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Marijuana groups hope Ore. race will have chilling effect on federal medical pot crackdown
PORTLAND, Ore. — Medical marijuana advocates have a message for Democratic leaders and federal prosecutors with an eye on political office: Don’t mess with pot.
Pushing back against a federal effort to stem the proliferation of medical marijuana operations, one of the nation’s largest drug policy groups claimed credit Wednesday for the defeat of a former federal prosecutor who was the early favorite to win the Democratic primary for Oregon attorney general.
US Attorney issues warning on medical pot centers
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island’s top federal prosecutor has cautioned property owners intending to lease space to medical marijuana dispensaries that they could face forfeiture proceedings.
U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha sent the warning letters this week, according to his spokesman Jim Martin. Neronha had previously warned that the dispensaries, their landlords or investors could face civil or criminal sanctions, including the seizure of assets or property.
Pot laws offer up high dose of absurdity
If a 21-year-old is caught by police smoking marijuana, he could face a 90-day jail term. The sentence will be longer if that person is selling marijuana.
But if the same person is smoking a tobacco cigarette, he soon will face only disturbing pictures, such as a cadaver on a slab or an image of smoke coming from a tracheotomy hole. Barring a courtroom challenge, the federal government will this year require such photos to be prominently displayed on all cigarette packs sold in America.
More Americans Support Taxing Marijuana Than Junk Food
A national Rasmussen poll released today indicates that 47% of American adults answered “yes” to this question: “To help solve America’s fiscal problems, should the country legalize and tax marijuana?” Forty-two percent disagreed, and a whopping 10% were undecided.
Forty-seven percent is impressive, especially when one considers that this figure could grow to 57% if we’re able to persuade the undecided folks to come to our side through positive news coverage, paid advertising, and person-to-person contact.
Burlco man sues N.J. officials over medical marijuana delays
A Medford man who suffers from two debilitating health conditions sued New Jersey officials on Wednesday, charging that they have deliberately created delays in implementing the state’s medical marijuana program.
Richard Caporusso filed a complaint against the state Department of Health and Senior Services, agency commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd, and program director John H. O’Brien Jr. for failing to meet deadlines contained in the two-year-old law.
Medical Marijuana Bills Advance in New England
Medical marijuana bills are moving in New England. Last Wednesday, a Connecticut joint committee approved a bill there, and the following day, a New Hampshire Senate committee approved one there.
In Connecticut, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary voted 35-8 to approve House Bill 5389, which would create a system for licensing producers and distributors. The bill would also allow patients or their primary caregivers to possess an amount reasonably necessary for a one-month supply. What is “reasonably necessary” would be determined by the Department of Consumer Protection after the bill becomes law.
Marijuana advocates vow to reopen “Princeton of Pot” after raid
(Reuters) – Medical marijuana advocates on Tuesday vowed to reopen a San Francisco-area college devoted to cannabis cultivation and known as the “Princeton of Pot” a day after federal agents shut down the school in a raid.
Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of San Francisco’s City Hall, some on crutches and in wheelchairs and smoking hand-rolled joints. The demonstrators carried signs that said, “Cannabis is medicine; let states regulate” and chanting “Feds off my meds.”
National medical cannabis coalition formed
Activists in Michigan have formed a national coalition of medical cannabis advocates, charged with looking out for patient rights. Based in Detroit, the National Patients Rights Assn. (NPRA) is composed of activist, dispensary and patient groups, and will reportedly work to urge lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to abide by the rules of state medical marijuana programs. A “key objective” of the group is the standardization of regulations on such matters as safety, storage, document management and privacy, according to an NPRA press release. Information on the NPRA can be found at www.nprausa.com.
Support the Gatewood Galbraith Memorial Medical Marijuana Act
To be delivered to: The Kentucky State House, The Kentucky State Senate, and Governor Steve Beshear
State Senator Perry Clark has submitted a bill to legalize the use of Marijuana for medical purposes in the state of Kentucky. With the advent of research done all over the globe on this issue and the findings that medical Marijuana is in fact beneficial for treating a variety of ailments, we are urging passage of this bill.
3,000 signatures needed.
States’s high court to hear medical pot case
LANSING — The Michigan Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide a key issue in the wide-ranging disputes over Michigan’s voter-approved medical marijuana law: whether registered patients can sell marijuana to other registered patients.
An appeals court decision last year prohibiting such sales resulted in the closure of dozens of so-called marijuana dispensaries across the state.
Read more…
National medical cannabis coalition formed
Activists in Michigan have formed a national coalition of medical cannabis advocates, charged with looking out for patient rights. Based in Detroit, the National Patients Rights Assn. (NPRA) is composed of activist, dispensary and patient groups, and will reportedly work to urge lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to abide by the rules of state medical marijuana programs. A “key objective” of the group is the standardization of regulations on such matters as safety, storage, document management and privacy, according to an NPRA press release. Information on the NPRA can be found at www.nprausa.com.
EDITORIAL: Legislature needs to clarify Michigan’s medical marijuana law, not make it stricter
Michigan voters couldn’t have been more clear about their intentions when they approved the Medical Marihuana Act by an overwhelming margin in 2008. They wanted to make marijuana legally available to people with chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, the law itself could hardly have been more vague. Its hazy language has created a legal mess that we’ll be sorting out in the courts for the next couple of decades – unless either the Legislature or medical marijuana advocates themselves step in to provide much-needed clarity.
Medical pot tax a boon?
For the first time in at least five years in January, the category of “grocery and drug” became the biggest source of sales-tax revenue for the city of Durango, generating $373,436, a growth of 5 percent over the previous year.
It could be higher food prices and the popularity of organic supermarkets. Or, it could also be the city reaping the bounty of medical marijuana sales.
On the state level, medical marijuana sales are growing like weeds. State sales-tax revenue more than doubled between 2010 and 2011, growing from $2.2 million to $5 million, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Weed busts blowing up for police
GAYLORD, MI — Michigan State Police are calling it an epidemic.
The number of people being arrested for illegally trafficking marijuana has dramatically increased so far this year compared to last.
We talked to troopers Wednesday to see what is behind the trend.
Lawmakers want patient credibility, protection under Michigan medical marijuana law
Since Michigan voters approved a measure to allow medical marijuana for qualifying patients in 2008, critics have complained that the law lacks clarity and procedures have not worked as expected.
State Rep. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) and Phil Cavanaugh (D-Redford) head a work group that has been meeting since June to clarify the law to add legitimacy to the medical marijuana program and provide more protection for qualified patients.
Does the medical marijuana law have too many loopholes?
The Michigan House plans a hearing Thursday on proposals that supporters say would clarify the state’s voter-approved law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
The House Judiciary Committee hearing is likely to be the first of several on the legislation.
One proposal aims to better define the type of doctor-patient relationship that would be needed before medical marijuana use could be certified.
Obama’s War On Pot
In a shocking about-face, the administration has launched a government-wide crackdown on medical marijuana.
Back when he was running for president in 2008, Barack Obama insisted that medical marijuana was an issue best left to state and local governments. “I’m not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue,” he vowed, promising an end to the Bush administration’s high-profile raids on providers of medical pot, which is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia.
Weekly Wrapup: Moves to Unite Marijuana Industry, Support Medical Cannabis Laws Take Center Stage
Unity.
That, according to marijuana organizations and top medical cannabis people, is what the MMJ industry needs more than anything else right now.
And that’s what the medical marijuana business community is finally starting to get, in ways both large and small.
Final Rules for Legalization of Medical Marijuana Produced in Washington, D.C.
In 2009, noting that it was “allowing” the voters of Washington, D.C to vote on and implement that city’s Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Law, Congress approved medical marijuana in the federal District of Columbia, over which it has all governmental power. On Dec. 2nd, 2011, in anticipation of the opening of dispensaries and cultivation centers, the District’s mayor released final rules for the program.
Schuette wastes resources fighting what 63 percent support
Michigan’s Attonery General Bill Schuette, the main opponent of medical marijuana dispensaries, has made closing dispensaries one of his main concerns. Because of this move, commercial vacancy went from 16 percent to 26 percent in mid-Michigan during a Michigan recession. Sixty-three percent of the voting public, whom he’s trying to save from themselves by edict (no vote), a dogma-Spanish Inquisition thing, voted for medical marijuana.
Moves to Unite Marijuana Industry, Support Medical Cannabis Laws Take Center Stage
That, according to marijuana organizations and top medical cannabis people, is what the MMJ industry needs more than anything else right now.
And that’s what the medical marijuana business community is finally starting to get, in ways both large and small.
Medical Marijuana In Washington DC Could Help Other States Fight Off The Feds
If one prominent attorney is right about the legal ramifications of the District of Columbia’s marijuana law — specifically, that it was approved by the U.S. Congress — then it could be a game-changer nationwide.
D.C.’s medical marijuana law was the first time that the United States Congress had ever given its explicit assent to any state or local law that permits the medicinal use of marijuana — and, according to a California attorney who specializes in health care compliance, that is enormously significant under the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Michigan Forms National Medical Marijuana Advocacy Group
Michigan advocates on Monday announced the formation of the National Patients Rights Association, or NPRA, in order to protect fair access to medical cannabis in states where it’s already legal. This is huge news for medical marijuana patients in Michigan, who are using the NRPA’s help to reform and strengthen the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act of 2008.
Editorial: Religious right’s man in Lansing
Michigan’s overreaching attorney general, Bill Schuette, appears to be working harder at advancing his own narrow personal agenda than he is at representing Michigan’s people.
National Patients Rights Association Will Lobby For Rights Of Medicinal Marijuana Patients
A new Michigan-based, national coalition of medical marijuana advocates is coming together to defend the rights of patients and dispensaries.
The National Patients Rights Association (NPRA) will lobby legislators, prosecutors and local governments to uphold medical marijuana laws in 16 states and Washington, D.C.
Group Forms To Protect Patient Rights For Legalized Marijuana
A new alliance has been formed to uphold voters decisions to legalize marijuana for medical use.
The National Patients Rights Association is a new Michigan-based medical marijuana coalition — formed by leading medical marijuana advocates to protect patient rights.
Medical Marijuana Advocates Form Cannabis Group to Promote Rights of MMJ Patients, State Pot Laws
Cannabis caregivers, advocates, businesses and supporters from across the country have come together to create a new Michigan MMJ group that works to protect the rights of medical marijuana users in all states that have passed pot laws.
The National Patients Rights Association, or NPRA, pitches itself as a cannabis coalition set up to “encourage legislators, prosecutors and local governments to fully honor the decision of voters that enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana in 16 states and the nation’s capital.”
Expect truth from public leaders
The ninth commandment in the book of Exodus 20:16 states: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Short of religious precept, most of us are taught how harmful lies are before we begin formal schooling.
Robert F. Collins wrote about use of The Big Lie as a political propaganda technique in his Dec. 2 Soapbox. He attributes a definition to Joseph Goebbels, the Reich minister of propaganda in 1941 Germany: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it often enough, people will eventually come to believe it.” Lies are about controlling others’ thoughts and decisions by causing fear or some other strong, predetermined reaction. Truth is about recognizing individual equality and freedom of choice.
New Medical Marijuana Alliance Formed to Protect Patients’ Rights
National alliance aims to sustain the decision of voters to legalize marijuana for medical use
A new Michigan-based medical marijuana coalition —The National Patients Rights Association (NPRA) — has been formed by some of the nation’s leading medical marijuana advocates to protect patient rights. The group will encourage legislators, prosecutors, and local governments to fully honor the decision of voters that enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana in 16 states and the nation’s capital. Michigan, whose Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA) passed by nearly two-thirds of voters (63 percent) in 2008, will be among the first states targeted through the NPRA’s efforts.