WASHINGTON -- The top Senate Democrat is using marijuana's informal holiday to announce a change of heart about the drug, another sign of the growing political acceptance of pot. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said Friday he'll introduce a bill taking marijuana off the federal list of controlled substances - in effect decriminalizing its use. Instead, his bill would let states decide how to treat marijuana possession. Under the measure, the federal government would still enforce laws against moving pot into states where it's illegal and would still regulate advertising so it isn't aimed at children. [continues 167 words]
State Rep. Jim Neely's bill that would legalize medical marijuana in a smokeless form for Missourians with terminal illnesses has been criticized as too restrictive and narrow. But the measure could jump-start the push to make Missouri the 30th state to allow medical marijuana. More than 20 lawmakers, including three Democrats, have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. It passed out of committee this week and awaits consideration in the full House. The legislation would permit the use of hemp extract for terminally ill patients. The state's current "Right to Try" law allows patients with terminal illnesses to try experimental drugs without approval from the Food and Drug Administration. It doesn't include marijuana. [continues 370 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jeff Apodaca on Thursday called for the expansion of New Mexico's medical marijuana program and for legalization of recreational use, saying the poverty-stricken state is missing out on millions of dollars in tax revenues and jobs that could be spurred by the industry. Apodaca released his plan solidifying his position as a supporter of legalization as the race for governor heats up. Apodaca pointed to New Mexico's history as the first state to allow for research and experimentation with marijuana as a therapeutic drug. It was his father, then-Gov. Jerry Apodaca, who signed that legislation in 1978. [continues 517 words]
America's marijuana supporters have a lot to celebrate on this 420 holiday : Thirty states have legalized some form of medical marijuana, according to a national advocacy group. Nine of those states and Washington, D.C., also have broad legalization where adults 21 and older can use pot for any reason. Michigan could become the 10th state with its ballot initiative this year. Yet cannabis remains illegal under federal law, and it still has many opponents. Here's a look at what some advocates and critics have to say about the state of marijuana in the U.S. today: [continues 2321 words]
The Liberal Party of Canada has voted in favour of removing criminal penalties for the personal possession of drugs. It's one of a number of policies that the party selected as priorities at a convention in Halifax on Saturday (April 21). Members also voted in favour of universal pharmacare, decriminalizing consensual sex work, and expanding medicare to cover mental-health issues. A total of 15 policies were selected to become official party priorities. However, a policy's status as a party priority does not mean that party leaders have to include it in the document where it really counts: the party's campaign platform for the next federal election. [continues 495 words]
Florida's medical-marijuana patient database has hit the 100,000 mark, according to a weekly update issued by the state Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana Use. As of Friday, 100,576 Florida patients had registered with the office, an increase of more than 2,500 in the past week. Only 75,208 of the registered patients have been issued ID cards allowing them to purchase the marijuana treatment, and nearly 3,000 more applications for the cards are being processed. [continues 151 words]
Toronto's municipal licensing and standards department is reviewing city bylaws to see if changes are needed to deal with the "potential impacts" that people growing legal marijuana may have on neighbouring tenants or properties. Mark Sraga, director of investigation services for the licensing department, said he doesn't anticipate cannabis home-grow operations to have a significant impact on municipal bylaws when the law permits people to grow the drug this summer. "Under Health Canada rules, people are allowed to grow medicinal marijuana in their houses," he said. "I don't see how growing four plants necessarily having any impact considering the fact I've seen some personal designation grow licences for hundreds of plants." [continues 275 words]
Reports that President Donald Trump now supports state-level marijuana regulation have primed him for an easy bipartisan win, which may also afford him a lane for further victories down the line. Senator Cory Gardner (R., Colo.), who has been blocking several of Mr. Trump's Justice Department nominees after Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an earlier Justice Department memo that protected marijuana operations in states like Colorado from federal law enforcement, has announced that he will end his blockade. He says that President Trump promised him "that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states' rights issue once and for all." [continues 342 words]
Rep. Jim Neely has seen firsthand how a terminal illness like cancer ravages the body. His own daughter died from cancer three years ago. With a background in health care working as a physician and managing a hospice agency, Neely, R-Cameron, knows the importance of patients receiving comfort. That's why he's sponsoring a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in a smokeless form for Missourians with terminal illnesses. "It's for people who are terminal to gain access for comfort," Neely said. "This seems to me aE& as a good way to get started and seeing if there are some benefits." [continues 1242 words]
An Inland church that uses marijuana to worship is embroiled in a bitter dispute with Jurupa Valley, which alleges the Vault Church of Open Faith is primarily a pot store and has been trying to shut it down for more than a year. An association representing the church and about 15 others like it fired back Friday, April 13, filing a claim against the city seeking $1.2 million in damages and alleging harassment and discrimination. Church leaders say they smoke marijuana or eat edibles as part of spiritual meditation as a religious sacrament, but city officials say they're using religion as a front for selling pot. [continues 887 words]
Some remain skeptical the proposed Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) will achieve one of its primary objectives: protecting youth from cannabis-related harms. Some feel the minimum age should be higher than the minimum age for alcohol, worried that those under 25 seem more vulnerable to dependence and health problems linked to long-term, heavy use. Critics of the proposed minimum age may be overlooking another primary objective: displacing the black-market. Young adults aged 18 to 24 represent one third of the market. The act attempts to strike a balance between keeping marijuana away from minors and cash away from criminals. [continues 629 words]
Timothy Durden Jr. made it a habit to throw his arms around his grandmother, plant a big kiss on her cheek and proclaim, "I love you, Grannie." The former Park Hill High School basketball and football player had a passion for joking, dancing, lifting weights. But the 18-year-old also enjoyed "smoking his weed," family wrote in his obituary, and that habit cost him his life when he allegedly tried to rob the teenager who was selling him 2 ounces of marijuana in the Northland. [continues 1107 words]
It didn't get much notice because it happened the same day Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced his retirement, but former House Speaker John Boehner has announced that he's joining the board of Acreage Holdings, an investment company concentrating on the marijuana industry. In doing so, he added that his own position on legal marijuana had changed as public opinion had come around on the subject. And Boehner is far from the only previously anti-pot politician to turn into an advocate. [continues 406 words]
Premier Kathleen Wynne has ordered that school boards be given a say in where provincial marijuana stores are located, noting that boards are likely to know "where their kids go at lunchtime (and) where they go after school." Her demand came after the announcement that Toronto's first outlet of the Ontario Cannabis Store would be located in Scarborough, 450 metres from Blantyre Public School. The Toronto District School Board said it had asked to be consulted about the location, but never was. Concerned Blantyre parents discussed the news at a school council meeting last week. [continues 1490 words]
WASHINGTON - Embracing the hemp industry was a savvy political move for Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the only Republican to win statewide in 2011 during an otherwise tough year for his party. The political message got through. Now taking up the charge to make it easier -- and completely legal -- for U.S. farmers to grow and market hemp products, including trendy cannabidiol or CBD oil: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell, R-Ky., who pledges to give the legalization effort "everything we've got," is expediting the legislation and lining up key support from across the aisle as backers seek to convince otherwise tough-on-drugs Republicans to come along. [continues 1102 words]
The Medical Board of Ohio this week approved certificates for physicians to recommend medical marijuana, another step toward the legal sale of medicinal pot in the state. Of the three dozen doctors approved to issue recommendations for medical marijuana, only two are in the Toledo-area, although more can be certified later. Dr. Ryan Lakin, medical director for Omni Medical Services, is based out of Toledo. Dr. Mark Neumann is based out of Temperance. Patients can't be prescribed medical marijuana because it's illegal under federal law, so doctors must recommend its use. [continues 323 words]
Doctors who treat youth have serious concerns about the legalization of marijuana. With universities and schools providing few details around strategies for marijuana legalization, doctors who treat youth have serious concerns about the inevitable increase in use and the impending impacts of what can be a dangerous drug. Dr. Chris Wilkes, Alberta Health Services head of child and adolescent psychiatry, said educators "need to ramp it up" in terms of creating environments to ensure safety and informing youths about the health effects of marijuana. [continues 805 words]
The decision isn't without controversy, but city council was wise to ban the use of marijuana in public places. When the federal government legalizes cannabis later this summer, Calgarians won't be able to smoke, vape or eat products made with the substance in public spaces, unless they're a medical marijuana user. That's led critics of the decision to complain that people who live in multi-family dwellings may not be able to use the drug. "It's not an insignificant group of people - 36 per cent of Calgarians are renters," Coun. Evan Woolley said when the restriction was being discussed by council. "And effectively, we are saying there is no space for you to consume cannabis, and that's a problem for me." [continues 311 words]
MONTREAL-In the rush to marijuana legalization, cities across the country are harnessing their limited powers to delay the opening of retail pot stores, dictate where they can operate or ban them outright-at least temporarily. There was uproar from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Toronto District School Board after finding out the city's first retail cannabis store would open just 450 metres from a school, in a strip mall where students often eat lunch. But it's the scenario many local politicians are fighting to prevent. [continues 982 words]
Canada is moving closer to the legalization of recreational Cannabis this summer. Federal legislation is awaiting Senate approval and all the provinces have developed their implementation approach. Governments across the country rarely agree on anything. But as we embark on this change, they have been unanimous in agreeing that their top policy objective is the protection of youth. We know what the approaches and commitments have been from various governments, so we are in a good position to know whether their actions reflect their words. So far, the simple answer is no. [continues 629 words]
