North Carolina considers marijuana legalization, here’s how other states have fared :: WRAL.com

TV, APPLE TV AND ANDROID TV. >> AND WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. I’M DAN HAGGERTY NOT WANT THIS AS ALWAYS TO BE OUR LITTLE NEWS SAFE SPACE WHERE WE CAN DISCUSS IN DEATH. IT’S NOT GOING TO BE FOR EVERYONE. I’M NOT GOING TO BE FOR EVERYONE. I GET THAT. BUT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT CAR CRASHES HERE OR HOUSE FIRES OR SOME RANDOM NOW, HERE TO TELL YOU THE NEWS, I’M HERE TO TO DISCUSS THE NEWS WITH YOU. SO PLEASE BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION. E-MAIL ME AT DAN AT WRAL DOT COM TONIGHT. WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WEED AND I HAVE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? BECAUSE NORTH CAROLINA WANTS TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. MOST OF YOU ANYWAY, AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT THE POLLS SAY. WRAL PUBLISH OUR RESEARCH EARLIER THIS MONTH. AND MOST VOTERS SUPPORT LEGALIZATION AND LAWMAKERS HAVE NEVER BEEN CLOSER TO LEGALIZING MEDICAL MARIJUANA WITH SUPPORT ON BOTH SIDES. NOW IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO LEGALIZATION, OUR STATE IS IN THE MINORITY AT THIS 0. ONE OF JUST 13 STATES THAT HASN’T LEGALIZED MARIJUANA IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER 9 MOVED HERE FROM PORTLAND, OREGON, WHERE IT’S AS EASY TO BUY A SIX-PACK WITH DISPENSARIES LOOKING MORE LIKE APPLE STORES THAN A CIRCLE K JUST ACROSS THE BORDER TO OUR NORTH IN VIRGINIA HAS BEEN LEGAL SINCE LAST SUMMER. IT’S GOING TO BE SOLD IN STORES FOR RECREATIONAL USE BY 2024. THE 19TH STATE TO FULLY LEGALIZE IT. NOW THE DOMINOES ARE SET IN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE FIRST ONE COULD BE NUDGED AT ANY TIME. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT LEGAL MARIJUANA REALLY MEANS TO THIS STATE BECAUSE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU WANT TO DECRIMINALIZE IT, AUTHORIZE IT FOR MEDICAL USE OR FLAT OUT LEGALIZED THE CONCERNS FIT INTO THE SAME MAJOR CATEGORIES. THE IMPACTS ON CRIME IMPAIRED DRIVING IN TRAFFIC CRASHES. OUR KIDS AND THEIR USAGE AND FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM. ITS IMPACT ON THE MORAL FIBER OF A STATE WITH DEEPLY ROOTED VALUES. THEY HAVE NOT INCLUDED LEGAL DRUGS IN THE PAST OTHER WELL, AND BUSH, OF COURSE, AN I GUESS, CIGARETTES AND WHENEVER THEY’RE PUTTING IN CHICK-FIL-A. SO LET’S SPEND A FEW SEGMENTS, SHALL WE DISCUSSING YOUR IDEAS AND QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS SURROUNDING THIS TOPIC BECAUSE WE HAVE PLENTY OF PLACES TO LOOK FOR ANSWERS WHILE THESE WATERS FOR US. OUR UNCHARTED FOR STATES LIKE COLORADO. THEY’VE BEEN SAILING THEM FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. SO I REACHED OUT TO THEIR DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO SEE WHAT THEY’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY. AND THE VERY FIRST THING WE DISCUSSED MAY SURPRISE YOU. SO I SINKS IT. >> HONESTLY, FROM THE HIGH POINT OF VIEW. ONE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK MANY PEOPLE I THOUGHT WHAT HAPPENED WOULD BE AN ELIMINATION OF THE BLACK MARKET. AND THAT REALLY DID NOT HAPPEN. INTERESTING. INTERESTING RIGHT. THERE’S THIS ARTICLE HERE FROM MODERN FARMER FROM JUNE TITLED A LEGAL MARIJUANA SALES STILL BIG EVEN IN STATES WHERE POT IS LEGAL. >> IT DETAILS THE SAME PROBLEMS ACROSS THE BOARD IN CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, MASSACHUSETTS, IT’S CETERA. NOT ONLY DOES THE BLACK MARKET STILL EXIST, BUT IN MANY CASES, IT’S ACTUALLY GROWN. AND THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY. AND I’LL START WITH THIS QUESTION. HAVE YOU EVER IN YOUR LIFE SMOKED MARIJUANA OR BEEN AROUND IT? SO WHERE DID YOU GET IT? DID YOU BUY IT FROM A MILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN? BECAUSE IN STATES WHERE IT’S LEGAL THAT TO SELLING THE RED TAPE IS COMPLEX AND EXPENSIVE FROM THE PACKAGING THEY USE TO THE KINDS OF PESTICIDES THAT THEY PUT ON THE CROPS AT THIS POINT IN COLORADO, ACCORDING TO THE 2022 ESTIMATES JUST TO OPEN A DISPENSARY. THIS ISN’T COUNTING THE REGULATIONS OR THE PERMITS FOR GROWERS. YOU NEED TO START UP CAPITAL BETWEEN ONE UP $150,000 AND 2 MILLION DOLLARS AND REGULATING AGENCIES. THEY DON’T TAKE THOSE PAYMENTS AND DUFFEL BAGS OF CASH. AND THEN THERE’S THE TAXES. I MEAN, THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF TAX DOLLARS PAID BY EVERYONE INVOLVED IN SELLING LEGAL MARIJUANA LAST YEAR, COLORADO SOLD MORE THAN 2 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH THROUGH NOVEMBER IN THE STATE RAKED IN 423 MILLION BUCKS. IT’S THE KIND OF MONEY THAT MAKES POLITICIANS WANT TO LEGALIZE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. COLORADO COLLECTED 2.9% SALES TAX AND A 15% RETAIL SALES TAX AND ANOTHER 15% IN EXCISE TAX WITH LEGISLATION NOW BEING CONSIDERED TO BOOST THAT TO 25%. IT’S REALLY NOT THAT COMPLICATED LEGAL WEED IS A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE TO SELL IN THE DRUG DEALERS WHO ARE SELLING DIME BAGS TO COLLEGE STUDENTS DIDN’T PIVOT INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR INSTEAD, THEY SHIFTED THEIR BUSINESS TO FIND THE DEMAND. >> A LOT OF OTHER PLACES WHERE IT’S NOT LEGAL AND SO OUR CAMPUS IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT WE’LL GO AND IT ONLY EAST AND NOTHING GOES FAST. SO LET’S LOOK AT THE MAP WHERE ONE OF THE GRAY STATES EAST OF COLORADO WHERE WEED IS STILL ILLEGAL. THE GREEN STATES ON THE MAP OF RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA. THE BLUE STATES HAVE MEDICAL. THAT’S ALWAYS 3 FOURTHS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE A LEGAL MARIJUANA IS BEING GROWN. >> AND SOLD. STILL MOSTLY SOLD TO STATES LIKE US BECAUSE LEGAL MARIJUANA CAN’T CROSS STATE LINES AND THE CRIMINALS. DON’T MIND BREAKING THAT RULE KIND OF SEEMS OBVIOUS. WHEN YA, WHEN YOU BREAK IT DOWN THAT WAY, OF COURSE, THE LEGAL MARKET STILL EXISTS BASED ON THOSE FACTORS, RIGHT? BUT IT’S SOMETHING THAT MOST LAWMAKERS DIDN’T SEE COMING. SEE NORTH CAROLINA HAS A BIT OF AN ADVANTAGE IN THAT WAY. STATES LIKE COLORADO HAVE A DECADE OR DECADES WORTH OF DATA THAT SHOW THE IMPACTS THAT MEDICAL AND RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA HAS HAD A CRIME AND KIDS IN CAR CRASHES AND EVERYTHING. SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THAT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. EMAIL ME, DAN AT WRAL DOT COM FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING. ANYTHING THAT’S ON YOUR MIND. AND I ALWAYS HAVE THE SAME BIG QUESTIONS FOR YOU. WHAT SHOULD THE NEWS BE COVERING, WHICH WOULD BE COVERING BETTER WHAT YOU WILL BE COVERING DIFFERENTLY. WHAT ARE WE MISSING? LET ME KNOW, DAN AT WRAL DOT COM. IT CERTAINLY IS A LEARNING CURVE REGARDING THIS ISSUE DEFINITELY WILL HAVE TO