Cannabis News

Monitored alarm systems and security cameras at pot dispensaries were among the host of conditions included in the proposed ordinance, drafted by a task force that included medical marijuana providers. Read More... Denver Medical Pot Dispensaries Apply for Licenses Posted by CN Staff on February 08, 2010 at 14:42:28 PT By The Associated Press Source: Summit Daily News Denver -- Medical marijuana dispensary owners lined up before 7:30 a.m. Monday to apply for operating licenses.

Penny May, Denver's director of excise and licenses, said her office had processed 22 licenses by 11:30 a.m., with many more to go. May said as of a week ago, 477 sales tax licenses had been issued to medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver. Read More... 'Father of Medical Marijuana' Speaks Posted by on February 08, 2010 at 09:11:24 PT By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Source: Mail Tribune Ashland, OR -- The man who opened the nation’s first “pot club” for medical marijuana users will come to town Tuesday to speak in favor of legalizing marijuana.

Dennis Peron, known as the “father of medical marijuana,” supports across-the-board legalization of marijuana. In a telephone interview, he said enforcing existing laws costs the criminal justice system a fortune. Read More... Drug Czar Should Go Posted by on February 05, 2010 at 09:49:08 PT By Timothy Lynch Source: Washington Times Washington, D.C. -- Voters are disgusted by the reckless spending of politicians in Washington. The backlash is coming, so policymakers are now scrambling to do something, or at least be seen as doing something, about the enormous federal debt. Now is a good time for Congress to abolish government agencies that are outdated, dysfunctional or just unnecessary.

A prime candidate for abolition is the office of the so-called "drug czar." Read More... Pot Committee Seeks Lowest Police Priority Posted by on February 05, 2010 at 08:20:39 PT By Tony Evans, Express Staff Writer Source: Idaho Mountain Express Idaho -- Hailey's Marijuana Oversight Committee will present its first recommendation to the City Council in March, asking Mayor Rick Davis to require police officers to consider marijuana-use violations the police department's lowest police priority, despite a judge's ruling that portions of the ordinance were in violation of state law.

"I will have to look at the recommendation and have the city attorney review it before deciding whether to enforce it," Davis said. Read More... Medical Marijuana Bill Now in Kansas House Posted by on February 04, 2010 at 05:53:29 PT By David Klepper, The Star’s Topeka Correspondent Source: Kansas City Star Topeka -- The peaceful plains of Kansas wouldn’t seem to be fertile ground for medical marijuana. After all, Kansas was the first to embrace Prohibition, and one of the last to end it. Even today, you can’t find full-strength beer on a grocery store shelf.

Yet in the same week that state lawmakers voted to make Kansas the first state to outlaw a synthetic form of pot, a Wichita legislator introduced a bill to legalize marijuana with a doctor’s prescription. Read More... Lawmakers: Dispensaries Stay, But As Non-Profits Posted by CN Staff on February 03, 2010 at 18:04:13 PT By John Ingold Source: Summit Daily News Denver -- State lawmakers today unveiled a bill that would make major changes to Colorado's medical-marijuana industry, allowing retail-style dispensaries to remain open, but forcing them to re-organize as licensed, non-profit "health centers."

The bill would also place an 18-month moratorium on new commercial dispensaries. The bill also would require dispensaries to grow the majority of the marijuana they sell, thus eliminating freelance growers. Read More... Lawmaker Wants Pot Growers, Sellers To Get License Posted by CN Staff on February 03, 2010 at 17:03:58 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press San Francisco -- A California lawmaker is proposing to require all marijuana growers and sellers to be licensed by the state as a way to increase sales tax revenue.

Democratic state Sen. Ron Calderon said Wednesday he plans to introduce a bill requiring all legal and illegal marijuana businesses to register with the Board of Equalization, the state agency that collects sales tax. The bill would not legalize marijuana beyond current state law. Read More... Medical Marijuana Bill, Ballot Initiative Unveiled Posted by on February 03, 2010 at 12:59:41 PT By John Ingold, The Denver Post Source: Denver Post Colorado -- State lawmakers are today unveiling a long-awaited and already hotly debated bill to regulate medical-marijuana dispensaries in Colorado.

The bill, which is scheduled to be released at an afternoon news conference, is expected to spark a lobbying firefight between law enforcement groups, which want to eliminate retail marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, and medical-marijuana advocates, some of whom favor as few government regulations on the industry as possible. Read More... Hearing Addresses Changes To R.I. MMJ Law Posted by on February 03, 2010 at 06:14:03 PT By Talia Buford, Journal Staff Writer Source: Providence Journal Providence, R.I. -- JoAnne Leppanen sees it every so often. A patient comes in and flashes a newly printed medical marijuana registration card. “They come in and say ‘Where’s my medicine?’ ” Leppanen, of the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, said. “And then we have to say ‘Sorry, here are your options.’ ”

Ever since the legislature passed its medical marijuana statute, allowing patients with certain illnesses to legally posses and use marijuana for medicinal purposes, figuring out how to get the pain reliever into the hands of patients has been a tricky prospect. Read More... New Jersey Legalizes Prescriptions for Marijuana Posted by on February 03, 2010 at 06:06:23 PT By Omar Carrillo, Staff Writer Source: Daily Princetonian New Jersey -- Starting this June, some students may be able to legally smoke marijuana in New Jersey. The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which was passed by the state legislature and signed by then-governor Jon Corzine (D) in January, will make New Jersey the 14th state in the nation and only the fourth on the East Coast to legalize marijuana for people with certain medical conditions.

Since the law may not take effect for at least six months, the University is currently waiting on guidelines and rules from the state before developing its own plans for implementation. Read More... Legislation Proposed To Legalize Medical Marijuana Posted by on February 03, 2010 at 05:54:06 PT By Elizabeth Gyori Source: Washington Square News New York -- Medical marijuana may be coming to New York soon. A bill to legalize the possession and use of the drug was recently proposed by New York State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and is being pushed by supporters of legalization.

The bill stipulates that distribution will only be allowed by licensed entities under the supervision of the New York State Department of Health and will be limited to two and a half ounces. Read More... Duo Pushes Rhode Island To Decriminalize Pot Posted by on February 02, 2010 at 17:41:35 PT By Joel Millman Source: Wall Street Journal Providence, R.I. -- A retired police officer and the proprietor of an organic eatery make an odd couple when it comes to trying to overturn marijuana laws in this tiny state, but Jack Cole and Josh Miller are giving it their best shot.

Mr. Cole, 71 years old, is a veteran of decades with the New Jersey State Police, almost all with the drug squad. Mr. Miller, 55, runs Local 121, a restaurant favored among "buy local" diners, and also serves in the state Senate, where he leads a special commission to study marijuana prohibitions. The panel began hearings in January to discuss an overhaul of the state's pot laws, starting with decriminalization of small amounts. Read More... Senate Should Back Off Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on February 02, 2010 at 06:18:52 PT LSJ Editorial Source: Lansing State Journal Michigan -- It's not unheard of for a voter-ordered change in state law to require additional work by the Legislature. Constitutional amendments and initiatives do leave strings dangling, details missed.

But the move afoot at the Capitol now to tinker with the state's new medical marijuana regime has a different feel to it. This seems more the stuff of derailing the voters' intent, rather than executing it. Read More... Missouri Lawmakers Introduce Med Marijuana Bill Posted by on February 02, 2010 at 05:54:43 PT By Tarah Benner Source: Maneater MO -- Missouri could become the next state to allow the use of medical marijuana. A new bill sponsored by Rep. Kate Meiners, D-Kansas City, proposed to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes. The bill states medical marijuana should be prescribed for a debilitating medical condition such as cancer, HIV, hepatitis C or Alzheimer's disease.

If passed, the legislation would outline a system for registration of patients using marijuana for medical purposes and would require the state Department of Health and Senior Services to keep a confidential list of all patients with access to the drug. Read More... Scientific Proof for Medical Pot Posted by on February 02, 2010 at 05:44:44 PT Editorial Source: Denver Post Colorado -- Time and again, the Obama administration has voiced its allegiance to science on politically controversial issues of environment, energy and health. We think the administration ought to be true to this laudable principle on the question of medical marijuana.

The controversies that have erupted in many states over the legalization and regulation of medical marijuana could be alleviated if the federal government sponsored more and better research into the efficacy of marijuana in treating a variety of medical conditions. Read More... L.A. Can't Go It Alone on Pot Posted by on February 02, 2010 at 05:18:29 PT By José Huizar Source: Los Angeles Times California -- The Los Angeles City Council last week finally adopted a medical marijuana ordinance. Though not perfect, it balances the needs of local communities with those of patients who truly need access to medical marijuana. And it will rein in an out-of-control situation in which a federally banned substance has been sold for the last four years as hundreds of dispensaries proliferated in the city of Los Angeles, with no local regulations and ambiguous state laws to guide us. Read More... D.A.R.E. Generation Wants Marijuana Legalized Posted by on February 01, 2010 at 16:01:23 PT By Jonathan Perri Source: Los Angeles Times USA -- D.A.R.E. America Chairman Skip Miller writes in his Jan. 28 Times Op-Ed article, "Don’t legalize marijuana," that his organization has been successful in its efforts to reduce illegal drug use in the U.S. by educating schoolchildren. Indeed, protecting young people has long been used to justify marijuana prohibition. But in reality, our drug laws have failed to stop marijuana use among American youth but have succeeded in punishing them with damning criminal records, loss of financial aid for college and removal from after-school activities. As a graduate of D.A.R.E., I know all too well about the shortcomings of this program and of America's war on marijuana. Read More... Marijuana Should Be a Medicine Posted by on February 01, 2010 at 08:32:04 PT By Andrew Pazdon Source: GW Hatchet Washington, D.C. -- If my 93-year-old grandmother lived in a state where medical marijuana wasn't verboten, she would be able to use medical marijuana to help with her glaucoma and her chronic arthritis. My father told me this not that long ago because of pending legislation in the New Hampshire General Court. Apparently, when he told my grandmother this fun factoid, she asked about the delivery method for this new-fangled medical cannabis. Read More... Putting Fences Around Medical Marijuana Use Posted by on January 31, 2010 at 06:13:02 PT By Kelly Brewington and Meredith Cohn Source: Baltimore Sun Baltimore, M.D. -- Even as a proposal to legalize medical marijuana emerges in Maryland, a backlash over the burgeoning industry has developed in other states - and is likely to influence legislation here.

Last week, the Los Angeles City Council tried to rein in the growth of marijuana dispensaries, limiting the number to 70 and imposing tight restrictions on where and how they can operate. And in Colorado, towns are trying to shutter some of the hundreds of dispensaries that have popped up. Read More... Rethinking Marijuana Posted by on January 31, 2010 at 05:48:53 PT Opinion Source: Times-Standard California -- It's ironic that the straightest path toward clarity in laws surrounding marijuana may just be through the initiative process.

By now, it's no secret that various groups have put forth ballot measures this election year to completely legalize the drug, which until now has only been legal as medicine. But that current qualified legality has led to mass confusion across the state, and a number of legal conundrums that threaten public safety in a number of ways. Read More... Smoke & Mirrors: Colorado Teenagers and Marijuana Posted by on January 31, 2010 at 05:28:48 PT By Christian Thurstone Source: Denver Post Denver -- Colorado's public policies regarding the use of medical marijuana are a complete mess — and as the medical director of a busy adolescent substance abuse treatment program in Denver, I get to contend with this mess every day.

Take, for example, the 19-year-old whom I have treated for severe addiction for several months. He recently showed up in my clinic with a medical marijuana license. How did he get it? Easy, he said. He paid $300 for a brief visit with another doctor to discuss his "depression." The doctor took a cursory medical history that certainly didn't involve contacting me. Read More... Cities Rush To Limit Medical Marijuana Posted by on January 30, 2010 at 06:22:35 PT By Korie Wilkins and Bill Laitner, Staff Writers Source: Detroit Free Press Michigan -- Christopher Frizzo of Royal Oak said marijuana helps him battle symptoms of his multiple sclerosis. But during a routine traffic stop Jan. 11, police took his medical marijuana and refused to return it, said Frizzo, 47.

Although he was approved by the state to use medical marijuana, he didn't register for a state-approved caregiver to be his supplier, Frizzo admitted. His state registration card is stamped "No Caregiver." Read More... Panel Shelves Tax on Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on January 29, 2010 at 20:27:30 PT By Barry Massey, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press Santa Fe, NM -- A proposal to tax medical marijuana in New Mexico ran into strong opposition on Friday and a House committee shelved the measure. House Bill 186 would impose a 25 percent tax on the value of marijuana grown for medical purposes.

A 2007 law allows people with certain medical conditions to get relief by using marijuana. About 1,000 patients are registered with the state. Read More... Colo. Senate Gives Initial OK To Medical Pot Bill Posted by CN Staff on January 29, 2010 at 19:15:33 PT By Colleen Slevin, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press Denver -- A bill aimed at preventing recreational pot users from skirting the law to obtain medical marijuana won initial backing in the Senate on Friday. The measure, Senate Bill 109, bars doctors from writing recommendations inside dispensaries that sell medical marijuana.

It requires that doctors review a person's medical history and give them a full exam before recommending that they become a legal user of medical marijuana. Those between 18 and 21 would have to get the approval of two doctors, which is already required for patients under 18. Read More... City Needs To Write Pot Laws Posted by on January 29, 2010 at 11:09:45 PT By Dave Perry Source: Aurora Sentinel Colorado -- Here’s the dope, Aurora: Mary Jane is coming, and it looks like she’s going to stay. While Denver and much of the rest of the metro area has been inflamed by the medical-marijuana controversy, Aurora officials have decided to take a look-and-see attitude about the whole thing.

Not any more. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates this week waved the red flag in front of apathetic city officials, making it clear that like it or not, the medical marijuana controversy is going to boil over at the state Capitol and spread right into our very own medical-marijuana-free community. Read More... Medical Pot Advocates Riled Over Federal Raid Posted by on January 29, 2010 at 06:05:12 PT By John Ingold, The Denver Post Source: Denver Post Colorado -- Federal drug-enforcement agents earlier this week seized medical-marijuana samples from a Denver lab that does potency testing for dispensaries, in what cannabis advocates say is an instance of continued official harassment of the medical-marijuana industry.

The raid at Full Spectrum Laboratories, just north of downtown Denver, occurred Wednesday, said Betty Aldworth, the lab's outreach director. She said agents took dozens of medical-marijuana samples — either small pieces of plants or test tubes of "extraction fluid" — but left the lab's equipment and did not arrest anyone. Read More... CO Lawmakers Look at Regulating Pot Dispensaries Posted by CN Staff on January 28, 2010 at 16:14:26 PT By Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press Source: Aspen Times Denver -- Lawmakers will likely be asked to back rules regulating the hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries that have popped up around Colorado, rather than trying to get rid of them.

Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, plans to introduce a bill next week that would require criminal background checks for people selling medical marijuana, along with regular inspections and audits of the businesses. Read More... Will Pot Go Corporate and Spoil It for Everybody? Posted by on January 28, 2010 at 06:29:55 PT By Michael Polson, In These Times Source: AlterNet USA -- In the warm, luminescent glow of the dust encrusted light fixture, the carpeted and dank hallway disappears into unvacuumed recesses. Darren grabs an unobtrusive handle along the wall's flimsy wood paneling, pulls, and a crack of light pierces the gloom. Pushing aside a black screen of Hefty bags intended to block light and trap heat, he reveals his miniature grow closet. A heavy, supple branch tumbles out. It brushes my hand, leaving a telltale streak of sticky, stinky moistness. The resin goes away with a bit of water. The smell stays. Read More... Medical Marijuana Bill Gets First OK Posted by on January 27, 2010 at 18:59:50 PT By John Ingold, The Denver Post Source: Denver Post Colorado -- A bill that would tighten regulations for patients seeking medical marijuana and the doctors approving it for them passed its first test at the state Capitol today. "This is the beginning of the end of the wild west" for Colorado's medical-marijuana industry, bill sponsor Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said.

The 6-1 thumbs-up from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee came with the support of law enforcement groups eager for the state to crack down on what they say are abuses in the state's medical-marijuana system. Read More...

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Highlights
MMJ News & More MMM News CommonSense for Drug Policy Drug Policy Forum of Wisconsin WarOnSomeDrugs Drug Policy Alliance Drug Reform Coordination Network Maximizing Harm Cures Not Wars Marijuana The Forbidden Medicine Patients Out of Time

Older News
Colo. Pot Dispensaries Welcome State Regulation After 10 Years, MMJ Finally Heads for D.C. 2 Bills Would Legalize Medical Marijuana Is New York Ready for Medical Marijuana? Pot Deal Puts Noses Out of Joint Los Angeles Reins in Medical Marijuana Shops Los Angeles To Limit Marijuana Dispensaries LA City Council OKs Plan To Close Most Pot Clinics LA Set To Approve Medical Marijuana Ordinance Don’t Thwart Will of Voters on Medical Marijuana Mich. Pot Proponents Cancel Marijuana Contest MMJ Users on Uncertain Ground in Workplaces Hundreds Head To Event For MMJ Card Medical Marijuana May Become Legal in District Marijuana Bill Likely To Be Further Modified MMJ Law Clears Assembly Health Committee Pot Ruling May Not Have Big Impact on Seattle State Court Ruling Shoots Down MMJ Restrictions CA Supreme Court Invalidates State Limits on MMJ California Court Rejects Limits on Marijuana Missouri House Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill Top Court Nixes Medical Marijuana Limits Two Marijuana Bills Die in Legislative Committee Virginia Delegate Morgan Seeks To Decriminalize Va. Lawmaker Proposes Medical Marijuana Bill LA City Council Passes MMJ Dispensary Ordinance Lawmakers Mull Changes To Mich. Medical Pot Law Medical Marijuana Faces Rollback in L.A. D.C. Council Bill Proposes 5 MMJ Dispensaries LA Council Set To Vote on Marijuana Ordinance Corzine Signs Law To Legalize Medical Marijuana Researchers Find Study of MMJ Discouraged Is Marijuana a Medicine? High Support for Medical Marijuana N.J. Medical Marijuana Law Overlooks Many in Pain Lawmakers Wise To OK Marijuana Bill English Will Take Aim at Reforming Cannabis Laws New Marijuana Law Hailed But Concerns Still Remain Medical Marijuana Law Ready To Burn in New Jersey Legislature Should Clear Up Pot Law A Right To Do Business in Medical Marijuana The Pot Dispensary Wars Attorney To Dismiss Cases of Pot Possession Push for Looser Pot Laws Gains Momentum A Doctor's Case For Legal Pot Medical Marijuana Task Force Helps Craft New Law Legislators Await First Bill To Regulate MMJ Fired Up Over Med Pot Regulations Advocates Differ on How Best To Cultivate Policy Tenn. Lawmaker Applauded by Pro-Pot Activists LA Bars Medical Marijuana Shops Next To Residence Mary Jane Goes To Olympia Marijuana Advocates Want Changes in WA Drug Laws Legislators Weigh Legalizing MJ v. Decriminalizing Legalize Marijuana? Not So Fast Compassion in New Jersey NJ Allows MMJ for a Fraction of The People Committee Approves Calif. Pot Legalization Bill Pot Town, USA? Denver Stricter on Pot Medical Marijuana Bill Sent To Corzine First Hearing for Pot Legalization Bill Initiative Filed To Legalize Pot in Washington Ore. Ballot Measure Seeks Pot Dispensaries NJ Legislature Approves Medical Marijuana Bill New Jersey Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana N.J. Lawmakers To Vote On Medical Marijuana Beyond Drug Law Reform Cohen To Speak At Marijuana Gala MMJ Up for Final Vote Monday in New Jersey Romer Wants To License Marijuana Caregivers What's Next for Marijuana Reform? Timid Politicians in Smokescreen of Med Marijuana Petition Drive Launched To Legalize Marijuana Confusion About Marijuana Sales Traced To CA Law Clarify Role of Pot Providers In The MMJ Debate, It's Time To Be Grown-Ups Weed Takes Root Bid To Legalize Pot is Counter To U.S. Trend Police Need To Get on Board with Program for MMJ Drug Skeptics Fear Colorado Going To Pot MMJ Debate Takes Shape for Colorado Legislators Michigan Cities Try To Block Marijuana Sales Some MMJ Millionaires Are Turning To Philanthropy Medical Pot Victory Judge Rules Centennial Closed Pot Shop Illegally Colo. Judge: Pot Shops Have Constitutional Rights 10 Reasons The U.S. Military Should Use Pot State Legislator Bray Set To Move Forward on MMJ High Expectations? States Weigh Marijuana Reform

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Resources
NIDA - Common Drugs of Abuse lists commonly abused psychotropics. U.S. National Library of Medicine is an execellent resource for medical information. For recreational use of psychotropics one will find Hyperreal informative. Drug Sense, Marijuana Policy Project, Drug Reform Coordination Network, and NORML are among the many organizations seeking to reform cannabis laws.

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