Ohio Would Benefit From a Carefully Regulated Experiment With Legalized Medical Marijuana Now that voters in Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana in their states, it's a matter of time before the issue reaches Ohio. If our state is not prepared to take that big a leap all at once, it still ought to look favorably at joining the 18 states - including Michigan - that authorize the growth, sale, and use of marijuana for medical purposes. A special report that begins today in The Blade looks at Michigan's experience since voters approved that state's medical-marijuana law five years ago. Business writer Kris Turner reports that marijuana cultivation, both legal and illegal, has become big business in Michigan, Ohio, and other Midwestern states. [continues 595 words]
Federal Forfeitures Combat Crime, Anger Right and Left A nationwide network of agents and attorneys is working around the clock to seize cash, stocks, real estate, vehicles and other valuables from people and businesses. In 2012, their average daily take was almost $13 million - for a total of more than $4.7 billion. The vast money-harvesting machine they work for? The federal government. Federal asset forfeiture is both an effective crime-fighting tool and a civil-liberties nightmare, a Hearst Newspapers investigation has found. It has retrieved millions of dollars stolen from victims of complex financial crimes. But it has also victimized innocent citizens who have lost their property without criminal charges or even a courtroom hearing. [continues 1494 words]
After Father's Experience, John Morgan Backs Petition Drive to Amend Florida Constitution John Morgan already has the battle cry for his upcoming fight to change Florida's constitution to legalize medical marijuana. "I'll take God's plant over Big Pharma's pills," Morgan says. Morgan, a high-profile Orlando attorney whose firm employs former Florida governor Charlie Crist, says he is willing to pour up to $3 million of his own money into a petition drive to get the issue on the November 2014 ballot. [continues 421 words]
Your editorial "Medical marijuana: A big mess may get even bigger" (utsandiego.com, May 21) got it backward on medical marijuana. Sen. Steinberg's bill is hardly "radical"; it simply clarifies existing law, as established in the Medical Marijuana Program Act and attorney general's guidelines, which provide for dispensing by medical marijuana collectives. These dispensaries have worked fine in communities which, unlike San Diego, have had the wit to pass local ordinances regulating them. The chaos has been caused by those who, like the U-T, refuse to recognize Prop. 215's mandate to implement a "safe and affordable" distribution system for medical marijuana. [continues 51 words]
To the Editor: Bill Keller's May 20 column, "How to Legalize Pot," captures the momentum and energy growing around the country to change out-of-date drug laws. This reform will come quickly because of major shifts in state laws and public opinion, coupled with increasing agreement that federal policy is a failure and the success of a new generation of reform advocates. The challenges that Mr. Keller identifies - dealing with long-term health issues, public safety, enforcement and regulation - are all very real and serious. But legalization of marijuana is coming whether we are ready or not, by the will of the people, so we had better do our best on the state and federal level to address these concerns now. [continues 110 words]
Latin American presidents who support decriminalization of marijuana won a big diplomatic victory in recent days when the 34-country Organization of American States issued a report that considers that option as one of several policies that might help reduce the region's drug-related violence. The 400-page OAS report, titled The Drug Problem in the Americas, had been commissioned by Latin American countries at last year's Summit of the Americas attended by President Barack Obama in Cartagena. While it doesn't make recommendations, it cites decriminalization of marijuana as one of several policy options that countries might adopt, in effect putting the option on the table. It is believed to be the first time that an international organization considers decriminalization of marijuana use as a possible drug policy. [continues 225 words]
COLUMBUS - Backers of the third attempt in less than two years to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio insist the latest effort will take root as it did in Michigan. "There's far more interest in people backing this one, particularly those who want to bring people into the political arena in 2014," said Bob Fitrakis, a member of the Ohio Rights Group behind the latest effort. The group just cleared two hurdles to get petition circulators out. Both Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Ballot Board have signed off on language that would be shown to potential petition signers. [continues 676 words]
SEATTLE - Marijuana growing is not a green industry. Done mostly indoors, pot production often uses hospital-intensity lamps, air conditioning, dehumidifiers, fans and carbon dioxide generators to stimulate plants and boost their potency. The power-hungry crops rival data centers or server farms in intense use of electricity, according to a peerreviewed study last year in the journal Energy Policy. One kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of pot grown indoors, the study says, leaves a carbon footprint equivalent to driving across the country seven times. Producing one joint is equivalent to leaving a light bulb on for 25 hours. [continues 1154 words]
