cannabisnews.com: Colorado Regulators Ditch 'Absurd' Rule function share_this(num) { tit=encodeURIComponent('Colorado Regulators Ditch 'Absurd' Rule '); url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/27/thread27501.shtml'); site = new Array(5); site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit; site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit; window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500'); return false; } Colorado Regulators Ditch 'Absurd' Rule Posted by CN Staff on June 06, 2013 at 17:31:56 PT By Steven Nelson Source: U.S. News & World Report Colorado -- Marijuana-themed publications won't be treated like pornography in Colorado, state regulators announced Thursday in the face of lawsuits.The rule would have forced stores to keep publications with a "primary focus" on pot away from shoppers under the age of 21, and was mandated by a package of legislature-approved marijuana regulations signed into law by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper on May 28. Colorado's State Licensing Authority said the rule was unconstitutional and would be ignored. An "emergency rule" issued by the licensing authority said "such a requirement would violate the United States Constitution" and Colorado law.The decision was made with input from the state attorney general's office. "We support the laudable goal of keeping retail marijuana out of the hands of those under 21, but that has to be consistent with the Constitution," a spokesperson for the state attorney general told The Denver Post.Colorado's marijuana-regulating legislation mandated that the licensing authority adopt a rule by July 1 "requiring that magazines whose primary focus is marijuana or marijuana businesses are only sold in retail marijuana stores or behind the counter in establishments where persons under [21] years of age are present.""We applaud the Attorney General's decision to declare as unconstitutional this absurd rule that marijuana-related publications be treated like pornographic material," said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project."The idea that stores can prominently display magazines touting the joys of drinking wine and smoking cigars, yet banish those that discuss a far safer substance to behind the counter, is absolutely absurd," said Tvert, who co-directed the successful Amendment 64 campaign that legalized pot in Colorado. "The fact that legislators passed this rule despite being informed it is a gross violation of the U.S. Constitution demonstrates the bigotry that still exists with regard to marijuana. It is time for our elected leaders to get over their reefer madness and recognize that a majority of Coloradans – and a majority of Americans – think marijuana should be legal for adults."It's unclear if other restrictions might be deemed unconstitutional. Two federal lawsuits, one filed by the three pot publications – High Times Magazine, The Daily Doobie and The Hemp Connoisseur – and another by the ACLU on behalf of booksellers, had sought to have the rule declared unconstitutional in court.Permanent rules for recreational marijuana will be crafted by Colorado's State Licensing Authority with input from an appointed "representative group" of citizens over the summer. A formal rule-making hearing is scheduled for the week of August 19.Source: U.S. News & World Report (US)Author: Steven Nelson Published: June 6, 2013Copyright: 2013 U.S. News & World ReportWebsite: http://www.usnews.com/Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/gfkqitBTURL: http://drugsense.org/url/D5ofNGZGCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by konagold on June 08, 2013 at 11:24:05 PT faux news Aloha FOMI did see the earlier article but what I thought was more interesting is that fox was its source which is hopefully indicative of change amongst the editors of the flagship of conservative rhetoric [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Hope on June 08, 2013 at 05:29:37 PT A serving of Grits for Breakfast. TX focus on pot enforcement expanded since turn of centuryhttp://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2013/06/tx-focus-on-pot-enforcement-expanded.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 08, 2013 at 05:22:59 PT konagold Thank you for the link. I do have a related article posted. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by keninsj on June 07, 2013 at 23:17:57 PT: minor damage to the brain The author of the new study, Dr. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases, theorized that ultra-low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana, induces minor damage to the brain, which may actually “precondition” the brain to protect it against more severe damage from injuries such as lack of oxygen, seizures or toxic drug exposure. In other words, it may act as a sort of vaccine against more traumatic harm.The part where he states that it causes minor damage to the brain I believe is misleading. There has been no real evidence that cannabis causes any damage to the brain. Some people may gather from this that using more than this tiny amount may cause more harm. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by konagold on June 06, 2013 at 20:38:42 PT: OT : ATTN FOM hell has frozen over/from FoxNews http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/study-cannabis-may-prevent-brain-damage/?intcmp=features [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on June 06, 2013 at 18:05:21 PT I am glad to see the constitution matters still... But speaking of absurd.The whole war on drugs and especially cannabis, is patently absurd. (literally)The US is very much out of step with the EU and the rest of the world, Vermont gives me hope. Legalize It! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment