Category: Law & Politics

(3,816 posts)

News and commentary on cannabis law and politics

July 14, 2014
07/14/2014
Florida Men Facing Life in Prison for Colorado Pot Products

Florida Men Facing Life in Prison for Colorado Pot Products

A couple of Florida men busted in Oklahoma City recently for transporting a substantial amount of hash and various other legal cannabis products purchased in Colorado are...
July 14, 2014
07/14/2014
The Smell of Marijuana is No Longer Justification for Searches in Massachusetts

The Smell of Marijuana is No Longer Justification for Searches in Massachusetts

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled Wednesday that police officers cannot search vehicles based solely upon the smell of unburnt marijuana, Boston.com reports. The court had...
July 14, 2014
07/14/2014
DEA May Be Losing the War On Marijuana Politics

DEA May Be Losing the War On Marijuana Politics

The LA Times reports how the Drug Enforcement Administration is under attack in Congress as it holds its ground against pot legalization, even in the face of public...
July 14, 2014
07/14/2014
Rumination on “The Great Experiment”

Rumination on “The Great Experiment”

The media has been calling Washington and Colorado’s legal weed market the “Great Experiment.” If you’ve been smoking weed for a while, like me, you may roll...
July 11, 2014
07/11/2014
Arizona Approves Medical Marijuana as a Treatment for PTSD

Arizona Approves Medical Marijuana as a Treatment for PTSD

Will Humble, the top health official in Arizona, has authorized the use of medical marijuana in cases of PTSD on the orders of a state judge, reports...
July 11, 2014
07/11/2014
Massachusetts: Smell of Unburnt Marijuana Cannot Justify Search of Car

Massachusetts: Smell of Unburnt Marijuana Cannot Justify Search of Car

The Supreme Judicial Court Wednesday said that because voters decriminalized small amounts of marijuana in 2008, police officers in Massachusetts can no longer rely on the odor...
July 11, 2014
07/11/2014
Medical Marijuana Update (2014.07.09)

Medical Marijuana Update (2014.07.09)

New York becomes the 23rd medical marijuana state, North Carolina becomes a high-CBD cannabis oil state, Utah issues the first permits for high-CBD cannabis oil, Californians prepare...
July 10, 2014
07/10/2014
Uruguay Marijuana Sales Delayed Until 2015

Uruguay Marijuana Sales Delayed Until 2015

Uruguay President Jose Mujica told AFP Wednesday that sales of marijuana will be delayed until next year because of difficulties in implementing the controversial law legalizing the...
July 10, 2014
07/10/2014
Florida Man Killed in SWAT Raid Over Small-Time Marijuana Sales

Florida Man Killed in SWAT Raid Over Small-Time Marijuana Sales

A Tampa, Florida, man was shot and killed by members of a SWAT team executing a search warrant over small-time marijuana sales on May 27. Jason Westcott,...
July 10, 2014
07/10/2014
The Clinic: The Feds Burn Money Studying Weed-Friendly Twitter Feeds

The Clinic: The Feds Burn Money Studying Weed-Friendly Twitter Feeds

Instead of trying to figure out if cannabis really can cure some cancers, the National Institute of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse recently funded...
July 10, 2014
07/10/2014
Brooklyn Eases Up on Pot Prosecutions

Brooklyn Eases Up on Pot Prosecutions

Brooklyn‘s District Attorney announced Tuesday that he will not prosecute first-time offenders arrested for low-level marijuana possession. Kenneth P. Thompson said the move is an effort to...
July 9, 2014
07/09/2014
Washington: State-Licensed Retail Cannabis Sales Begin

Washington: State-Licensed Retail Cannabis Sales Begin

Washington’s first state-licensed retail cannabis operators opened for business this morning . The state’s Liquor Control Board issued 24 marijuana retailer licenses late last week. (Under state...
July 9, 2014
07/09/2014
Caribbean, West African Nations to Study Cannabis Decrim

Caribbean, West African Nations to Study Cannabis Decrim

At the semi-annual summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), held July 1-4 in Antigua, regional leaders agreed to establish a commission to review marijuana policy and assess...
July 9, 2014
07/09/2014
ASA Issues Medical Cannabis State Report Card in Hopes of Improving Programs for Patients

ASA Issues Medical Cannabis State Report Card in Hopes of Improving Programs for Patients

With Monday’s signing of New York’s medical cannabis law, there are now 23 states with comprehensive medical cannabis access programs for patient’s living in those states, but...
July 9, 2014
07/09/2014
International Cannabis Update: United Kingdom, Wavering Cannabis Illegality

International Cannabis Update: United Kingdom, Wavering Cannabis Illegality

Cannabis is currently classified as a class B drug in the United Kingdom after being downgraded from class B to class C in 2004, and back again...
July 9, 2014
07/09/2014
Five Things NY Employers Need to Know About Legal Marijuana

Five Things NY Employers Need to Know About Legal Marijuana

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed the “Compassionate Care Act” which legalized medical marijuana. With the State Department of Health expected to have the program up and...
July 8, 2014
07/08/2014
DC Marijuana Initiative Hands in Plenty of Signatures

DC Marijuana Initiative Hands in Plenty of Signatures

It now looks extremely likely that the residents of the nation’s capitol will vote in November on whether to legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts...
July 8, 2014
07/08/2014
New York Becomes the 23rd Medical Marijuana State!

New York Becomes the 23rd Medical Marijuana State!

On Saturday, June 5, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act into law, making New York the 23rd state with an effective medical marijuana law. The law goes...
July 8, 2014
07/08/2014
California Town Considers Using Pot Taxes to Pay Police

California Town Considers Using Pot Taxes to Pay Police

Desert Hot Springs, a southern California town plagued with crime and financial destitution is now considering the legalization of medical marijuana dispensaries. Their hope is that it can...
July 8, 2014
07/08/2014
Washington State’s First Legal Marijuana Shops Set to Open Amid Chaos

Washington State’s First Legal Marijuana Shops Set to Open Amid Chaos

The prohibition of marijuana in Washington state fell early Monday as a small number of retail shop owners received an electronic copy of a license to sell...