Legal Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana has spread rapidly throughout the United States, from just a handful of states ten years ago to now more than half, as well as the nation’s capital. In Canada, it is legal to use and distribute nationally. Thousands of cities and towns are following suit. Legalization seems to be a win-win—people who use cannabis for health and recreation are served, business is brisk, and many governments welcome the much-needed boost in tax revenue. But not everyone thinks so. The rapid pace of legalization has spurred debate among citizens, cities, states and the federal government. This collection of essays explains the benefits and concerns, the policies and actions, and the future of this controversial issue.

Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Ph.D., is Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University. He worked as immigration commissioner for the city of San Francisco and has published extensively on urban innovations, from immigration to small town economic development.

Mickey P. McGee, DPA, is associate professor of public administration at the Golden Gate University. He developed U.S. Defense Department and corporate strategic executive development programs. He has worked to strengthen private and public sector relationships for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the International City/County Management Association.

Edited by Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III and Mickey P. McGee

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 283
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7309-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3469-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1

PART I. BASICS
1. Legalized Pot Pushes Colorado Revenue Department into New Territory (John Sepulvado) 7
2. Local Pot Laws Conflict with National Policies Worldwide (Donald F. Kettl) 10
3. A Brief History of Cannabis Policy Legislation (Dereck Glover and Mickey P. McGee) 12
4. Marijuana Research Report Series: Excerpt (National Institute on Drug Abuse) 15
5. Smoked Marijuana Is Not Medicine (U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency) 20
6. The Legalization Lobby (U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency) 25
7. FDA and Marijuana: Questions and Answers (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 32

PART II. BENEFITS AND CONCERNS
A. Opportunities and Benefits
8. The Possibilities of Pot (William Smith) 37
9. Seniors Increasingly Getting High, Study Shows (Carmen Heredia Rodriguez) 42
10. Studies Show Benefits, Downsides of Recreational Marijuana (Ted Yoakum) 44
11. Medical Marijuana Emerges from the Shadows (Kevin Harper) 48
12. Options and Issues Regarding Marijuana Legalization in Vermont (Beau Kilmer) 53
B. Business
13. Where Will Legal Marijuana Industry STASH Its CASH? (Gordon Oliver) 56
14. Why Legal Marijuana Businesses Are Still ­Cash-Only (Sophie Quinton) 60
15. For This Pot Guy, States Are His Biggest Customers (J.B. Wogan) 64
16. Firm Brings Cannabis to the Forefront (Douglas Levy) 70
17. Business and Citizen Thoughts on Legalized Marijuana (Samira J. Perry and Mickey P. McGee) 74
C. Health
18. As States OK Medical Marijuana Laws, Doctors Struggle with Knowledge Gap (Shefali Luthra) 78
19. Could Legalizing Pot Diminish California’s Gains Against Smoking? (Anna Gorman) 81
20. As Marijuana Laws Relax, Doctors Say Pregnant Women Shouldn’t Partake (Sarah Varney) 84
21. Marijuana’s Lasting Effects on the Brain (Nora D. Volkow) 87
22. The Public Health Implications of the Legalization of Recreational Cannabis (Juliet Akhigbe, Vash Ebbadi, Katie Huynh, James Leckie, Maria Major, Cara Robinson, Michelle Suarly and David Wasserstein) 89
23. Marijuana Legalization in Two States: A ­Man-Made Public Health Disaster? (Paula Gordon) 95
24. Link Between Medical Marijuana and Fewer Opioid Deaths Is More Complex (Rosalie Liccardo Pacula) 99
D. Youth
25. Teaching Teens the Perils of Pot as Marketplace Grows (Anna Gorman) 101
26. Challenging Marijuana Myths (Nora D. Volkow) 104
E. Workplace
27. Drugs in the Public Workplace: The HR Challenge (Joe Jarret) 106
28. Marijuana at City Hall (William Kirchhoff and Stephen Zimney) 109
F. Veterans
29. VA Clears the Air on Talking to Patients About Marijuana Use (Michelle Andrews) 115
30. Marijuana Use and PTSD Among Veterans (Marcel O. ­Bonn-Miller and Glenna S. Rousseau) 117
G. Stoned Driving
31. Opponents of Legalized Marijuana Take Aim at Stoned Driving (Andy Metzger) 121
32. Why the Latest News on Marijuana and Car Crashes Has Some Experts Skeptical (Daniel C. Vock) 124
33. With Pot on the Ballot, States Weigh How to Police Stoned Drivers (Stephanie ­O’Neill and Ben Markus) 126
34. Legal Marijuana Means States Struggle to Address High Driving (Sarah Breitenbach) 128
H. Concerns and Challenges
35. Uncertainties After a Year of Legalized Marijuana (Deborah Sutton) 131
36. As the ­Pro-Pot Movement Gains Popularity, Reservations Remain Among Locals (Dylan Woolf Harris) 136
37. Colorado’s Pot Legalization Creates Challenges (Diane Raver) 140
38. Licensing Medical Marijuana Stirs Up Trouble for States (Rebecca Beitsch) 144
39. Legal Cultivation Challenges and California (Patrick Murphy, Henry McCann and Van Bustic) 148

PART III. POLICIES AND ACTIONS
A. Regulation
40. The ­Adult-Use Marijuana Act: Issues and Impacts (Mickey P. McGee) 151
41. Managing Marijuana: The Role of ­Data-Driven Regulation (Stephen Goldsmith) 156
42. Medical Marijuana: Do States Know How to Regulate It? (Dylan Scott) 158
43. Managing Medical Marijuana (William Kirchhoff) 164
44. Marijuana Management: What’s Happening Now (Michele Frisby) 171
45. Advertising Marijuana (Seth Poe and Alan R. Roper) 174
46. A Framework for Regulating Legal Marijuana (Patrick Murphy and John Carnevale) 181
B. Enforcement
47. Medical Marijuana Law Enforcement: Lessons from District Attorneys (Gary A. Craft and Mickey P. McGee) 186
48. Medical Marijuana Law Enforcement: Lessons from Police Chiefs (Gary A. Craft and Mickey P. McGee) 190
49. A Tale of Two Memos (Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III) 193
50. Berkeley’s Medical and Recreational Cannabis Policy (Jim Hynes) 197
51. Cloud of Uncertainty Over Legalized Pot as Feds End ­Obama-Era Accommodation (Anna Gorman and Phil Galewitz) 203
C. Bans
52. Law, Legalization and the Failed War on Drugs (David Schultz) 206
53. As Towns Ban Pot, States Withhold Legalization’s Profits (Liz Farmer) 209
54. Cities in Santa Clara County Scramble to Ban Marijuana Sales (Khalida Sarwari) 211

PART IV. FUTURE
55. The Connection Between Power and Pot (Alan R. Roper) 217
56. How to Keep Marijuana Green (Alan R. Roper) 223
57. A “Deal with the Devil”? Native American Tribes Push for Marijuana Legalization (Zoe Sullivan) 229
58. High Praise: Pot Churches Proliferate as States Ease Access to Marijuana (Barbara Feder Ostrov) 233
59. Your Grandma’s Guide to Grass (Ana B. Ibarra) 236
60. Officials Argue for Medical Marijuana (Dave Boucher) 239

Appendix A: Glossary of Legalized Marijuana Terms Alan R. Roper and Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III 243
Appendix B: City of Portland Ordinance No. 186857: Passed October 22, 2014 250
Appendix C: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Drug Fact Sheet 258
Appendix D: Federal Trafficking Penalties for Marijuana, Hashish and Hashish Oil, Schedule I Substances 260
Appendix E: VA and Medical Marijuana—What Veterans Need to Know 262
About the Contributors 263
Index 267

“Exceptionally well organized…recommended”—Midwest Book Review