"Today Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill making his state the ninth to legalize marijuana for recreational use and the first to do so through the legislature rather than a ballot initiative. The new law, which takes effect on July 1, allows adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in public, to grow up to six plants (two of them mature at any one time) per household, and to keep whatever they produce."
"Most of the states with dropping populations are high tax states. California, Rhode Island, and New York are all expected to lose Congressional seats. Illinois is hit especially hard with a fleeing populace, so much so that it may lose two seats."
"The state of New California would incorporate most of the state's rural counties, leaving the urban coastal counties to the current state of California. But unlike other separation movements in the past, the state of New California wants to do things by the book, citing Article 4, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution and working with the state legislature to get it done, similar to the way West Virginia was formed."
"With legal marijuana enjoying consistent majority support in opinion polls—a Pew poll released Friday at support at 61%--the blowback has been immediate, fierce, and across the board. Feeling particularly vulnerable, legal pot state Republicans howled especially loudly."
"Attorney General Jeff Sessions has pulled off something that would have been unthinkable just a few years back: he managed to rally Republican lawmakers behind weed."
"The Free Republic of Liberland wishes you a happy new year."
"In a memo sent to U.S. attorneys Thursday, Sessions noted that federal law prohibits the possession and sale of marijuana, and he undid four previous Obama administration memos that advised against bringing weed prosecutions in states where it was legal to use for recreational or medical purposes."
"Pat Campbell talks with Shawn Jenkins about SQ 788, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Bill."
"Pennsylvania is in the midst of a budget crisis. Seeing New Jersey success is raising revenue from Internet gambling, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives suggested that to avoid a tax increase, they would follow suit. This week, after years of haggling, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a measure to make Pennsylvania the fourth state to legalize online gaming – a move that is projected to bring in $426.3 million in tax revenue from 2017 to 2022. Michigan is also considering making a move, and guess who the chief opponent is?"
"State and local taxes on marijuana could surpass 45% in some parts of California, jeopardizing efforts to bring all growers and sellers into a state-licensed market in January, according to the global credit ratings firm Fitch Ratings. The report said that increased enforcement may blunt the illegal market, 'but high taxes may complicate such efforts by diverting in-state sales to the black market.'"