{"id":14068,"date":"2017-11-13T20:11:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T20:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=14068"},"modified":"2018-02-12T19:00:40","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T19:00:40","slug":"top-10-anti-marijuana-legalization-policy-victories-of-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2017\/11\/top-10-anti-marijuana-legalization-policy-victories-of-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Anti-Marijuana Legalization Policy Victories Of 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

2015 will be remembered as the year legalization hit bumps most supporters never anticipated.<\/span><\/p>\n

For pro-health advocates that oppose marijuana legalization, it was a year of fantastic victories! Here are the top 10:<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Big Marijuana is Real \u2014 and People are Writing About It.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When we started talking about Big Marijuana in 2013, many people laughed. Could marijuana even be compared with Big Tobacco in any credible way? But now, that\u2019s ancient history. Several articles – even in legalization-friendly blogs\u00a0like this one<\/a>\u00a0– mention the term. And the term is not just rhetoric \u2014 the most senior federal legalization lobbyist in the country\u00a0resigned in protest<\/a>\u00a0because, in his words, \u201cindustry was taking over the legalization movement.\u201d Not only was that heroic of him, it was historic for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Continuing Positive Press Coverage of Groups Opposing Legalization.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

With the exception of some very pro-pot columnists, this year represented one in which our side was represented just a little bit better than in the past. A profile of\u00a0SAM was featured in the International Business Times<\/a>, and\u00a0other articles\u00a0<\/a>continued to broadcast our message to new audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the hiring of a new Communications Director in 2016, you can bet we won\u2019t let up on this next year.<\/span>
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\n8. Several States Resisted Full-Blown Legalization.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We entered 2014 after setbacks in Alaska and Oregon; but we stuck to winning messages and formed coalitions in a bloc of New England states that were all under attack in the early part of 2015. From Maine to Massachusetts to New Hampshire to Rhode Island, our partners and affiliates fought back \u2014- and not one state legalized via legislature as the legalizers had promised. We\u2019ll be taking this momentum into 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Lawyering Up.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Many of our friends made strong statements in court \u2014 \u201cColorado and other states cannot legalize in the face of federal law,\u201d they argue. Of course we know they are right, and we know that regardless of legal outcomes the statement they sent was loud and clear. (We\u2019re also happy that the Justice Department, in its opposition to the suit, solely argued against it on procedural grounds \u2014\u00a0they did not substantively come out in favor of legalization\u00a0<\/a>to the Solicitor General). The plaintiff\u2019s bar should take notice\u2014just like Big Tobacco became a big target for lawsuits, Big Marijuana and those who sell the drug will, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Marijuana Stores Banned in California, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Michigan, and Elsewhere.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite legalization in some states, we know that local ordinances are one of the key strategies to keeping marijuana out of communities. The majority of towns in most weed-friendly states have indeed banned stores altogether.\u00a0Even in Detroit, up to half of Detroit\u2019s roughly 150 medical marijuana dispensaries could close following a Detroit City Council vote to approve a restrictive zoning ordinance. We will keep pushing hard for more bans in 2016.<\/a><\/span>
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\n5. Legalizers Made No Gains in Congress This Year<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0For the past decade, it seemed that every year we lost a little more in Congress. Not in 2015. Despite the most aggressive lobbying effort yet by pro-marijuana folks, they made no progress on key provisions:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7 They wanted to give tax breaks to pot shops\u2014just like Big Tobacco lobbies to lower taxes on cigarettes.<\/span><\/p>\n