california legalizes unlimited marijuana
As the self proclaimed king of startups, I can tell you there is a new startup industry that looks to be the new “Gold Rush” of this century and unless you’ve been living under a rock — you already know it’s medicinal marijuana.
The recent California Supreme Court decision is the most recent in a chain of marijuana-friendly rulings that has created critical momentum towards making marijuana into a new agri-gold rush. I’m even start to see “gold rush” news reportsof people to moving to Mendocino County, California from all over the US.
On Thursday of last week, the California Supreme Court ruled that a licensed medicinal marijuana grower could not be prosecuted for growing a “reasonable” amount of pot. This is basically a Get Out of Jail Free card as, NPR puts it.
According to NPR…
The man was arrested after police, acting on an informant’s tip, found a bunch of marijuana plants growing in and around the guy’s house in Lakewood, Calif. The cops also found about 12 ounces of dried weed, but none of the typical sorts of evidence, such as ledger sheets, indicating he was in the business of selling the stuff to other people.
A jury ultimately found the guy guilty of possessing more than an ounce of marijuana and of cultivating it. But an appeals court threw out the limits provision that had tripped up the man.
But Thursday’s decision in the case snuffs out part of a 2003 law that spelled out limits for use and possession made possible by the 1996 ballot initiative that cleared the way for medical marijuana in the state. Those limits were 8 ounces of dried marijuana, six mature plants or 12 immature plants.
The original initiative set no limits on amounts, so the California Supremes said it’s OK for people with doctors’ permission to grow or possess “reasonable amounts” of weed…
…with no definition of what “reasonable amounts” mean.
Whatever your opinion on the morality of smoking marijuana, California’s highest court now condones it to an unlimited amount.
Add to this ruling to President O’bama’s executive order to federal enforcement agencies to not use Federal resources in the prosecution of Federal marijuana laws in states where it is legal, and Marijuana just became legal for all intents and purposes.
CNBC produced this video in July of 2008 (before the Federal order discouraging DEA prosecution) and the most recente California Supreme Court decision…
This may be what 2010 becomes known for…
What do you think about this? I’ve love to hear your thoughts.
