A new Rasmussen telephone poll released over the weekend shows that 49% of Colorado voters support taxing and regulating marijuana, while 13% are still undecided.

The findings come just days before Colorado’s governor is expected to sign a bill that would regulate the state’s booming medical marijuana industry. Some local patients groups protested the proposed regulations last week, since roughly half of the state’s estimated 1,100 dispensaries are not expected to be able to comply with the changes. However, once approved, the regulations would also grant new legal status to 500 or more existing dispensaries, making Colorado home to the largest number of law-abiding, state-regulated marijuana dispensaries anywhere in the United States. If future demand increases, even more could follow.

Stay tuned to the blog for developments, as Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is expected to sign this new law any day.

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A report released today by the Partnership for a Drug Free America shows that the number of American teenagers who use marijuana has increased for the first time in 10 years, with 25 percent of teens in grades 9 through 12 saying they’ve used marijuana in the past month, up from 19 percent.

What these numbers show—despite what organizations like PDFA might twist them to say—is that our current marijuana policies have clearly failed to reduce teen marijuana use, and a different approach is necessary. Right now, teens have easy access to marijuana because it is unregulated and controlled exclusively by drug dealers who do not check IDs. [Read more →]

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There’s a fantastic article in today’s Los Angeles Times about the successful regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood, where city leaders, neighbors and even school officials have learned to embrace the shops and their patients as part of the greater community:

In West Hollywood, city officials say, it’s been more than two years since a resident has complained about a dispensary. Neighborhood watch leaders say their streets are safer because the dispensary guards are required to walk nearby blocks. School officials welcome dispensaries as neighbors. And the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols the city, says there have been no recent crimes at dispensaries and no calls from agitated neighbors.

As the article goes on to explain, this positive model provides a stark contrast to cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego that do not have regulations, and consequently have witnessed more tension between community members and existing dispensaries.

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