Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Beware Marijuana Holiday: Stoned Drivers Pose Same Dangers As Drunken Super Bowl Revelers
Los Angeles Times: Drivers Who Get Stoned On 4/20 Are Just As Dangerous As Drivers Who Get Drunk On Super Bowl Sunday
Here's a pro tip from a couple of doctors: Be sure to make special plans on April 20. That date, of course, is the unofficial holiday devoted to celebrating all things marijuana. (You might know it better as "4/20.") The two physicians — John Staples of the University of British Columbia and Donald Redelmeier of the University of Toronto — aren't asking that you honor marijuana's medicinal properties by experiencing them directly. Rather, they're warning you to be on alert for others who do — and then get behind the wheel while they're still under the influence. (Kaplan, 2/12)
Boston Globe: Baker Administration Warns Pot Regulator About Stoned Drivers, Marijuana Use By Youths
Massachusetts is likely to experience a surge of stoned drivers and an increase in youth marijuana use and risk “significant” black-market pot sales if cannabis regulators carry out their plan to license a wide variety of unique marijuana sellers, such as movie theaters and delivery services, the state’s top public safety official warned Monday. (Adams and Miller, 2/13)
In news from California and Connecticut —
Sacramento Bee: California Has Legal Marijuana - Just Not Many Places To Legally Smoke It
When California voters 15 months ago passed Proposition 64 – formally known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act – it didn’t create a lot of options for where people 21 and over can legally consume pot. ...While there is no statewide registry of lounges, people in the cannabis industry say they know only of a cluster in the Bay Area – eight in San Francisco and one in Oakland. (Branan, 2/12)
The CT Mirror: Advocates For Marijuana Sales Point To Big Economic Boost
Advocates for legalizing recreational marijuana use in Connecticut — and taxing its sales — are hoping a holistic, economic argument will win the day this year. ...And while Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has not proposed legalization or taxation, he did list it for the first time in his annual budget presentation — albeit as an “option” for those who don’t like the budget-balancing moves he has endorsed. (Phaneuf, 2/13)
San Jose Mercury News: Why California's Cannabis Taxes Are Much More Than Wine And Beer, But Less Than Cigarettes
While marijuana taxes stand alone in the world of so-called “sin taxes” because they vary among cities and counties, an analysis by this news organization found the cumulative tax on legal weed is more than triple the tax on wine and beer, which is typically about a dime on the dollar. For cigarettes, on the other hand, the total tax rate is more than 80 percent. (Krieger, 2/12)
