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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) —
Eager night owls looking to score some of the first recreational pot in Oregon bought up baggies of bud at shops that opened early Thursday, some taking advantage of door-buster deals.
Some of the more than 250 dispensaries that already offer medical marijuana welcomed lines of enthusiasts soon after midnight — just moments after it became legal to sell to anyone who is at least 21. There were no reports of problems from early sales, although most stores planned to open at a more reasonable hour.
At Portland's Shango Premium Cannabis, co-founder Shane McKee said the first sale to an excited customer came about a minute after midnight, with many others waiting. He called the moment significant.
"I think it's not only historical for folks in Oregon but nationwide — anytime people start selling that as an alternative to alcohol or tobacco," he said in a telephone interview shortly after midnight.
The first buyer at McKee's store, Davia Fleming of Portland, said the atmosphere was upbeat for the launch of the new industry.
"It's the end of a prohibition," said Fleming, who uses the drug for medicinal purposes.
The store offered its first 25 customers a 35 to 40 percent discount and was handing out soda, coffee, juice and other refreshments, McKee said. Many stores in Oregon were trying to lure customers with extended hours, food giveaways and discounted marijuana.
Shoppers have one more incentive to buy early and often: Under Oregon law, pot purchases will be tax-free until January — a savings of up to 20 percent.
Store owners say they are hopeful they can avoid the shortages and price spikes that followed the start of legal sales last year in Washington and Colorado, the only other states where the drug can now be sold for recreational use. Alaska could begin retail sales next year.
One store offered a goody bag with T-shirts, but no free marijuana. Another will have a live band and 10 percent discounts. The marijuana review site Leafly will set up with food trucks at a handful of stores, giving away free meals to anyone who promotes the service on social media.
Several stores have erected billboards in Portland. A shop in Merlin is advertising on the radio.
"I'm just trying to basically stock up for maybe four or five times what the normal volume would be," said Chris Byers, owner of River City Dispensary in the southern Oregon town of Merlin.
Customers can buy as much as 7 grams at a time of dried marijuana flower and leaf — the part that's generally smoked — plus plants and seeds. For the next year or so, pot-infused candy, cookies, oils and lotions will be available only to people with medical marijuana cards as the state works on retail regulations for those products.
Oregon has a robust supply system that has supported medical marijuana users and the black market. Companies have invested in massive warehouses in Portland to grow the drug indoors, and southern Oregon has some of the nation's best conditions for outdoor cultivation.
Growers don't face strict regulations yet, so the supply can more easily flow into retail stores than it did in Washington and Colorado.
Still, there is concern. Summer has historically been a time of marijuana shortages in Oregon, and most of the outdoor crop is not ready to harvest. Indoor growers have had minimal time to ramp up production, because lawmakers only approved the Oct. 1 start date three months ago.
"We have kind of a seasonal growing market here in Oregon," said Jeremy Pratt, owner of Nectar Cannabis, which has four stores in Portland. "We have lots of product in the fall, and then it kind of gets tight this time of year anyway."
Green Oasis, which has two locations in Portland and more on the way, has prepared by trying to cultivate strong relationships with growers.
It will entice customers Thursday evening with an outdoor band and offer a 10 percent discount to those who spend at least $40, co-owner Matthew Schwimmer said.
"We don't know of anyone else doing a band, and we thought it was a good idea to give back to the community," Schwimmer said.
NEW YORK (AP) —
Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is planning a major push to organize Latino voters ahead of the Nevada caucuses and early primary contests in Texas, Florida and Colorado, all with an eye toward connecting with Hispanics in the 2016 election.
The Democratic presidential candidate will be in South Florida on Friday and will hold campaign events this month focused on Hispanic voters in San Antonio and Las Vegas. Her campaign will use the first Democratic presidential debate, Oct. 13 in Las Vegas, and a GOP debate Oct. 28 in Boulder, Colorado, to organize house parties geared at garnering support among Hispanics.
Clinton's pitch, called Latinos for Hillary, will also extend to Hispanic lawmakers and elected officials, and will include an address next week to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's annual meeting in Washington.
"She's shown a deep commitment to the issues that Hispanics care about over a long period of time. This isn't somebody who showed up, decided to run for president and then a lightbulb came on and she decided to reach out to the Hispanic community," said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, who will campaign for Clinton in Nevada following the Oct. 13 debate in Las Vegas.
Clinton, who will sit with Telemundo for an interview Friday in Miami, fared well among Latino voters during her unsuccessful primary campaign against Barack Obama in 2008. Hispanic voters gave Obama a significant edge against Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 elections.
This time, Latinos are poised to play a more prominent role in the primaries as well, beginning in Nevada, which follows Iowa and New Hampshire on the calendar. After that, Hispanics are expected to be a key constituency in March contests in Texas, Virginia, Colorado and Florida.
The so-called Super Tuesday states and other contests in March could play a more prominent role in a competitive primary against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and, potentially, Vice President Joe Biden. Sanders has erased Clinton's early advantage in Iowa and New Hampshire, setting the stage for a drawn-out primary.
Clinton unveiled her immigration policy during a May campaign stop in Las Vegas, where she told high school students that any immigration legislation must include a path to "full and equal citizenship." She has defended Obama's use of executive actions to shield millions of immigrants from deportation and said she would go further if Congress fails to act.
The campaign views immigration as a major policy contrast against the Republican field, which has been marked by businessman Donald Trump's summertime characterization of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers and by candidates using the term "anchor babies." The reference to children who gain citizenship when born in the United States to noncitizen parents is considered an insult by many Latinos.
That message has been amplified in social media. Clinton's team noted footage of her response to Trump's comments during a speech to the National Council of La Raza — Clinton said, "basta," or "enough" in Spanish — became the campaign's most popular video, with nearly 8.5 million views.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., a Clinton supporter, said the immigration discussion among the Republican candidates has helped Clinton with Hispanic voters. "There's no question there's a clear line, night and day, between Hillary Clinton and all of the other candidates," he said.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) —
Attorneys for a convicted serial killer in Virginia are pushing to spare his life as the 49-year-old's scheduled execution draws near.
The state had been planning to execute Alfredo Prieto at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Greensville Correctional Center, but it was unclear whether that will take place.
The El Salvador native was on death row in California for raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl when DNA evidence linked him to the rape and murder of Rachael Raver and the slaying of her boyfriend, Warren Fulton III. Authorities have linked Prieto to several other killings in California and Virginia but he was never prosecuted because he had already been sentenced to death.
A federal judge in Alexandria approved an order Wednesday temporarily blocking Prieto's execution, and called for a hearing after his attorneys raised concerns about one of the lethal injection drugs that the state intends to use.
The case was transferred to a new judge in Richmond — U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson —and a hearing was set for 1 p.m. Thursday.
Prieto's attorneys asked the court to delay the execution until Virginia officials disclose more information about the supply of pentobarbital they received from Texas, saying they're concerned about the quality of the drugs and whether they would bring Prieto "gratuitous and unnecessary pain."
Virginia obtained pentobarbital from Texas to replace its supply of another sedative, midazolam, which expired Wednesday.
Prieto's lawyers want to know the name of the supplier, tests confirming its sterility and potency and documents showing that the drugs were properly handled. Texas allows prison officials to shield where they get execution drugs and Virginia officials have not provided that information.
Attorney General Mark Herring's office urged the judge to dismiss Prieto's case, noting that Texas has used the same drugs without any problems in 24 executions over the past two years. They said that further delaying Prieto's execution and allowing him to "fully indulge his speculations" could prolong the case past the drug's expiration date.
"Granting injunctive relief in these proceedings, then, may very well negate the Commonwealth's ability to execute this serial murderer-rapist," Herring's office said.
The U.S. Supreme Court is also weighing Prieto's last-minute attempts to block the execution on the grounds that he's intellectually disabled.
Prieto's attorneys urged the high court Tuesday to delay his execution so he can continue to fight his death sentence in California, saying he would likely be deemed a person with an intellectual disability if granted the opportunity to pursue his appeal.
"There is a substantial likelihood that he's intellectually disabled but he's never had a fair and reliable hearing to prove it," wrote Hilary Potashner, a federal public defender based in Los Angeles. "Without a stay, it is likely that the Commonwealth of Virginia will execute an intellectually disabled man."