Category: Law & Politics

(3,816 posts)

News and commentary on cannabis law and politics

July 8, 2014
07/08/2014
Schedule 1 Lunacy and Montana Weed

Schedule 1 Lunacy and Montana Weed

One group of hyper-conservative prohibitionists, going by the moniker of SafeMontana, illustrate yet another problem with roots in the irrational Schedule 1 status of cannabis.
July 7, 2014
07/07/2014
Oregon: Marijuana Initiative Backers Turn in 145,000 Signatures for Proposed 2014 Ballot Measure

Oregon: Marijuana Initiative Backers Turn in 145,000 Signatures for Proposed 2014 Ballot Measure

Proponents of a statewide initiative to regulate the commercial production and retail sale of marijuana have turned in 145,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office. The...
July 7, 2014
07/07/2014
IRS Fines Unbanked Pot Shops for Paying Federal Payroll Tax in Cash

IRS Fines Unbanked Pot Shops for Paying Federal Payroll Tax in Cash

Legal marijuana businesses without bank accounts are unfairly assessed a 10 percent penalty on federal employee withholding taxes they are forced to pay in cash. And rather than...
July 7, 2014
07/07/2014
Arizona Medical Marijuana Researcher Fired, Cites Political Retaliation

Arizona Medical Marijuana Researcher Fired, Cites Political Retaliation

This week, University of Arizona professor and leading medical marijuana researcher Dr. Sue Sisley was fired from her position at the university. The University of Arizona refused...
July 4, 2014
07/04/2014
Instafire: Celebrate Your Freedom

Instafire: Celebrate Your Freedom

This Independence Day I wanted to take a second to acknowledge how we really got here — freedom. Not the freedom to legally spark a doob, but...
July 3, 2014
07/03/2014
Medical Marijuana Update (2014.07.02)

Medical Marijuana Update (2014.07.02)

An Arizona researcher gets fired for apparently political reasons, new medical marijuana-related laws come into effect in several states, California dispensary conflicts continue as the Assembly grapples...
July 3, 2014
07/03/2014
Iowa State Students Suing Over Marijuana T-shirts

Iowa State Students Suing Over Marijuana T-shirts

Two Iowa State University students, juniors Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, are suing school officials after the university’s trademark licensing office forbade the campus’ chapter of NORML...
July 3, 2014
07/03/2014
Bill Clinton in No Way Endorsed Medical or Legal Marijuana

Bill Clinton in No Way Endorsed Medical or Legal Marijuana

People around the country are praising the bold statement former President Bill Clinton made on cannabis while promoting his non-profit work with the Clinton Global Initiative on...
July 3, 2014
07/03/2014
28 Years and Still Here: Nearly Three Decades of Federal Medical Cannabis

28 Years and Still Here: Nearly Three Decades of Federal Medical Cannabis

In 1975 Robert Randall was arrested for possession of a narcotic, cannabis, and of a ‘dangerous drug,’ LSD. Randall’s arrest led to the court case of Randall...
July 2, 2014
07/02/2014
Colorado Retail Marijuana Application Rules Changed to Open Market

Colorado Retail Marijuana Application Rules Changed to Open Market

It’s been exactly six months since legal retail marijuana sales began in Colorado, and today is the first day that retail marijuana business licenses are open to...
July 2, 2014
07/02/2014
Despite Science, New Medical Cannabis Laws Prohibit Smoked Cannabis

Despite Science, New Medical Cannabis Laws Prohibit Smoked Cannabis

As marijuana becomes incrementally more legal for all uses, states grappling with implementing legislation responding to constituent demand for cannabis in all its forms have passed various...
July 2, 2014
07/02/2014
Florida’s Push for Medical Marijuana Supported by Attorney John Morgan

Florida’s Push for Medical Marijuana Supported by Attorney John Morgan

Jacksonville-based attorney John Morgan has given a multi-million dollar donation to the medical marijuana campaign in Florida, Jacksonville.com reports, and will now invest even more in helping seriously...
July 2, 2014
07/02/2014
International Cannabis Update: Morocco Seeks to Legalize Cannabis

International Cannabis Update: Morocco Seeks to Legalize Cannabis

Morocco is among the world’s top three cannabis producers in the world but condemns cannabis production on paper. However, because the country’s economy benefits from it, two political parties have drafted...
July 2, 2014
07/02/2014
West Virginia’s Unevolved Approach to Cannabis

West Virginia’s Unevolved Approach to Cannabis

Marijuana prosecutions, in correlation with a softening national perception, are falling across the country. However, this is not true in every corner of America. Hancock county, West...
July 2, 2014
07/02/2014
Colorado Recreational Marijuana Industry Begins Major Transformation

Colorado Recreational Marijuana Industry Begins Major Transformation

Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry starts a transformation Tuesday that could add hundreds of new pot businesses to the state and reconfigure the market’s architecture. Previously, only owners...
July 1, 2014
07/01/2014
Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki Talks Drug Reform

Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki Talks Drug Reform

In a conference call this morning, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki discussed the impact of his award-winning drug war documentary The House I Live In and where we go...
July 1, 2014
07/01/2014
Bill Clinton Encourages States to Experiment With Marijuana Bills

Bill Clinton Encourages States to Experiment With Marijuana Bills

Former President Bill Clinton spoke Sunday on Meet the Press expressing his belief that states should ‘experiment’ with allowing adults to use marijuana recreationally, Washington Post reports....
July 1, 2014
07/01/2014
Russell Brand (And Others) Ask Prime Minister to Decriminalize

Russell Brand (And Others) Ask Prime Minister to Decriminalize

Russell Brand, British comedian and former husband of Katy Perry, has joined with some 90 celebrities, health experts, lawyers and politicians (including Sir Richard Branson and Sting)...
July 1, 2014
07/01/2014
Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love and Rogue Cops

Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love and Rogue Cops

Things aren’t as sunny in Philadelphia as they may seem. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey spoke out to announce his intention to continue arresting people for cannabis,...
By: Rae Lland
June 30, 2014
06/30/2014
Pennsylvania Senate Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

Pennsylvania Senate Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Bill

This afternoon, the Pennsylvania Senate Law and Justice Committee voted unanimously to approve a medical marijuana bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer and Sen. Daylin Leach. The bill is...