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About the Author
Zoe is a Portland-based blogger who covers Entertainment and Lifestyle for Higher Ground. And no, she does not watch Portlandia.

Here’s the Weed Law In Every Damn Legal State

Alaska
Law: Measure 2 (52.15%)
Year Passed: 2014
Date Implemented: February 24th, 2015
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Marijuana Control Board
Tax Structure: $50 per ounce on all marijuana sold by wholesale cultivation facilities, additional local taxes expected
Recreational Outlets: No, expected to open Spring 2016
Possession Limit: 1 oz, and all marijuana from a grow, at the location of that grow
Home Cultivation: 6 plants, with only 3 in flowering stage at a time
Transport: 1 oz.

Colorado
Law: Amendment 64 (55.3%)
Year Passed: 2012
Date Implemented: January 1st, 2014
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Department of Revenue, Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED)
Tax Structure: 15% on grower, 10% special sales tax, 2.9% standard sales tax, additional local taxes may apply
Recreational Retail Outlets: Yes
Possession Limit: 1 oz, non-residents of Colorado 0.25 oz
Home Cultivation: 6 plants, with only 3 in flowering stage at a time
Transport: 1 oz, open container law applies

Oregon
Law: Measure 91 (56.1%)
Year Passed: 2014
Date Implemented: July 1st, 2015
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Oregon Liquor Control Commission
Tax Structure: 17% sales tax
Recreational Retail Outlets:  MMJ dispensaries to begin selling recreational October 2015 via Senate Bill 460.              Possession Limit: 8 oz at home, 1 oz outside, 1 lb solid edibles, 72 oz liquid, 1 oz extract (concentrates)
Home Cultivation: 4 plants
Transport: 1 oz within state lines, Non-flowering plants

Washington
Law: Initiative 502 (55.7%)
Year Passed: 2012
Date Implemented: July 8th, 2014
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Washington State Liquor Control Board
Tax Structure: 25% at all stages, grower, processer, retailer and customer, plus normal sales taxes
Recreational Retail Outlets: Yes
Possession Limit: 1 oz marijuana, 16 oz of marijuana-infused products in edible form, and 72 oz of marijuana products in liquid form
Home Cultivation: No
Transport: 1 oz

Washington D.C. (formally District of Columbia)
Law: Initiative 71 (64.8%)
Year Passed: 2014
Date Implemented: February 26, 2015
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: None
Tax Structure: None, retail & sale is still illegal
Recreational Retail Outlets: No
Possession Limit: 2 oz
Home Cultivation: 6 plants, with only 3 in flowering stage at a time
Transport: 2 oz
Alaska
Law: Measure 2 (52.15%)
Year Passed: 2014
Date Implemented: February 24th, 2015
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Marijuana Control Board
Tax Structure: $50 per ounce on all marijuana sold by wholesale cultivation facilities, additional local taxes expected
Recreational Outlets: No, expected to open Spring 2016
Possession Limit: 1 oz, and all marijuana from a grow, at the location of that grow
Home Cultivation: 6 plants, with only 3 in flowering stage at a time
Transport: 1 oz.

Colorado
Law: Amendment 64 (55.3%)
Year Passed: 2012
Date Implemented: January 1st, 2014
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Department of Revenue, Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED)
Tax Structure: 15% on grower, 10% special sales tax, 2.9% standard sales tax, additional local taxes may apply
Recreational Retail Outlets: Yes
Possession Limit: 1 oz, non-residents of Colorado 0.25 oz
Home Cultivation: 6 plants, with only 3 in flowering stage at a time
Transport: 1 oz, open container law applies

Oregon
Law: Measure 91 (56.1%)
Year Passed: 2014
Date Implemented: July 1st, 2015
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Oregon Liquor Control Commission
Tax Structure: 17% sales tax
Recreational Retail Outlets: No; Still illegal to buy or sell. Outlets expected 2016 – MMJ dispensaries may begin selling recreational October 2015 if Senate Bill 460 is signed into law.
Possession Limit: 8 oz at home, 1 oz outside, 1 lb solid edibles, 72 oz liquid, 1 oz extract (concentrates)
Home Cultivation: 4 plants
Transport: 1 oz within state lines, Non-flowering plants

Washington
Law: Initiative 502 (55.7%)
Year Passed: 2012
Date Implemented: July 8th, 2014
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: Washington State Liquor Control Board
Tax Structure: 25% at all stages, grower, processer, retailer and customer, plus normal sales taxes
Recreational Retail Outlets: Yes
Possession Limit: 1 oz marijuana, 16 oz of marijuana-infused products in edible form, and 72 oz of marijuana products in liquid form
Home Cultivation: No
Transport: 1 oz

Washington D.C. (formally District of Columbia)
Law: Initiative 71 (64.8%)
Year Passed: 2014
Date Implemented: February 26, 2015
Age Requirement: 21
Administrative Agency: None
Tax Structure: None, retail & sale is still illegal
Recreational Retail Outlets: No
Possession Limit: 2 oz
Home Cultivation: 6 plants, with only 3 in flowering stage at a time
Transport: 2 oz

Thanks to Smoker’s Guide for their in-depth research.

The HIGHest-End Marijuana Store in the World

Though cannabis is constantly in the news, very few people have actually been inside a legal recreational store. We went to Green-Theory, a high-end marijuana shop a few miles from the Microsoft campus. Here’s what legalization – and the future of weed – looks like!

Higher Ground’s Tribute to MadMen


Though the incredible series MadMen is coming to an end, the staff at Higher Ground wanted to let everyone know that we’d be carrying the torch for many moons to come.

Since its premiere, Mad Men has received widespread critical acclaim for its historical authenticity, visual style, costume design, acting, writing, and directing. The drama has won 15 Emmys and four Golden Globes. It’s the first basic cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning in each of its first four seasons

The second half of the final season will premiere on April 5, 2015. The series finale is scheduled to air on May 7, 2015.

Watch the last episodes of MadMen on AMC.

http://www.amctv.com/shows/mad-men

Election Update for November – and Beyond!

Excellent article about the upcoming elections regarding the legalization of marijuana – as well as next-States on the ballot, and more!

Thanks to our friends at Fusion for the fine work (and maps!)

Endorsements Galore!

It’s hard to even keep up with the number of major newspapers FINALLY coming around to support the legalization of marijuana. Here’s a brief list. Don’t blink…or you’ll miss (yet) another….

The Oregonian Endorsement
The Seattle Times Endorsement
The New York Times EndorsementNYTIMES continues to blow minds…

We’re Not Above Taking Hippie Quizzes!


Are BuzzFeed Quizzes overdone? Yes? Are they fun? Yes? Have we taken them? Let’s just say that if Higher Ground had a hippie name, it would be Breeze!

How much of a hippie are you?

What is your hippie name?

The History of Marijuana in 4 Minutes and 20 Seconds


When we see something fantastic, we either steal it, or share it. In this case…too good to steal. Educational, humorous, and historically accurate! The Tri-Fecta! And the narrator’s voice is off-the-hook! Great stuff!

GrassIsNotGreener Is a Downer, Man


At HigherGround, our responsibility is to show you all sides of the debate in and around the legalization of marijuana (aka Prohibition), and let you decide where you stand. The following is an ad from a coalition who opposed the recent editorial decision at the New Times Editorial Board which endorsed the legalization movement. Have a read, and we’ll be following up with additional thoughts and perspectives.

(From the Washington Post)
A coalition of groups is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times this weekend, advocating against the maturing movement to legalize marijuana.

The ad comes in response to a New York Times editorial series launched last weekend arguing for an end to marijuana prohibition. In it, the newspaper’s editorial board advocated for an end to the federal ban on the drug. The ad, pictured below, features a businessman with the pasted-on head of a hippie, a visual metaphor for what the groups warn is the disconnected perception and reality when it comes to legalization.

“The legalization of marijuana means ushering in an entirely new group of corporations whose primary source of revenue is a highly habit-forming product,” the ad reads. “Sounds a lot like another industry we just put in its place. Many facts are being ignored by this and other news organizations. Go to GrasslsNotGreener.com to see why so many major medical associations oppose marijuana legalization.”

The website, which contains resources about the dangers of marijuana, is affiliated with Project SAM, which stands for Smart Approaches to Marijuana. The nonprofit was co-founded by former congressman and former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Patrick Kennedy and former Obama administration drug policy adviser professor Kevin Sabet. It advocates against legalization, but in favor of dropping mandatory minimum sentences and removing criminal penalties while expunging records for low-level users of the drug, and pushes for better access to treatment, education and prevention. The group contends that legalization risks the creation of a predatory industry

“In the marijuana business, the values of the flower children have been quickly replaced by the values of Wall St. power brokers,” Sabet said in a statement. “We’re on the brink of creating the next Big Tobacco. We feel like this is an important message most Americans have not considered.”

The implementation of legalization by Colorado officials–some of them at least initially opposed to it–has been described as a success, though it’s too early to assess the public health impact of the law itself. In Washington, the only other state to also legalize pot, the drug went on sale this month. Legalization is on the November ballot in Oregon and Alaska.

The coalition behind the new website includes:

The American Society of Addiction Medicine, a group that boasts more than 3,000 addiction physician and professional members
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals, a nonprofit whose members include judges, attorneys and clinical specialists
National Families in Action, a group dedicated to getting state laws passed to prevent marketing of drugs and drug use to children.
Parents Opposed to Pot.

(Thanks to Niraj Chokshi for this story. Niraj also reports for GovBeat, The Post’s state and local policy blog.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/02/coalition-runs-full-page-new-york-times-ad-to-dispute-pro-marijuana-editorial/

New York Times Endorses Legalization


By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and flourished. It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol.
The federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana.
We reached that conclusion after a great deal of discussion among the members of The Times’s Editorial Board, inspired by a rapidly growing movement among the states to reform marijuana laws.
There are no perfect answers to people’s legitimate concerns about marijuana use. But neither are there such answers about tobacco or alcohol, and we believe that on every level — health effects, the impact on society and law-and-order issues — the balance falls squarely on the side of national legalization. That will put decisions on whether to allow recreational or medicinal production and use where it belongs — at the state level.
We considered whether it would be best for Washington to hold back while the states continued experimenting with legalizing medicinal uses of marijuana, reducing penalties, or even simply legalizing all use. Nearly three-quarters of the states have done one of these.
But that would leave their citizens vulnerable to the whims of whoever happens to be in the White House and chooses to enforce or not enforce the federal law.
The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast. There were 658,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2012, according to F.B.I. figures, compared with 256,000 for cocaine, heroin and their derivatives. Even worse, the result is racist, falling disproportionately on young black men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals.
There is honest debate among scientists about the health effects of marijuana, but we believe that the evidence is overwhelming that addiction and dependence are relatively minor problems, especially compared with alcohol and tobacco. Moderate use of marijuana does not appear to pose a risk for otherwise healthy adults. Claims that marijuana is a gateway to more dangerous drugs are as fanciful as the “Reefer Madness” images of murder, rape and suicide.
There are legitimate concerns about marijuana on the development of adolescent brains. For that reason, we advocate the prohibition of sales to people under 21.
Creating systems for regulating manufacture, sale and marketing will be complex. But those problems are solvable, and would have long been dealt with had we as a nation not clung to the decision to make marijuana production and use a federal crime.
In coming days, we will publish articles by members of the Editorial Board and supplementary material that will examine these questions. We invite readers to offer their ideas, and we will report back on their responses, pro and con.
We recognize that this Congress is as unlikely to take action on marijuana as it has been on other big issues. But it is long past time to repeal this version of Prohibition.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html?_r=3&smid=tw-share

HERSHEY SUES EDIBLE MARIJUANA CO. OVER EDIBLES (AND REEFERS PEANUT BUTTER CUPS)

(Washington Post) 

The Hershey Co. has filed a trademark suit against an edible marijuana company for selling weed-infused snacks with packaging that mimics some of Hershey’s signature candies.

In the lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Denver, Hershey claims that the Colorado-based medical marijuana manufacturer Tincture Belle is selling products that look suspiciously like its Reese’s, Heath, Almond Joy and York Peppermint Pattie brands.

Not only are the products packaged in similar colors as the Hershey originals, the candy-making giant contends, their names are also reminiscent of their analogs: Hashees, Hasheath, Ganja Joy and Dabby Patty.

Hershey says that the packaging is not only a clear trademark violation, but also a safety risk to consumers — especially children — “who may not distinguish between Hershey’s candy products and defendants’ cannabis- and/or tetrahydrocannabinol-based products.”

Although recreational and medicinal marijuana sales are legal in Colorado, the burgeoning edible pot industry has raised some safety concerns.

In April, a Denver teen plunged off a balcony after eating six times the recommended amount of a marijuana brownie. And another man was accused of killing his wife in a hallucinatory episode after eating marijuana candy and rolling a joint, according to CBS News.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd’s own encounter with a caramel-chocolate flavored candy bar prompted her to argue in her column for greater regulation of the edibles industry.

It appears that Tincture Belle’s Web site and Facebook page are down. But according to the Associated Press, the products can be found in Colorado’s pot shops and medical marijuana dispensaries.

According to Tincture Belle, their pot products are gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, GMO-free and peanut-free — although they do come with a hint of imitation.

(Thanks to Abby Philip for original post in Washington Post)