Caregivers Fear a Legalised Drug May Arrive Too Late for Their Sick Family Members. Jai Whitelaw was 10 when he first took medical cannabis, given to him by his mother in a bid to treat the debilitating epilepsy that saw him endure up to 500 seizures a day. Faced with the stark choice of breaking the law in the hope of soothing his chronic pain, or denying him possible relief, Michelle Whitelaw reached breaking point. "I literally sat on the couch for two days, thinking 'Do I end his life and mine? Or do I risk helping him'," she said. [continues 736 words]
PROVIDENCE ( AP) - The Narragansett Indian Tribe would be able to grow hemp in Rhode Island under a new bill proposed in the state's General Assembly. Rep. Helio Melo, an East Providence Democrat, introduced the legislation on Thursday. The bill says the tribe historically used hemp products for clothing and housing and wants to use it again as a business opportunity. The bill would also allow universities to grow hemp for research or educational purposes. The National Conference of State Legislatures says at least 28 states have laws in place related to industrial hemp. It's legal to import hemp from abroad, but federal law only allows cultivation of hemp as a research project by states and universities. Industrial hemp is related to marijuana but has a lower concentration of the drug's mind-altering ingredient. [end]
The second Northwest Cannabis Classic trade show at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center over the weekend had plenty of free giveaways, including marijuana leaf stickers and lighters. A few exhibitor booths even had edibles such as candies and cookies. But they wouldn't get you high. "These aren't infused," said Martin Christensen of the Oracle Cookie Company, pointing at the elaborately flavored cookies he had laid out for convention attendees to try. "The cops actually came over and asked me, 'Are these infused?' " [continues 624 words]
Good politics is not always bad policy. Take, for instance, the pledge made several years ago by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to legalize marijuana. It was good politics, and it will probably, one day, be good policy. But when? The good politics part is obvious - the promise of legalization was an early opportunity for Trudeau, the rookie leader of the third party, to attract favourable attention. He was helped when the then-governing Conservatives reacted as if he'd proposed a national meth distribution program targeting innocent children. The Liberals better read the public mood, and reaped the benefits. [continues 710 words]
It looks as if legalization of medical marijuana will come this year, either through pending legislation or through two possible ballot issues to amend the Ohio Constitution. But the Ohio House is larding its bill with unpopular restrictions instead of crafting a plainly worded compromise sufficient to kill the more-extreme ballot issues. Many proponents of medical marijuana insist that smoking be one of the ways it can be used. But, unlike both ballot issues, House Bill 523 would require those with a marijuana prescription to use vaporization or other devices if they wish to inhale. The bill also would prohibit home-grown marijuana, which the ballot issues would allow in limited quantities. [continues 423 words]
Prince of Pot reports on the state of cannabis culture around the world - and why 2016 is a big year for bud - in the lead-up to this weekend's Toronto Global Marijuana March In Canada we're pretty spoiled when it comes to marijuana availability and price. Although we're likely to be the first nation to legalize every aspect of cannabis availability, we're part of a worldwide trend to legitimize and legalize cannabis. Costa Rica legalized medical marijuana on May 1 to go along with efforts already in bloom in that country to industrialize hemp production. [continues 647 words]
PALMER -- The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly late Tuesday approved a temporary moratorium on all commercial cannabis operations. The moratorium reflects the Assembly's desire to wait until local voters in early October decide a borough-wide ban that includes everything but industrial hemp. The Assembly unanimously put on hold any applications for marijuana businesses including cultivation, testing, manufacture and retail sales through Oct. 19. But they approved a sunset clause of Aug. 17 for cultivation. The rest of the moratorium extends through mid-October, until local elections are certified. [continues 291 words]
The federal government says it's reviewing marijuana's status as a Schedule 1 drug, a move that - regardless of what you think about the drug - is long overdue. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency made the announcement in a memo to lawmakers and said it hopes to have a decision ready sometime in the first half of this year. Marijuana has long been classified as a Schedule 1 drug, but the classification is as ludicrous today as it was back in the day. The Schedule 1 category is for substances which are not considered to have "any currently accepted medical use in the U.S., a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision and a high potential for abuse." By point of comparison, heroin also is a Schedule 1 drug. [continues 425 words]
When the 1849 Gold Rush hit, it wasn't the miners who got rich. The businessmen who sold blue jeans and pickaxes amassed the real fortunes. When Gov. Wolf signed a medical marijuana bill into law on April 17, Pennsylvania became the 24th state to legalize medical cannabis. In Old City on Saturday, about 450 entrepreneurs and venture capitalists gathered at the Chemical Heritage Foundation for what was billed as the "Innovation in the Cannabis Industry" conference. There were heady predictions - euphoric estimates of how large the marijuana industry could grow and the many opportunities for profits it might bring. "This eclipses the birth of the internet," said panelist Leslie Bocskor, an investment banker. "This is the greatest entrepreneurial opportunity we've seen in generations." [continues 562 words]
In addition to all the consumption-oriented festivities that went down on April 20, a march on City Hall brought a small but mighty crowd of medical marijuana supporters out to vent some frustrations. Their message? Leave our plants alone. Amendment 20 may have legalized medical marijuana back in 2000, but patients now feel their rights are under attack. That attack comes in the form of a proposed ordinance to limit all residences in the Springs to 12 marijuana plants total, period, no matter how many adults, patients or caregivers live there. [continues 520 words]
Lift Resource Centre area developer Debra Senger is a believer in medicinal cannabis. Without it, the Vernon woman believes her husband would likely have passed away due to cancer in his liver. Two years ago, Senger's husband wasn't eligible for a liver transplant that could save his life. He had been taking tace treatments for the better part of two years: A combination of chemotherapy and radiation that directly targets a patient's liver, going in through the groin. [continues 469 words]
NIMBIN'S 24th annual Mardigrass looks set to be epic, with 50% more tickets sold online than this time last year. Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said the Mardigrass cannabis law reform protest and gathering had something to celebrate this year, with the legalisation of medicinal cannabis. "We're looking for some seriously good vibes at this protestival with a good harvest behind us and finally, after about 80 years, our elected rulers admitting our favourite herb is good medicine," he said. [continues 111 words]
DERRYN Hinch won't have a puff on a joint at Mardigrass, but he's willing to throw a bong in the Hemp Olympix. "Unlike Bill Clinton, I've not only never smoked pot, I've never inhaled it," he said. "I'm a rabid anti-smoker, so whether it's tobacco or cannabis it's not my thing. "If somebody wants to offer me a joint I won't be smoking it. "I'd have a go at bong throwing, not bong smoking though." [continues 316 words]
They Fear Epilepsy Medication, Whose Maker Seeks FDA OK, Could Blunt Their Movement COLUMBUS, Ohio - An experimental epilepsy drug made from cannabis plants grown in England is complicating the medical marijuana debate in hospitals and statehouses. Epidiolex is a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol, or CBD, with little of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that gets traditional pot users high. CBD products are the current rage in medicinal pot products, and activists fear that if the maker of Epidiolex manages to get approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it could undercut the political momentum of the medical pot movement. [continues 688 words]
Cannabidiol Extract Without THC Could Undercut Movement COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An experimental epilepsy drug made from cannabis plants grown in England is complicating the medical marijuana debate in hospitals and statehouses. Epidiolex is a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol, or CBD, with little of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that gets traditional pot users high. CBD products are the current rage in medicinal pot products, and activists fear that if the maker of Epidiolex manages to get approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it could undercut the political momentum of the medical pot movement. [continues 690 words]
THE United Nations is ho sting a special three day session on the global drug problem that ends tomorrow, and cannabis users around the world are hoping their favourite plant will finally be rescheduled as a controlled substance. Are scheduling would make it easier for researchers to study the plant and for doctors to prescribe it as a medicine. This includes KwaZulu Natal, where the excellent quality of cannabis cultivated in the ideal climate of places such as the Midlands and Zulu land can be given to people who suffer from painful diseases, such as cancer and lupus, or to help the many police officers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. [continues 748 words]
As millions of marijuana aficionados light up Wednesday at 4:20 p.m. in celebration of "Weed Day," many are blissfully unaware of the increasing interest that investors with deep pockets are showing in their favorite psychoactive herb. A green rush is on in the marijuana industry, with legal sales of cannabis rising by a billion dollars or more each year nationwide, according to one report, and venture capitalists pouring millions into marijuana enterprises ranging from computer software and social networks to storage bags, vaporizers and insurance. [continues 1016 words]
Columbus -- Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger said he wasn't stalling on consideration of medical marijuana when his chamber launched a task force and a series of public hearings on legalization earlier this year. I guess he wasn't kidding. After years of pushing from advocates, lawmakers in the Ohio House are poised to consider a Republican-sponsored bill that would allow Ohioans to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, at the direction of a licensed physician. They don't appear to be messing around, either. Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton), who headed the task force and who will spearhead the select committee considering the new legislation, said he intends to move the bill rapidly through the chamber. [continues 502 words]
Pot Activists Worry Cannabis Extract May Undercut Political Movement Columbus, Ohio (AP) - An experimental epilepsy drug made from cannabis plants grown in England is complicating the medical marijuana debate in hospitals and statehouses. Epidiolex is a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol, or CBD, with little of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that gets traditional pot users high. CBD products are the current rage in medicinal pot products, and activists fear that if the maker of Epidiolex manages to get FDA approval, it could undercut the political momentum of the medical marijuana movement. [continues 452 words]
Money From the Sale of Cannabis Plants and Resin Would Have a Huge Economic Impact on Society. Richard Meadows Reports. Auckland's Hemp Store is looking flash. It's added a little cafe during its move to the gentrifying K Road area, on the hill above the CBD. Inside, manager Chris Fowlie is spinning discs and making coffees. All manner of balms, bongs and books line the shelves. Tables are set up at the perfect rolling height. Fowlie knows which way the smoke is blowing. He was in Colorado the day cannabis became legal. Three other states have followed suit, and about 20 more plan to put it to the vote this year. Canada has promised to legalise pot. Victoria has just become the first Australian state to give medicinal use the green light. "That makes it unstoppable here, and I think the Government recognises that," says Fowlie. [continues 1254 words]
