With decriminalization advancing coast to coast, legalized pot appears on its way, and Minnesota will light up the debate this year. Change is overdue. I don't smoke marijuana. There are secret purchases required, plus the learning of code, dealer etiquette, dosing expertise, exotic strains, the latest artisanal delivery systems, and it all sounds way too complicated. Also, because it's easy to forget this detail, pot is illegal. But even if pot were decriminalized tomorrow - a proposal on the table at the State Capitol - the chances of my racing out to score some "Chronicles of Narnia" and then heading home to roll up a fatty are, well, slim. Unlike Bill Clinton, the one time I did blaze up, over 20 years ago, I inhaled quite deeply enough to find the effect unpleasant. Some of us have all the feelings of alienation and existential weirdness you could ask for, thank you very much. [continues 2267 words]
Thanks for publishing Kathy Inman's outstanding letter: "Marijuana Solution" (Feb. 11). I'd like to add that about seven years ago before and after my hip-replacement surgery, I was taking about six Vicodin tablets every day.Now, thanks to medical marijuana, I take no pain pills. Vicodin can and does kill thousands of people every year. Cannabis, on the other hand, has never killed anyone. For those who oppose cannabis use don't buy it. Don't buy it. Don't grow it and don't use it. Period. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
The state Narcotics Enforcement Division is investigating allegations of illegal activity at last weekend's Hawaii Cannabis Expo, where some vendors openly distributed cannabis seeds and other products. Most of the more than 100 vendors, including all three of Oahu's legal medical marijuana dispensaries, were not distributing products illegally. But some were straddling the line of recreational use - including a number of exhibitors "giving away" seeds by donation. The state Department of Health notified the attorney general's office and law enforcement about possible illegal sales at the event and is "concerned about the allegations," DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo said. [continues 809 words]
Seth and Danielle Hyman with their daughter Rebecca 8, of Weston, are seeking to have a strain of marijuana legalized to help prevent seizures in their daughter, Rebecca, in 2014. Despite the legalization of medical marijuana, Seth Hyman said the drug is still difficult to get for is daughter. [Miami Herald] When Seth Hyman first began to buy medical marijuana in Florida for his 12-year-old daughter last year, he hoped it would be the answer to fixing her life-threatening seizures. [continues 902 words]
Hydroponic systems to grow your own pot, an on-site bud trimming school and hand-blown glass pipe demonstrations are among the mix of exhibitors at this weekend's Hawaii Cannabis Expo. Drew Gennuso, owner of Trim Ready Hawaii, showed Ari Medina how to trim legal hemp, which looks like cannabis, Friday at the Hawaii Cannabis Expo at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Hydroponic systems to grow your own pot, an on-site bud trimming school and hand-blown glass pipe demonstrations are among the mix of exhibitors at this weekend's Hawaii Cannabis Expo. [continues 767 words]
It's a common stereotype that people who smoke weed are a bit foggy-headed and missing a few brain cells. But a new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found that alcohol is much more damaging to your brain than marijuana. In fact, the study - which was published in the journal Addiction - suggests that weed use doesn't seem to alter the structure of a person's brain at all. Kent Hutchison, a co-author of the study, told Medical News Today that he wanted to examine what effect pot has on a person's brain because there isn't a conclusive answer to the question. [continues 364 words]
Opponents of recreational marijuana legalization in Connecticut argued Thursday it would cost the state more than it would collect in tax revenue. Legalization would cost the state $216 million in 2020, "far outweighing even the rosiest tax projections," a report released Thursday by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a group dedicated to stopping the legalization of marijuana, says. "Legislators are scrambling to find additional revenue," Bo Huhn, a legalization opponent, said during a Thursday morning press conference at the state Capitol complex. "But if you look at all the costs, you will find not only will we not make much, but that you lose money on the deal.'' [continues 458 words]
Berkeley may be the first city to declare itself a cannabis sanctuary city. A customer shops at marijuana dispensary MedMen in West Hollywood in January. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to declare the city a sanctuary for recreational marijuana, a move that may be the first of its kind. The resolution, adopted Tuesday, prohibits Berkeley's agencies and employees from using city resources to assist in enforcing federal marijuana laws or providing information on legal cannabis activities. [continues 367 words]
Broward County Schools are hashing out plans for dealing with medical marijuana on campus. Under a proposed policy, students wouldn't be allowed to carry pot and it could not be stored on campus. But a student's parent or caregiver could bring it to school and administer it if the child has the proper medical approval. School staff would be not be allowed to handle it. Pot use has long been banned on school campuses, but Florida voters legalized it for medical purposes in 2016. The state Legislature last year required schools to come up with a policy on dealing with it. [continues 133 words]
It only seemed appropriate that a long-distance phone call to Cheech Marin would go awry, repeatedly getting dropped. Hearing each other say, "Hello, hello, are you there?" back and forth was like reliving the famous "Dave's not here" routine of Cheech & Chong, where a stoned-out Chong keeps telling anxiety-ridden drug dealer Dave (Cheech) knocking on the door that "Dave's not here." Cheech Marin, left, and Tommy Chong at the 2014 Guys Choice Awards in Cheech, though, knew better than to simply blame cellphone technology. [continues 1192 words]
Frustrated with traditional therapies for chronic pain and post-combat stress disorders, a growing number of military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are turning to medical marijuana for their treatment, a move that has put them at sharp odds with the Trump administration. The White House has resisted calls from Democrats in Congress, pro-reform activists and even the American Legion, the nation's largest wartime veterans service organization, to support research into whether marijuana can help veterans, apparently fearing that any move by the Department of Veterans Affairs to study its effectiveness will be another step toward nationwide legalization. [continues 1156 words]
Stung by robberies in California, Colorado, Washington and other states, the cannabis industry is pressing Congress to change federal banking laws so that its retailers no longer have to carry and process large amounts of cash. Yet lacking the lobbying muscle of their adversaries, the industry hasn't gained much traction on Capitol Hill, leaving cannabis business owners and their employees vulnerable to thefts and violent crime. GOP lawmakers from pot-unfriendly states have sidelined legislation in the House and Senate that would allow marijuana businesses to conduct transactions with federally regulated banks. These also include state and community owned banks that are part of the Federal Reserve System. [continues 1138 words]
There aren't a lot of concrete answers as to why marijuana transactions are deadlier, but there are theories. The morning Kim Ambers turned 50, her oldest son, Richard Ambers, called to wish her a happy birthday. I love you, he told her. It was a tradition for the Ambers family members to see one another on birthdays, but Kim Ambers' celebration would have to wait. Richard was working and had a Halloween party afterward. The whole family would go out for breakfast the next day, on Oct. 29, 2016. [continues 1106 words]
Even before California legalized recreational marijuana Jan. 1, pot was enjoying a gray renaissance. From 2006 to 2013, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported a 250% rise in marijuana use by Americans 65 and older. It is still a small share, climbing from 0.4% to 1.4% of that population, but local dispensaries see plenty of silver-haired shoppers. "This is probably the most interested -- and wariest -- group," said Lincoln Fish, chief executive of cannabis company Outco, noting that the average customer at his Outliers Collective in El Cajon is over 58 years old. [continues 963 words]
The Baker administration chastised Massachusetts pot regulators this week, saying their draft plan to create one of the world's most permissive regulated marijuana markets goes too far, too fast. The Baker administration chastised Massachusetts pot regulators this week, saying their draft plan to create one of the world's most permissive regulated marijuana markets goes too far, too fast. In a letter to the Cannabis Control Commission dated Monday , the governor's office warned the independent agency that it had reached beyond the core mandate of the state's marijuana legalization law by proposing the licensure of businesses not seen in other states' recreational markets: sit-and-get-high cafes, pot delivery services not tied to dispensaries, and even movie theaters that want to offer patrons cannabis-laced snacks. [continues 921 words]
After a unanimous vote of support by the Sarasota City Commission, medical marijuana dispensaries will now be operational in the city and those with prescriptions will be able to utilize them immediately. State legislation had preempted the city's ability to regulate the dispensaries, which led to commissioners placing a temporary ban on them until a solution could be found. That solution happened last month when commissioners approved a plan to change zoning codes, paving the way for those prescribed the drug for various medical ailments to obtain it locally. [continues 342 words]
WORCESTER - There are board games, an X-Box and snacks for sale. Members of The Summit Lounge social club are allowed to bring in food from nearby restaurants. But that's not all they can bring in. The Summit Lounge opened Friday as the city's first private club for those who want a social setting in which to smoke a joint. But Mr. Moon, 27, of Northbridge, said the goal of the business is not just to provide people with a place to get high. [continues 470 words]
A company responsible for keeping Sacramento dispensaries compliant with the law has run afoul of the city's pot czar for planning an illegal marijuana party. Capitol Compliance Management and its nine affiliated dispensaries have been running advertisements in the Sacramento News & Review for a "Holiday Budtender Bash" that was scheduled for Thursday. Joe Devlin, the city's chief of cannabis policy and enforcement, said the company canceled the event after he told them it would violate state and city laws by allowing public consumption of marijuana and by giving it away. [continues 373 words]
On Wednesday, the Illinois Senate Executive Committee overwhelmingly passed SB336, a bill that would allow people with opioid prescriptions to apply for a medical marijuana card, with only Minority Leader Bill Brady, a Republican from Bloomington, voting no in a 16-1 decisive passing. If signed into law, SB336 would amend the medical marijuana program to allow those who are prescribed opioids to apply for medical marijuana instead, giving patients the ability to choose medical cannabis, which has consistently shown to be a safer alternative, over the highly addictive and often deadly opioids. [continues 565 words]
Eighteen businesses have applied for medical marijuana dispensary licenses in Lucas County, with Maumee and Holland joining Toledo as communities where businesses hope to sell medicinal pot, according to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. The board received 376 applications for a maximum of 60 possible licenses, though some businesses filed applications for multiple sites. The state has also split Ohio into four regional districts, and northwest Ohio will only receive 10 dispensary licenses, with 39 applications competing for those spots. The restrictions are even more complex, though, as each region is broken down further into districts. Lucas County, for instance, will only receive two dispensaries, creating heavy competition among the 18 applications in Toledo, Maumee, and Holland. A district made up of Wood, Hancock and Henry counties will only get one. Three firms have applied to open in Wood County, and no companies have applied to open a dispensary in Hancock or Henry counties. [continues 263 words]
