Finding a place to house a medical marijuana dispensary is rarely an easy task, but MariMed Advisors, which specializes in developing cannabis businesses, encountered especially aggressive pushback working for a client in Annapolis, Md., last year. The company reviewed several hundred potential locations for the client's proposed dispensary before finally finding one that met nearly every one of the strict requirements demanded by officials of Anne Arundel County. It had the proper zoning classification and the necessary road access. It was not within 1,000 feet of a school. And, as an added plus, the storefront was discreet, located below ground level and behind another building. [continues 1146 words]
TALLAHASSEE -- Chiding a judge who sided with sick patients and saying plaintiffs likely won't win on the merits of the case, an appellate court on Tuesday refused to allow smokable medical marijuana while a legal fight continues to play out. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal came in a lawsuit initiated by Orlando trial attorney John Morgan and others who maintain that a Florida law barring patients from smoking their treatment runs afoul of a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. [continues 470 words]
LINDSAY, Okla - Danny Daniels, an evangelical Christian in the rural Oklahoma town of Lindsay, is reliably conservative on just about every political issue. The 45-year-old church pastor is anti-abortion, voted for President Donald Trump and is a member of the National Rifle Association who owns an AR-15 rifle. He also came of age during the 1980s and believed in the anti-drug mantra that labeled marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug. But his view on marijuana changed as his pastoral work extended into hospice care and he saw patients at the end of their lives benefiting from the use of cannabis. [continues 687 words]
U.S. health regulators on Monday approved the first prescription drug made from marijuana, a milestone that could spur more research into a drug that remains illegal under federal law, despite growing legalization for recreational and medical use. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication, called Epidiolex, to treat two rare forms of epilepsy that begin in childhood. But it's not quite medical marijuana. The strawberry-flavored syrup is a purified form of a chemical ingredient found in the cannabis plant -- but not the one that gets users high. It's not yet clear why the ingredient, called cannabidiol, or CBD, reduces seizures in some people with epilepsy. [continues 902 words]
The legalization of marijuana for general consumption is a devastating, immoral attack by the Trudeau government against the best interests of all of Canada's vulnerable and marginalized citizens, especially our young people, who are ill-equipped to handle it (What A Long Strange Trip It Will Been, editorial, June 21). Surviving in modern society demands vigilance, sobriety, discipline and competence on all fronts. Marijuana use discourages these necessary virtues. There should have been a national referendum before this profound decision was made. There are no adults in charge any more. Peter Best, Sudbury, Ont. [end]
VICTORIA - On the day Canadians can legally buy and use recreational marijuana, the clock will start ticking for cannabis dispensaries already open across the country, say politicians and pot industry insiders. On Oct. 17, provincial licensing, monitoring and approval regulations on legal marijuana retail standards will become law and the cannabis business will get real for marijuana shops currently operating outside the rules. "These are the same people who cried for legalization," said Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang. "Now they've got it, and they have to play by the rules." [continues 659 words]
Seldom a day goes by when financial pages don't highlight new developments in the marijuana industry. So, this is who we are today. Former B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake is now on the corporate board of a major marijuana company. Former Toronto police chief and current MP Bill Blair is a point man on marijuana legalization. Former B.C. Solicitor General and West Vancouver Police Chief Kash Heed is a consultant for marijuana companies. The list of government and policing honchos who have jumped on the bandwagon is substantial. [continues 757 words]
They might be reluctantly legalizing cannabis. But they'll never stop thinking they know better than us how we should live The Canadian government announced this week that marijuana would be legal for recreational in just under four months, by Oct. 17, 2018. The intervening time will be used to get legal distribution networks established and give provinces and police forces time to prepare for the transition. And, the government probably hopes, for Canadians to decide they're not so into this marijuana stuff, after all. [continues 377 words]
OTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the government will look at ways to make things fair for those who have criminal records for marijuana possession after legalization comes into force. Goodale says the question of pardoning individuals with criminal records for possessing marijuana is legitimate and one the government will pursue once the law takes effect. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior [continues 236 words]
VICTORIA - The economic cost of substance use in Canada in 2014 was $38.4 billion, or about $1,100 for every Canadian, says a report released Tuesday. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction partnered with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research to examine the data and estimate the harms of substance use based on health, justice, lost productivity and other costs. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior [continues 258 words]
With the legalization of cannabis only a few months away, one of Canadaas top medical organizations is warning women about the risks the drug poses if used during pregnancy and breastfeeding. According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, marijuana use can lead to preterm birth and low birth weight, as well as lower IQ and hyperactivity after a child is born. aWe want to make sure women understand just because itas legal doesnat mean itas safe,a said Jocelynn Cook, chief scientific officer with the SOGC. aThe science does suggest there are effects on pregnancy and on fetal development.a [continues 309 words]
Jeff Greene, the Palm Beach billionaire who this week joined a crowded slate of Democrats seeking to replace Gov. Rick Scott, shared his thoughts about marijuana with Truth or Dara during a lengthy interview that included some chit-chat about Willie Nelson and air pods. (Spoiler alert: He's a fan of both the musician and the technology). On medical marijuana, Greene's got the same take as his competitors, who've all come out in support of allowing patients to smoke their treatment. [continues 615 words]
TORONTO - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday marijuana will be legal nationwide on October 17. Trudeau said in Parliament that the government is committed to better protecting Canada's youth and hopes to take money away from organized crime. The Senate gave final passage to Trudeau's bill to legalize cannabis on Tuesday. The country will become the second in the world to make pot legal nationwide. "The legislation is transformative," said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, adding it "marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis, leaving behind a failed model of prohibition." [continues 403 words]
A medical marijuana activist in Oklahoma says the county sheriff forcibly escorted him out of a forum, but the sheriff says he thinks the scuffle was an "orchestrated" deal with an attempt to rattle law enforcement. Chip Paul, co-founder of Oklahomans for Health, said he was attending a forum about the proposed legislation for legalizing medical marijuana when he was forced out by Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton. The organization is the official proponent of legalizing medical cannabis in Oklahoma through State Question 788. [continues 666 words]
If you'd like to know more about what modern hemp farming looks like, the Mount Holly Farm owned by Laura Freeman will have an open-house party on Saturday. From 1 to 4 p.m., you can see the newly planted hemp crop, which is grown for grain, and see the CBD hemp crop as well. The CBD crop provides cannabidiol oil used in a variety of products. The farm store, Laura's Mercantile, will be open, with Laura's Hemp Chocolates available for purchase. The party also will have samples of the chocolates as well as hemp beer -- New Belgium's new Hemperor IPA - -- and Kentucky Hemp Dawgs. [continues 144 words]
A marijuana user poses a joint over some ground marijuana Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010 in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona voters were literally split evenly on the issue of allowing marijuana use for medical purposes, leaving the proposition far too close to call. A marijuana user poses a joint over some ground marijuana Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010 in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona voters were literally split evenly on the issue of allowing marijuana use for medical purposes, leaving the proposition far too close to call. (Matt York / AP) [continues 541 words]
ALBANY -- A Cuomo administration panel will recommend New York State legalize recreational use of marijuana, the state's health commissioner said Monday. But the long-awaited report by the group has still not been released as the State Legislature looks to end its 2018 session on Wednesday -- leaving action for this year on the matter all but impossible. Dr. Howard Zucker, the state's top health regulator, said public health, law enforcement and others inside and outside government, have been examining the issue of marijuana legalization since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo asked for a study on the issue in January. [continues 969 words]
The costs and benefits of cannabis and cannabis policies are difficult to calculate, but cannabis legalization will remove many impediments to research. A recent study finding an association between chronic cannabis use by young people and diminished life outcomes acknowledged "while we controlled for multiple potential confounds, it is possible that there are other explanatory mechanisms that have not been accounted for ... in the current study." Oddly, one of the confounds the study neglected to control for is the self-medication of emotional and psychological problems such as ADHD and PTSD, which typically stem from childhood trauma: abuse, neglect, abandonment or, in some cases perhaps, an emotionally unavailable father. [continues 86 words]
Kentucky agriculture commissioner: 'It's time to legalize the crop' Kentucky is again king of hemp, according to officials who spoke at the first Kentucky Hemp Days event on Saturday. Held in Cynthiana, the festival will be an annual celebration of the crop's revival, which began after Kentucky lawmakers cleared a path for legal cultivation beginning with the General Assembly in 2013 and in Congress in 2014. On Saturday, as a crowd turned out to hear the latest developments a day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., inserted language in the federal farm bill that will remove hemp from the controlled substance list, distancing it from marijuana. [continues 760 words]
Cannabidiol products are coming back to Kansas after lawmakers approved to bring back the marijuana extract often used as alternative medicine. Lawmakers voted in April to exclude cannabidiol, or CBD, from the state's definition of marijuana as long as the oil contains no THC, the ingredient in marijuana that gets people high. The vote effectively makes CBD an unrestricted substance, the Kansas City Star reported . The state's decision came after Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued a January opinion saying any form of marijuana is against the law in Kansas. [continues 175 words]
