With the stroke of midnight on Jan 1 in Nevada, marijuana is officially legal. Freedom! Nevada becomes the 7th state to legalize recreational marijuana, behind Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, and also Washington D.C.. Maine voters also approved marijuana legalization on Election Day 2016, but its initiative has not taken effect yet. You can read the full text of the Nevada initiative at this link here. Below is a reaction that I received about Nevada from NORML earlier this week:

Two San Francisco Bay area lawmakers are proposing a new law that would make it illegal to smoke marijuana and drive.

In November, California voters decided to legalize recreational marijuana under proportion 64. However, the new law only makes it illegal to have an open container of marijuana in your car. 

Sen.Jerry Hill (D-California) told KGO-TV the current law doesn't go far enough. 

"It didn't say anything about if you were driving and smoking a marijuana cigarette or joint while driving or ingesting a brownie at the same time," Hill said in an interview. 

Senate Bill 65 sponsored by Hill and state representative Evan Low in Silicon Valley could close what they call a loophole, according to KGO-TV. 

Nevada will ring in a new era for marijuana use on Jan. 1. Adults 21 years old and older will legally be allowed to used pot recreationally

"It's about time the rest of the world benefited from what I've been benefitting from for years," said actor and pot advocate Tommy Chong.

While marijuana will be legal, there will be restrictions on where the drug can be used.

Cannabis can only be smoked or consumed on private property such as a home. It can’t be used in public places like on the Strip.

A person can possess up to an ounce of marijuana or 1/8oz of marijuana concentrate. Possessing drug paraphernalia will no longer be a crime.

While possession of pot will be legal, there will be nowhere to legally purchase the drug for now.

For reasons that really should not require a great deal of explanation right now, tens of thousands of people all across California are wondering how the state’s new cannabis industry will look. It’s not to say that the legal marijuana industries of numerous other states aren’t important, it’s simply that they pale in comparison to that of CA. In terms of size, power, influence and value, this is one state-wide cannabis industry that the entire world is going to be watching.

So of course, it’s natural to question exactly how things will look a little further down the line, along with how the industry will integrate with others.

The Campaign Trail

Many people are proud of their drug use. For many it can define who they are in their own mind for a period of their life. This is perhaps more true for cannabis users that for any other drug.

Not only does it have the oldest established media empire of any illicit drug (think High Times) but seeing as it is regarded and one of the safest drugs is common use many people, including the mass media regard it use a less of a mortal sin than the use of cocaine or heroin for example.

You could call it the year of the cannabis consumer: retailers finally focus on UX, celebrities cater to enthusiasts, media outlets clamor for attention and a more refined world of edibles and concentrates has emerged.

Just over half the states in the union (and the District of Columbia) now have some form of decriminalized cannabis. But for medical marijuana patients living in a state not yet on that list, getting the medicine they need often means crossing state lines in violation of federal law. That’s exactly what one GOP lawmaker did to treat his cancer — and he says he’d do it again.

In 2014, CNN found at least 100 families in Colorado who had essentially “fled” there in order to ensure a regular supply of medical marijuana for a sick family member.

The November election caused shock throughout the nation, but there was an underlying story that was not shocking at all. As expected, seven more states legalized marijuana in some form. In 2017, 60 percent of Americans will have legal access to medical marijuana, and 20 percent will also reside in areas where recreational marijuana is legal.

Given this new reality, I am renewing my call for Congress to remove its outdated and harmful federal prohibition on marijuana.

Every Congress since 2013, I have introduced legislation that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and leaves the decision to legalize up to the states, where it belongs. I plan to reintroduce the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act in the next Congress.

The world cannabis industry is dramatically growing in such a various countries like The Netherlands, Canada, Uruguay, Israel or a huge part of United States of America (22 states to be exact). In these countries it is allowed to sell marijuana legally, but in some of them there are still many unnecessary restrictions which restrict the further development of the marijuana industry. For example, in some states it’s still impossible to fully profit from health, economic and social benefits provided by cannabis business. Let’s take a good look at particular countries and draw proper conclusions.
 

The United States of America marijuana politics
 

The future for legal pot and drug reform is very much in doubt.

As 2016 comes to a tumultuous end, we look back on the year in drugs and drug policy. It’s definitely a mixed bag, with some major victories for drug reform, especially marijuana legalization, but also some major challenges, especially around heroin and prescription opioids, and the threat of things taking a turn for the worse next year.

Here are the six biggest stories from the year on drugs.

1. Marijuana legalization wins big