Dozens of pharmacy shelves in Uruguay will soon be stocked with a plant that is entirely prohibited in most other countries: cannabis. Three and a half years ago, Uruguay became the first country to fully legalize marijuana. And later this month, after overcoming legal hurdles and a presidential transition, government-approved marijuana will be sold out of dozens of pharmacies across the country.

Priced at $1.30 per gram, the legal weed will exclusively be sold at pharmacies. Uruguay’s government will have tight control over the process, from planting to puffing. The marijuana plants’ genetic material will be determined by the government, as will its THC–marijuana’s psychoactive component–concentration. Uruguayans ages 18 and up can purchase up to 40 grams each month.

According to the Washington Post, customers will register for the marijuana program via a government database. Instead of producing identification at the register to prove their age, customers will place their thumb on a scanner, which will be linked to the database, providing pharmacies with a buyer’s purchasing history.

Unlike some of the U.S. states that have legalized recreational marijuana, there will be no smoking cafes as part of Uruguay’s legalization regime. Foreigners cannot purchase marijuana, and there will be no shops selling pot edibles or other marijuana-infused products. For some, the caveats to Uruguay’s marijuana legalization are overburdensome and unnecessary. But to public health officials, the regulations will hopefully ensure marijuana does not tread down the same path as the tobacco industry.

“The risk of what they’re doing in Colorado is that you end up with something like the tobacco industry,” Julio Calzada, a public health official in Uruguay, told the Washington Post. “To us, marijuana is a vegetable substance with a capacity to generate addiction,” added Calzada, who helped design the regulatory framework after legalization in 2013, “so what we’re trying to do is control the production, distribution and consumption of that substance as effectively as possible.”

Uruguay is a socially liberal society, where gambling and prostitution are legal. The government maintains control of a majority of sectors, including banking and utilities. The same goes for its nascent legal weed market–only two government-approved private firms will supply marijuana to about three dozen pharmacies across the nation.

Distribution will be coordinated by the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA). According to its website, over 4,600 people have already signed up for the government database. Meanwhile, in America, marijuana advocates are worried the country’s top enforcer, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, will initiate stringent anti-marijuana measures. He once said “good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Cannabis and caffeine lovers rejoice: San Diego-based BrewBudz will soon be debuting a coffee, tea, and cocoa pod product, fit for Keurig machines, that are infused with marijuana. According to the company’s tagline, the hybrid product will be “good for you” and “good for the earth.” Its pods will be made of 100 percent compostable material, including the caps, which are made of coffee beans.

Calling cannabis and coffee “two important rituals,” the BrewBudz website says: “The merging of cannabis and coffee delivered in a sustainable and environmentally conscious way invests us in the responsibility of caring for both our customers and the earth.” The site adds: “Our goal is to provide full life-cycle recycling and composting from the plant harvest to the disposal of our coffee grounds and packaging.”

Entrepreneurs are seeing more openings in the cannabis market since Election Day, when nine states voted to legalize marijuana in some form; nearly a quarter of Americans now live in a state with legal marijuana laws. A number of Cannabis-infused products have hit the market: chocolate, candy, syrup, cocktails, and pet treats.

But what about the health effects of mixing two brain-altering drugs into one drink? Consuming coffee, a stimulant, and marijuana, a depressant, at the same time could make the user feel wired and tired at the same time. There is not a plethora of research on how combining THC and caffeine can affect a person’s health.

States that have legalized recreational marijuana have proven to be especially fertile grounds for new companies to spring up. In Colorado, where weed has been legal since 2012, sales for marijuana during the first half of 2016 neared half a billion dollars. By 2020, California, which legalized medical marijuana 20 years ago and recreational in November, is expected to have a legal weed market worth about $6.5 billion.

The pot pods will launch in January in Nevada, which legalized recreational marijuana in November, and Colorado. Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona residents will be able to purchase BrewBudz products in March. Each pod will cost $7, and a cup of a brew for recreational purposes will consist of 10 milligrams of THC, while a medically-oriented brew will have 25 to 50 milligrams of the compound.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Officials in Maine on Monday morning began a recount of ballots from Election Day. Because the state’s recreational marijuana legalization measure, Question 1, passed by a narrow margin (about 4,000 votes), officials wanted to confirm the results of a measure that would have wide-ranging effects in the Pine Tree State. If the results are confirmed, Maine would join three other states–California, Massachusetts, and Nevada–that passed recreational legalization measures on November 8.

The Maine secretary of state’s office has signaled that the recount could take up to a month. The recount–which is taking place in the state capital of Augusta–could cost at least $500,000. State police will be transferring ballots, locked away in password-protected boxes, from 503 towns across the state.

Question 1 would allow Maine residents who are at least 21 years old to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. Home cultivation would be limited to up to six plants. If the measure passes, state officials would have nine months to construct a regulatory framework.

Governor Paul LePage, in a video released before the vote, said marijuana “can be deadly.” Likening it to heroin, he said, “we do not need to legalize a drug that could lead to more deaths.” LePage, a staunch opponent of the measure, added: “Before you vote, please educate yourself on this dangerous issue.”

The measure was passed by a slim margin, with 381,692 voters supporting Question 1, and 377,619 opposing it. LePage, a Republican, supports the recount, and has said that he would implore President-elect Donald Trump to enforce the federal ban on marijuana. If Trump did respect states’ wishes, however, LePage said he would respect that decision as well.

Election Day was a sizable victory for marijuana advocates, as eight states (nine if the Maine results are confirmed) passed marijuana measures in some form, though marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. Maine residents will have to wait at least a few more weeks to see if their state joins the growing list of states that have legalized the drug since 2012. Maine legalized medical marijuana in 2009.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Recount Begins for Maine’s Recreational Marijuana Ballot Measure appeared first on Law Street.

Legalizing recreational marijuana, some argue, could lead to a proliferation of underage sales. Profit might trump policy and safety. But a new study offers no evidence, specifically in Colorado, where state-licensed dispensaries popped up in 2014 after recreational weed earned legal status in 2012, that dispensaries sell recreational pot to minors.

Visiting state-licensed dispensaries in Colorado over a period of four days in August 2015, the authors of the study found that all proprietors asked for ID, and only one agreed to sell their product in the absence of an ID. Led by a pair of doctors from the health communications firm Klein Buendel, the study concluded:

Compliance with laws restricting marijuana sales to individuals age 21 years or older with a valid ID was extremely high and possibly higher than compliance with restrictions on alcohol sales. The retail market at present may not be a direct source of marijuana for underage individuals, but future research should investigate indirect sales.

In 2012 Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, the first state to do so. But recreational bud did not hit the regulated market until 2014. Opponents argued shifting to a legal market would lead to minors having easier access to the drug. And despite the new study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, state-sponsored sting operations have uncovered evidence to support both sides.

A police sting operation of 20 retailers in Colorado in June 2014 found no wrongdoing. All dispensaries complied with the law, refusing to sell to minors. “We are pleased with the results, and will continue to monitor the businesses to ensure that the compliance efforts are maintained,” said the director of Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, which worked with the police in the sting.

But a similar operation nearly one year later contradicted those findings. In September 2015, one month after the Klein Buendel study conducted its study, undercover police visited 30 Denver-area dispensaries. Police issued seven of them–including “The Healing House” and “Herbs 4 You”–citations for selling to minors. “Up until now these compliance checks have been a bright spot for the industry. This recent check drops compliance to 92 percent,” the MED director said at the time.

In Washington, where recreational marijuana is also legal, a sting last May found four stores guilty of selling to minors. For stores in Colorado that break the law and sell to minors, penalties can include a suspended or revoked license, and up to $100,000 in fines.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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