Category: Law & Politics

(3,816 posts)

News and commentary on cannabis law and politics

September 10, 2014
09/10/2014
Oregon Health Authority Orders 9 Illegal Dispensaries to Shut Down

Oregon Health Authority Orders 9 Illegal Dispensaries to Shut Down

The Oregon Health Authority has ordered nine unlicensed medical marijuana dispensaries, six of them in Portland, to shut down since the state launched its dispensary program in...
September 10, 2014
09/10/2014
World Leaders Call for Regulatory Alternatives to Drug Prohibition

World Leaders Call for Regulatory Alternatives to Drug Prohibition

In a report released last night and in a New York City press conference this morning, a number of global leaders, including former heads of state, called...
September 10, 2014
09/10/2014
Massachusetts Marijuana Dispensaries Need Access to Banking System

Massachusetts Marijuana Dispensaries Need Access to Banking System

Nearly two years after Massachusetts voters approved medical marijuana, nine distribution centers are to open next year in places like Brookline, Lowell, Salem, and Quincy. The state licensing...
September 10, 2014
09/10/2014
HHS: Federal Law Allows Marijuana Purchases With Welfare

HHS: Federal Law Allows Marijuana Purchases With Welfare

The federal government maintains the authority to curb funding to states that allow welfare recipients to use their EBT cards in liquor stores, casinos and strip clubs,...
September 10, 2014
09/10/2014
Cancer Patient Avoids Prison for Growing Marijuana

Cancer Patient Avoids Prison for Growing Marijuana

A judge Tuesday gave probation rather than a prison sentence to a dying Iowa man convicted of growing marijuana and using it to treat his terminal cancer....
September 9, 2014
09/09/2014
Philadelphia: Mayor to Sign Marijuana Depenalization Measure

Philadelphia: Mayor to Sign Marijuana Depenalization Measure

City mayor Michael Nutter announced today that he will sign municipal legislation into law decriminalizing marijuana possession penalties. Under the measure, penalties pertaining to the possession of up to...
September 9, 2014
09/09/2014
First Medicinal Marijuana Farm Approved in Chilean Capital

First Medicinal Marijuana Farm Approved in Chilean Capital

The governor of Metropolitan Santiago, Claudio Orrego, announced on Monday the approval by Chilean authorities of the first farm in this capital to grow marijuana for medicinal...
September 9, 2014
09/09/2014
Another Maine City Puts Marijuana Initiative on Ballot

Another Maine City Puts Marijuana Initiative on Ballot

Earlier this week, the City Council of Lewiston, Maine voted unanimously to send an initiative that would make possession of marijuana legal for adults to the voters. Citizens for...
September 9, 2014
09/09/2014
Pennsylvania Moves Toward Medical Marijuana Legalization

Pennsylvania Moves Toward Medical Marijuana Legalization

As the Pennsylvania state Senate is set to reconvene on Sept. 15, a hotly contested national issue sits near the top of its agenda: medical marijuana. The...
September 9, 2014
09/09/2014
Hickenlooper’s “Lab Rat” Campaign a Blunder

Hickenlooper’s “Lab Rat” Campaign a Blunder

You can imagine how loud my eyes rolled when I read about Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper’s anti-teen-marijuana use campaign. Much like the ridiculous “this is your brain on...
September 8, 2014
09/08/2014
New Mexico Worker’s Comp Must Cover Medical Marijuana

New Mexico Worker’s Comp Must Cover Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana a doctor recommended for an injured worker’s pain must be paid for by the workers’ employer and insurer, the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled....
September 8, 2014
09/08/2014
Hawaii Medical Marijuana Task Force Releases Updated Report

Hawaii Medical Marijuana Task Force Releases Updated Report

The Hawaii Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force just released a newly updated report on the policies and procedures for access, distribution, security, and other relevant issues related...
September 8, 2014
09/08/2014
For-Profit Institutions Ineligible to Receive Medical Marijuana Research Grants

For-Profit Institutions Ineligible to Receive Medical Marijuana Research Grants

According to the Denver Post, for-profit companies will not be awarded funding for state-supported medical marijuana research, under the terms of the grant program released Wednesday. However, for-profit...
September 8, 2014
09/08/2014
GOP Senator Pat Roberts: Leave Marijuana Legalization Up to the States

GOP Senator Pat Roberts: Leave Marijuana Legalization Up to the States

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) said Saturday that states should be free to legalize marijuana. During a debate with independent rival Greg Orman, Roberts was asked for his...
September 8, 2014
09/08/2014
How to Get an Employee Badge at the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division

How to Get an Employee Badge at the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division

With so much interest from around the country about the legal cannabis shops and how to get in on the action, it’s not at all surprising that...
September 8, 2014
09/08/2014
UK Arthritis Patient Punished for Using Cannabis

UK Arthritis Patient Punished for Using Cannabis

55 year old Andrew Foster of Torquay openly admitted to production and possession of cannabis but claimed he was doing so purely for medicinal purposes. Foster suffers...
September 5, 2014
09/05/2014
Legal Pot, Murky Jobs: Marijuana Laws Put Workers in Tough Spot

Legal Pot, Murky Jobs: Marijuana Laws Put Workers in Tough Spot

Federal law still considers marijuana as a dangerous drug, so prosecutors could easily bring drug-trafficking charges against anyone whose salary is paid by taxes collected on legal...
September 5, 2014
09/05/2014
Survey: 58 Percent of Americans Say Treat Cannabis Like Alcohol

Survey: 58 Percent of Americans Say Treat Cannabis Like Alcohol

Nearly 60 percent of Americans support regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol, according to an analysis of over 450,000 online responses collected by the online polling data...
September 5, 2014
09/05/2014
Concern Over Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Research Grant Program

Concern Over Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Research Grant Program

According to a Denver Post story, Colorado is scheduled to begin administering significant funding for the largest ever state-supported medical marijuana research grant program starting in early 2015. It is anticipated...
September 5, 2014
09/05/2014
Uncle Sam Spends $715,000 on Marijuana App

Uncle Sam Spends $715,000 on Marijuana App

Courtesy of Uncle Sam, researchers are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to research and develop a useless smartphone app aimed at curbing marijuana addiction, a disease,...