REPOST: Colorado lawmakers working to close loopholes in legal marijuana law

This article from FoxNews.com talks about the efforts of Colorado lawmakers in resolving the issues surrounding the legalization of marijuana consumption in the State.

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Months after the launch of legalized retail marijuana in Colorado, the state is still trying to better regulate the drug and close the loopholes. 

Gov. John Hickenlooper, as part of that effort, just signed a new law calling for uniform packaging of edible marijuana. In an effort to make those products less attractive or accessible to kids, they will have to be sold in opaque, childproof packaging. 

State Rep. Daniel Kagan, who co-sponsored the legislative fixes, explained: "We identified these problems and we sought to tighten it up, to make sure that marijuana is really kept for adult use and kept away from under-aged persons and especially from toddlers." 

Kagan added, "We do it differently in Colorado. Everybody came together on this."

Children's Hospital, based in Aurora, has weighed in on the legislative efforts -- reporting an increase in emergency room visits and patient admissions from accidental exposure.  

Dr. Sam Wang, pediatric emergency physician, said symptoms range from basic sleepiness to more severe cases, where children have not been able to breathe properly and required breathing tubes. "As recreational marijuana goes forward, it's obviously going to increase availability and potentially increase unintentional exposures as well," Wang said. 

Other fixes signed by the governor on Monday include giving authority to pot shops to confiscate forms of identification, if they have reason to believe someone underaged is using a fake ID.  Another measure calls for local jurisdictions to submit fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the purpose of conducting fingerprint-based criminal record checks on people working in marijuana businesses.

State Sen. Linda Newell, a Democratic co-sponsor, acknowledged their work is not done. "We will probably find these clean-up bills as we go through the years after marijuana, both medical marijuana as well as recreational marijuana, has become a norm in Colorado," she said. 

The issue of stoned drivers is another trouble spot for state lawmakers. At a laboratory certified to test blood samples for marijuana, the director told Fox News there is not a roadside test, such as a breathalyzer, in the foreseeable future for determining if a driver is under the influence of cannabis. 

"One person may have a very high THC concentration in their blood, particularly medical marijuana users, and they're not affected. Where someone who has never smoked marijuana before, will have a much lower concentration and be very affected," said Dr. Robert Lantz, of Rocky Mountain Instrumental Laboratories.

According to state Marijuana Enforcement Division Public Information Officer Julie Postlethwait, Colorado has issued licenses to hundreds of vendors, including:

-- 183 retail stores

-- 238 retail cultivation facilities

-- 44 product manufacturers (i.e., edibles)

-- 4 testing facilities (for product potency and contaminants)

Dozens more are pending with the state in these categories. For those with state licenses in hand, they may not be open yet because they have to obtain paperwork at the local level, too.

Local permission can be thorny because Amendment 64, the state constitutional amendment which legalized recreational pot, left it up to municipalities in the Centennial State to decide whether to allow marijuana businesses within their borders.  

Dale Dyke and Chastity Osborn, a husband-and-wife team who converted their home into a bed and breakfast, complained that the "laws are very gray." Their business Get High Getaways was catering to marijuana tourists until the City of Lakewood ordered them to shut down the overnight stays. One complication is that while Colorado legalized recreational pot, the state left it illegal to use the drug outside in public or in traditional hotel rooms. For now, the couple is maintaining their location as a car service while working with investors to purchase a new location.

Recently, a marijuana job fair in Denver drew thousands of people with lines stretching a few blocks long. It has been referred to in local media reports as a "green rush."  

Visitors told Fox News they're moving to the state in hopes of finding jobs in the marijuana business. Shane Wylie and Matthew Bean are among them. They drove 1,300 miles from Louisiana, just in time for the fair.  

"This is our life-changing experience, this is our big step and career change," Wylie explained. Bean added, "I want to start from the bottom, so I can learn everything."

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This Evan Granowitz blog site contains news and updates in and out of the legal arena.

REPOST: Pitt, Duquesne Law schools rise in U.S. News rankings

U.S. News and World Report released its latest list of the best law school across America, with University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University moving up the list, as compared to last year's rankings. Read more from this article:

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Both the University of Pittsburgh Law School and Duquesne University School of Law moved up significantly in the annual ranking by U.S. News and World Report, released Tuesday.

Pitt, which dropped in last year's ranking from 69th to 91st, moved up 10 spots in the latest survey to No. 81, tied with nine other law schools.

Duquesne, which made the list last year for the first time in a decade, coming in at No. 144, moved up to No. 121 on this year's list, in a five-way tie.

The dean of Duquesne’s law school said the university’s improved ranking is likely due, at least in part, to its consistency in a time when many law schools are struggling to maintain class sizes.

“We made a conscious decision, with the strong support of the university, that we weren't going to sacrifice our high standards just to fill seats,” said Ken Gormley. “That has financial ramifications, but we stuck to our guns and decided to stay focused on our mission of developing educated, ethical lawyers.”

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The report, which uses criteria including students' acceptance rates, job placement rates and law school admission test scores, examined 194 accredited schools.

U.S. News and World Report doesn't immediately provide all the data behind a school’s ranking, noted Pitt Law School Dean William Carter, so it’s hard to be certain about why any given school fared the way it did.

But, he said, the jump in Pitt's ranking probably can be attributed to its increased job placement success and the fact that the school held its median scores steady on the law school admission test, or LSAT.

Yale University topped the list for the second year in a row, followed by Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Chicago.

As for how significant the rankings are for students choosing a law school, Mr. Gormley said most prospective students are aware of the U.S. News numbers. “But I think in most cases, they are sophisticated enough to figure out much of this is a PR tool,” he said. “Most professional schools’ reputations, unless you’re Harvard or Yale, are regional. But [the rankings] do contribute to developing an image both regionally and nationally.”

Mr. Carter said while he was “gratified” that Pitt had risen in the standings, it would not have an impact on what the school is already doing. “I remain resolute in my view that U.S. News rankings should never be treated as the single metric by which applicants evaluate a law school,” he said.

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For more industry-related news about law, visit this Evan Granowitz blog site.