ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state will require physicians to complete an educational course before they can authorize medical marijuana for patients - an unusual mandate not applied to other new drugs or seen in other states with medical marijuana programs. State officials say the 4-1/2-hour, $250 online course will inform doctors about a complex drug treatment not covered in medical school. But while the investment of time and money is modest, some patient advocates worry the inconvenience could discourage physicians from participating, ultimately limiting patient access. [continues 634 words]
Boulder Weekly brings you this report in partnership with Rocky Mountain PBS I-News. Learn more at rmpbs.org/news. According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Toxicology, up to 69.5 percent of the pesticides on a marijuana bud can transfer into the smoker's lungs. Jeffrey Raber, who directed the study and owns a cannabis-testing lab in California, said the risks to consumers and workers are clear. "It's easy to understand that these compounds are toxic. We've studied that ad nauseum," he said. "That's why regulations exist for every other item we consume." [continues 481 words]
The Number of Weed Users in the U.S. Has Doubled The number of Americans who use marijuana doubled in a decade, according to survey data collected from 80,000 adults by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 2001-02 and 2012-13. Respondents were asked whether they'd used marijuana in the past year, and whether they had signs of problematic use, such as trying but being unable to quit using weed heavily despite harm to health, or causing depression or anxiety. The most recent survey indicates that 22 million Americans, or 10 percent of the total population, now uses pot. And about 1 in 3 users-or 6.8 million people-showed signs of dependence or abuse. Use increased across all age groups, but was most common among people ages 18 to 29. The researchers attributed the increase in smoking to a cultural shift regarding recreational use. [end]
I wanted to enlighten many to the untold consequences of pot legalization that I have seen first hand at work. Moral issues aside, the legalization of pot in many states has led to an explosion (both literally and figuratively) of fire losses. In those states that have legalized pot, there is no way to prevent "legal" pot from being used to make butane hash oil (BTO). You just simply blast your "legal" pot with butane (lighter fluid), cook the left off over THC/lighter fluid mix (what could go wrong there), and smoke, eat or otherwise consume the dark sludge which is a much better high. I have been involved in 8 figure losses due to butane hash explosions and I would prefer not to handle those types of claims in Ohio too. Luckily, since I'm just a property claim's guy, I will just have to handle the property damage claim, not the fatality claims. Josh Schaad, Blue Ash [end]
To the Editor: This is a plea for a rational and compassionate perspective on the issue of medical marijuana. I must be honest. It is personal for me as I suffer from multiple sclerosis. The opinions expressed here, however, were formed long before it became a personal issue. My objectivity has not changed, but my compassion has deepened. Many years after Congress passed laws criminalizing the use of any marijuana, it once again is recognized as a legitimate medicine. To continue to argue that marijuana has no known medical use is an erroneous argument. The May 25 issue of TIME and the June 15 issue of National Geographic, for example, cite some of the research establishing the medical usefulness of marijuana and the hopes researchers have for it. [continues 415 words]
Issuing tax certificates gives a false sense of legitimacy, city lawmakers say. Los Angeles lawmakers want to stop letting new marijuana shops sign up to pay city taxes because they say there is no way the businesses could be legal under restrictions approved by voters more than two years ago. "We shouldn't be making money off of illegal businesses," City Councilwoman Nury Martinez said. The council voted Wednesday to request that City Atty. Mike Feuer ask the finance office to stop issuing business tax registration certificates to newly established pot shops, one of several proposals meant to prevent illegal businesses from using city documents to convince customers they are operating with city approval. [continues 392 words]
To the Editor: The state of Ohio has just announced that it's on the path to legalize marijuana but with a twist. California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado have all legalized medical pot and then some have moved on to legalizing recreational pot, but Ohio is saying it's going to be the first state to legalize both at the same time. I'm not sure how much sense this makes. Doesn't recreational pot invalidate medical marijuana? Whichever is cheaper is going to end up covering both bases. [continues 521 words]
Locals React to California's New Medical Marijuana Rules With a motion of his wrist, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law this month a broad set of regulations designed to rein in the state's massive, unruly medical marijuana industry. The regulations have been 20 years in the making, since California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 with the Compassionate Use Act, better known as Proposition 215. That act led to a fragmented and complicated set of local rules, uncertainties for regulators and law enforcers, continuing interference from the federal government, and a green rush in our own Emerald Triangle that has fragmented timber lands, damaged watersheds and built an important, albeit shadowy, economic driver for Humboldt County. [continues 3032 words]