot of criminal cases coming to his office involving drivers arrested on suspicion of driving stoned. 

It was the first time such cases had gone through local justice system under the laxer laws, and he was not sure how they would play out in court. So, his office brought a case in front of a jury as a sort of litmus test for convicting high drivers.  

According to Governor Jared Polis, legal cannabis companies has led to the generation of $1 billion in revenue in Colorado. Part of the revenue generated by the marijuana industry is kept aside to help protect the youth against substance consumption. The other portion is utilized as funds for constructing new school buildings.