By Susan Squibb, The Cannabist Staff

Activism runs deep in my soul. I moved to Colorado 20 years ago, an idealistic college student searching for community. I found a meaningful opportunity to make a difference as a cannabis advocate when I first built a hemp food company as a 20-something entrepreneur and publicly advocated for marijuana and hemp law reform.

The state’s progression from voter-approved medical marijuana in 2000 to voter-approved recreational marijuana a decade later happened in large part because of concerted efforts from dedicated citizens working together, and it has been gratifying to take part. The yearly gatherings around 4/20 and their history as events of civil disobedience always make me think of my early involvement in cannabis advocacy.

Related: Here’s how Jeff Sessions has disrupted marijuana legalization with words alone

Over the past 20 years, I have worked as a volunteer and had an occasional gig as a paid canvasser on five political campaigns that changed cannabis laws in Colorado. In 2006, my advocacy led me to participate in a raucous protest on the steps of the state Capitol that I will never forget.

But before I get too far, a little background on the campaigns.

For years, politicians didn’t take marijuana reform seriously. Marijuana was the butt of contemptuous jokes and policy reform was swept aside for lack of political persuasion and motivation. Few representatives would listen, let alone publicly support changing laws prohibiting cannabis. The norm was to be tough on drugs. The political climate was frustrating to me, to say the least. Although public opinion was changing, politicians were not willing to stand with the people without an incentive to listen.

Fortunately, the democratic process in Colorado forced their hand.

Voters approved Amendment 20, allowing medical marijuana in 2000. The ballot initiative campaign to amend the state constitution had a shoestring budget and a staff of one paid employee and a dozen or so volunteers, most whom were medical patients. It  felt like a do-it-yourself campaign. With a partner, I screen-printed a small run of campaign yard signs revamping Colorado’s green mountain license plate with references to Amendment 20 and 4:20. The license plates read: “Vote 4 20” and “For 20.”

Susan Squibb stands near the Denver Capitol in January 2010 with a sign she had made 10 years earlier in support of Amendment 20, a state ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana. (Photo by Todd Razor Arroyo, courtesy of Susan Squibb)

But our work had just begun.

In 2005, local campaign efforts were organized by Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, a pilot program of the national advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project. SAFER spread the message that “marijuana is safer than alcohol” and spearheaded local and state ballot initiatives.

That year Denver voters approved Initiated Question 100, which called for city ordinances to be amended to remove all criminal penalties for possession of up to one ounce by adults 21 and older.

In 2006, the statewide Amendment 44, which mirrored the language of the Denver initiative, was rejected by voters.

Then, a marijuana-related 2007 Denver ballot measure also called Initiated Question 100 passed, which led to the creation of a Denver ordinance designating adult marijuana possession as the city’s lowest law enforcement priority.

In 2012, one of the state’s most well-known ballot initiative campaigns, led by a coalition of policy and nonprofit groups, was history-making Amendment 64, which opened the door for a regulated cannabis sales for adults 21 and over and legalized limited possession and home cultivation.

In 2011, Susan Squibb visited the offices of Colorado lawmakers at the state Capitol to distribute a book titled “Marijuana Is Safer” as part of the Women’s Marijuana Movement press conference. (Courtesy of Susan Squibb)

Throughout the campaigns, I collected petition signatures at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, street festivals and Red Rocks tail-gate parties. I distributed my yard signs throughout mountain towns, Denver and other Front Range cities. I passed out flyers everywhere I went. I waved campaign signs and banners on busy street intersections and highways during morning and afternoon rush hours. While spending time spreading the word via phone, I talked to voters and left many persuasive answering machine messages. As a canvasser, I knocked on doors in Denver and Boulder neighborhoods, to speak with voters and hand out literature.

Amid all these enlightening experiences, one of the most memorable was a counter-protest to a 2006 news conference during the Amendment 44 campaign.

A week before the election, then-Gov. Bill Owens held a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol, with a lineup of state and local attorneys and law enforcement officials. They were encouraging a “no” vote on Amendment 44 and had prepared statements on the harms and dangers of marijuana to children and society. SAFER organized a counter-protest to disrupt the event, but no one predicted what was to come.

At the beginning of the conference, one heckler set the tone by yelling at the officials, “Start lying now!” We were a small but vocal group of 30 volunteers — we outnumbered the officials and press at least two to one — interrupting the presser, shouting down the officials as they made their remarks.

In his introduction, Gov. Owens criticized the protesters for their slow response time to his prohibitionist comments. Then Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener was jeered at and then booed during his speech. Several more speakers faced the hostile crowd and were peppered with boos. By the time state Attorney General John Suthers (now mayor of Colorado Springs) took the microphone, the crowd was chanting a boisterous call-and-response — “Hey, hey, ho, ho / You say drink, we say no!” — as Suthers recited his lengthy statement.

I was shouting between spells of silent shock. The protest chants reached a heightened pitch. Shouting over us into the microphone, Owens declared it a sad day in Colorado and then framed the press conference as a legitimate political debate shut down by rude protesters.

The counter-protest was outrageous and the media coverage was successfully shifted to the protest instead of the prohibitionist message.

My years of political advocacy have instilled in me a sense of patriotism and voter power. I am proud that my efforts and the combined work of many dedicated people led to democratic change involving the state’s marijuana laws.

We the people can do this — just ask all of those who never thought they’d see legalization in their lifetime. This is the beginning of what can be substantial and significant policy changes. And with only eight recreational states out of 50 and new uncertainty about how federal marijuana prohibition will be enforced under the Trump administration, we have a long way to go.

2012 protest: Susan Squibb and Dennis L. Blewitt, a.k.a. “Dr. Gonzo,” went to their alma mater, the University of Colorado at Boulder on April 20, 2012. Squibb holds a bag of Blewitt’s legal “gonzo joints,” — handrolled weed-free cigarettes. This was during the years that CU officials closed the campus’ Norlin Quad on 4/20 in efforts to quash what had become an annual gathering of marijuana enthusiasts. (Courtesy of Susan Squibb)

By Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post

A fascinating study in Health Affairs last year by a father-daughter pair of public policy researchers found that Medicare prescriptions for things like painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications dropped sharply in states that introduced a medical marijuana program.

The implication? Offered the choice between taking medication prescribed by a doctor and self-medicating with pot, many older patients opted for the latter.

But the study left one big question unanswered: Since the study’s authors – the University of Georgia’s Ashley Bradford and W. David Bradford – only looked at Medicare data, they couldn’t say for sure whether the findings held for younger patients too.

Now, we’re getting more answers. This week, the Bradfords are back with a new study applying the same analysis to prescriptions under Medicaid, which covers low-income people of all ages. The results largely validate their previous work: Medicaid prescriptions for certain drugs fell significantly in states that adopted a medical marijuana law.

Specifically, anti-nausea drug prescriptions fell by 17 percent. Anti-depressant prescriptions fell 13 percent, while prescriptions for seizure and psychosis drugs fell 12 percent.

Not everyone who has access to medical marijuana opts for it, obviously. But enough do to make a significant dent in the prescription numbers. “Patients and physicians in the community are reacting to the availability of medical marijuana as if it were medicine,” the Bradfords conclude.

Perhaps most significantly from a public health standpoint, prescriptions for painkillers fell by 11 percent. Opiate painkillers are behind much of the current drug overdose epidemic.

Numerous studies have found that opiate abuse and overdose rates fell in states with medical marijuana laws. The Bradfords’ research describes the mechanism by which that could happen: the introduction of medical marijuana laws coincides with a drop in painkiller prescriptions.

The Bradfords’ data only include prescriptions made under Medicare and Medicaid, but given the totality of their evidence it seems reasonable to assume that similar patterns hold true for patients on private insurance plans.

In the current budgetary environment, no analysis of healthcare is complete without a discussion of costs. The Bradfords estimate that because of the drops in prescribing rates, a nationwide medical marijuana program would save taxpayers about $1.1 billion on Medicaid prescriptions annually. That’s on top of the the half a billion in Medicare savings the Bradfords estimated last year.

Those costs don’t evaporate into thin air, of course: they would simply be shifted over to seniors and low-income people who would be purchasing medical marijuana outside of their insurance programs.

There’s also the open question of how smart it is from a personal health perspective to be self-medicating with pot: “it is plausible that forgoing medications with known safety, efficacy, and dosing profiles in favor of marijuana could be harmful under some circumstances,” the Bradfords warn.

Still, the Bradfords’ research makes the gulf between our current medical understanding of marijuana and federal policy around it even wider. Last summer the DEA affirmed yet again marijuana’s status in Schedule 1 of the controlled substances act, a category reserved for the most dangerous, addictive drugs that have no medical applications.

“This decision was made despite the substantial and growing evidence that the requirements for Schedule I status involving ‘no currently accepted medical uses’ are no longer met by marijuana,” the Bradfords write.

By Ben Nuckols, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The conflict between federal and local laws on marijuana played out in the shadow of the Capitol on Thursday, when seven pro-pot activists were arrested for doing something that’s been legal in Washington for the past two years — handing out free joints.

U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that they invoked federal law in making the arrests. Two women and one man were charged with possession with intent to distribute pot, while four women were charged with simple possession, after officers observed them “distributing marijuana in public view to passers-by,” the statement said.

The arrests occurred on the day known as 4/20, considered a national holiday by pot enthusiasts who held public smoke-outs around the United States.

Organizers with @DCMJ2014 call arrests of @aeidinger & 6 others by US Capitol Police “politically motivated to suppress free speech” pic.twitter.com/cfxZ5Kljmn

— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) April 20, 2017

Possession of up to 2 ounces of pot for recreational use is legal in the nation’s capital under a referendum approved by two-thirds of city voters in 2014. Congress did not block the referendum from taking effect, but it did bar the city from taxing or regulating the drug or allowing it to be sold legally. Giving pot away, however, is legal.

Scenes from @DCMJ2014 #joint session 4/20 pot giveaway at Constitution Ave and 1st. NE @aeidinger @RachelRamone pic.twitter.com/PaYXywJc5C

— Tom Williams (@pennstatetom) April 20, 2017

Thursday’s demonstration was held on city land rather than federal land in an attempt to comply with that law. Pot is also legal in eight states, and the point of the giveaway was to call on federal authorities to respect local pot laws.

One of the organizers, Nikolas Schiller, told The Associated Press that police “decided to play politics” with the demonstration and that the people arrested committed no crimes.

“We’ll see them in court,” Schiller said.

Schiller said no individual was in possession of more than 1 ounce of pot. He said participants gave away about 100 joints to people with Congressional ID badges who were over 21 years old before police confiscated the rest of their pot. Demonstrators had planned to give away more than 1,000 joints.

Police just arrested @jcock415!!#JointSession45 Word is the chief of the US Capitol Police is ordering the arrests! #Lame #SeeYouInCourt pic.twitter.com/SpDXoo8kN9

— DCMJ (@DCMJ2014) April 20, 2017

A follow-up demonstration is scheduled for Monday afternoon on the lawn of the Capitol, in which activists plan to risk arrest by smoking pot in public, which remains illegal on both city and federal land. Schiller said he believed Thursday’s arrests were intended as a pre-emptive strike against that action.

Among those arrested was Adam Eidinger, a well-known activist who along with Schiller founded the group that put legal pot on the ballot in the city.

Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.

By Alex Pasquariello, The Cannabist Staff

As cannabis enthusiasts celebrate 4/20 across the country, the long shadow of the Trump Administration isn’t just a major buzz kill — it has also has sent chills across a blossoming cannabis industry and the wider decriminalization and legalization movement.

The administration has yet to crack down on enforcement of federal drug laws in its first 92 days, and as the 420 holiday weekend rambles on, the president has remained silent on the issue. Instead, he has allowed new Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ tough talk and often poorly researched statements on marijuana to cast a pall over states in which voters have approved legal medical and recreational legalization.

A review of marijuana-related legislative news in the opening months of the Trump presidency shows that the administration’s threatening language has driven lawmakers to respond with moves to either fortify or abandon marijuana legalization, decriminalization and medical research efforts.

In Congress, Colorado Democratic Rep. Jared Polis has established himself as a one of pot’s primary protectors in his leadership role on the newly formed Cannabis Caucus. The bipartisan coalition is finding its backbone in the Trump era, he told The Cannabist in an exclusive interview.

“I think there’s consensus that at least we shouldn’t have any mass enforcement action against the states,” he said. “If Jeff Sessions attempts that, I hope he’ll have to contend with many of us–certainly myself–but I think enough Republicans and Democrats will say, ‘Look, you need to stick to federal responsibilities. This is a states’ role.’”

Other national leaders moving to protect and preserve existing state-based programs include Oregon Democrats Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer. The Cannabist reported last month on the duo’s “Path to Marijuana Reform,” a bipartisan package of three related bills that address issues such as taxation, banking, civil forfeiture, descheduling, decriminalization, research, individual protections and regulation. Included in the package is the reintroduction of legislation from Polis to regulate marijuana like alcohol.

Congressional leaders are also working to add amendments to must-pass spending legislation that would prevent the Justice Department from meddling in medical marijuana states. The Cannabist reported this month that a bipartisan collection of 44 U.S. House members signed on to an open letter by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California, requesting that no funds are made available to the Justice Department to enforce federal prohibitions involving the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes that are permitted by state law.

Governors in states where voters have approved laws allowing recreation marijuana sales are also stepping up their game. The Cannabist reported this month that Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska; Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado; Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon; and Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington penned an open letter asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to “engage with us before embarking on any changes to regulatory and enforcement systems.”

California is moving to implement voter-approved legalization and protect the state’s industry and consumers from federal intrusion.

On Wednesday, Bay Area News Group reported that a California legislative committee cleared a first-of-its-kind proposal that would prevent state and local police from helping federal agents crack down on marijuana activity that the state has deemed to be legal.

“AB 1578 is intended to prevent federal government overreach in the Trump era,” Lynne Lyman of the Drug Policy Alliance, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee. “While we cannot fully control what the Trump administration does, we can prevent the misuse of California’s public dollars and resources for (U.S. Attorney General) Jeff Sessions’ misguided war on marijuana.”

The move comes after Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, leader of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department, told The Associated Press that he expects federal drug agents will attempt to step up marijuana enforcement as California moves forward with legalization.

It’s likely there will be federal raids targeting the marijuana industry in California, he told The AP. “To be able to set the tone, they may do that.”

State lawmakers in Oregon overwhelmingly approved a proposal to protect pot buyers from the feds, The AP reported earlier this month. The bipartisan proposal would shields consumers by abolishing a common business practice in the state where marijuana shops often keep a digital paper trail of their recreational pot customers’ names, birthdates, addresses and other personal information.

While Colorado continues to lead the way in cannabis legalization, the state has pumped the brakes on several pieces of legislation.

Earlier this month, The AP reported that lawmakers had backed off plans to become the first U.S. state to regulate marijuana clubs, saying approval of pot clubs could invite a federal crackdown.

“I’d like to see (a club bill) that goes much further, and that does a lot more, but in a year with Jeff Sessions, a small first step is better than no step at all,” Democratic Rep. Jonathan Singer said.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper expressed alarm at a bill that would allow medical marijuana deliveries in Colorado, The Denver Post reported.

“Given the uncertainty in Washington, this is not the time to be … trying to carve off new turf and expand markets and make dramatic statements about marijuana,” he told the Post. “The federal government can yield a pretty heavy hand on this and I think we should be doing everything we can to demonstrate … we are being responsible in how we implement the will of our voters.”

Lawmakers in other statehouses across the country have abandoned or shelved marijuana legislation under the threat of increased federal enforcement.

Alaska voters legalized recreational cannabis in 2014, but the state’s marijuana control board isn’t fully onboard, The AP reported. In February, they decided not to allow it marijuana consumers to use the pot that they buy at retail stores selling it.

Board member Mark Springer, among those who voted to reject the measure, told The AP that he was worried how the Trump administration might view Marijuana use at the state’s retail stores.

Last November, 71 percent of Florida voters approved Amendment 2 to change the state’s constitution to allow more people to use higher-strength medical marijuana. However, last month The AP reported that a bill to implement the amendment given subcommittee approval largely leaves in place the previous regulatory structure.

The Sun Sentinel quoted the bill sponsor, state Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, who said he wrote the bill keeping in mind the current federal climate: “If there’s a robust regulatory scheme, the federal government will not put their resources into enforcing federal law.”

If pro-marijuana legislation efforts have been stymied in states where voters have already approved legalization, decriminalization and even some medical marijuana laws are dead on arrival in states where it hasn’t been legalized.

In Utah, lawmakers in January shelved work on five separate medical marijuana proposals shortly after President Trump’s inauguration, The AP reported. Republican lawmakers said at a news conference that they want to see where the new administration stands with medical marijuana before they make any decisions about legalizing it.

Then in March, Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a bill nullifying Memphis and Nashville laws that would have reduced the penalty for marijuana possession, The AP reported. The move was intended to fall in line with proposals by the Trump administration to step up enforcement of federal law against recreational marijuana.

“If we’re going to have a criminal law, it ought to be enforced uniformly throughout the state,” said Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston. “No exceptions.”

Cannabist staff member Polly Washburn contributed research to this report