BESIDES choosing lawmakers, on November 4th voters in three American states and the District of Columbia considered measures to liberalise the cannabis trade. Alaska and Oregon, where it is legal to provide “medical marijuana” to registered patients, voted to go further and let the drug be sold and taken for recreational purposes, as Colorado and Washington state already allow. In DC, a measure to legalise the possession of small amounts for personal use was passed. A majority of voters in Florida opted to join the lengthening list of places where people can seek a doctor’s note that lets them take the drug. However, the measure fell just short of the 60% needed to change the state constitution. Even so, that such a big state in the conservative South came so close to liberalising shows how America’s attitude to criminalising pot has changed.

After this week’s votes only 27 states outlaw all sale or possession of marijuana. In the rest, a thriving “canna-business” is emerging: trade in the drug is escaping the grasp of organised crime and becoming normal, just as alcohol did after the end of Prohibition. But even as moves to legalise and regularise the business continue at state level, the federal government and Congress remain dead set against the drug. A panoply of federal laws to curb the marijuana trade remain in place; and in recent months the Drug Enforcement Administration has raided cannabis dispensaries in California that are operating under state licences.

The cannabis industry is now in a legal no-man’s-land. In some states the distinction between medical and recreational use is hazy: just fake a back problem and you can join the ranks of licensed pot-heads. Entrepreneurs are creating a range of products that is, literally, mind-blowing: not just smokes, but cannabis cakes, chocolates and massage oils. Yet even where state governments allow people to partake of the weed for pleasure, growers and sellers face the constant threat of seizure or arrest by the Feds. National laws make it hard for them to open bank accounts or get credit, and thus to rent premises or invest in production. They cannot sell across state lines.

This makes it harder for the business to distance itself from the criminal underworld, which is one of the main purposes of legalisation. It also has safety implications. Smaller states will struggle to monitor quality standards and set safe doses for the huge variety of marijuana products coming to market. The federal Food and Drug Administration—the world’s foremost regulator of drug safety—refuses to inspect the cottage industry for fear of legitimising it.(Economist)

翻译:

除了选择国会议员，11月4日美国三大洲以及哥伦比亚地区的选民们考虑开放大麻自由贸易。在阿拉斯加和俄勒冈对已注册病人提供“医用大麻”是合法的，他们希望像科罗拉多和华盛顿已经实行的一样，可以通过投票进一步的允许买卖以及娱乐用途。在华盛顿，把私人拥有少量大麻作为权衡合法化的标准提议已经被通过。弗罗里达的大多数选民们希望越来越多的地方可以遵医嘱使用医用大麻。然而，这种方法还是没有成功，毕竟需要60%选民的赞成来改变宪法。即便如此，在保守的南方如此一个大洲差一点就通过议案，显示了美国对毒品罪的定义已经发生了改变。

经过一个星期的选举，仅仅有27个洲禁止出售或拥有大麻。在剩下的洲，“大麻事业”蒸蒸日上：正如酒精被解禁后一样，毒品交易从有组织的犯罪变为正常现象。但是尽管州级政府循规蹈矩的进行大麻交易，但联邦政府和国会仍然坚决反对毒品。完善的联邦法律时刻准备着遏制大麻交易。最近几个月美国禁毒局搜查了加利福利亚在政府许可下经营的大麻药房。

大麻产业正处于合法和非法的灰色地带。在一些洲，医用和娱乐用处界限模糊不清，只要声称背痛就可以当合法的“瘾君子”。企业家们正生产一系列产品，美其名曰：让人兴奋：不仅仅是大麻烟，还有大麻蛋糕，巧克力和大麻按摩油。然而即使在那些政府允许人们享用大麻的地方，种植者和售卖者仍要面对联邦政府一系列的威胁或逮捕危险。联邦法律让他们很难在银行开户或贷款来租用场地或进行投资生产。他们也不能跨界销售。

这让大麻商业更难从地下黑市脱离出来，这也是使之合法化的主要原因之一。同样还有安全剂量监控。较小的洲应该加强对质量标准的监控，并且对大量涌入市场的各式各样的大麻产品设置安全剂量标准。联邦食品和药物管理局—是世界上最具权威的药品安全监督机构，拒绝检查这种家庭式产业，以防其合法化。