Tag Archives: Laboratories Of Democracy

Up in Smoke

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“Americans have changed their minds about pot. In less than a generation, public opinion has turned against the drug laws that banned marijuana, a historic shift in attitudes away from prohibition and penalties. In two U.S. states — Washington and Colorado — pot is now legal for recreational use, driving the debate about how it should best be regulated, consumed and taxed as it gains acceptance across the U.S. and in other countries.  Voters in Alaska and Oregon will weigh ballot measures this year. Arizona, Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and California — the largest state by population — may consider the next wave of pot referendums in 2016.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/marijuana-laws-go-up-in-smoke/

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House Votes to Let Banks Take Deposits from Marijuana Businesses

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“In an historic vote Wednesday, the US House has approved an amendment to the Treasury Department appropriations bill barring the agency from spending any money to punish financial institutions that provide services to marijuana businesses in states where it is legal.  This is the second time in less than two months that the House has voted to roll back marijuana law enforcement. In May, the House passed an amendment prohibiting the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from undermining state medical marijuana laws and passed two amendments prohibiting the DEA from interfering with state hemp laws.”

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jul/16/house_votes_let_banks_take_depos

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Denver unemployment sharply lower after marijuana legalization

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“Metro Denver’s unadjusted unemployment rate stood at 5.4 percent in April, sharply lower than a year earlier, according to raw county jobs estimates Friday from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.  Unemployment in metro Denver was 6.5 percent in April 2013 and 6.4 percent in March of this year, according to the CDLE numbers.  The 5.4 percent unadjusted jobless rate is for a 10-county area that includes Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Broomfield and Centennial, but not Boulder County.  Boulder County’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent last month. The rate for metro Denver combined with Boulder was 5.3 percent.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2014/05/16/metro-denver-unemployment-rate-sharply-lower.html

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Why business is leaving California for Texas

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“Part of the appeal of the Lone Star state, in addition to lower taxes, says Puzder, is that ‘you don’t have the very burdensome wage and hour laws that you have in California.’ Even permitting procedures become a factor in growth prospects for certain states.  Puzder gave the example that, ‘in Texas it takes 60-63 days to get permits. In Los Angeles it takes 280 days and in San Francisco we’re not sure how many days it takes because it has been so long since anyone could open a restaurant there.’ These factors are crucial for new businesses because the property sits idle until permitting allows construction to begin, creating losses for every day there’s a delay, according to Puzder.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-business-is-leaving-california-for-texas-174227275.html

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Toyota’s withdrawal to Texas an economic blow to California city

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“Toyota Motor Corp’s decision to move its North American sales headquarters from California to Texas was met by disbelief in Torrance, this Los Angeles exurb where the Japanese car manufacturer has run its U.S. operations since 1982.  The two biggest employers in Torrance, which has a population of 147,000 according to city figures, are Toyota and Honda. Both have about 4,000 employees. Losing Toyota will mean an annual loss of $1.2 million in tax revenue.  About five percent of the city’s workforce is employed by Toyota. Last year the city had an annual budget of $271 million, and $121 million of long-term debt.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/28/us-autos-toyota-motor-torrance-idUSBREA3R1EW20140428

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New Orleans replaces all public schools with charter schools

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“An all-charter district signals the dismantling of the central school bureaucracy and a shift of power to dozens of independent school operators, who will assume all the corresponding functions: the authority to hire and fire teachers and administrators, maintain buildings, run buses and provide services to special-needs students.  Of the Recovery School District’s 600 employees, 510 will be out of a job by week’s end. All 33,000 students in the district must apply for a seat at one of the 58 public charter schools.  Just before [Katrina], the elected Orleans Parish School District was bankrupt and couldn’t account for about $71 million in federal money.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-new-orleans-traditional-public-schools-close-for-good/2014/05/28/ae4f5724-e5de-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html

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Hightailing It Out of High-Tax States

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“States that were once economic powerhouses are hemorrhaging productive taxpayers. New York, which has the most burdensome corporate tax rate, and Illinois, where property taxes, public debt, the minimum wage, and workers’ compensation costs are all sky high, both lost population in the 2010 census.  Those losses cost New York two seats in the House of Representatives and cost Illinois one seat. Illinois ranked 48th out of the 50 states in the ALEC study. New York ranked dead last. California, with the highest state personal income tax rate, ranked 47th.”

http://www.caseyresearch.com/cdd/hightailing-it-out-of-high-tax-states

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Colorado’s neighboring sheriffs lamenting their own marijuana arrests?

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“Sheriff John Jenson watched the 2012 election returns crawling across his TV screen in this rural area just over the Colorado border. Tuned to a Denver news station, he soon realized Colorado voters were about to legalize recreational marijuana.  That’s when he turned to his wife and started to swear.  ‘The drug war in this country used to be along the U.S.-Mexican border. Now it’s eight miles away.’  Law enforcement officers in the smaller, often isolated counties in states ringing Colorado say their departments shudder under the weight of Colorado pot flowing illegally across the border. Drug arrests are rising, straining already strapped budgets in places where marijuana remains illegal.”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pot-trafficking-20140527-story.html

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Oklahoma medical marijuana petition drive underway for November

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“There’s a new push to legalize medical marijuana in Oklahoma. Supporters went door-to-door Monday afternoon in Norman to help get the needed signatures to get a proposal on the November ballot. They need more than 155,000 signatures from registered voters, and they’ve only got 90 days to get them.  ‘I talked to the legislature back in February. Nobody would hear the bill; nobody would even talk to us about it, so we are taking it to the people,’ said Norma Sapp, one of the supporters asking for signatures on Monday.  The 90-day period to get the signatures needed ends in mid-August. You can find more information here: Http://legalizeok.org/”

http://www.koco.com/news/petition-drive-underway-to-get-medicinal-marijuana-on-november-ballot/26178396

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Kentucky Gains Federal Permit For Its Hemp Seeds

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“Federal drug officials approved a permit Thursday ending a standoff that had imperiled the state’s experimental plantings this spring, agriculture officials said.  Kentucky’s Agriculture Department expects to receive delivery of the shipment of seeds from Italy on Friday, state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. Kentucky’s eight pilot hemp projects for research were put on hold after the seed shipment was stopped by U.S. customs officials in Louisville earlier this month. The state’s Agriculture Department then sued the federal government in hopes of freeing the seeds.  Growing hemp without a federal permit was banned in 1970 due to its classification as a controlled substance.”

http://www.lex18.com/news/kentucky-gains-federal-permit-for-its-hemp-seeds

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