When Oregon begins the first legal sales of recreational marijuana on Oct. 1, I'll be thinking about my Dad. He's a major reason I became a state lawmaker and have been helping implement Oregon's new marijuana law.

During the 1980s recession, Dad stopped taking a salary at the family rock crushing business. It was the only way he and my uncles could keep M.C. Lininger and Sons afloat. Mom warned that if the business closed, we might have to leave the Rogue Valley, where our family has lived for generations. Southern Oregon's economy was withering, and in many cases, the jobs never came back.

The problem of legal highs sales "has not gone away" in Taunton despite a localised ban being brought in last year, a council report said.

Last year, police closed down one shop by using the new legal powers and a second shop opted to stop selling them.

Taunton Dean Borough Council's report said emergency hospital admissions had not fallen with a number "every week".

Police also said a network of suppliers had evolved with users buying them in Bridgwater to sell them on estates.

'Moved the problem'

Although the sale and use of legal highs is within the law nationally, police have used new powers which came into force in the town, last October.

Research suggests new laws have slim impact on interest to visit the Centennial State, even act as slight tourist deterrent in Washington, Alaska and Oregon.

Mile-high expectations for the potential of  “weed tourism” may be overstated according to a new study by leading integrated travel marketing firm, MMGY Global. The report reveals that the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon is likely to have minimal impact overall on leisure travelers’ interest in visiting these states. In fact, it may even serve as a slight deterrent to visitation in the months ahead.

The national survey of 2,300 U.S. adults revealed the following:

‘Listen, I don’t want to do any of that cultural stuff,” my dad, John, said, as we planned our trip to Amsterdam, “I just want to get baked.”

I’ll admit I was concerned. My father has a ridiculously high tolerance for THC, following many dedicated decades, but last time I went to Amsterdam, I pulled my first-ever whitey and had to sit reading a burger menu for 45 minutes. But I want to do this trip: we haven’t been abroad together since I was 12, and cannabis helps with the symptoms of his MS. I won’t pretend that’s the only reason we’re going, however. My dad really, really likes to get high.

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Marijuana pioneer Uruguay said on Thursday it had granted licenses to two companies to grow the plant for commercial distribution, adding that the pot should go on sale in pharmacies next year.

The South American country was the world's first to legalize the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, aiming to wrest control of the trade from drug gangs while regulating and even taxing its consumption.

But the novelty of the endeavor has thrown up challenges preventing the government from meeting its own deadlines in implementing legislation passed nearly two years ago. The country originally planned to distribute licenses a year ago.

While the debate on the benefits of marijuana is still very strong in the US, some horticulturists have
actually started preaching the benefits of medical marijuana. Mary Jane’s Patch recently started
dispensing superior-quality marijuana.

Mary Jane’s Patch, a Denver based dispensary that exclusively deals in weed recently started dispensing both medical and recreational marijuana. It has been confirmed by Graham Kelly, the present owner and caretaker of the patch, that they have started dispensing both medical and recreational marijuana commercially. He said that the primary aim of the patch is to promote the benefits of marijuana.

On Thursday October 1, Oregon became the third state to make recreational marijuana legally available to those over the age of 21. The legalization occurred earlier than originally planned due to the complexity of the compromise involved in the legalization bill.

Oregon joins Washington and Colorado as the third state to legalize recreational marijuana, with Alaska and the District of Colombia to join the number soon. Oregon’s legislation has an interesting compromise, allowing cities where the majority of the residents oppose legalization to ban sales of marijuana all together.

Marijuana sales for recreational use began in Oregon on Thursday as it joined Washington state and Colorado in allowing the sale of a drug that remains illegal under U.S. federal law.

Oregon residents 21 years and older can buy up to a quarter-ounce (seven grams) of dried pot at roughly 200 existing medical-use marijuana dispensaries as a new law took effect.

Backers hope the law will help curb a flourishing black market, but opponents say it heightens drug use and access by children.

About 40 people lined up outside the medical pot dispensary Shango in a strip mall near Portland International Airport for the chance to buy recreational pot one minute after midnight, when the changes went into effect.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Discounts on pot, free food for folks with the munchies and live music will usher in a historic day for Oregon and for marijuana advocates across the country Thursday, as recreational sales of the drug that is still illegal under federal law begin in the state.

Oregon is one of four states that have legalized the sale of recreational marijuana. It will start with far more dispensaries than did Colorado or Washington state, where pot shops have been up and running for more than a year. Alaska could begin retail sales next year.

As cannabis prohibition laws crumble seemingly by the day, it’s allowing more research to be performed on this psychoactive substance that has long been a part of the human experience.

The first study to analyze the effects of cannabis on driving performance found that it caused almost no impairment. The impairment that it did cause was similar to that observed under the influence of a legal alcohol limit.

Researchers at the University of Iowa’s National Advanced Driving Simulator carried out the study, sponsored by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Institute of Drug Abuse, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy