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| 14 States Legalize Medical Marijuana |
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Posted by CN Staff on August 09, 2010 at 03:08:43 PT By Christina Rogers, The Detroit News Source: Detroit News 
Michigan -- After decades of marginalization, medical marijuana is gaining greater acceptance across the country and is becoming big business in states that have embraced it as a gentler, more natural medication for patients suffering from illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma and HIV.Fourteen states, including Michigan, have legalized the drug for medicinal use, and another dozen are considering bills to start medical marijuana programs. The nation's capital could join their ranks since the District of Columbia's council in May unanimously approved legalizing and regulating the pain-soothing, appetite-inducing drug. The Obama administration and the U.S. Department of Justice said last year they would no longer pursue cases against medical marijuana patients and suppliers who are abiding by state laws. Use of marijuana is still illegal under federal law, something the Bush administration vigorously enforced. In some states, medical marijuana has become a sizable part of the economy -- even when the industry's expansion has largely fallen in the gray area of the law. In California, marijuana is considered among the state's leading cash crops. In Colorado, medical marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks locations 3 to 1. In other states, such as New Mexico and Oregon, heavier regulations have limited growth. "It hasn't become a Wal-Mart type of business," said Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard University economist who studies the marijuana trade. "But it's gone beyond a mom-and-pop sort of activity." California was the first state to legalize pot for medicinal use in 1996, spawning an industry that grew rapidly and remains among the nation's most loosely regulated. The state is home to marijuana-growing superstores, where patients can get cannabis cards that certify their eligibility to use medicinal marijuana, as well as equipment for growing the plant. A publicly traded company, Medical Marijuana Inc. based in Marina del Rey, provides consulting services. And a dispensary in Oakland, Harborside Health Center, hopes to establish the nation's first medical marijuana franchise. A dispensary is a place where state-approved growers, known as caregivers, can sell off excess pot and patients can buy it by showing their certification card. The industry's swift growth, however, has prompted many states, including Colorado, to tighten the rules. Some also have begun taxing medical marijuana sales. That has helped limit or reduce the number of medical marijuana businesses. In Los Angeles, a new law caps the number of dispensaries at 70. Colorado, which has about 1,100 dispensaries, requires facility owners to pay licensing fees and follow local zoning ordinances, said Mike Meno, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. Some industry experts estimate the stricter rules could prompt about half of the state's dispensaries to close, Meno said. "The trend is that people are going to follow Colorado," Meno said. "They're going to realize you can't have this industry operate in the gray area. ... People need to know what's legal and what's not." In Michigan, state medical marijuana laws are still vague in many areas, such as on how patients are to obtain the drug and what growers are supposed to do with excess marijuana. In this gray area, dispensaries have opened to meet the needs of patients. Without stricter regulations, their numbers could proliferate, experts say. But that's unlikely to happen. Some local governments already are looking for ways to stiffen the rules on medical marijuana commerce. "I wouldn't be surprised," Meno said, "if Michigan joins the states that are retroactively regulating their industries." Source: Detroit News (MI) Cannabis News Medical Marijuana Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
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| Comment #14 posted by FoM on August 11, 2010 at 16:33:07 PT |
| You'll do a great job. Let us know how it goes. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by Paint with light on August 11, 2010 at 16:18:20 PT |
| All I found was this, http://www.mpp.org/legislation/ Tomorrow the person who is running for the seat of the guy most responsible for stopping the progress on the Tennessee bill, has requested a meeting with me to discuss the cannabis laws. I guess I am now a cannabis consultant. I am going to offer my services to any member of the legislature that wants up to date facts and figures of what is happening nationally, how we got to where we are, and how we get what is best for medical, industrial, and recreational users. If I could help get Joey "It's equal to heroin" Hensley defeated next election cycle it would feel great. Legal like alcohol. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by FoM on August 11, 2010 at 10:13:21 PT |
| I'm really not sure. Maybe someone else might know. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #11 posted by rchandar on August 11, 2010 at 09:49:08 PT:
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| FoM, anyone, can you tell the viewing audience what those 12 states "considering" MMJ are? And possibly, any kind of link to the websites of action groups operating in these states? Fifteen plus twelve is twenty-seven. Should we get all of 'em, we outnumber the prohibs. --rchandar [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by konagold on August 10, 2010 at 11:16:00 PT |
| Hemp Ale = Canobeer?? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by BGreen on August 10, 2010 at 08:12:00 PT |
| Hemp cone, that's cool! The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by Had Enough on August 10, 2010 at 08:08:28 PT |
| Towards the bottom of the page... Under the heading of: MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION Cone Composition.....Hemp Cone ™ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Hope on August 10, 2010 at 07:55:46 PT |
| "The concession stands also featured something called Hemp Ale, from Humboldt County, of course." Sounds nice. :0) I don't know... but that and one of those special cupcakes sounds like it would be a nice treat to soothe my body and soul right now. Some day things are going to be better. Actually... they are already, in many places. No doubt. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by Hope on August 10, 2010 at 07:50:28 PT |
| That's a great article, Konagold... a great page! I want a cupcake! :0) Thanks. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Hope on August 10, 2010 at 07:45:47 PT |
| :0) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by BGreen on August 10, 2010 at 07:37:43 PT |
| "We've won!" What did I see, you ask curiously? I was thumbing through a musical instrument catalog, the musicians equivalent of the Sears Christmas catalog, and I saw an ad for a line of speakers for guitar amps from a major company called Eminence, and right at the top of the page was one of four different model names which was "Cannabis Rex!" CANNABIS REX™ Clean and full, with lots of body and sparkle. Smokey smooth with high-end definitionWhen cannabis has hit the mainstream enough that major companies use the correct name of cannabis in naming their products, we've won!Congratulations everyone! The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 10, 2010 at 06:01:30 PT |
| I can't find any news to post but will keep looking. Soon the news will pick up as we approach election season. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by konagold on August 09, 2010 at 11:26:35 PT |
| pot shops strike back http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Smoke-Shops-Strike-Back-at-Bong-Bill-100254474.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by konagold on August 09, 2010 at 11:25:07 PT |
| Cannabis cup cake http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Cannabis-Cup-Cake-Anyone-100223214.html [ Post Comment ] |
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