In California, pot caught in haze of regs
LOS ANGELES — Ready or not, California kicks off recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1. And, mostly, it’s not.
Los Angeles and San Francisco are among many cities still struggling to fashion local rules for pot shops and growers. Without the regulations, there could be limited options in many places for consumers eager to ring in the new year with a legal pot purchase.
“The bulk of folks probably are not going to be ready Jan. 1,” con
MARIJUANA
ceded Cara Martinson of the California State Association of Counties.
In general, California will treat cannabis like alcohol, allowing people 21 and older to legally possess up to an ounce and grow six marijuana plants at home.
Come January, the newly legalized recreational sales will be merged with the state’s two-decade-old medical marijuana market, which is also coming under much stronger regulation.
But big gaps loom in the system intended to move cannabis from the field to distribution centers, then to testing labs and eventually retail shops.
The state plans to issue only temporary licenses starting in January, and it has yet to release its plan to govern the estimated $7 billion marketplace, the nation’s largest legal pot economy.
If businesses aren’t licensed and operating in the legal market, governments aren’t collecting their slice of revenue from sales. The state alone estimates it could see as much as $1 billion roll in within several years.
Operators have complained about what they see as potential conflicts in various laws and rules, or seemingly contradictory plans.
The state expects businesses that receive licenses will only work with others that hold them. But that has alarmed operators who wonder what will happen if their supplier, for instance, decides not to join the new legal market.
Others say it’s not clear what could happen in cities that don’t enact pot laws, which they warn could open a loophole for businesses to set up shop. Some communities have banned recreational sales.
Most banks continue to refuse to do business with marijuana operators because pot remains illegal under federal law, and there are also problems obtaining insurance.
With recreational legalization fast-approaching, “we don’t have enough of anything,” lamented Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, a marijuana industry group.
The route to legalization began last year when voters approved Proposition 64, which opened the way for recreational pot sales to adults in the nation’s most populous state.
Unlike the state, cities and counties face no deadline to act. But the concern is that confusion and a patchwork of local rules could discourage operators from entering the legal economy, feeding a black market that could undercut the legitimate one.
Local regulation is a foundation block of the emerging pot economy: A grower or retailer needs a local permit first, which is a steppingstone to obtaining a state license to operate.
But those rules remain in limbo in many places.
San Jose, the state’s third-largest city, has a temporary ban on sales other than medical pot, but officials this week proposed hearings to take another look at how to regulate the local industry.
Kern County, home to nearly 900,000 people, has banned the sale of marijuana even as California legalizes it. Supervisors said they see it as a danger to citizens and also voted to phase out more than two dozen medical marijuana dispensaries.
San Diego is among the cities ready to get the recreational market going.
Phil Rath, executive director of the United Medical Marijuana Coalition, a San Diego trade group, said years of disorder in the medical market led to increased black market business. That provided a ready example of how not to manage recreational sales.
San Diego moved promptly, setting up a system that will allow recreational sales at dispensaries permitted under the medical system, once they qualify for a state license. Interactive News Media
— A pill that relieves joint pain and stiffness in 7 days without side effects has been used safely in Germany for 53 years. It is now available in the United States.
This pill contains an active ingredient that not only relieves pain quickly, but also works to rebuild damaged cartilage between bones for greater range of motion.
It can cut your pain relief costs up to 82% less than using pain relief drugs and pain relief cream and heat products.
An improved version of this pill is now being offered in the United States under the brand name Flexjointplus.
Flexjointplus relieves joint pain, back pain, neck pain, carpal tunnel, sprains, strains, sports injuries, and more. With daily use, users can expect to feel 24-hour relief.
The active ingredient in Flexjointplus comes from a natural source. It is both safe and healthy. In 53 years of recorded medical use, there have been no reported harmful side effects.
“Relief in pain and stiffness is felt in as quickly as 7 days,” said Roger Lewis, Chief Researcher for Flexjointplus.
“And with regular use, you can expect even more reduction in the following 30-60 days,” added Lewis. the
July 2014.
The study involved patients with a variety of joint pain conditions associated with osteoarthritis. They were not instructed to change their daily routines. They were only told to take Flexjointplus’ active ingredient every day.
The results incredible.
Taking Flexjointplus’ active ingredient just once daily significantly reduced both joint pain and stiffness compared to placebo at 7, 30, and 60 days.
In fact, many patients experienced greater than 50% reduction in pain and stiffness at 60 days.
They also enjoyed an improvement in stiffness when first getting out of the bed in the morning, and an improvement in pain when doing light household chores.
With these studies medical doctors and researchers have now proven Flexjointplus to be a clinically effective treatment for reducing pain and stiffness associated with joint and connective tissue disorders, especially osteoarthritis.
The findings are impressive, no doubt, but results will vary.
But with results like these it’s easy to see why thousands of callers are jamming the phone lines trying to get their hands on Flexjointplus. in were ligaments,” explains Dr. Sarah Brewer, renowned Author and graduate from Cambridge University.
There also have been no adverse side effects reported with the use of NEM®.
This is a bonus for arthritis sufferers who have been taking prescription and over the counter medications that can cause severe gastric irritation over time, like NSAIDS.
This seems to be another reason why Flexjointplus’ release has triggered such a frenzy of sales.
“Based on my 20 years of experience treating people with osteoarthritis, Flexjointplus receives my highest recommendation to any person suffering from joint pain and stiffness,” said Dr. David Vallance, Rheumatologist from Ann Arbor, MI.
“One of my patients taking Flexjointplus has reported a significant decrease in pain when going up or down stairs, sitting with legs bent for an extended period of time, and even getting up from a seated position,” said Dr. Richard Gibson, chiropractor from Windsor, ON.
“I use Flexjointplus everyday for my stiff and aching joints. I also have my wife and daughter taking it regularly as well,” said Dr. Oozer, G.P. from Lasalle, CA.