BOSTON - The number of people treating their chronic pain, cancer symptoms or other medical conditions with marijuana has nearly quadrupled in a year, but a scarcity of licensed dispensaries and supply shortages are keeping many from getting their medicine, advocates say. At least 24,196 patients are certified to buy medical marijuana in Massachusetts, according to the Department of Public Health, up from nearly 7,846 a year ago. In April, patients bought 9,603 ounces of marijuana from six licensed dispensaries, according to the department. [continues 775 words]
In the first three months of 2016, Colorado pot shops sold more than $270 million of cannabis and related products, according to new figures from the state Department of Revenue. The state's latest data show that its marijuana shops sold nearly $90 million of cannabis in March. The licensed stores sold more than $55 million of recreational marijuana and more than $33 million of medical cannabis in March, the latest month for which the department has released tax data for the industry. Totals for retail and medical marijuana dipped slightly in March after a bustling February, which was the state's fifth-most-lucrative month for sales since they began in January 2014, according to the Cannabist's calculations and state data. [continues 222 words]
Ten people control nearly 20 percent of the 1,046 marijuana business licenses in Denver, and those owners have built their empires largely through acquisitions of smaller operations. With new industry caps on grow-facility and store locations in Denver, consolidation by the big players is likely to intensify. Some independent owners say tax and regulatory burdens make it difficult for smaller pot businesses to survive. Vail's largest commercial developer. An owner of a car-detail shop. A former nonprofit event planner. A businessman who made a fortune in child car seats. A one-time Subway franchisee bankrupted by real estate losses. [continues 1165 words]
"We thought America was the best in the world." "This can't be happening." That's how Saw Marvellous Soe and Eh Wah described their astonishment after police seized more than $ 53,000 in cash from Eh Wah's car in Muskogee, Okla., in February. Eh Wah is tour manager for a Christian rock band led by Marvellous that played in 19 U.S. cities, raising money from concerts to support an orphanage in Thailand and a Christian college in Burma. Worthy causes, no doubt. But when law enforcement found the cash during a routine traffic stop, a little-known legal process known as "civil asset forfeiture" allowed police officers to seize it, and whatever other property they wanted, without having to prove that Eh Wah was guilty of a crime. [continues 535 words]
In the late sixties, I remember Pierre Trudeau walking along the West Coast Trail on the west side of Vancouver Island and he was approached by a group of hippies. They were badgering him about the possibility of legalizing marijuana. And Mr. Trudeau gave a very good reply, probably the smartest thing he ever said. He questioned them by asking them why he should do that. He referred to the fact that one can get a natural high by relishing the pristine beauty of the West Coast Trail. Enough said. Fast forward to 2016 and we have Pierre's son, Justin, advocating the legalization of marijuana. [continues 133 words]
SAN DIEGO - Years of struggling to shut down illegal pot shops has prompted City Attorney Jan Goldsmith to shift gears and begin criminally prosecuting shop operators and their landlords. Goldsmith has resisted a criminal approach, contending the civil injunctions his office has used for many years are the fastest and most effective legal method. But Goldsmith announced last week that the city will start utilizing both civil and criminal means in the face of increasing outcry over the illegal shops from residents and the owners of 14 legal dispensaries approved under a 2014 city ordinance. [continues 823 words]
If "reason and honesty" were part of the public discourse regarding cannabis (marijuana) prohibition (Letter: "Marijuana misinformation," by Bob Alley, April 3, 2016), it would never have been orchestrated from the beginning. Historically, its existence is due to racism, greed and the omission of science. It's truly mistaken to claim, "Medical science has access to drugs that provide more relief with less damage than does pot," since cannabis often competes with opiates, which are responsible for an epidemic of addiction and death rates in America. Scientifically, cannabis is safer than aspirin and less addictive than coffee. [continues 64 words]
Program Educating Students About Dangers of Drugs for More Than 20 Years Eleven-year-old Emily Malott has never been impaired by drugs or alcohol, but she now has a good idea what it would feel like. The Grade 5 student from Harwich-Raleigh Public School in Blenheim tried walking while wearing special goggles that give the sensation of being impaired. She was among the many students unable to walk a straight line while wearing the goggles, which was one of the "pit stops" during the annual Racing Against Drugs program, held at Erickson Arena in Chatham on Wednesday. [continues 286 words]
For a religion in which wine plays such a central role, Christianity may prove surprisingly effective at curbing drug use, according to a study. Data analyzed by DrugAbuse.com in "Drugs and Devotion: Comparing Substance Abuse by Believers and Nonbelievers" show a correlation between religious belief and a reluctance to experiment with narcotics. Americans who said they are not religious are more likely to have used a host of recreational drugs, ranging from marijuana and alcohol to Ecstasy and heroin. Nonbelievers in the study, for instance, were 12 times more likely to use LSD and more than four times as likely as than their religious counterparts to try cocaine in the past year. [continues 595 words]
The City of Victoria wants to see supervised drug-injection sites in the city by the end of the year. A lot of work will have to go into making sure their benefits don't come with a lot of unwanted side-effects. Leaving aside the contentious question of whether the city should have such sites, if a site or sites get approval, how do we prevent the areas around them from becoming black holes? Society has largely got past the idea that it is acceptable to kick street people to the curb, and is putting resources into trying to help those who need it. [continues 484 words]
Downtown Windsor will have another place where people can vape or smoke medical marijuana - if Leo Lucier can pull off plans for his Vapelated Vapor Lounge. "I want to set it up like a European cafe," said Lucier, 46, proprietor of the new business at 26 Chatham St. E. Lucier said he intended for the lounge to open on Thursday, but he admitted there's a lot of work to be done. "We're winging it," he said. Although mostly stripped of decor, the address still bears the bar, tables and chairs of its former business, Fidel's Havana Lounge. Instead of alcohol, the shelves now carry an assortment of bongs and candy bars. [continues 488 words]
Sydney - New Zealand's marijuana smokers are in the grip of a cannabis crisis, with demand far outstripping supply, after a police operation this month netted 9,000 plants. The "catastrophic" situation was first reported by online magazine the Spinoff in an article that said New Zealand's most popular illegal drug was "almost unobtainable in any meaningful amount". "Blame it on the police, the gangs, the weather or just the grow cycle of your average cannabis harvest," the website said. "It's dry out there." [continues 318 words]
SAN DIEGO - A sharp increase in illegal pot shops across San Diego has prompted a new outcry from residents, community leaders and the owners of 13 legal medical marijuana dispensaries the city has approved. They say the illegal shops are dangerous because they don't conform to zoning rules designed to ensure businesses selling marijuana are far away from housing, schools, parks, churches and other sensitive uses. The illegal shops are also being called unfair competition for the legal dispensaries, which were more expensive to open because the owners had to pay about $500,000 each for permits, consultants and lawyers. [continues 837 words]
Fentanyl and Oxycodone May Be Getting the Headlines, but the Use of Cheap and Available Speed Is Soaring Dean Foggin sits on the edge of his single bed, winter sunlight streaming through the window onto the white walls, his white robe, white slippers. It is his fifth time checking into this detox facility and, God willing, his last. "I hope this time it sticks, or I don't know what's going to happen," says Mr. Foggin, 53. His shoulders are slight and he speaks at an accelerated pace. "I'm pretty much ready to give up. If I can't make it this time, I'm just not going to try any more." [continues 1299 words]
Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders gave one of two keynote talks at the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco last weekend. Dr. Elders had been fired by Bill Clinton after acknowledging to the American people that marijuana has medical uses and masturbation is normal. In 2000 the Clinton Era slurved into a TV show called the West Wing, in which the president was played by Martin Sheen. One episode, watched eagerly by pro-cannabis activists, was reportedly based on Dr. Elders' experience. That turned out to be Hollywood PR - head writer Aaron Sorkin was just trading on the notoriety generated by Elders' firing. [continues 1012 words]
I'm not happy Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is dead, but I'm glad we as a nation have the opportunity, if Republicans don't obstruct it, to get a non-Catholic replacement appointed to the bench. In previous columns I mentioned how we (minorities) in New Jersey suffer from having an all-white NJ Supreme Court, and the same is true of the U.S. Supreme Court: Religious freedom suffers wherever we have a lack of religious diversity. The First Amendment prevents government from forbidding free exercise of religion, so government cannot regulate beliefs by foisting them or prohibiting them. Religious worship often entails performing physical acts such as consuming substances (e.g., bread and wine, marijuana, hoasca tea) or abstaining from substances or behaviors. Government could not ban performance of these acts in the context of religious procedure any more than it could ban the beliefs whence these actions originate. [continues 944 words]
Government's effort to cage Shona Banda (Marijuana Activist Still Plans to File Civil Rights Suit, Feb. 12, 2016) for using cannabis (marijuana/kaneh bosm) to treat Crohn's disease is vulgar, anti-Christian and should cease immediately. Caging sick citizens who use cannabis is clearly and entirely the work of the devil. God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page. Many people know of cannabis as the tree of life and the very last page indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. Not one single soul who has the "spirit of truth" supports this act of hatred. Americans must speak up and stamp out this evil. Truthfully, Dillon, Colo. [end]
$996,184,788. That's the magic number for 2015, representing the value of all the cannabis - both medical and recreational - that was purchased in Colorado in year two of retail sales, according to new data from the state Department of Revenue. "I think it's ethical to round that up to a billion," marijuana attorney Christian Sederberg tells The Cannabist. For those who love to geek out on weed math, here's how it all breaks down: [continues 610 words]
In response to the Feb. 7 letter, "No to marijuana," even prohibitionist government quit using the historically discredited gateway theory years ago. However, some people continue believing the lies, half-truths and propaganda which has perpetuated cannabis (marijuana) prohibition. Caging innocent responsible adults who use the relatively safe, extremely popular, God-given plant is vulgar and anti-Christian for a developed nation. Further, Coloradans re-legalized cannabis, and every subsequent poll indicates we continue supporting the end of the farce. A sane or moral argument to continue cannabis prohibition doesn't exist. - - Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
It was in a low-rent town in flyover country, playing a gig in front of a crowd of squares and straights in the Ronald Reagan '80s - the dark days of Just Say No, compulsory D.A.R.E. classes for children, and the crack-cocaine epidemic, all the things that led to our country's current drug-fueled incarceration crisis - when Tommy Chong really blew his audience's minds. Chong and his partner Cheech Marin had been plying their brand of stoner humor for almost two decades, their comedy LPs and films on the Hi-Fis and Betamaxes of cannabis users around the world. (And the pair would separate soon after, when Marin tried to make a break from the THC-fueled typecast and go for a straight-laced acting career.) But on this night and in this town - some nameless "right-wing Christian" place Chong cannot recall - the still-bearded longhairs were not playing to their audience. Still, the crewcuts paid to see these freaks, leftovers from the '60s, in action. And they were curious. [continues 792 words]
