It has only been a few weeks since Colorado began selling recreational marijuana to citizens aged 21 or older, with – unsurprisingly – no notable events reported that could taint this period of tremendous progress for US drug policy. Regardless, this new situation is understandably triggering an international focus on the city of Denver, one of the Coloradoan metropolises in which legal cannabis is now available.
Besides the usual efforts made by prohibition-oriented press to derail this progress, as well as the much more helpful, informative reports made by news outlets choosing to remain neutral, discussions around the “Cannabis City” status of Denver are starting to become something of a media trend within the cannabis community.
Denver vs. Amsterdam
What one can observe in the flow of information during these last few weeks is normal behavior for any industry welcoming a new player in its midst.
420 rally in Denver, Colorado
This is why numerous recent articles, blog posts and comments are appearing around the internet that either speculate upon when Denver will “officially” gain the rare title of “Weed City” or “Cannabis City”, or seem already comfortable with the general idea, and thus dub Denver, in one way or another, the new Capital of Cannabis.
Making the comparison between Amsterdam and Denver seems almost impossible, considering that the Netherlands have never actually legalized recreational cannabis, but have been tolerating it to such a level that Amsterdam was, for a long time, the only “Weed City” that was not relying solely on the black market of cannabis production in order to function (not solely, however, it still does).
Denver, on the other hand, has been benefiting from an actual governmental policy of legal cannabis since the beginning of 2014. Many perks come with this policy, such as clear limits defined in terms of public consumption, an open door to cannabis-related advertisement, and the limitless possibilities offered by diversifying what is now a legal product. These new options could very well turn out to be far superior to the Dutch ways, especially the latter, considering the wide range of flavours, shapes and fragrances already found across all areas of the food and consumer goods industry in the USA.
A coffeeshop street, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
So, once Denver has a bit more experience under its belt in terms of being the up-and-coming legal cannabis destination, will it, as many say, dethrone Amsterdam and its once liberal policy on so many topics?
Sensi Seeds’ answer to this question – live from Amsterdam – is: it does not matter.
Of solidarity, unity, and avoiding an incoming civil conflict
Cannabis is still wildly ill-reputed in most places, even though new initiatives emerge on almost a daily basis, giving hope to patients and enthusiasts all over the world. The main reasons why the plant is a source of constant controversy, fall into the ‘tip of the iceberg’ category for the most part. Recreational cannabis is that highly visible tip, and while the activist community is well aware of the many other benefits that deserve to be widespread and become common knowledge, it is still seen in the context of consuming a mind-altering substance, which makes the struggle to change its classification all the more challenging.
Several milestones have been reached on the cannabis topic, all of them valuable on a local, national and international level. But while the current situation is definitely aiming in the right direction, the fight is far from being over. A single patient being denied proper treatment for a condition that requires it is one patient too many.
Each of the elements that make Denver and Amsterdam different in their way of handling the cannabis business are future gems for the cannabis community. Thinking that the cannabis tourism subject is never broached during discussions leading to legalization would be dramatically inaccurate, but it is nevertheless important to ensure that this subject does not override all the other bullet points of the cannabis agenda that are still not displaying a bright green light.
Cannabis activists from the Netherlands and everywhere else in Europe have observed the recent developments in Colorado with great excitement, and the recent mild blessing offered by President Barack Obama to the cannabis cause is a heart-warming move that could set the tone for all the remaining states still working on protecting the rights of their medical cannabispatients.
Each continent, if not each country or city, has its own customs, habits, and ways of doing business. Sensi Seeds is downright impatient to learn from each nation’s take on the cannabis lifestyle, and is ready to embrace differences and similarities with equal enthusiasm and open-mindedness.
And to read more about US President Obama’s stance on cannabis, click here.
On Tuesday January 14th 2014, the city council of Turin, Italy, made the headlines by approving a proposal which aims to be the first step towards what the press foresees as a possible imminent total legalization of cannabis in Italy.
Italian Parliament
Turin’s city council was indeed meeting with the Italian parliament this week, in order to discuss and vote on a proposal to allow medicinal cannabis on the city grounds. Even before its approval occurred , the project was somewhat of a groundbreaking moment for Italy, as Turin is its first major city to consider softening the legislation currently in place.
The vote count was not outstandingly impressive, as it registered 15 votes favorable to the proposal, 13 against, and a total of six abstainers, the latter including the mayor of Turin, Piero Fassino. But while the numbers don’t necessarily translate into an absolute unity of the government on the general subject, it is the proposal itself that has triggered enthusiasm all over the world.Indeed, besides the expected authorization of cannabis use for therapeutic and medicinal purposes, the second part of the proposal tackles the issue of drug classification, changing the status of cannabis as a hard drug (classed alongside heroin, cocaine and others), to a soft drug, thus also impacting the penalties applied in cases of possession.However, this was not exactly Italy’s first step forward in the matter; back in September 2012, the regional parliaments of Veneto, Liguria, Tuscany and Friuli Venezia Giulia had authorized the use of medications derived from cannabis or synthetic cannabinoids for patients suffering from conditions that would respond to such treatments. The measure even went as far as allowing free distribution of said medications to the patients, through hospitals and pharmacies, under certain rules defined by the respective regional councils.
Later, in January 2013, the federal government made plant-based medicinal cannabis drugs legal at a national level, resulting in the therapeutic properties of cannabis being recognized by law, as opposed to the previous situation, where only the properties of THC were legally valid.This Tuesday’s event is therefore no big surprise to the rest of Europe, nor to the rest of the world. Regardless, it is always an utter pleasure to witness changes occurring for the better, and Sensi Seeds is eager to see how this project will unfold, and how many branches will grow from it!
domhertz.com 