Matt Simon apears to be moving to VT

[Jim Johnson]

Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, is moving to greener pastures.

The advocate for legal cannabis is currently based out of New Hampshire, but the intransigence in the Granite State when it comes to marijuana policy has convinced Simon that it's time for a change of scenery.

"The stars seem to be aligning [for legalization] in Vermont," Simon told VTDigger on Tuesday. "We can't even get the New Hampshire Senate to have an adult conversation about the relative merits of legalization."


http://vtdigger.org/2015/09/01/marijuana-advocate-plans-full-time-legalization-push-in-montpelier/#.VeZLhnBsKAQ

[KBCraig]

I understand his frustration.

[Russell Kanning]

can you imagine ..... trying to have rational conversations with those politicians?
you bring facts and reason .... but back room politics and agendas are how things are decided

[Jim Johnson]

If he is successful in Vermont, it will have the same effect on New Hampshire as New Hampshire's beer and cigarette sales have had on Massachusetts.

[Free libertarian]

Live free or die.   

[Tom Sawyer]

Sorry to be a wet blanket...

The whole let's beg the government to tax and regulate, smacks of... "Well if we can tax the shit out of the Jews, then maybe we can tolerate them."

Many folks in the cannabis movement that were all for taking the incrementalist approach, and begging for scraps, are now singing a different tune.

Big business that will pay huge licensing fees to play in this market. Alcohol model of production and distribution. Excuse the language, but fuck that.

Vermont is currently barely enforcing the marijuana laws. The last year I saw numbers on, they busted 14 people for cultivation.

The current form that "legalization" has taken in Colorado and Washington are going to anchor the progress to allow the government to continue to attack people.

Don't need a license to grow tomatoes, or belladonna for that matter.

I can't get over the fact that the War on Pot was a huge failure and yet the political players have no idea how to capitalize on the victory. We should be issuing the terms of surrender, not begging for scraps.

[Russell Kanning]

yea so many of the politicians seem ready to give in

[Free libertarian]

Sorry to be a wet blanket...

The whole let's beg the government to tax and regulate, smacks of... "Well if we can tax the shit out of the Jews, then maybe we can tolerate them."

Many folks in the cannabis movement that were all for taking the incrementalist approach, and begging for scraps, are now singing a different tune.

Big business that will pay huge licensing fees to play in this market. Alcohol model of production and distribution. Excuse the language, but fuck that.

Vermont is currently barely enforcing the marijuana laws. The last year I saw numbers on, they busted 14 people for cultivation.

The current form that "legalization" has taken in Colorado and Washington are going to anchor the progress to allow the government to continue to attack people.

Don't need a license to grow tomatoes, or belladonna for that matter.

I can't get over the fact that the War on Pot was a huge failure and yet the political players have no idea how to capitalize on the victory. We should be issuing the terms of surrender, not begging for scraps.

Agreed.

Going from a prohibition model to a "paying for permission" model does seem a little like replacing the tyrannical master with a kinder gentler one, but nevertheless still keeping a master in the picture.  Just because the new master lets you sing and dance on Saturday night as long as you still "agree" to go and pick him some cotton all week doesn't make you free. 

I freed a thousand slaves and would have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were enslaved (or something like that) - Harriet Tubman

[MaineShark]

Going from a prohibition model to a "paying for permission" model does seem a little like replacing the tyrannical master with a kinder gentler one, but nevertheless still keeping a master in the picture.  Just because the new master lets you sing and dance on Saturday night as long as you still "agree" to go and pick him some cotton all week doesn't make you free.

Agreed.

The flipside, though, is that if you pay regular "protection money" to the Mob, they will keep others from hassling you, because they want their cut.  If NH legalized tomorrow, there's no telling what the Feds would do, or even what the next session of the legislature would do.  But if NH is getting tax revenue from it, they will darn well think twice about reinstating prohibition, and if the Feds were to interfere, NH would almost certainly take it to court in order to protect their revenue stream.

Not my preference, but I can see why it's tempting.

[Russell Kanning]

abolition always appeals to me

[blackie]

Matt is just going where his employer is telling him to go. MPP is pulling resources out of NH.

MPP has had a full time guy in Maine for a few years, David Boyer. He is running this  campaign for them https://www.regulatemaine.org/

"The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is the driving force behind a 2016 statewide ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Maine and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. "

I used to support MPP, but don't any more. They do some good work, but they will support any legalization bill, even the ones that basically set up monopolies.

Don't need a license to grow tomatoes,

In Maine, if you sell more than $1000 of agricultural product a year, you are supposed to have a pesticide applicators license. It just went into effect for mmj caregivers and dispensaries this year, so I had to get one.

[KBCraig]

Don't need a license to grow tomatoes, or belladonna for that matter.

I've always said that cannabis should have exactly the same legal standing as homegrown tomatoes: the law is silent on it.

Lately I've been thinking that tobacco is a better comparison. It's highly taxed and regulated, and illegal to sell to minors under 18 (both things are almost certain to remain true with any cannabis legalization).

But, you can grown all the tobacco you want. You can give it away, or share with friends. It's not illegal for adults to grow or possess, or to "manufacturer" into a product for smoking or chewing.

[Tom Sawyer]

Moonshine: The American Rebel Spirit
https://youtu.be/J1EAY_IOpTI

Kind of reminds me of what we are going through with cannabis.

If you extrapolate the tax and regulate model it leads to not only more enforcement and bureaucracy at the state level but if the goal is reached federal level enforcement and bureaucracy... maybe they'll make it the ATF+M won't that be nice.

[Free libertarian]

Moonshine: The American Rebel Spirit
https://youtu.be/J1EAY_IOpTI

Kind of reminds me of what we are going through with cannabis.

If you extrapolate the tax and regulate model it leads to not only more enforcement and bureaucracy at the state level but if the goal is reached federal level enforcement and bureaucracy... maybe they'll make it the ATF+M won't that be nice.

  See!!!  You DO hate children!!!