Category: All Medical Marijuana News

Kansas Lawmakers Reduce Possession Penalties

Early Monday morning, the The bill now heads to Gov. Brownback’s desk, and will become law if he does not veto it within 10 days.

Unfortunately, the legislature did not pass any type of protections for medical marijuana patients, although it considered several bills to do so. The House did pass a bill, sponsored by Rep. John Wilson, which would have allowed patients to use low-THC medical cannabis and provided for in-state access. Although those provisions did not pass the Senate, it is significant because this is the first time any type of medical marijuana bill was passed by either chamber of the Kansas Legislature.

If you are a Kansas resident, please ask your legislators to consider a comprehensive medical marijuana bill next year.

The post Kansas Lawmakers Reduce Possession Penalties appeared first on MPP Blog.

Women Are Stepping Up For Legalization

A new CBS poll released on 4/20 is the first to show majority female support for marijuana legalization in the US. Though still trailing the 59% of men who are in favor of legalization, 54% of women now say they support it too.

Last year’s CBS poll found that only 43% of women were pro-legalization, versus 54% of men, an 11-point gap. This year’s poll narrows the gap to 5 points and represents an 11% jump in support from women in only one year’s time.

National polls in recent years have shown women’s support for legalization as high as 48%, but always trailing men’s approval by 8-13 points. Women are also around 15% less likely to admit that they have tried marijuana.

The same is true regionally: in Florida a 2015 Quinnipac poll found again 57% of men supported legalization and only 46% of women did. And if marijuana were to be legalized for recreational use in the state, 70 percent of women said they would ‘definitely not use’ it, compared to 59 percent of men.

Similarly in Ohio, there was a 12% differential between men at 59% support and women at 47%; and 71 percent of women, and only 57 percent of men, said they would ‘definitely not use’ legal marijuana.

But now perhaps we have reached a tipping point on women coming over to seeing the light of legalization. When I checked in January of this year, Cal NORML’s Twitter followers were 75% male, down from 85% a few months earlier; they’re now down to 66% male, a 20% drop in less than 6 months.

One reason for the shift, I think, is the increased number of female leaders at NORML chapters across the country, changing the perception of what a marijuana enthusiast looks like and giving women voters a greater comfort zone to voice their own support. A quick list of those leaders compiled by NORML Outreach Coordinator Kevin Mahmalji are:

• Eleanore Ahrens – Southeast Ohio NORML
• Vera Allen – Minnesota NORML
• Trish Bertrand – Springfield NORML
• Roseann Boffa – Los Angeles NORML
• Cara Bonin – Houston NORML
• Jes Bossems – Jefferson Area, Virginia NORML
• Monica Chavez – New Mexico NORML
• Cynthia Ferguson – Delaware NORML
• Jax Finkle – Texas NORML
• Karen Goldstein – Florida NORML
• Kandice Hawes – Orange County, California NORML
• Laura Judy – National Office
• Jamie Kacz – Kansas City NORML
• Danielle Keane – National Office
• Ellen Komp – California NORML
• Jessica Lee – Nacogdoches NORML
• Jenni Morgan – National Office
• Cher Neufer – Ohio NORML
• Theresa Nightingale – Pittsburgh NORML
• Danica Noble – NORML Women of Washington
• Pam Novy – Virginia NORML
• Jenn Michelle Pedini – Richmond NORML
• Jordan Person – Denver NORML
• Sharron Ravert – Peachtree, Georgia NORML
• Carrie Satterwhite – Wyoming NORML
• Mary Smith – Toledo NORML
• Jessica Struzik – Northern Wisconsin NORML
• Danielle Vitale – O’Brien – Miami Valley, Ohio NORML
• Destiny Young – San Antonio NORML

Women everywhere are getting the message. “It is not as harmful as alcohol … It also helps medical conditions as a more natural substitute to pharmaceuticals,” one 46-year-old woman told Pew pollsters in 2015. “I think crime would be lower if they legalized marijuana,” said another woman, aged 62. “It would put the drug dealers out of business.”

Campaigns directed at women in states with legalization measures seem to have had an effect. Only 49 percent of women polled in favor of Colorado’s 2012 legalization measure, but 53 percent of them voted for it. The majority of women voters in Washington State also voted in favor of that state’s measure to legalize.

Many people are aware that women helped bring about alcohol prohibition in 1919. What many don’t know is that women were also instrumental in repealing prohibition, notably Pauline Sabin, the Republican socialite for whom NORML’s award recognizing women’s leadership is named. It seems that women are now also key in bringing about marijuana legalization.

Vermont: House Members Turn Back Marijuana Reform Efforts

Members of the Vermont House spent over six hours today debating various amendments to reform marijuana policy, but ultimately decided against enacting any significant changes in law.

House lawmakers voted 121 to 28 to reject Senate-approved language that sought to regulate the adult use, commercial production, and retail sale of marijuana. Although Gov. Peter Shumlin and Attorney General William Sorrell publicly supported the effort, House members expressed little interest in seriously considering the measure.

House members also rejected an alternative measure that sought to expand the state’s existing decriminalization law to also include the personal cultivation of marijuana. Representatives voted 77 to 70 to reject the ammendment.

Representatives also debated whether or not to put forward the question, “Should Vermont legalize marijuana for recreational purposes?” before voters as a non-binding initiative during the upcoming August primary election. Lawmakers decided against the proposal by a vote of 97 to 51.

House lawmakers narrowly voted 77 to 68 in favor of provisions establishing an advisory commission to make recommendations to the legislature with regard to future marijuana policy. Specifically, the commission would be tasked with “propos[ing] a comprehensive regulatory and revenue structure that establishes controlled access to marijuana in a manner that, when compared to the current illegal marijuana market, increases public safety and reduces harm to public health.” Those recommendations would be due by December 15, 2016.

House and Senate lawmakers previously approved a study commission in 2014. That commission’s report summarized various alternative regulatory schemes but made no recommendations with regard to if and how lawmakers should ultimately amend state law.

The amended measure now awaits a concurrence vote by the Senate.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, Gov. Shumlin said, “It is incredibly disappointing … that a majority of the House has shown a remarkable disregard for the sentiment of most Vermonters who understand that we must pursue a smarter policy when it comes to marijuana in this state.”

Maine Legislature Overrides Governor LePage's Veto of Life-Saving Naloxone Legislation

Over two-thirds of the Maine legislature voted today to override two harm reduction bills vetoed by Governor Paul LePage — LD1552, a bill that would provide public funding for syringe exchange and expand syringe access, and LD 1547, legislation to allow access to the life-saving overdose antidote naloxone without a prescription.

LePage’s veto remarks of LD 1547, “naloxone does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose”, resulted in dozens of op-eds and articles within the last week blasting the governor’s comments and supporting increased access to naloxone via passage of LD 1547.

At a recent town meeting in Damariscotta Wednesday night, Governor LePage defended his veto saying, “There comes a point in time where who is responsible for who. You know a shot of Narcan is $70 and the person who gets it doesn’t have to pay it back.”

“Governor LePage may think a person’s life is worth less than $70, but saving lives is priceless and we are going to continue to advocate for laws that are based in science, compassion and human rights,” said Jerónimo Saldaña, policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Today, the Maine legislature sent a resounding message to Governor LePage and every other elected official in the nation that promoting failed drug war policies will not be tolerated.”

“Maine, like every other state in the nation is seeing the tragedy of the nation’s prescription opioid and heroin epidemic unfold before our eyes literally on a daily basis” wrote the President of the American Medical Association to Maine lawmakers in support of LD 1547 earlier this week. “In response, the medical community and many others joined together to support new legislation that will have a direct effect on the supply of prescription opioids in Maine. The Legislature also passed LD 1547 to address an equally important need – that is, help save lives from overdose.”

“Naloxone saves lives. In order to obtain treatment, a person must remain alive. Addiction is a treatable condition and not a moral failing.” says Chris Poulos, a native Mainer in long term recovery who overcame addiction and federal incarceration to attend law school and work on criminal justice policy reform at the local, state, and federal levels.

Maine pharmacists will now be able to provide naloxone to friends and family members of people suffering from heroin addiction without a prescription. Over thirty states from all around the country including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin provide access to naloxone without a prescription. Since 1996, naloxone has been instrumental in saving at least tens of thousands of lives from overdose.

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Author:
Date Published: April 29, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

Tennessee Marijuana Penalty Reduction Signed by Governor

The 2016 Last week, Gov. Bill Haslam signed HB 1478 into law, which will eliminate the provision that makes a third conviction for possession of marijuana a felony. The law will take effect on July 1, 2016.

This change will reduce the penalty for third-time possession from between one and six years of incarceration to less than one year in jail. In addition, having a misdemeanor rather than a felony record will reduce the collateral consequences associated with the conviction. The bill also increases penalties for repeat DUI offenders and defelonizes third-time possession of all drugs except for heroin.

There is more work to be done, however. The sentences for marijuana possession are still unduly harsh for a drug that is less harmful than alcohol, and the law is enforced in a racially disparate manner. If you are a Tennessee resident, please ask your legislators to consider removing all criminal penalties for marijuana possession in next year’s session.

The post Tennessee Marijuana Penalty Reduction Signed by Governor appeared first on MPP Blog.

New Life for New Hampshire Decriminalization

The New Hampshire Senate killed HB 1631 in April, but last week the plan to reduce marijuana possession penalties to a violation was given new life in the House. In a 12-7 vote, the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee agreed to amend a Senate-approved bill, SB 498, by adding provisions that would decriminalize possession of one-quarter ounce of marijuana for first offenses.

We expect that the amended SB 498 will pass the House by a wide margin before it returns to the Senate. Last week, 14 out of 24 senators voted against decriminalizing one-half ounce or less of marijuana, so we will need at least three of these senators to vote in favor of SB 498 in order to pass it. We are optimistic that this can be achieved, in part because Gov. Maggie Hassan has indicated that she would be willing to sign a bill if it was limited to first offenses of one-quarter ounce or less.

The amended SB 498 is far from perfect, but even in this modest form it would prevent many Granite Staters from being arrested and hauled into court for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Please take a moment to follow up with your senator and urge him or her to support this compromise.

The post New Life for New Hampshire Decriminalization appeared first on MPP Blog.

The Next Step Towards Marijuana Justice: Don’t Forget the POWs

As we continue the march towards ending marijuana prohibition and legalizing the responsible use of marijuana, there remains a moral imperative that we must confront head-on: we must not forget those whose lives have been destroyed by prohibition — the POWs of the war on marijuana.

I’m specifically talking about the thousands of state and federal prisoners who were convicted of non-violent marijuana offenses – frequently involving large-scale cultivation or smuggling efforts – and who were sentenced to long prison sentences, frequently longer sentences than those given to violent criminals, and the hundreds of thousands of individuals who are no longer incarcerated, but who bear the unfair burden of a criminal record for conduct that is now becoming legal in more and more states.

A Fresh Look at Smugglers, Dealers and Large Scale Cultivators

For decades, the anti-marijuana propaganda machine in this country demonized those who smuggled, grew or sold marijuana. They were not seen just as citizens willing to ignore the dominant social norms and attendant legal risks of providing a product that millions of Americans wanted, and were willing to pay a premium price to obtain. Rather they were portrayed as evil individuals whose purpose in life was to corrupt and addict our youth and undermine our nation’s strength.

After all, if marijuana caused otherwise ordinary citizens to become depraved animals, leading to unthinkable acts of brutality, and eventually ending with insanity, as was the official party line, then of course those who allowed this threat to continue, and who enabled it by their actions, were perceived as worse than those who committed acts of violence. And routinely they were given harsher sentences than those who were committing violent crimes.

Today, as the country has become more familiar with and accepting of marijuana smoking, those earlier assumptions about the dangers of marijuana seem absurd and fanciful, and it is difficult to imagine they were ever accepted as fact. But they were, and the result was more than 30 million marijuana arrests.

The Perspective of Those of Us Who Smoke

First, let me make the obvious point that if no one would have had the courage to risk arrest and jail for smuggling, growing or selling marijuana, we smokers would have had no marijuana to smoke for all these years.

But even more importantly, without a thriving underground marijuana market in America, there would have been no serious marijuana legalization movement, and we would not have four states and the District of Columbia with legal marijuana, and more to come in November.

Ending prohibition might never have occurred if this were simply a theoretical argument about the wisdom of criminalizing marijuana. It is occurring because there are tens of millions of Americans who very much enjoy their marijuana, regardless of its legal status, and who were passionate about the need to bring it above ground and end prohibition.

Without a reasonably steady supply of black-market marijuana, this topic would be of interest to political science and sociology professors, but it would not be an enormous social movement with the political power to change laws and policy for the better.

So instead of demonizing these brave adventurers who were willing to provide us with marijuana, despite the enormous personal risk, we should be recognizing their role in getting us to where we are today, and taking whatever steps we can to minimize the harm so many of them have suffered. That means those who remain in jail or prison should be released, if what they were convicted of is now being legalized; and those who remain unable to vote or are otherwise limited professionally because of a marijuana conviction should have their records expunged.

I know that some are even calling for those who have been victimized by prohibition to be paid reparations for the damages they suffered, just as people who are proven innocent after years of imprisonment are frequently reimbursed for their suffering. While I see the innate justice in that suggestion, I recognize that is simply not a politically realistic option, at least for now.

But we should, and must, do what we can to restore to health those many lives we have unfairly damaged and destroyed, and we need to begin the public debate now. Once one acknowledges that marijuana is far safer than alcohol or tobacco, and a large majority of Americans now understand this basic fact, then there is simply no rational basis to leave non-violent marijuana offenders in jail or prison, or to limit their ability to succeed and enjoy a full and rewarding life, because of a past non-violent marijuana conviction on their record. A failure to help those previously convicted under prohibition would leave a moral stain on the legalization movement.

The Gentlemen Smugglers

I was reminded of this aspect of ending marijuana prohibition by a visit recently with Barry Foy, an old marijuana smuggler who was featured in the Wall Street Journal best-selling book by Jason Ryan titled Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, and the Sting That Launched the War on Drugs. This is a real-life adventure by a group of fun-loving southern gentlemen based in South Carolina who successfully smuggled tons of marijuana into the US during the Ronald Reagan years, before eventually being caught and serving substantial prison sentences. These were middle-class adventurers who eschewed violence but thoroughly enjoyed the excitement, glamor, and pleasures available to those willing to live on the edge — the lifestyle celebrated in many Jimmy Buffett ballads.

These smugglers eventually married and had families, and when they were not smuggling marijuana, were indistinguishable from their more-ordinary friends and neighbors. Following a 13-year run, they were eventually taken down, not on smuggling charges, but like Al Capone, on tax-evasion charges, with Barry receiving an 18-year sentence (he served 11) and his partner receiving a 25-year sentence (he served 17 years). Yet today, both former smugglers say they have no regrets and remain unrepentant.

I am fully aware that we have much work to accomplish before marijuana smokers are treated in a totally fair manner. I have written frequently about the need to fix the laws that currently permit smokers to lose their jobs for testing positive for THC, without any showing of impairment on the job; the morally offensive policy of assuming parents who smoke marijuana are unfit parents, who must fight to retain custody of their minor children; and the factually unfair policy of treating those with THC in their system as presumed guilty of a DUID offense, without any showing they were driving in an impaired condition. Each of these areas must be revisited to protect the rights of responsible marijuana smokers.

But even as we move more and more states into the legalization column, we must not forget the need to reach back and minimize the harm we have caused to tens of thousands of our fellow citizens by labeling them as criminals for smuggling, growing or selling marijuana to those of us who wanted it. Like marijuana smokers, they too are largely ordinary folks, perhaps with a flair for living an adventurous life, with families and friends who very much care about them, and they should never have been treated with such contempt simply for ignoring the dictates of a failed policy called marijuana prohibition.

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This column originally ran in Marijuana.com

Maine Takes Two Big Steps Toward Decriminalizing Drug Use

The Maine legislature has enacted two bills this session that will greatly advance treating drug use as a public health issue instead of a criminal justice issue. Earlier today, LD 1554 passed into law without the governor’s signature, and will make simple drug possession a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Under the law, possession of less than 200 mg of heroin will be no longer be charged as a felony.

According to a survey conducted earlier this year by the Drug Policy Alliance, a substantial majority of Maine voters support decriminalizing drug possession. Sixty-four percent of voters in Maine think people caught with a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use should be evaluated for drug issues and offered treatment; they shouldn’t be arrested or face jail time. Seventy-one percent say substantially reducing incarceration is somewhat or very important to them.

National polls show that more than three-fourths of Americans believe the war on drugs has failed. In 2014 Californians voted overwhelmingly for Proposition 47, a ballot measure reducing penalties for several nonviolent offenses that included a substantial reduction in penalties for drug possession.

Earlier this month, both chambers of the Maine legislature resoundingly approved legislation that would fund Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs. Pioneered in Seattle, LEAD allows police to divert individuals who commit low-level drug offenses to harm reduction based case management services instead of jail. An independent evaluation found LEAD reduces the likelihood of reoffending by nearly 60 percent compared to a control group that went through the criminal justice system “as usual.” Santa Fe, New Mexico began implementing LEAD in 2014 and Albany, New York began last year.

The bill will also help fund peer support addiction recovery centers. The measure makes grants available for substance abuse assistance pilot programs, including those run by local governments, to divert low-level offenders into community-based treatment and support services with the aim to reduce pre-trial costs to jails.

Support for ending the criminalization of drug use and possession is gaining traction. More than 1.5 million drug arrests are made every year in the U.S. – the overwhelming majority for possession only. High-profile endorsers of not arresting, let alone jailing, people for possessing small amounts of any drug include the American Public Health Association, the World Health Organization, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, the Organization of American States, the National Latino Congreso, the NAACP, the International Red Cross, and Human Rights Watch.

“The failed war on drugs has devastated our communities and been responsible for countless deaths. It is encouraging to see Maine join the many other states and municipalities who are implementing sensible solutions rooted in science and human rights to deal with problematic drug use,” says Jerónimo Saldaña, policy manager at the Drug Policy Alliance. “We cannot incarcerate our way to healthier, safer communities.”

Author:
Date Published: April 28, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

NORML’s Legislative Round Up April 29th, 2016

A legalization initiative has officially qualified the ballot this November and separate legislative measures around the country continue to advance. Keep reading below to learn the latest legislative developments.

Alabama: Members of both chambers approved legislation this week, House Bill 61, to protect qualified patients eligible for CBD therapy under a physician’s authorization from criminal prosecution. The measure, known as ‘Leni’s Law’, seeks to allow qualified patients to possess CBD preparations containing up to three percent THC. The measure passed in the Senate by a vote of 29 to 3 and in the House in a 95 to 4 vote. The measure now awaits action from Gov. Robert Bentley. #TakeAction

California: A prominent GOP Congressman has endorsed the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which seeks to regulate the adult use, production, and retail sale of cannabis. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) announced, “As a Republican who believes in individual freedom, limited government and states’ rights, I believe that it’s time for California to lead the nation and create a safe, legal system for the responsible adult use of marijuana.” He added: “I endorse the Adult Use of Marijuana Act for the November 2016 ballot. It is a necessary reform which will end the failed system of marijuana prohibition in our state, provide California law enforcement the resources it needs to redouble its focus on serious crimes while providing a policy blueprint for other states to follow.” You can learn more about the initiative here.

Florida: Another Florida municipality has given preliminary approval to a proposed ordinance permitting police to cite, rather than arrest, minor marijuana offenders. Members of St. Petersburg’s Public Safety and Infrastructure Committee voted in favor of the policy that would create a system of fines that would begin at $75 for those caught holding 20 grams or less of cannabis. Two versions of the plan, one that one that would mandate police issue a citation and another that gives the officer the option to do so, will head to the full city council for a final vote in early May. Under state law, possessing any amount of marijuana is classified as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1000 fine.

Maine: Maine voters will decide on election day on a statewide ballot measure seeking to regulate the adult use, retail sale, and commercial production of cannabis. The Secretary of State determined this week that initiative proponents, The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, gathered a sufficient number of signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The office had previously attempted to invalidate a significant portion of proponents’ signatures, but that effort was rejected by the courts earlier this month.

If enacted by voters in November, the measure would allow adults to legally possess up to two and one-half ounces of marijuana and to cultivate marijuana (up to six mature plants and the entire yields of said plants) for their own personal use.

North Carolina: House legislation was introduced this week to permit the limited use of medical marijuana. House Bill 983 exempts patients engaging in the physicians-recommended use of cannabis to treat a chronic or terminal illness from criminal prosecution under state law. Qualifying patients must possess a tax stamp issued by the state department of Revenue, and may possess no more than three ounces of cannabis at any one time. The proposal does not permit patients to cultivate their own cannabis, nor does it establish a state-licensed supply source. #TakeAction

Don’t forget, NORML’s 2016 National Conference and Lobby Day is being held May 23rd and 24th! We’ll hold an informational seminar where activists from around the country hear from the leaders of the movement, we’ll keep the party going at the Mansion on O St. with our annual award ceremony and finally, we’ll conclude on the Hill where attendees w
ill hear from and meet leaders in Congress who are doing their best to reform our federal marijuana laws! You can register here.

UNGASS Outcome: Missed Opportunity for UN, but Global Reform Movement Grows & Continues to Push for Better Drug Policies

Last week, world leaders gathered in New York for the most significant international drug policy meeting in almost two decades, the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS). The last UNGASS took place in 1998 under the unrealistic slogan “A drug free world, we can do it!”.

Much has changed since then. In the last few years, there has been unprecedented momentum for drug policy reform. Public opinion is shifting to support new approaches; former and current world leaders are calling for reform; and cities, states and countries across the world are implementing harm reduction initiatives, criminal justice reforms, and marijuana regulation.

But by and large, nations gathered at the UN last week missed a key opportunity to critically reflect on the failures of decades-long drug prohibition, and to seek better ways forward.

When the presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala called for this UNGASS in 2012, they did so because their countries – and their region – were suffering a staggering human toll of the global drug war. Since 2012, an informal coalition of countries – largely from Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean – formed to ensure an open and inclusive debate at UNGASS. They worked hard to push for discussions that put all options on the table but countries that remain wedded to punitive approaches, such as Russia and states that still enact the death penalty for drug offenses, pushed back.

They fought over the language in the UNGASS outcome document, drafted in March at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna. This outcome document, incidentally, was approved by the General Assembly the morning the UNGASS debates began on April 19, in a baffling move that eliminated even the pretense that significant debate would follow for the rest of the session. And though there were some small victories in the outcome document, such as references to human rights, access to essential medicines and harm reduction initiatives (without explicitly using the phrase “harm reduction”), but on the whole, the document is business as usual, with no mention of needed reforms such as decriminalization, the abolition of the death penalty, or regulation of illicit substances.

But despite the UN’s inertia, there was a strong chorus of countries that used their time at the podium to call for progressive changes, including Canada, Jamaica, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, Czech Republic, and New Zealand. And, most notable of all, there emerged an unprecedented mobilization of our reform movement, a diverse, broad, and powerful coalition of individuals and organizations from around the world, united under the banner, Stop the Harm.

We staged rallies across the city; held events on race and the drug war at Columbia University and on faith and drug policy at the Abyssinian Baptist Church; took over a 16,000 square-foot space on Park Ave and installed a 3-day pop-up Museum of Drug Policy; we had performers in prohibition-era attire hand UN attendees copies of the “Post-Prohibition Times,” a newspaper printout of a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to set the stage “for real reform of global drug control policy.” This public letter included an unprecedented and impressive range of signatories from Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders to former President Jimmy Carter, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, businessmen Warren Buffett, George Soros and Richard Branson, actors Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda, Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, singers John Legend and Mary J. Blige, activists Reverend Jesse Jackson, Gloria Steinem and Michelle Alexander, as well as distinguished legislators, cabinet ministers, and former UN officials.

Change is slow to come to the UN. But with citizens across the world pushing for reform, and with countries moving ahead with novel drug policies, sooner or later the UN too will have to change to reflect new realities on the ground, or risk becoming an irrelevant and ignored force in global drug control.

Hannah Hetzer is senior policy manager of the Americas at the Drug Policy Alliance.

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Author: Hannah Hetzer
Date Published: April 27, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

Denver and Alaska Set to Push Legalization Envelope

News out of Anchorage and Denver this week was good for marijuana smokers, as both the city of Denver and the state of Alaska moved closer to the legalization of marijuana social clubs. Smokers could thus socialize in a venue with other adults where marijuana smoking would be legal.

Until now, in the states that have legalized recreational use (and in the District of Columbia), marijuana smokers are only permitted to exercise their newly won freedom in their home or as a guest in someone else’s home. Holland-style coffee shops or marijuana lounges were not legalized by those early voter initiatives.

That is about to change.

Denver

Denver NORML and The Committee for the Responsible Use Initiative in Denver have announced the final language for their municipal initiative. They expect to be cleared this week by the city to begin circulating petitions seeking the signature of registered voters, putting the issue on the ballot for voters to decide in November.

The proposal would license and regulate private marijuana social clubs and special events where adult marijuana smoking would be legal. The state legislature had earlier indicated some interest in amending state law to permit marijuana social clubs, but when that stalled, Denver NORML began to move forward with their municipal voter initiative. Clubs could not sell or distribute marijuana, and bars, nightclubs and restaurants could not become private marijuana clubs or host special events.

The most current polling suggests the proposal is favored by a clear majority (56%) of voters in Denver.

Denver NORML executive director Jordon Person offered this appraisal of the proposed initiative. “Passage of this ordinance would be a historic first step in moving towards the ultimate goal of normalizing the consumption of marijuana in our country. The initiative would provide responsible adults a legally defined space where marijuana could be consumed and shared with other like-minded adults — a simple, yet necessary accommodation for states that have passed some form of legalization. This is a pragmatic approach that focuses on the basics and provides the city of Denver a solution to an issue that is not going away.”

Proponents have until August 15 to collect 5,000 valid signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Alaska

In Alaska, the decision to license some version of marijuana lounges was made by the Alaska Marijuana Control Board last November, and this week the board issued draft regulations to define when and where “on-site consumption” would be permitted.

The proposed regulations are now open for public comment before the board finalizes them.

While the outline is still tentative, marijuana cafes would be permitted only in conjunction with an existing marijuana retail store, on the same premises, either indoor or outdoor, but with a separate entrance and separate serving area. A separate license would be required for on-site consumption.

Customers could purchase small amounts of marijuana ( 1 gram of marijuana, edibles with up to 10 milligrams of THC, or .25 grams of marijuana concentrates) to consume on-site and would not be permitted to bring their own marijuana to smoke on-site. Strangely, they would be required to leave any unfinished marijuana behind to be destroyed, and “happy hours” would not be permitted. Marijuana lounges would be permitted to sell food and non-alcohol beverages.

Marijuana Control Board chair Bruce Schulte explained the board was proceeding with a degree of caution, because this is new territory for state legalization regulatory agencies. One of the more difficult issues the board had to deal with, according to board member Brandon Emmett, was whether to permit dabbing.

Laboratories of Democracy

As former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said, “a state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” Denver and Alaska are exercising that important role as we move forward with better and better versions of legalization. What we learn from these initial experiments with marijuana social clubs will inform subsequent states in the coming years.

This column first ran on Marijuana.com.

 http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/04/denver-and-alaska-set-to-push-the-legalization-envelope/

Maine Marijuana Initiative Officially Approved for November Ballot

State officials announced Wednesday that a proposed initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Maine has officially qualified for the November ballot.

After a court-ordered review of petitions it had previously invalidated, the Maine Secretary of State’s Office determined the

Last month, the secretary of state informed the campaign that the initiative had been disqualified because only 51,543 valid signatures had been submitted. The campaign filed a lawsuit challenging the decision, and a Kennebec County Superior Court judge ruled in their favor earlier this month after learning state officials invalidated more than 5,000 petitions —which included more than 17,000 signatures from Maine voters that were validated by town clerks — without actually reviewing every petition in question. The petition was then remanded to the Secretary of State’s Office to review all of the disputed petitions and determine whether enough valid signatures were collected.

According to a new poll released this week by the Maine People’s Resource Center, nearly 54% of likely voters would approve the initiative if the election were held today. Only about 42% said they would oppose it. The full results are available at here.

The post Maine Marijuana Initiative Officially Approved for November Ballot appeared first on MPP Blog.

Healthcare Advocates & Elected Officials Call for Supervised Injection Facilities After Fifth Straight Year of Increasing Drug Overdose Deaths in NYC

New York, NY – Following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement last night that fatal drug overdoses increased by 10% in 2015 – the fifth straight year – advocates applauded new city initiatives to curb the epidemic while renewing their call for supervised injection facilities (SIFs), a public health strategy that has been proven to reduce overdose deaths.

“We’ve seen the evidence and it’s overwhelming,” said NYC Council Member Corey Johnson, Chair of the Committee on Health. “There simply has never been a fatal overdose at a supervised injection facility anywhere in the world. Not only that, studies consistently show they reduce the number of deaths in the community and connect people to badly needed healthcare.”

SIFs are a harm reduction service that provides a safe, hygienic space in which people may inject pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health workers. Nearly 100 SIFs exist around the world. They have been rigorously evaluated and shown to steeply reduce overdose deaths, HIV and viral hepatitis infections, and public disorder, and to increase access to drug treatment and other healthcare.

“When I was homeless and injecting heroin under the Manhattan Bridge, having a SIF would have stopped me from becoming infected with HIV and given me the help I needed to become well,” said Shantae Owens, a member of the advocacy organization VOCAL New York and a harm reduction outreach worker on the Lower East Side. “I really appreciate the Mayor’s announcement today, which included smart investments in peer programs, research, and harm reduction services, but we have to go a step further and allow SIFs. We have to stop this needless suffering.”

Some thirty organizations have endorsed the “SIF NYC” campaign, which began in 2015 with a series of public events involving people who inject drugs, healthcare and civil rights advocates, faith communities, and elected officials. Last week the new group, New York Healthcare Professionals for Supervised Injection Facilities, launched a letter of support that has been signed by nearly 70 physicians and nurses so far. Dr. Aaron Fox, an addiction medicine physician from the Bronx, said “We need to do everything we can to counteract this opioid overdose crisis, especially here in the Bronx. As a physician, I know we have effective treatments like methadone and buprenorphine, but I also know that we can do more to prevent overdoses for those who are not in treatment. Community naloxone distribution saves lives. Supervised injection facilities would save lives. Harm reduction saves lives.”

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, Chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, said, “The new programs and funding announced by the Administration, which include the first significant expansion of lifesaving harm reduction measures in years, represent a monumental change in the way we think about and treat addiction. In light of the growing crisis, we must use every tool available – that’s why I am working with a growing coalition of advocates and elected officials statewide on legislation to authorize SIFs in New York.”

Several neighborhoods in the Bronx had the sharpest increases in deaths last year. Jose M. Davila, President & CEO of BOOM!Health, a longstanding Bronx harm reduction organization, said that “the release of the latest New York City overdose mortality data confirms what those of us working in the Bronx have known all along: naloxone access for overdose, although vital, is not nearly enough to counteract the devastating consequences of the criminalization of drug use and substance use disorder. We are committed to working with local and state officials, the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and our partners in the harm reduction community to expand the life-saving resources available to drug users, including through the creation of supervised injection facilities.”

“At a time when the United Nations is holding a special session on drug policies, the news of an increase in New York City overdose deaths is especially devastating. This week world leaders are acknowledging that our past approaches to drug policy have failed. It is the time for Mayor Bill de Blasio to lead the way in implementing drug policies that can succeed,” said Kassandra Frederique, New York state director at the Drug Policy Alliance. “If we want to save lives, reduce criminalization, and end racial disparities, we need comprehensive, innovative, and forward-thinking approaches like supervised injection facilities. New York City is in a unique position to step up and implement innovative drug policies rooted in science, compassion, and public health as we did with syringe exchanges before.”

For more background on the campaign for supervised injection facilities, visit www.SIFNYC.org.

Author:
Date Published: April 22, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance | VOCAL-NY

Maine: Marijuana Regulation Initiative Cleared For November Ballot

It’s finally official. Maine voters will decide on Election Day on a statewide ballot measure seeking to regulate the adult use, retail sale, and commercial production of cannabis.

The Secretary of State determined today that initiative proponents, The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, gathered a sufficient number of signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The office had previously attempted to invalidate a significant portion of proponents’ signatures, but that effort was rejected by the courts earlier this month.

If enacted by voters in November, the measure would allow adults to legally possess up to two and one-half ounces of marijuana and to cultivate marijuana (up to six mature plants and the entire yields of said plants) for their own personal use. The measure would also establish licensing for the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis. Retail sales of cannabis would be subject to a ten percent sales tax. Non-commercial transactions and/or retail sales involving medical cannabis would not be subject to taxation. You can read the full text of the proposed initiative here.

Maine is one of a number of states — including Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Nevada — where voters are expected to decide this fall on legalizing the adult use of cannabis. According to statewide survey data provided by the Maine People’s Resource Center, nearly 54 percent of likely Maine voters would approve the initiative if the election were held today. Only 42 percent of respondents said they would oppose it.

Join Us In Washington D.C. For Our 2016 National Conference and Congressional Lobby Day

We are excited to have finalized the agenda for our 2016 National Conference and Congressional Lobby Day! You can check out the full itinerary here.

Day one will include panel discussions on a variety of topics, including the prospects of marijuana law reform in the 114th Congress, the ongoing experience with legalization in Colorado, Washington, and other states, and post prohibition concerns for marijuana consumers. Throughout the day attendees will hear policy experts from NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project, Americans for Safe Access, the National Cannabis Industries Association, and many others

NORML’s Conference seminar takes place on Monday, May 23rd, at the GW Elliot School of International Affairs located at 1957 E Street NW in Washington D.C. Register now here.

Following the seminar, attendees will head to the Mansion on O Street (2020 O St NW) for our NORML Social. Here, attendees will kick back and relax with fellow advocates and share stories of their activism. We will also be holding our 2016 Awards Ceremony, to honor our most dedicated activists and shine light on the hard work they’ve put in throughout the years. You won’t want to miss this event and entry is not included in your general Lobby Day registration. You can purchase a separate ticket to the NORML Social here.

On Tuesday morning attendees will meet on Capitol Hill for a morning reception to hear from our allies in Congress who are leading federal marijuana law reform efforts. Following that, attendees will separate into groups based on voting district/state and together will visit their federally elected officials offices to discuss with them the importance of ending the federal prohibition of marijuana.

**If you’re already registered to attend our 2016 Congressional Lobby Day, please contact your federally elected officials Washington D.C. office to schedule an appointment to talk with a staffer on Tuesday, May 24th. Walk-ins are generally not supported. If you have questions or would like assistance with this please email danielle@nullnorml.org.**

If your organization would like to help support NORML’s 2016 Congressional Lobby Day please consider becoming a sponsor! More information on sponsorships is available here.

We can’t wait to gather like minded activists, volunteers, lobbyists, and marijuana consumers all together under one roof to discuss the state of marijuana law reform around the country, to honor our MVP’s of the movement and to lobby our federally elected officials together. Register today!

Connecticut Considers Expanding Medical Marijuana Program to Include Pediatric Patients

On June 1, 2012, Of the 24 states that have effective medical marijuana programs, Connecticut is the only state that does not allow access for younger patients.

A bill currently being considered, HB 5450, would allow minors to be qualifying patients. It would also allow dispensaries to distribute marijuana to hospices and other inpatient facilities and would allow nurses to administer marijuana in licensed health care facilities.

If you are a Connecticut resident, please urge the senate to swiftly pass legislation to help Connecticut’s seriously ill children.

The post Connecticut Considers Expanding Medical Marijuana Program to Include Pediatric Patients appeared first on MPP Blog.

Senate Appropriations Committee Votes to Prevent DEA from Undermining State Medical Marijuana Laws

In yet another huge victory for marijuana reform, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted today by 21 to 8 to approve an amendment offered by Senator Mikulski (D-MD) to protect state medical marijuana laws from federal interference by the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Marijuana reforms are repeatedly winning votes in Congress,” said Bill Piper, Senior Director of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. “Letting states set their own marijuana policies is now a mainstream, bipartisan issue.”

After decades of inactivity on marijuana reform, Congress has moved at lightning pace to advance marijuana reform in recent years. Last week the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to allow Veterans Administration doctors to recommend marijuana. The Committee approved similar amendments last year as well as an amendment to allow state-legalized marijuana businesses to access banks and other financial services. The Mikulski amendment is expected to pass the full Senate as well as the House. Similar amendments were passed by Congress last year and the year before.

Currently, 24 states, the District of Columbia and Guam have legalized marijuana for a variety of medicinal purposes. Four states – Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington – have legalized marijuana like alcohol. In 2016, voters in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada are expected to decide ballot initiatives on the question of legalizing marijuana for adult use. A slew of recent polls show that significant majorities of both Democrats and Republicans strongly believe that the decision of whether and how to regulate marijuana should be left up to the states.

“This is a very clear message to not just federal law enforcement but state law enforcement as well,” said Piper. “It’s time to end the war on drugs and start treating drug use as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue.”

Author:
Date Published: April 21, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

DEA Approves Study on Treating PTSD With Marijuana

On Thursday, the

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has formally approved the first-ever randomized controlled trial of whole plant medical marijuana (cannabis) as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in U.S. veterans. The DEA’s approval marks the first time a clinical trial intended to develop smoked botanical marijuana into a legal prescription drug has received full approval from U.S. regulatory agencies, including the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study will test the safety and efficacy of botanical marijuana in 76 U.S. military veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. The study is funded by a $2.156 million grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to the California-based non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which is sponsoring the research.

The trial will gather safety and efficacy data on four potencies of smoked marijuana with varying ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). By exploring the effectiveness of a variety of marijuana strains, the study seeks to generate naturalistic data comparable to how many veterans in medical marijuana states currently use marijuana. Results will provide vital information on marijuana dosing, composition, side effects, and areas of benefit to clinicians and legislators considering marijuana as a treatment for PTSD.

Congratulations and thanks go to Dr. Sue Sisley, who has long been the foremost champion of studying the effects of marijuana on PTSD, and the rest of the staff at MAPS for working so diligently in this area.

The post DEA Approves Study on Treating PTSD With Marijuana appeared first on MPP Blog.

Maine Governor Vetoes Legislation Seeking to Increase Access to Life-saving Overdose Antidote Naloxone

Maine Governor Paul LePage vetoed legislation this week that would have allowed access to the life-saving overdose antidote naloxone without a prescription. Explaining his veto, LePage wrote “naloxone does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose.” Every state in the nation, with the exception of five, have either passed or are in the process of passing naloxone access legislation, and thirty states currently allow for sales of the overdose antidote without a prescription.

“In essence, Governor LePage is saying that saving lives perpetuates addiction and that it is better to let people die” said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Family and friends are more often than not the first to come into contact with a person experiencing an overdose and it is imperative that they have access to naloxone. Governor LePage continues to exacerbate the overdose crisis when he could be working on solutions proven to save lives.”

Governor LePage continues to stir controversy with his stances on drug policy. During a town hall meeting earlier this year, LePage responded to a question about tackling substance abuse in Maine by saying “these are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty – these types of guys – they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home. He went on to say “incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.”

“There is no place for bigotry and fear in crafting a sensible response to a widespread public health concern,” says Sharda Sekaran, Communications Director at the Drug Policy Alliance. “What we need are humane, intelligent and visionary leaders, not the antiquated racist views that got us in this mess in the first place.”

LD 1547, the naloxone bill vetoed by LePage, has received strong support from those in the health and law enforcement community. The L.D. 1547 and all other vetoed legislation will be reconsidered by the Legislature on April 29. Two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate are required to override a gubernatorial veto.

“Naloxone saves lives. In order to obtain treatment, a person must remain alive. Addiction is a treatable condition and not a moral failing. I urge the Maine Legislature to override this veto and expand access to Naloxone” says Chris Poulos, a native Mainer in long term recovery who overcame addiction and federal incarceration to attend law school and work on criminal justice policy reform at the local, state, and federal levels.

Author:
Date Published: April 21, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

Over 1,000 Leaders Worldwide Slam Failed Prohibitionist Drug Policies, Call on UN for Systemic Reform

More than 1,000 international leaders – prominent in the fields of politics, health, academics and entertainment – have publicly called for a “new global response to drugs,” in advance of an upcoming United Nations session.

The UN is currently holding a General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs, at its New York headquarters. The three-day session involves a meeting of the UN’s member states, in which global drug policy priorities are being discussed and, hopefully, reassessed.

The UN has influenced international drug policy for over half a century. In 1961, it instituted the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs – formalizing a list of substances (including marijuana) to be classified as internationally illegal. Unlike typical UN documents – which make use of objective and factual statements – the Single Convention includes biased and subjective phrasing, including the description of drugs as a “serious evil”. This 55 year-old convention remains the legal backbone of modern drug policy, which is considerably contributory to mass incarceration in the United States, as well as violence, corruption, and human rights abuses in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

To push for reform at the UNGASS – the first concerning drugs since 1998 – the Drug Policy Alliance has published a public letter to Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN. The letter decries the international status quo of criminalizing drug use, advocates the introduction of evidence-based harm-reduction programs, and calls on Mr. Ban to show leadership in the changing international consensus on drugs.

BIG thanks @SenWarren @CoryBooker @SenSanders for joining 1,000+ others urging UN to end the drug war. http://t.co/cj5y3MfLjS #UNGASS2016

— Drug Policy Alliance (@DrugPolicyOrg) April 14, 2016

A plethora of progressive politicians signed our letter, including Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Cory Booker, and former Senator Hillary Clinton. While support was also garnered from some more surprising sources; singers Mary J. Blige and John Legend, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, and businessmen Warren Buffett and Richard Branson. After resolute support from our foreign allies, a host of major international leaders signed the letter too, including former presidents of Chile, Colombia, Greece, Haiti, Mexico, Poland, and Switzerland.

The potential for the UNGASS to directly change international or individual countries’ drug policies is minimal. Support for harm reduction measures and the end of possession criminalization is growing in parts of Europe and Latin America. However, adherence to the status quo of prohibition – and even support for intensifying the drug war – remain strong across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, with rare exceptions.

This lack of international agreement is the main obstacle to progress at the UN. For example, Portugal – which decriminalized the possession of all drugs in 2001 – stands in stark contrast with Indonesia – which executed eight drug offenders last year by tying them to poles and shooting them with assault rifles.

The Drug Policy Alliance, and many other advocates of reform, view the UNGASS as an opportunity to reignite the debate – and increase international awareness of the millions of lives, and billions of dollars, being needlessly lost due to the war on drugs. The professional and regional diversity of our letter’s signatories is indicative of the growing consensus that, as our letter describes, “Humankind cannot afford a 21st century drug policy as ineffective and counter-productive as the last century’s.”

The signatories of our letter join us in hoping that countries’ delegates to the UN will bring an open mind to the session, so that future generations won’t be subject to the abuse and repression that continue to blight many of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized.

Avinash Tharoor is a communications consultant with the Drug Policy Alliance.

View more blog posts.

Author: Avinash Tharoor
Date Published: April 20, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

New Hampshire Senate Refuses to Reduce Marijuana Penalties for Seventh Time

Despite overwhelming public support for reducing New Hampshire’s draconian marijuana penalties, today New Hampshire senators voted 14-10 to kill this year’s marijuana decriminalization bill. This marked the seventh time since 2008 that the House has passed a decriminalization bill only to watch it be shot down by prohibitionists in the Senate.

If you are a New Hampshire resident, please take a moment to thank or criticize your senator for his or her vote.

Fortunately, there is a bright side: Election season is just around the corner, and three prohibitionist senators have already said they will not be running for re-election. Also, Gov. Hassan is leaving the governor’s office to run for U.S. Senate, so New Hampshire will have a great opportunity this year to finally elect a governor who is willing to demonstrate real leadership on marijuana policy.

We have lost another battle with HB 1631, but don’t despair! With statewide polls now showing 62% support for legalization, it is only a matter of time before we prevail and end New Hampshire’s foolish, counterproductive war on marijuana.

The post New Hampshire Senate Refuses to Reduce Marijuana Penalties for Seventh Time appeared first on MPP Blog.

Thursday Press Conference: World Leaders Call for Decriminalization and Regulation of Drugs during Historic UN Special Session

(New York, NY) — On Thursday April 21 – the last day of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs – several members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy will hold a press conference in New York. The Global Commission will evaluate the outcome of the UN meeting and call for concrete steps to ensure more effective drug policy reform in the years ahead. The UNGASS is taking place in New York from April 19-21 and is the first such gathering of governments in 18 years.

“Globally, we’re wasting too much money and precious resources on criminalizing people and sending them to jail when we should be spending this money on helping people – through proper medical care and education,” said Global Commission Member Sir Richard Branson. “From the perspective of an investor, the war on drugs has failed to deliver any returns. If it were one of my businesses, I would have shut it down many many years ago.”

Commissioner and former President of Switzerland, Ruth Dreifuss also notes that “many countries are already successfully adopting innovative harm reduction and treatment strategies such as needle exchange, substitution therapies, heroin prescription and safe consumption rooms”. She adds that “for these efforts to be truly effective, governments must decriminalize the use of drugs for personal use.”

WHAT: Live press conference with leaders of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. LiveStreaming will also be available here: www.globalcommissionondrugs.org

WHEN: Thursday, April 21, 8:30am EDT. Breakfast and coffee available starting at 8am.

WHERE: Contact Tony Newman for information: 646-335-5384, press [at] globalcommissionondrugs [dot] org

WHO:

Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico

César Gaviria Trujillo, Former President of Colombia

Richard Branson, Entrepreneur, founder of the Virgin Group, cofounder of The Elders, UK

Paul Volcker, Former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve and the Economic Recovery Board, U.S.

Louise Arbour, Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Canada

Michel Kazatchkine, professor of medicine, former executive director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria

Nick Clegg, Former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK

Pavel Bém, Former Mayor of Prague, Czech Republic

Ruth Dreifuss, Former President of Switzerland

The Global Commission is urging the United Nations and all member states to adopt a people-centered approach to drug policy. This means putting health, safety and human rights first. Drawing on evidence-based policies from around the world, the Commission is calling on governments to:

End the criminalization and incarceration of drug users;

Abolish capital punishment for drug-related offenses;

Empower the World Health Organization (WHO) to review the scheduling system of drugs on the basis of scientific evidence;

Ensure a broad spectrum of treatment for dependent people and services designed to reduce the harms of drugs; and

Develop, test and implement different approaches to drug regulation in order to maximize public health and disempower organized crime.

The Global Commission believes the international drug policy regime has failed to achieve its original (and unrealistic) objectives of eradicating drug production and consumption. It has also generated alarming social, economic, political and health problems around the world. As former Presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico noted in a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed: “outdated drug policies around the world have resulted in soaring drug-related violence, overstretched criminal justice systems, runaway corruption and mangled democratic institutions.”

Over the past two decades many countries have started taking matters into their own hands. For example, Switzerland opened safe consumption rooms and offers maintenance and heroin assisted therapy in order to allow users to have a more healthy and balanced life. Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs in 2001, with significant crime prevention and public health benefits including decreasing rates of HIV. Cannabis clubs have sprung-up around parts of Spain, and Uruguay has regulated its cannabis market from production, to distribution and sale.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is pioneering different approaches to regulating marijuana. Already 23 states plus Washington, D.C. have regulated marijuana for medicinal purposes; and four states (together with Washington, D.C). have regulated marijuana for recreational purposes. There is now unprecedented debate among elected officials, including President Obama, about how to transform drug policies to reduce mass incarceration in the U.S. What is more, Canada and Mexico are also exploring the regulation of marijuana for medical and personal use, driven in large part by high-levels of violence and favorable public opinion.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL COMMISSION ON DRUG POLICY

Founded in 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy is composed of political leaders and intellectuals from around the world including: the former Presidents of: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Portugal, Switzerland, Nigeria, Greece and Poland; former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz; entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson; former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Paul Volcker; former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour; as well as leaders from Czech Republic, India, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Spain and the UK.

The Global Commission made international headlines when it came out in support of decriminalization in 2011. In 2014, the Commission released a ground-breaking report that highlighted five pathways to effective drug policies including: harm reduction measures; equitable access to controlled medicines; decriminalization of people who use or possess drugs; alternatives to incarceration for low-level participants in illicit drug markets, and experiments in legally regulating markets of currently illicit drugs. Since its founding the Global Commission has produced five major reports and three internationally acclaimed films.

Author:
Date Published: April 20, 2016
Published by Global Commission on Drug Policy

United Nations Orders Security to Confiscate Copies of Open Letter to Ban Ki-Moon Calling for End to Global Drug War

(New York, New York) – On the opening day of the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the World Drug Problem, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) gathered more than 60 performers dressed in costumes from the era of U.S. alcohol prohibition to greet attendees at the entrance to the United Nations and hand them copies of the “Post-Prohibition Times,” a newspaper printout of a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to set the stage “for real reform of global drug control policy.”

UN Security was apparently ordered to confiscate the letter, and attendees were ordered to hand over their copies upon entering the building. According to a number of participants in the UN Special Session, they were told that the document was not allowed in the building. “As we were walking into the metal detectors right at the entrance, the security were confiscating it from people,” said Natalie Lyla Ginsberg, Policy and Advocacy Manager for Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Ms. Ginsberg continued, “I went back to ask the security guard why, and he said he got orders from the UN to specifically take the newspapers. He said he was just following orders.”

“That’s an extraordinary and deeply disturbing response by UN officials,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “The pamphlet obviously presented no threat to security. All it threatened was the status quo of the global drug war.”

The unprecedented list of signatories includes a range of people from Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to businessmen Warren Buffett, George Soros, Richard Branson, Barry Diller, actors Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda, Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, singers John Legend and Mary J. Blige, activists Reverend Jesse Jackson, Gloria Steinem and Michelle Alexander, as well as distinguished legislators, cabinet ministers, and former UN officials.

“It’s alarming that the United Nations would have so little regard for freedom of speech, and opted to disrupt this important message from getting to its intended audience, which is the delegates participating in this historic discussion,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “People across the globe have had their lives destroyed by the horrors of the drug war. The world is watching and it is a shame for the UN to stifle an urgent intervention in the debate.”

The UN Special Session, which takes place April 19-21, is the first of its kind since 1998, when the UN’s illusory but official slogan was “A drug-free world – we can do it!” The upcoming UNGASS was proposed in late 2012 by the Mexican government, with strong support from other Latin American governments. Last year UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a strong call-to-action, urging governments “to conduct a wide-ranging and open debate that considers all options.” The public letter to him was prompted in part by the obstacles to such debate within the confines of the United Nations.

“The drug control regime that emerged during the last century,” the letter says, “has proven disastrous for global health, security and human rights. Focused overwhelmingly on criminalization and punishment, it created a vast illicit market that has enriched criminal organizations, corrupted governments, triggered explosive violence, distorted economic markets and undermined basic moral values… Humankind cannot afford a 21st century drug policy as ineffective and counter-productive as the last century’s.”

[Links below to photos from today’s action]

http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Post_Prohibition_Times_Stu…
http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Post_Prohibition_Times_Stu…
http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Post_Prohibition_Times_Stu…

ABOUT THE DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE: The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation’s leading organization of people who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good. DPA fights for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.

Author:
Date Published: April 19, 2016
Published by Drug Policy Alliance

D.C. Council Bans Marijuana Consumption Outside Private Residences

On Tuesday afternoon, the D.C. Council voted to permanently ban any social consumption of marijuana other than inside a private residence, despite a public forum being scheduled that evening to explore the merits of continuing the ban.

Among the concerns voiced by activists is that the ban forces people who live in public housing, where consuming marijuana can lead to eviction, to break the law by smoking in public. This policy predominantly impacts poor people of color in the District, and many residents think that allowing social use clubs would go a long way toward addressing this issue. There may be options to overturn the ban, however.

DCist reports:

Numerous people brought up the racial disparity in marijuana-related arrests, which continues even in the era of decriminalization and legalization—81.9 percent of the 259 public consumption arrests from July 17, 2014 (when public consumption became a criminal offense) to the end of 2015 were of black people, according to data from the Drug Policy Alliance.

Kate Bell, an attorney for the Marijuana Policy Project, said that the ban isn’t the end of the road. “There are other avenues D.C. could explore,” she told DCist. “We’re not just talking about clubs. It’s a much broader issue.”

Nikolas Schiller of DCMJ has already written a draft referendum on the ban. But it’s an open question whether the referendum, if passed, could be implemented given the Congressional rider that hamstrings the city’s ability to regulate drug legalization. Bell says that MPP is working to ensure that the rider doesn’t appear in next year’s Congressional budget.

The post D.C. Council Bans Marijuana Consumption Outside Private Residences appeared first on MPP Blog.

Illinois Senate Approves Decriminalization Bill

Sen. Heather Steans

Illinois Sen. Heather Steans’ bill to decriminalize marijuana possession, SB 2228, passed the Senate Tuesday on a vote of 40 to 14. The measure will now be considered by the Illinois House of Representatives.

Sen. Steans’ bill would lower penalties by removing the possibility of arrest and a jail sentence for the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana. Perhaps more importantly, it removes the possibility of a harmful criminal record for cannabis possession, which can last a lifetime. Instead, the bill would replace criminal penalties with a fine of between $100 and $200.

SB 2228 is part of a multi-year effort to help move away from the harsh penalties currently in place and to help bring more consistency to possession laws in Illinois, which can be unfairly applied.

If you are an Illinois resident, please take a moment to ask your representative to vote in support of SB 2228.

The post Illinois Senate Approves Decriminalization Bill appeared first on MPP Blog.

10 Most Popular Strains of Marijuana

Thanks to decades of research and crossbreeding, marijuana is now available in a wide variety of strains. It’s no secret that the weed you can…

The post 10 Most Popular Strains of Marijuana appeared first on Leaf Science.

9 Side Effects of Marijuana

Most marijuana users enjoy the drug’s ability to induce a sense of euphoria, but that doesn’t come without side effects. Indeed, research shows that using…

The post 9 Side Effects of Marijuana appeared first on Leaf Science.

Pennsylvania Becomes 24th Medical Marijuana State

Today, Gov. Tom Wolf signed the Medical Marijuana Act (SB 3) into law, making

SB 3 will allow patients with qualifying conditions to use and safely access medical marijuana. Once applications are available from the Department of Health, eligible patients whose doctors recommend cannabis will be able to obtain identification cards. The law allows for up to 150 dispensary locations across the state.

When dispensaries open, medical marijuana will be available as pills, oils, gels, creams, ointments, tinctures, and liquids. Vaporization is allowed but smoking is initially prohibited. Dispensaries cannot sell edibles, but medical cannabis products can be mixed into food or drinks. Dry leaf/flower is not allowed immediately but the Department of Health can change that following an advisory board report two years after enactment. For more details, visit MPP’s summary of the Medical Marijuana Act.

The post Pennsylvania Becomes 24th Medical Marijuana State appeared first on MPP Blog.

Prominent Doctors Launch Group to End Marijuana Prohibition

Some of the country’s most prominent physicians have teamed up to launch the nation’s first organization of doctors formed to advocate for the legalization and regulation of cannabis for adult use.

Washington Post reports:

The group — which is announcing its formation Monday, under the name Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DFCR) — is endorsing the legalization of marijuana for adult recreational use, a break from the position of the American Medical Association, the largest organization of doctors in the country. DFCR argues that the prohibition and criminalization of marijuana use does more harm to the public than good. Citing hundreds of thousands of annual marijuana arrests, racial and economic disparities in marijuana enforcement, and the role of prohibition in keeping marijuana prices high and lucrative to violent drug dealers, the physicians say that creating a legal and regulated marijuana market is the best way to ensure public safety, combat the illicit drug trade and roll back the negative consequences of strict enforcement policies on disadvantaged communities.

The emergence of the group comes at a crucial moment in the national debate over marijuana legalization. More than 60 percent of the public now says that it supports marijuana legalization. Support for allowing medical use of marijuana with doctors’ supervision is closer to 90 percent. Over 35 million Americans use marijuana recreationally each year, according to the latest federal statistics. Research organizations, medical groups and even many national lawmakers have called on federal authorities to revisit policies toward marijuana that have remained essentially unchanged for nearly 50 years.

Members of the organization’s leadership team include former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders; integrative medicine pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil; Dr. H. Westley Clark, former director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment; Dr. Chris Beyrer, founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights; Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Dr. David Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Community Health at Brown University; Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital; and Dr. David Nathan, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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Study: Marijuana May Lower Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

New research suggests marijuana may protect users from a health condition linked to heart disease and diabetes. More than one third of U.S. adults suffer…

The post Study: Marijuana May Lower Risk of Metabolic Syndrome appeared first on Leaf Science.

How To Make Weed Brownies

Learn how to make cannabis-infused brownies with this simple and delicious recipe. Weed brownies are often the first food that comes to mind when you…

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Dabs 101: A Beginner’s Guide

Dabs are a type of concentrated cannabis extract, which are becoming popular in places where marijuana is legal. There are many ways to consume marijuana,…

The post Dabs 101: A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Leaf Science.

Marijuana Withdrawal: Myth or Reality?

One of the most common questions surrounding marijuana is whether using it can lead to addiction and withdrawal. Many regular users argue that cannabis is…

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How Do Cannabis and Seduction Work Together?

Arden Leigh is a blogger and author of the book The New Rules of Attraction: How to Get Him, Keep Him, and Make Him Beg for More. During her talk about creating better relationships through the art of seduction, she said:

“Most human beings will spend more time studying calculus than studying how to intentionally be in a relationship with someone they love.”

People spend countless hours on education and job training, but comparatively little time is spent studying how to interact successfully with other humans in relationships. I sat down with Arden, who has devoted 10,000+ hours of study to relationships, and asked her to share some of the insight she has gleaned.

Arden Leigh, author of The New Rules of Attraction

Many people have negative associations with seduction and the pickup artist (PUA) community, but a recurring theme in Arden’s work is that seduction is an act of generosity. She explained, “Here’s one of the most important truths of seduction, what ultimately all good, successful PUAs learn: Tactics like manipulation, dishonesty, agenda-pushing, misogyny (or misandry), disparagement, deception, and general meanness are never actually seductive. And things like integrity, honesty, vulnerability, communicativeness, reliability, and candor are seductive in that along with just being generally good things to do, they’re also necessary to forming a functional relationship with any decent human being. Not only are such qualities not at cross-purposes with pickup, but they’re actually crucial to its most elevated levels as an art form.

“The worthiest part of seduction is engaging your curiosity about another human being, and allowing that curiosity to open up a space for them to be their truest selves with you, without fear of judgment or repercussion. Only then do you get to truly know someone. That is both seduction’s greatest gift and its greatest reward.”

How can cannabis fit into your seduction attempts? Arden graciously took some of the central tenants of seduction and expanded them so that cannabis can be integrated seamlessly. Here are some ideas:

Make a Proactive Approach and Pay Attention

Start a conversation with the person in whom you’re interested. People are often relieved when someone approaches them authentically (read: not with some cheesy line or a dick pic) because it’s so rare. As Arden points out, “The seducer makes all of the crucial first moves in order to shoulder the potential rejection and create a safe space in which to explore intimacy.”

Find out what motivates them, what activities they enjoy, and what books and films influenced them as they were growing up. These things will give you insights into what kinds of planned adventures will be most effective. For instance, if they share that they have asthma and are a strict vape-only user, offering them a rip from your 5-foot bong might not go over well.

Offer an Excuse to Be Alone (Together, of Course)

Since cannabis is still only recreational in four states plus D.C., and even in those states it’s illegal to imbibe cannabis in public, it’s vital to have a private space in which to retreat. Inviting your new object of affection to come over and smoke can provide them with a comfortable space to imbibe and a chance for the two of you to bond over a joint (or, better yet, flirtatiously teach your date how to roll one — more on that later).

Your place should offer an environment that feels both comfortable and can set a seductive mood. One of the things I enjoy most about visiting Arden’s apartment is the way I feel when I’m in it. She set out to create an oasis of pleasure and it’s clear she considered every possible detail. Soft leather couches, red velvet blackout curtains, and a gothic aesthetic that falls somewhere between Sherlock Holmes and a high-end whiskey and cigar bar create an atmosphere of decadence and escape. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors and an all-white bedroom with a four-poster bed offers her romantic interests a blank canvas on which to design their fantasies. As adults, we have the opportunity to create an aesthetic that mirrors our personalities and evokes an intentionally targeted reaction from our guests.

Use Ritual to Anchor Pleasurable Experiences

Many cannabis users have a specific way they prepare and consume. A dab user might have a heat-proof mat, an e-nail, and their dab tools laid out in advance. Someone who prefers joints might have their grinder, rolling papers, and tray set up and ready to go. You have the opportunity to incorporate the object of your attraction into your rituals, or even co-create a new ritual together.

While away with a lover this past weekend, I taught him how to dab. I showed him the rig, the torch, the tools, and the tiny container of CO2 oil from WVapes. I explained the order of operations and demonstrated for him so he would feel more at ease. Then I measured a miniscule dab for him and walked him through the process a second time. Because I took the time to initiate him into this ritual, not only does he now know the proper way to dab, but he also felt comfortable being vulnerable and exploring a new facet of his cannabis use with me. As a bonus, the next time he dabs, he’ll think of me and the fun weekend we had together. I’ve successfully anchored that pleasurable experience in his brain. Read more about rituals and social practices here.

What are some ways you mindfully incorporate seduction into your relationships and prospective relationships? Have you ever tried any pickup techniques? Share your experiences!

Arden Leigh is the founder of the Sirens Seduction Forum and the author of The New Rules of Attraction. She is a coach at the Interpersonal Attraction Institute, writes a regular advice column for Auxiliary Magazine, and maintains her blog at ardenleigh.typepad.com. She is currently at work on a memoir of her experiences in the BDSM community. Her band, Arden and the Wolves, has released two EPs. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Got a sex, relationships, or intimacy dating question for Ashley Manta? Send it to tips@nullleafly.com and we may address your request in a future article! (Don’t worry, we’ll keep your queries anonymous.)

Best Cannabis Strains for Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a difficult condition to live with, but as we’ve learned from Leafly reviewers, cannabis can offer respite. It makes sense when you look at some of the symptoms fibro sufferers face:

• Joint pain
• Fatigue
• Depression and anxiety
• Tenderness and generalized pain
• Insomnia
• Inability to focus

There isn’t a lot of research on cannabis as a treatment for fibromyalgia, but clinical studies using synthesized THC for symptom management shows promising results. Still, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence in Leafly’s strain reviews alone to show that cannabis is certainly providing much needed relief to many of those willing to experiment. These 10 strains, according to our user-submitted strain data, seem to be doing the trick.

Keep in mind, relief is not limited to these strains alone. There a lot – and we mean a lot – of strains that can treat pain, fight fatigue, reduce depression and anxiety, sharpen focus, and crush insomnia. Consider trying other high-CBD strains, or cannabis in various other forms like edibles, topicals, or ingestible oils. Everyone’s body is different, so the key is to try different strains and products to see what works best for you.

Blue Dream

Given the sheer volume of strain reviews available for Blue Dream, it’s no wonder that we found so many positive reports associated with this sativa-dominant hybrid from fibro patients. However, that’s not a reason to discount the therapeutic potential of this coveted berry-flavored flower; Blue Dream is known to exhibit high levels of the relaxing terpene myrcene as well as CBG, a cannabinoid known to reduce inflammation and fight insomnia. Not only that, Blue Dream delicately lifts the mood to new heights, letting you forget about the aches and worries that were keeping you down.

“Blue Dream is my go-to strain for my everyday fibromyalgia pain and muscle spasm medicine, it is gentle enough to use [every] day and throughout the day. It is a nice hybrid, with the muscle spasm easing effects of [an] indica, and the euphoric, headache easing effects of a sativa without anxiety effects. I use it when I wake up to get moving, and even use it to help me sleep.” – craig_DC

Harlequin

With the painkilling power of THC and CBD combined, this sativa is the perfect way to start your day. If you’re sensitive to THC, you’re in luck: Harlequin’s high-CBD content helps curb the psychoactive and anxious side effects of THC, letting you go about your day without that dizzying euphoria that some unaccustomed users find distracting or unpleasant.

“I take three puffs and get a wonderful body high that takes my pain away. It’s not that I don’t notice it anymore…it feels like it’s gone. It makes me SO happy to not feel my pain. Note that I have fibromyalgia and degenerative disc in my lower back, to for me to not be feeling my pain seems like somewhat of a miracle.” – chasmyn

Cannatonic

In further testament to the power of high-CBD strains, Cannatonic is the third most celebrated strain from Leafly users with fibromyalgia. It’s only mildly psychoactive due to its CBD dominance, making it an excellent choice for new users. However, even veterans will appreciate this hybrid’s ability to crush pain, anxiety, muscle spasms, and a myriad of other symptoms.

“I am taking this for Fibromyalgia. This has been the most helpful strain I have found in clearing my mind. Less mind clutter leads to more mental and physical energy.” – bearcubb

Critical Mass

Critical Mass is a heavy indica strain whose tingly full-body effects radiate throughout the body, swiftly bowling down pain and stress. This strain sometimes expresses itself with enhanced levels of CBD for even better pain relief. Also preferred for treating depression, insomnia, and muscle spasms, Critical Mass is definitely a strain you’ll want in your medicine cabinet.

“My body felt nice and relaxed for the first time in [I don’t know] how long and for sure helped me sleep. Helped with my TMJ too! If you have fibromyalgia issues like I do it’s definitely one to try!” –IrisLight

Tahoe OG

This is the strain you’ll need for when your fibromyalgia symptoms are keeping you up at night. Tranquilizing and dreamy, Tahoe OG is an indica-dominant strain that leads muscles into blissful relaxation, melting the pain and tension out of them.

“This will give the pain killing effects need for heavy pain, as well as give a sedative effect, so one can go to sleep. [It’s] one of the top ten strains I use for my condition.” – savagec3

Granddaddy Purple

Guiding you into relief with a sweet berry and grape flavor, Granddaddy Purple is a classic indica strain with potent painkilling properties. Like Blue Dream, GDP boasts high levels of myrcene and CBG to help relax muscles and control pain. Not only does this sweet-tasting indica treat physical symptoms, its pacifying euphoria loosens the grip of stress, anxiety, and depression to help you stay positive.

“I finally decided to roll a joint of this and some Tahoe OG, and now I’m free of cramps, muscle spasms, shooting pain, nausea, anxiety, etc…It’s rare that I find a strain that will completely help with medical problems, but also help me be happy, become more creative, and stay awake.” – GanjaGoddess410

Girl Scout Cookies

Coveted for its potency, flavor, and quality of effect, it’s no wonder that fibro patients also found something to love about this award-winning hybrid. Girl Scout Cookies is known to have a high THC content, so if you’re new to cannabis or sensitive to THC, be sure to dose low and slow with this hybrid powerhouse.

“I bought this strain for pain relief and it worked quite well. I suffer from fibro & arthritis and after smoking this for the first time, it seemed to work as well as some pain pills.” – TONYROSEITTI

Blueberry

Indicas are wonderful pain relievers, but it isn’t often you find one with a flavor as strong and sweet as Blueberry. Named for its unmistakable ripe berry aroma, this indica delivers a nuanced effects that mellows everything from physical pain to emotional anguish caused by fibromyalgia.

“Was in so much body pain today due to fibromyalgia, so I picked up Blueberry wax this afternoon…can safely say this is the best strain for body and migraine pain I’ve tried so far. I melted into my bed, very dreamy effect.” – cholladay

Bubba Kush

The symptoms of fibromyalgia are multifaceted, but thankfully, so are the effects of Bubba Kush. Muscles relax. Eyelids heavy. The mind goes from a running pace to walking. Bubba Kush bestows its gift of relief alongside a sweet, earthy coffee aroma with subtle woody notes that will keep you coming back for more even after your symptoms subside.

“Helps me sleep great which is godsend for severe fibromyalgia…working great for my awful bee stinging feeling nerve pain!” – Anonymous

Headband

Named for its hugging cerebral sensations some refer to as the “halo effect,” Headband is a favorite for those suffering from headaches. But that’s not the only type of relief this fragrant hybrid has to offer. Headband’s rich terpene profile gives rise to a spectrum of benefits, including stress reduction, mood enhancement, a feeling of wakefulness and focus, and muscle relaxation.

“It’s a great strain, knocked out my knee pain that is causing a fibromyalgia flare up. It’s definitely is easing the flare up as well and the migraine associated with it.” – Paraleash

The Shake: Next President Urged to Give Cannabis a Fair Shake

“Marijuana will impact almost every corner of your administration” says a new memo to the presidential candidates. The Brookings Institute published an open letter to the presumptive presidential nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Drumpf, earlier today. John Hudak, a Brookings fellow and Deputy Director for the Center for Public Management, makes a case for the importance of cannabis-policy reform in the new administration. Hudak warns: “A laissez-faire approach to cannabis is a dangerous stance that creates a bevy of policy problems at the federal, state and local levels.” Hudak urges the incoming president to carefully choose members of the administration who will directly affect drug policy—the drug czar, Attorney General, leaders of the FBI, the DEA, and Congress. A White House Summit on National Cannabis Policy would “elevate the conversation and signal a presidential commitment to better policy.” Hint, hint.

Anti-cannabis campaign claims Florida’s Amendment 2 will establish “more pot shops than Walmart and Walgreens combined.” While there are estimates that there could be as many as 440,552 patients in Florida who qualify for medical cannabis, which could lead to establishing 1,993 registered treatment centers, ultimately it would be up to the Department of Health and the Legislature. Nice try, fear-mongers.

So you’re saying cannabis is wholesome as pie? Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner will probably sign a recently passed bill that decriminalizes cannabis possession, but says he’s got more important things to do. “We get caught up in what our state pie is going to be, and how much marijuana is going to get sold,” Rauner said on Thursday. (Legislators gave pumpkin the nod last year.)

Growing pains in Denver’s light industrial neighborhoods. “The biggest fears that once preoccupied Denver city officials,” like crime, teen use, and dampened tourism “have not come to pass,” reports Politico. The problem now is that people living in light industrial neighborhoods don’t like so many grow operations moving into those warehouses.

Toronto tables dispensary crackdown until late June. Mayor John Tory asked the city’s licensing department to come up with ideas to regulate the medical-marijuana access points. That report is due by June 27.

A “suspicious odor” leads New Orleans police to Wheetos, Froot Poofs and Cannamon Toast Crunch. After noticing excessive traffic to a La Place hotel room, as well as a familiar scent permeating the air, deputies found the cannabis-infused snacks labeled for medical use as well as a large amount of cannabis. As Toucan Sam would say, “Follow your nose!”

NORML’s 2016 Congressional Lobby Day is May 23-24 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. If you want to do your part to end federal cannabis prohibition, join the CARE postcard campaign at No Prohibition to flood the mailbox of the Senate Judiciary Committee with postcards asking for action on S.2237 to deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

“Wash your weed,” says the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. Law enforcement removed some 20,000 cannabis plants that were growing in an area of the California county that’s contaminated with toxic chemicals, insecticides and pesticides. The boys in blue are now urging locals not to ingest the contaminated flower or to “please, at least wash the marijuana before using it.”

Who got into your stash? It was Grandma. More and more seniors are picking up their medicine from the pot shop. Cannabis use is up 53 percent among the 55-and-over crowd and it’s the fastest growing demographic of cannabis consumers in the country.

Home Cannabis Cultivation Laws: A State-by-State Guide

A common question for new medical cannabis patients and recreational consumers is whether or not home cultivation is permitted where they live. State cannabis laws vary, with some states permitting home grows while others do not. We put together a helpful guide outlining the home cultivation status for states that have legalized some form of cannabis. Check back as we continue to update the guide whenever a state law changes.

Click on a state to jump down to its cultivation guidelines.

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington

Alaska

Possession/Use Limits: Persons 21 years of age or older may possess, use, display, purchase, and transport one (1) ounce or less of marijuana.

Grow Limits: An adult over the age of 21 may possess, grow, process, or transport no more than six (6) plants total, with no more than three (3) plants that are mature.

Resources:

• Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Division of Public Health – Know the Laws About Marijuana
• “An Act to tax and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana”

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Arizona

Possession/Use Limits: A qualifying patient or designated caregiver registered with ADHS may obtain and possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a 14-day period from a registered non-profit medical marijuana dispensary.

Grow Limits: A medical marijuana patient or the qualifying patient’s designated caregiver may cultivate up to twelve (12) plants if they live more than 25 miles from the nearest medical marijuana dispensary.

Resources:

• Arizona Department of Health Services for Medical Marijuana – FAQs – Cultivation

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California

Grow Limits: A medical marijuana patient shall not cultivate medical marijuana without obtaining a license, permit, or entitlement permitting cultivation from the city and/or county in which the cultivation will occur.

A medical marijuana patient may cultivate cannabis so long as the area they use to cultivate cannabis does not exceed 100 square feet.

This limitation does not apply to a primary caregiver cultivating marijuana if the area he or she uses to cultivate marijuana does not exceed 500 square feet and he or she cultivates marijuana exclusively for the personal medical use of no more than five (5) specified qualified patients for whom he or she is the primary caregiver and does not receive remuneration for these activities.

• Exemption from the requirements of this section does not limit or prevent a city and/or county from regulating or banning the cultivation, storage, manufacture, transport, provision, or other activity by the exempt person, or impair the enforcement of that regulation or ban (check the laws in your local jurisdiction).

Resources:

• Assembly Bill No. 243.

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Colorado

Possession/Use Limits: Colorado residents may purchase and possess up to one (1) ounce of marijuana at a time. Non-Colorado residents are limited to 1/4 ounce.

A patient’s medical use of marijuana is lawful within the following limits:

• No more than two (2) ounces of a usable form of marijuana;
• No more than six (6) plants, with three (3) or fewer being mature, flowering plants that producing a usable form of marijuana.

Grow Limits: Any adult resident of Colorado may grow up to six (6) plants per person, with no more than three (3) plants in the mature/flowering stage at any time. Non-Colorado residents may not cultivate cannabis.

No more than twelve (12) total plants are allowed per residence regardless of the number of adults living there. Cannabis plants must be kept in an enclosed, locked area.

Resources:

• Marijuana Retailers and Home Growers in the State of Colorado
• Medical Use of Marijuana for Persons Suffering from Debilitating Medical Conditions.

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Connecticut

Possession/Use Limits: The combined amount of marijuana possessed by the qualifying patient and the primary caregiver for palliative use does not exceed an amount of usable marijuana reasonably necessary to ensure uninterrupted availability for a period of one (1) month.

Grow Limits: Home cultivation is not permitted.

Resources:

• Chapter 420f – Palliative Use of Marijuana

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Delaware

Possession/Use Limits: Usable amount of medical marijuana for medical use is limited to six (6) ounces or less.

Grow Limits: Home cultivation is not permitted.

Resources:

• The State of Delaware Medical Marijuana Code

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District of Columbia

Possession/Use Limits: It is legal for a person who is at least 21 years old to:

• Possess two (2) ounces or less of marijuana;
• Transfer one (1) ounce or less of marijuana to another person who is at least 21 years old, so long as there is no payment made or any other type of exchange of goods or services;
• Possess marijuana-related drug paraphernalia that is associated with one (1) ounce or less of marijuana;
• Use marijuana on private property.

The maximum amount of medical marijuana any qualifying patient or caregiver may possess at any time is two (2) ounces or the equivalent of two (2) ounces of dried medical marijuana when sold in any other form.

Grow Limits: It is legal for a person who is at least 21 years old to cultivate within their residence up to six (6) marijuana plants, no more than three (3) of which are mature.

Resources:

• Facts on D.C. Marijuana Laws
• The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations for the Medical Marijuana Program

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Hawaii

Grow Limits: A registered medical marijuana program participant that indicates their intent to grow on their application may grow an “adequate supply,” or no more than seven (7) plants total and no more than 4 oz. of usable marijuana jointly between a registered patient and caregiver.

A qualifying patient may designate a caregiver on their application to grow no more than seven (7) plants total on their behalf. A caregiver may only grow for one patient at a time. Whosoever is designated to grow medical marijuana should tag each plant at the base with their 329 card number and expiration date.

Act 241 eliminates the ability of a caregiver to grow medical marijuana on behalf of a qualifying patient after December 31, 2018 (unless the patient is a minor or adult lacking legal capacity or resides on an island without a dispensary).

Resources:

• The State of Hawaii, Department of Health Medical Marijuana Program

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Illinois

Possession/Use Limits: Adequate supply means 2.5 ounces of usable cannabis during a period of 14 days and that is derived solely from an intrastate source.

Grow Limits: Home cultivation is not permitted.

Resources:

• The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act

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Maine

Possession/Use Limits: A qualifying patient may possess up to 2 ½ ounces of prepared marijuana.

Grow Limits: A maximum of six (6) mature plants per patient may be cultivated for medical use. A qualifying patient who elects to cultivate marijuana plants must keep the plants in an enclosed, locked facility unless the plants are being transported because the patient is moving or taking the plants to the patient’s own property in order to cultivate them.

Minors, incapacitated adults, homeless qualifying patients, and registered patients in hospice or nursing facilities may not cultivate his or her own marijuana. Only designated primary caregivers or designated dispensaries may cultivate on behalf of the qualifying patient in this case.

Resources:

• The Rules Governing the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Program

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Maryland

Possession/Use Limits: Qualified medical patients may possess a sufficient 30-day supply of marijuana for medical use.

Grow Limits: Home cultivation is not permitted.

Resources:

• The Natalie LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission

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Massachusetts

Grow Limits: A qualifying medical marijuana patient with a hardship cultivation registration may cultivate a limited number of plants sufficient to maintain a 60-day supply solely for that patient’s use. He or she may apply for a hardship cultivation registration if the patient can demonstrate that his or her access to a registered medical dispensary (RMD) is limited by:

• Verified financial hardship
• Physical incapacity to access reasonable transportation (an inability to use public transportation or drive oneself), lack of personal caregiver with reliable transportation, or lack of RMD that will deliver to the patient’s or personal caregiver’s primary address
• Lack of a RMD within a reasonable distance of the patient’s residence and lack of a RMD that will deliver marijuana to the patient’s or personal caregiver’s primary address

To obtain a hardship cultivation, a registered qualifying patient shall submit:

• A nonrefundable registration fee (unless waived due to financial hardship)
• Information supporting a claim that access is limited to one or more of the above circumstances
• An explanation including lack of feasible alternatives to mitigate limitations claimed
• A description and address of the single location that shall be used for the cultivation of marijuana, which shall either be the registered qualifying patient’s or personal caregiver’s primary residence
• A written explanation of how the qualifying patient will cultivate marijuana
• A description of the device or system that will be used to ensure security and prevent diversion of the marijuana plants being cultivated
• Written acknowledgement of the limitations on his or her authorization to cultivate, possess, and use marijuana for medical purposes

The Department shall review and approve or deny an application for a hardship cultivation license within 30 calendar days of receipt of a completed application.

Resources:

• The Implementation of an Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana

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Michigan

Possession/Use Limits: A qualifying patient who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, provided that the qualifying patient possesses an amount of cannabis that does not exceed 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana or twelve (12) plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility.

The privilege from arrest under this subsection applies only if the qualifying patient presents both a registry identification card and a valid driver license or government-issued identification card that bears a photographic image of the qualifying patient.

Grow Limits: A primary caregiver who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty if the primary caregiver possesses an amount of marijuana that does not exceed 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana, or twelve (12) plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility for each registered qualifying patient that has specified that the primary caregiver be allowed under state law to cultivate marijuana for the qualifying patient.

Resources:

• Public Act 512 – Enrolled House Bill 4851

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Montana

Grow Limits: A registered cardholder may possess up to four (4) mature plants, twelve (12) seedlings, and one (1) ounce of usable marijuana.

A provider or marijuana-infused product provider may possess four (4) mature plants, twelve (12) seedlings, and one (1) ounce of usable marijuana for each registered cardholder who has named the person as the registered cardholder’s provider.

Resources:

• Montana Code Annotated 2015, Section 50-46-319

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Nevada

Possession/Use and Grow Limits: The holder of a valid registry identification card is prohibited from cultivating, growing, or producing marijuana if a dispensary opens in their county of residence. If the holder of a valid registry identification card resides in a county with no dispensaries, the holder of the card is exempt from state prosecution for:

• Possessing, delivering, or producing no more than 2 ½ ounces of usable marijuana
• Twelve (12) marijuana plants, irrespective of whether the plants are mature or immature

Resources:

• Chapter 453A – Medical Use of Marijuana

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New Hampshire

Possession/Use Limits: A qualified patient is not permitted to purchase more than two (2) ounces during a 10-day period, and is not permitted to be in possession of more than two (2) ounces of cannabis at any given time. If you have a designated caregiver, you and your designated caregiver combined cannot have more than two (2) ounces of cannabis at any given time.

Grow Limits: Home cultivation is not permitted.

Resources:

• The Therapeutic Cannabis Program General Program Information for Qualifying Patients

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New Jersey

Possession/Use Limits: A physician shall provide written instructions for a registered qualifying patient or his caregiver to present to an Alternative Treatment Center (ATC) concerning the total amount of usable marijuana that a patient may be dispensed, in weight, in a 30-day period, which amount shall not exceed two (2) ounces. If no amount is noted, the maximum amount that may be dispensed at one time is two (2) ounces.

Grow Limits: The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act does not authorize a qualifying patient or primary caregiver to grow or cultivate marijuana, or to possess a marijuana plant.

Resources:

• The NJ Compassionate Use Act

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New Mexico

Possession/Use Limits: Qualified patients are allowed to possess up to approximately eight (8) ounces (230 grams) of usable cannabis. Primary caregivers may transport up to 8 ounces for each patient listed on the caregiver ID card. (If an exception to the 8 ounce limit is granted, it is noted on the back of the patient ID card).

Grow Limits: Qualified patients may apply for a license to grow their own supply of medical cannabis. The license must be posted or kept near the growing area. A Personal Production License (PPL) allows patients to grow up to four (4) mature plants and twelve (12) seedlings at any given time.

Resources:

• The New Mexico Department of Health Law Enforcement Information Sheet

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New York

Possession/Use Limits: The marijuana that may be possessed by a certified patient shall not exceed a thirty-day supply of the dosage as determined by the practitioner, provided that during the last seven (7) days of any thirty-day period, the certified patient may also possess up to such an amount for the next thirty-day period.

Grow Limits: Home cultivation is not permitted.

Resources:

• The NY Compassionate Care Act

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Oregon

Possession/Use Limits: Recreational marijuana consumers 21 years of age and older may possess up to eight (8) ounces of usable cannabis. A registered Oregon medical marijuana patient may possess up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana.

Grow Limits: Recreational marijuana consumers 21 years of age and older may possess up to four (4) plants per residence. A registered Oregon medical marijuana patient may possess up to six (6) mature plants, which must be grown at a registered grow site address. Caregivers, or OMMP growers, cannot be growing for more than four (4) patients at a time, and cannot grow more than six (6) mature plants per patient.

Resources:

• The OLCC Recreational Marijuana FAQs
• The OMMP Growers FAQ

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Rhode Island

Possession/Use and Grow Limits: A patient cardholder who has in his or her possession a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty for the medical use of marijuana, provided that the patient cardholder possesses an amount of marijuana that does not exceed twelve (12) mature marijuana plants and two and one-half (2.5) ounces of usable marijuana. Said plants shall be stored in an indoor facility.

A primary caregiver cardholder, who has in his or her possession, a registry identification card, shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty for assisting a patient cardholder, to whom he or she is connected through the department’s registration process, with the medical use of marijuana; provided that the primary caregiver cardholder possesses an amount of marijuana that does not exceed twelve (12) mature marijuana plants and two and one-half (2.5) ounces of usable marijuana for each patient cardholder to whom he or she is connected through the department’s registration process.

A cardholder shall be allowed to possess a reasonable amount of unusable marijuana, including up to twelve (12) seedlings, that shall not be counted towards the limits of this section.

Resources:

• The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act

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Vermont

Possession/Use Limits: A registered patient may comply with possession limits and possess up to two (2) ounces of usable marijuana. A designated registered caregiver for the purpose of assisting a registered patient may possess up to two (2) ounces of usable marijuana.

Grow Limits: A registered patient may comply with possession limits and cultivate no more than two (2) mature marijuana plants and seven (7) immature marijuana plants (if the registered patient elects to cultivate marijuana). A designated registered caregiver for the purpose of assisting a registered patient may cultivate up to two (2) mature marijuana plants and seven (7) immature marijuana plants for the registered patient who has named the person to serve as caregiver. The collective possession amounts between the registered caregiver and the registered patient must meet the total possession limit.

Resources:

• Rules Governing the Vermont Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Program

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Washington

Possession/Use Limits: As part of authorizing a qualifying patient or designated provider, the health care professional may include recommendations on the amount of marijuana that is likely needed by the qualifying patient for his or her medical needs. If the qualifying patient or designated provider with an authorization from a health care professional has NOT been entered into the medical marijuana authorization database, he or she may not receive a recognition card and may only purchase at a retail outlet.

If the health care professional does not include recommendations, when adding the qualifying patient or designated provider to the medical marijuana authorization database, he or she shall enter into the database that the patient may obtain at a retail outlet holding a medical marijuana endorsement a combination of the following:

• Forty-eight (48) ounces of marijuana-infused product in solid form;
• Three (3) ounces of usable marijuana;
• Two hundred sixteen (216) ounces of marijuana-infused product in liquid form;
• Twenty-one (21) grams of marijuana concentrate.

Grow Limits: The qualifying patient may also grow, in his or her domicile, up to six (6) plants for the personal medical use of the qualifying patient and possess up to eight (8) ounces of usable marijuana produced from his or her plants.

If the health care professional determines that the medical needs of the patient exceed those amounts, the health care professional must specify on the authorization that it is recommended that the patient be allowed to grow, in his or her domicile, up to fifteen (15) plants for the personal medical use of the patient, and may possess up to sixteen (16) ounces of usable marijuana in his or her domicile.

If the qualifying patient or designated provider with an authorization from a health care professional has NOT been entered into the medical marijuana authorization database, the qualifying patient may grow, in his or her domicile, up to four (4) plants for the personal medical use of the qualifying patient and possess up to six (6) ounces of usable marijuana in his or her domicile.

Resources:

• The Cannabis Patient Protection Act

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This Weekend: Check Out The Panels At The FREE Virtual Cannabis Entrepreneur Summit

The first ever Virtual Cannabis Entrepreneur Summit takes place this weekend. It’s a completely free (yes, FREE!) event that will be live streamed over the internet, and is being put on by Green Flower Media. If you like cannabis, you will like this event which will feature dozens of 22-minute presentations by leading cannabis industry

Frustrated Marijuana Legalization Supporters Head For The White House

By Phillip Smith A demonstration headed by the DC Cannabis Campaign and Weed for Warriors is set for the White House Friday after the Obama administration failed to respond to the groups’ requests for “higher level consultations” following an initial meeting with White House staffers last month. Headed by longtime DC political gadfly Adam Eidinger,

PGT #300-Steady As She Goes

  Listen LIVE 8-10 pm EST tonight and every Thursday at  www.planetgreentrees.com or call in 347-326-9626   Hosted by attorney Michael Komorn from Komorn Law and Chad from Birmingham Compassion   Contributions from Rick Thompson from The Compassion Chronicles-also providing the news, and show producer Jamie Lowell from the Third Coast Dispensary in Ypsilanti   […]

State Of The Leaf: May 18, 2016

Role of Tranexamic Acid Versus Uterine Cooling at Caesarean Section

Primary Outcome Measures: Secondary Outcome Measures: Hematocrit value (Hct) [ Time Frame: 6 hours postoperative period ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ] Estimating change in Pre- versus Post-operative hematocrit values (%) at 6 hours postoperatively. Overall blood loss volume greater than 1000 cc [ Time Frame: Up to 9 hours ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ] Estimation of overall blood loss volume during CS and up to 6 hours postoperatively Need […]

House Vote Brings Veterans a Big Step Closer to Medical Cannabis

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a major breakthrough earlier today that could change the way doctors treat military veterans when it comes to medical cannabis.

The House voted 233–189 in favor of approving the Veterans Equal Access Amendment, which would allow doctors in the Veterans Administration to recommend medical marijuana in states where it is legal. The amendment is part of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veteran Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

The amendment was championed by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and co-sponsored by Reps. Joe Heck (R-Nev.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.).

Blumenauer has been a strong advocate for the adoption of this amendment and spoke on the enduring impact that this amendment could have on the lives of American veterans.

“One of the greatest tragedies of our time is our failure to adequately deal with the needs of our veterans returning home with wounds both visible and unseen,” Blumenauer said. “Giving them access to medical marijuana as an alternative treatment option to deal with chronic pain, PTSD, and other conditions is critical at a time when our veterans are dying with a suicide rate 50 percent higher than civilians and opiate overdoses at nearly double the national average. Medical marijuana can be a safer, more effective alternative.”

Blumenauer praised his compatriots in Congress. “I commend my colleagues for showing compassion and supporting our wounded warriors,” he said. “Today’s vote is a win for these men and women who have done so much for us and deserve equal treatment in being able to consult with, and seek a recommendation from, their personal VA physician about medical marijuana.”

Brandon Wyatt, a disabled Iraq War veteran and national policy spokesman for the Weed for Warriors Project, applauded the measure as well as the support from Congress.

“This is a significant step forward for our cause,” he said. “We appreciate the support and efforts of all involved.” He cautioned supporters not to get too complacent, however. “The job is not finished, because this legislation does not allow all veterans to be provided with the quality healthcare they need in order to be free of the fear of having to self-medicate. Easier access doesn’t equate to equal access.”

Wyatt is referring to the fact that the amendment only applies to states where medical cannabis is already legal, and does not allow for VA clinics to distribute cannabis. Nor would the VA cover the costs.

Although the House vote is an incredible step forward and echoes the vote from the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which passed a similar amendment in April to the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veteran Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, the amendment is not quite out of the woods yet.

The Senate and House bills will need to be reconciled and passed by both chambers before being enacted into law.

How to Roll a Joint

The joint is one of the more iconic ways to consume cannabis, and it’s a great way to enjoy the flavor of your flower. Every cannabis smoker should learn how to roll a joint. There are countless opinions on how to create a functional joint, but whatever you do, make sure your creation burns smoothly and evenly.

To help you hone your own craft, we’ve prepared a simple seven-step guide to successful joint rolling. Begin by gathering supplies (cannabis, papers, and optional crutch/tip material and grinder).

Step 1: Grind

Break down your cannabis into shake. If your cannabis is dried well, it should break down easily. A grinder keeps your hand from getting sticky and thus sticking to the joint paper. If you don’t have a grinder, you can grind the herb down by hand, using scissors, or any number of other breakdown methods.

Step 2: Crutch

Make a crutch, also called a tip or filter. You can make a crutch out of just about anything, but thin cardboard or business cards are solid go-tos. A lot of joint papers also include crutch material with their packaging. Start with a few “accordion” folds at the end of the cardboard, then roll the material to the desired thickness of your joint. The crutch isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does help keep the shake from falling out of the end or into your mouth as you smoke. It also adds some stability to the joint and allows you to enjoy every bit of cannabis without burning your fingertips.

Step 3: Fill

Fill the paper with the shake and the crutch (if you’ve made one). Once the paper has the right amount of shake (a half gram to a gram usually does the trick), you can begin to form and shape the joint with your fingers. (A quick note on papers: There are a lot of different types and flavors of joint papers available. Many people prefer hemp papers because they tend to be thin but strong, and burn evenly without affecting the flavor of the cannabis.)

Step 4: Pack

Once you’ve loaded and shaped your joint, it’s time to roll it. Pinch the paper between your fingertips and roll it back and forth between them to pack the cannabis down into its final shape.

Step 5: Roll

This step can make or break the quality of your joint. Tuck the unglued side of the paper into the roll and use the glued edge to tack down one end of the paper, using just a little bit of moisture. (Pro tip: Start with the crutch side because it can help guide the paper as it rolls around itself.) Once the paper is tacked on one end, you can work your way down the rest of the seam by tucking and sealing the joint from end to end.

Step 6: Finish

Finally, pack the end of the joint to help ensure an even burn. A pen is great, but you can use just about anything. Some good options if you’re on the go: the tip of your shoelace, the drawstring on your hoodie, or a small stick. If you’re not planning on sparking your joint right away, you may want to close the tip with a twist.

Step 7: Enjoy (and Innovate!)

There are limitless ways to roll a joint. You can roll them big or small. Get creative! Some people have even transformed joint rolling into an art all on its own, rolling their cannabis into a unique mix of functional origami.

What’s your favorite way to roll a joint? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below and make sure to teach others this basic cannabis skill!

The Shake: California Police and Prisons Fight Legalization, and Vets Can Talk to Docs About Cannabis

California police and prison guards are some of prohibition’s biggest backers. Roughly half the money raised to fight California’s upcoming adult-use legalization initiative has come from police and prison guard groups, which The Intercept sees as a sign they’re “terrified that they might lose the revenue streams to which they’ve become so deeply addicted.” What does law enforcement stand to lose? Huge government grants, asset seizures that siphon money to local police departments, and the massive private prison profits that come with keeping drug offenders behind bars. Gawker’s Andy Cush encourages Californians to consider the push as they decide which way to vote:

“The law enforcement community’s flailing to stop legalization also happens to show exactly why it’s a good idea to support it, even if you don’t smoke: Fewer people imprisoned, and less policing for policing’s (and profit’s) sake. Go out and vote for pot this November, California.”

Congress to give veterans (in some states) the right to talk about medical cannabis with doctors. Lawmakers are expected to pass a bill that would allow military vets in states where medical marijuana is legal to discuss it with their doctors as part of treatment. “The death rate from opioids among VA health care is nearly double the national average,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who introduced the bill. “What I hear from veterans is that medical marijuana has helped them deal with pain and PTSD, particularly as an alternative to opioids.”

Toronto dispensaries vow to fight mayor’s crackdown. The city’s Cannabis Friendly Business Association held a meeting Tuesday night at the Hotbox Café, The Globe and Mail reports. Many members felt Toronto Mayor John Tory, who’s threatened unlicensed dispensaries with $50,000 fines, simply doesn’t understand cannabis. “It’s not time to protest,” one attendee said. “It’s time to lobby.” But Tory doesn’t look all that receptive: Earlier today he postponed an effort to force a debate on licensing Toronto dispensaries, and he vowed to continue aggressive enforcement actions in the meantime.

The girl suspended for smelling like cannabis — even though she passed a drug test — is headed back to school. North Carolina school officials have reversed Tameka Johnson’s suspension, her mother says. Johnson was suspended after a school resource officer decided she smelled like cannabis despite a lack of evidence she consumed or possessed any at all.

The DEA is being dragged “kicking and screaming” into the world of legal cannabis. That’s the takeaway from Christopher Woody’s Business Insider piece, which takes a look at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s obstinate opposition in the face of new science, changing public perception, and state-by-state legalization.

Another example of the DEA being difficult: Agents raided one of Montana’s biggest medical dispensaries yesterday, taking Montana Buds and its neighbors by surprise. A DEA agent on the scene refused to answer observers’ questions, saying, “This is now a federal investigation.” Saying that probably makes you feel pretty badass as a narc, but what gives? The state Supreme Court ruled most dispensaries in their current form are illegal, but that ruling doesn’t take effect until August.

Cannabis could be coming to wine country. Napa city leaders are warming to the idea of allowing dispensaries among the valley’s vineyards. It’s part of a broader thawing of attitudes toward cannabis among some cities in the state, as the Orange County Register reports.

“Say Why to Drugs,” a U.K. newspaper urges. The Guardian is doing a series on the myths, harms, and benefits of various drugs (updated “fortnightly” because it’s a British publication). Today’s installment: cannabis.

A former DEA agent says there’s “real potential” for rescheduling this year. But don’t get your hopes up for more meaningful reform. “We are certainly preparing for the possibility of it moving from Schedule I to Schedule II,” Charles Feldmann, now a Colorado attorney, tells MJ Biz Daily, but “I don’t see it moving past that at this stage.”

Vermont cannabis entrepreneurs: “The market’s coming and we’re ready for it.” Forget that an ambitious legalization bill crashed and burned in the statehouse last month. As the Burlington Free Press reports, many are still bullish on the cannabis economy.

Florida legalization opponents launch first attack ad. Cannabis advocates, pushing to allow medical cannabis use for individuals with “debilitating” conditions like cancer, glaucoma, and HIV, describe the hit as “not a very accurate ad at all.” Surprised? Me neither.

Cannabis is changing the real estate game. Oregon writer Mohammed Alkhadher takes a look at what Washington and Colorado might show us about cannabis and location, location, location.

And finally, a Michigan man was busted for having a gun, some cannabis, and a box of baby squirrels. I’m not thrilled to see a headline tying medical cannabis to a lethal weapon, but I don’t mind the association with baby squirrels one bit. Squeeeee!

How Does Cannabis Consumption Affect Autism?

Autism and Cannabis at a Glance

• Autism is a collection of disorders that impact brain development, characterized by communication difficulties, social interaction problems, and repetitive and sometimes injurious behaviors
• Autism is caused by a combination of genetic mutations and environmental factors, such as advanced parental age and pregnancy problems
• Autism management focuses on therapies over drugs, including behavioral modification and social-skills coaching
• There are no clinical studies on cannabis and autism, but there is a growing body of positive anecdotal evidence from doctors and parents
• Lack of scientific data keeps doctors from endorsing cannabis in treating autism, but some promising ancillary research exists
• The many active compounds in cannabis may make proper dosing for children difficult to pinpoint, creating controversy in the medical community over its use

The Dilemma with Cannabis Treatment for Autism

It’s a chicken-and-egg thing: Doctors won’t prescribe cannabis to treat autism in children because no data exists to support such a course of treatment.

But the research doesn’t exist because of medical establishment fears about testing cannabis—with its many active compounds seen as potentially uncontrollable variables—on children.

In the absence of empirical data, however, is a growing body of anecdotal evidence that cannabis is making children with autism happier and healthier. And some doctors are listening.

“Anecdotes should not be dismissed,” said Dr. Daniele Piomelli, one of the world’s top neuroscientists and endocannabinoid researchers. The University of California-Irvine faculty member won’t consider prescribing cannabis at this time, but is aware of the growing clamor for it. “An anecdote is a pointer. It’s something that suggests something needs to be either proven or disproven.”

One researcher attempting to do just that is Dr. Giovanni Martinez, a clinical psychologist in Puerto Rico. His alternative therapy bona fides include his creation of SURF4DEM, a foundation that introduces children and families affected by autism to the therapeutic benefits of surfing.

Martinez is researching the therapeutic possibilities of treating children who have autism with CBD oil, and reports positive results. He recounted one particular case in which a child he treated spoke his first words after receiving a twice-daily spray of hemp oil. After three weeks, the child went from being non-verbal to developing significant language skills.

Moreover, Martinez reported that “initially the child would become so frustrated with his inability to communicate, he would would act out and injure himself. But, now that he can express himself, he laughs and enjoys life.” He added:

“It’s incredible to see a child go from being non-communicative to achieving a significant improvement in quality of life—for both the child and his family.”

Another success story comes from Mieko Hester-Perez, founder of the Unconventional Foundation for Autism, advisory board member to Cannabis Science. Coming from a conservative family with deep roots in law enforcement, she’s an unlikely cannabis advocate, But she is also the mother of Joey, the boy for which Aaron Justis of Buds and Roses Collective and master cultivator Kyle Kushman developed Joey’s Strain.

Hester-Perez’s conversion to cannabis came when Joey, who has autism, was later diagnosed with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, a rare and aggressively degenerative muscular disorder. He was given six months to live, and in that time, would need to take a cocktail of FDA-approved medications with a severe degree of documented toxicity. At the time, he was already taking up to 13 different meds each day.

After researching less impactful, life-extending alternatives, Hester-Perez came across cannabis. Curious, she experimented with giving her son cannabis-infused edibles. Soon after, Joey began making eye contact—always a struggle for children with autism—on a more consistent basis. The edibles seemed to stimulate his appetite and he put on weight. Six years after that six-months-terminal diagnosis, Joey is happy, sociable and thriving.

Despite the results, some professionals in the medical and scientific communities criticized Hester-Perez for treating a child with cannabis, Her response:

“Until you’ve walked in my shoes. Until you’ve walked in Joey’s shoes. Until you’ve seen where a child was before cannabis, how much progress they’ve made after cannabis, and how much their lives can improve, who is anyone to pass judgment?”

What is Autism?

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, refers to a collection of complex disorders that affect brain development. As a “spectrum,” ASD affects individuals in varying degrees, but generally a person with autism will suffer from three core symptoms:

• Communication difficulties
• Difficulties in social interaction
• Repetitive—sometimes self-injurious—behaviors

While some ASD children may be characterized as having an intellectual disability, some—often characterized as “high-functioning”—excel in music, math, and art. Symptoms may also improve as they get older. However, other ASD children are unable to speak and may engage in self-harming behaviors.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.5 percent—or 1 in 68—of children in the U.S. have been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. The number of children diagnosed as being on the spectrum has increased tenfold over 40 years, with boys four to five times more likely to be diagnosed than girls.

What Causes Autism?

Until recent years, the answer was, “We don’t know.” Now we know that while there is no single cause, research tells us that autism can be traced to early brain development.

Within just the last few years, researchers have identified a number of mutations, or rare gene changes, a few of which may act as a catalyst for autism. In other cases, autism may be caused by a combination of environmental factors and a genetic predisposition, which affect early brain development.

The most obvious signs of autism surface between ages 2 and 3, so groups like the Organization for Autism Research have been funding research efforts to help detect autism at earlier ages—as early diagnoses may improve the effect of treatment options.

Other risk factors may include:

• Age of a parent (or parents) at time of conception
• Maternal illness during pregnancy
• Difficulties during pregnancy or birth—for example, oxygen deprivation to a baby’s brain

Independently, none of these factors causes autism; however, in conjunction with genetic factors, the risk increases. There is encouraging evidence that a woman may decrease the chances of autism in her child if she follows a diet that includes folic-rich foods and prenatal vitamins before and after conception.

What are Current Treatments for Autism?

Every child and his or her autism is unique, so what works for one child may have adverse effects in another.

The least controversial treatments are behavioral and may include target social-skills training or parent led therapy sessions under the supervision of a therapist. Evidence-driven studies demonstrate the benefits of two early behavioral intervention methods, including:

• The Lovaas Model based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• The Early Start Denver Model

Other studied and validated behavioral therapies that may be effective include:

• Pivotal Response Therapy
• Floortime
• Verbal Behavior Therapy

As children grow older, other methods such as extensive structured and therapeutic activities, social skill development, daily living, motor skills development, and communication coaching can be valuable.

There are an astonishingly few approved medical treatments for autism. In fact, there are currently just two drugs approved by the FDA to treat irritability associated with autism, yet no drug has been approved to treat autism’s three core characteristics—communication difficulties, social challenges, and repetitive behaviors.

The two approved medications are:

• Risperidone (brand name Risperdal)
• Aripiprazole (brand name Abilify)

While these two drugs can provide relief by reducing irritability, self-injuring behaviors, and aggressive outbursts, there can be significant side effects, including diabetes, significant weight gain, gynecomastia (development of male breasts), movement disorders, and heart problems.

Numerous other medications are “experimental” or “off-label.” “Experimental” drugs can carry significant unknown risks, while “off-label” drugs have been approved for conditions that appear related to autism such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression, or sleep disorders.

Some of these drugs include:

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
• Stimulant medications like Adderall or Ritalin
• Naltrexone, an FDA-approved medication to treat alcohol and opioid addictions; it has shown success in some patients by alleviating disabling repetitive and self-injurious behaviors

It’s important to note that there have been no significant clinical trials to demonstrate risk or efficacy of these drugs in children with autism. Moreover, predicting which drug (and what dosage) may be effective has proven to be problematic.

Can Cannabis Treat Autism?

Increasingly, parents of children with severe autism, frustrated with the lack of options, have turned to cannabis. Many have heard anecdotal reports of success; others have read of promising results with epileptic children. However, clinical research remains nonexistent.

While you can now find 562 clinical studies (studies outside the lab on humans) involving cannabis listed on ClinicalTrials.gov—none involve epilepsy or autism.

However, that doesn’t mean there is no promising research:

• A 2013 study conducted by Dr. Dario Siniscalco found indications that certain compounds—namely the CB2 receptor—found in cannabis may be helpful in managing autism.
• A study published in 2013 by Dr. Csaba Foldy at the Second University of Naples in association with Stanford University Medical School found that alterations in endocannabinoid signaling may contribute to autism.
• According to the Autism Research Institute, some of the symptoms that MMJ have improved include “anxiety, aggression, panic disorder, generalized rage, tantrums, property destruction, and self-injurious behavior.”
• Dr. Daniele Piomelli and Dr. Olivier Manzoni discovered that certain chemicals found in cannabis may help behavioral issues in children with autism or Fragile X syndrome.

Piomelli has presided over some groundbreaking discoveries, including the potential of cannabinoids—specifically one endocannabinoid called anandamide. He demonstrated it could be used to treat autism by regulating social reward.

According to Piomelli, his team discovered endocannabinoids appear not only to be important in regulating normal social behavior, but also to be possibly involved in the dysfunctional behavior that accompanies at least certain forms of autism spectrum disorders. “The endocannabinoids offer hope that one could—by interfering particularly with their destruction and by boosting their activity—normalize social behavior in children with autism,” Piomelli said.

Is Cannabis Therapy Worth the Risk?

Because scientists are driven by data, few doctors or researchers are willing to recommend cannabis to treat autism. In contrast to epilepsy, which has references dating back as far as 1843, there just isn’t a sufficient body of evidence for most physicians to feel comfortable recommending cannabis as a treatment.

Piomelli cautions that dosing can be problematic, that many parents may not be equipped to assess or monitor proper dosing, and that attempting to do so without the guidance of a qualified professional could have serious consequences:

“[P]harmacology is all about doses. Low doses can be good, while high doses can be bad. One thing people need to understand is that if the endocannabinoid system has a protective role, it doesn’t mean that activating this system may not be harmful.”

He cautions there is a possibility one risks “messing up the endocannabinoid system. Even though the intent is to enhance social behavior, one may end up actually having the opposite effect.

“Further, because we’re dealing with plants, there are added layers of complexity. Whereas, with most pharmacological drugs, there is usually a single active compound to treat a condition, cannabis contains potentially hundreds. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Many attribute the efficacy of cannabis to an entourage effect—or a synergy between ingredients. While this may be an overall positive, it doesn’t lessen the complexity of determining which component may be helping, and which may be counterproductive or harmful.”

Piomelli, like most doctors, would not recommend cannabis as a treatment, because there is little scientific research to base it on. Unlike epilepsy, the research on autism is in its infancy. However, recognizing that parents who’ve tried everything see cannabis as a last defense, “I certainly would not pass judgment on a parent who is desperate and would do it. I’m just saying be very, very careful what you do.”

Other professionals privately admit that for parents who feel they’ve exhausted all other options, the unknowns and potential risks may be acceptable. According to the late Bernard Rimland, founder of the Autism Society of America and former director of the Autism Research Institute, “the benefit/risk profile of medical marijuana seems fairly benign” when compared to Risperdal or what Dr. Rimland considers the least useful and most dangerous: psychotropic drugs.

“Moreover, the reports we are seeing from parents indicate that medical marijuana often works when no other treatments, drug or non-drug, have helped,” Rimland added.

S 02, Ep. 06: He defends the industry in court; He runs a cyber smoke sesh

Published: May 18, 2016, 4:39 pm • Updated: May 20, 2016, 4:41 pm By Vincent Chandler, The Cannabist Staff Featured guests: Cannabis industry attorney Sean McAllister and HighThere app CTO Mitch Lane. Podcast: Play in new window | Download LOTS TO TALK ABOUT •  What could be the first wrongful death lawsuit against the marijuana […]

Vaporizing 101: What Temperature Is Best?

Getting the correct temperature is important when using a marijuana vaporizer. These days, it’s become common knowledge that vaporizing is the healthiest way to consume marijuana. What’s lesser known is the role that temperature plays in determining the effects a user will experience. Heating marijuana to the correct temperature will ensure that the cannabinoids and […]

State of the Leaf: Alaska OKs Cannabis Clubs, and Vancouver Licenses its First Dispensary

Here’s the latest new legalization legislation: Alaska just released retail cannabis regulations that will make it the only state to allow legal, on-site consumption in recreational shops. Michigan legalization is this close to earning a spot on the November ballot, Ohio tweaked the rules in its medical marijuana initiative in a big way, Oklahoma started gathering signatures for a medical cannabis push, and one Tennessee congressional candidate was caught with cannabis — and refuses to apologize.

Internationally, Australia’s New South Wales may extend medical cannabis to non-terminally ill patients, Vancouver, B.C., just issued its first marijuana business license, and Macedonia could start allowing medical marijuana in pharmacies by the end of the month!

U.S. News Updates

Alaska

The Alaska Marijuana Control Board has released draft regulations for cannabis consumption in the state’s soon-to-be-licensed retail cannabis shops. Customers will be able to purchase up to one gram of cannabis, edibles containing up to 10 mg of THC, and up to a quarter-gram of cannabis concentrates for on-site consumption. The regulations include stipulations that there be security, ventilation, and separation between the retail purchasing area and the area for consumption. The regulations also allow consumption of food and beverages not containing cannabis, which could open the door for cafes and eateries to join the cannabis industry (or vice versa).

The Marijuana Control Board began accepting applications on Feb. 24, with the intent to begin handing out licenses within 90 days. The latest target to begin issuing licenses is June 9, but the process may take more time in Anchorage, which requires special land-use permits and local licenses.

Michigan

The group hoping for a legalization bid is facing a June 1 deadline to submit the 252,523 signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. MILegalize has already gathered more than 300,000 signatures. They’re hoping to submit a total of 350,000 before the deadline. Extra signatures are crucial, as a portion of signatures in any petition drive are inevitably disqualified. Maine’s legalization efforts were nearly thwarted when more than 20,000 signatures were nixed due to a signature discrepancy. The next few weeks will be important for Michigan’s chances at full legalization. If you’d like to show your support, you can find the nearest MILegalize petition locations here.

Ohio

A new tweak to Ohio’s medical marijuana bill would allow qualified patients to use cannabis from other states during the implementation process. The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee made several changes to House Bill 523 that would spur the timeline forward and encourage patient participation. The committee moved the program from the Department of Commerce to the state Pharmacy Board, which would begin licensing cultivators six months earlier than previously anticipated. Unfortunately, the bill still contains a clause that would allow employers to maintain drug-testing programs and fire workers who fail, even employees are registered under state law.

In an effort to avoid a monopoly (one of the complaints about the ResponsibleOhio amendment last election cycle), there is a requirement that minority businesses owners receive 15 percent of all cannabis business licenses. “It’s not an intent to have a monopoly,” said Sen. Dave Burke (R-Marysville), “but to have a market of equity and equal participation.”

Oklahoma

Oklahomans for Health held a rally for medical marijuana support last week and are launching a petition drive to gather signatures. May 14 was the first day the group could begin collecting signatures to gain a spot on the November ballot. Oklahomans for Health will have 90 days to collect the needed 65,987 signatures for the initiative to make the cut. If you’d like to see medical cannabis come to Oklahoma, you can find petition locations here.

In the meantime, Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill to expand the medically supervised use of cannabidiol for patients who experience epileptic seizures. The previous law allowed only children under 18 to access the medicine. The new law removes the age restriction.

Tennessee

East Tennessee Democrat Florence “Flo” Matheson is running for a seat in the 6th Congressional District, but she could face criminal charges after a cannabis growing operation was found in a barn on her property. Matheson maintains she was unaware of the growing operation and says the 180 plants belong to Stephen Harrington, a disabled veteran and tenant in her home. Matheson admitted to possessing two ounces of cannabis for personal medical use but refused to back down from her congressional bid, telling media that the incident would motivate her to “work even harder now” for decriminalization in Tennessee.

International News Updates

Australia

Premier Mike Baird announced that the state of New South Wales has submitted an application to grow medicinal marijuana under the new licensing infrastructure being put in place by the federal government. Trials are already under way in New South Wales, and the state is hoping to get one of the first licenses available for cultivation to ensure a steady supply for the trials. The trials are currently limited to individuals suffering from epilepsy, undergoing chemotherapy, or diagnosed with terminal illnesses. However, Baird recently revealed that the state government is considering expanding medical marijuana to non-terminal patients. Baird addressed attendees of the Medicinal Cannabis Symposium in Western Sydney by saying, “I can assure you with everything I have, and every resource in government, we are doing everything we can to move as quickly as we can.”

Canada

Vancouver just issued its first business license to a marijuana dispensary as the city begins the enforcement of municipal bylaws aimed at regulating cannabis businesses. The Wealth Shop was granted a license to operate in the Point Grey neighborhood, near the University of British Columbia. For-profit stores that are awarded a license must pay an annual licensing fee of $30,000 (or $1,000 if the shop operates as a non-profit “compassion club”). Since the bylaws have been enforced, 30 shops have closed and 139 have been issued tickets for remaining open without a license. Unfortunately, even storefronts operating within the bounds of the bylaws put themselves at risk by operating, as any cannabis sold in stores is technically illegal because it is produced through individual patient production licenses and not businesses.

Macedonia

Macedonian Health Minister Nikola Todorov announced that medical cannabis will soon be available in pharmacies. New amendments to the Law on Control of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances legalized the use and possession of cannabis products for patients suffering from serious illnesses, such as malignant diseases, multiple sclerosis, HIV, and childhood epilepsy. The Macedonian Health Ministry and the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices are planning to invite foreign experts to help train pharmacists and medical specialists on the safe and effective uses of cannabis. Medical cannabis products are expected to be available on the market by the end of May this year.

Hope you’re all having a fantastic week!

The Shake: Oakland Aids Drug War Victims, Grover Norquist Calls for Cannabis Tax Reform

Oakland offers licensing leg up to applicants jailed for cannabis. Controversial? You bet. But it’s also a bold effort to address some of the racial discrepancies plaguing the cannabis industry. While women have wrangled an appreciable share of the market boom — at least compared to other, stubbornly male-dominated industries — people of color have largely been left out. Much of that is the result of laws that bar people with criminal records from landing local licenses. Those laws grew out of public safety concerns, but they disproportionately exclude people of color: Even in legal states, black people are far more likely to be arrested for cannabis than whites, despite similar rates of use. As David Downs writes in the East Bay Express, “Recent reports show that minorities are both: under-represented among legal cannabusiness owners; and over-represented in the criminal justice system for pot.” That mismatch spurred Oakland’s program, which the City Council said is aimed to reward neighborhoods and individuals hardest hit by the war on drugs. Expect to hear more on this as word makes its way across the country.

Anti-tax icon calls for cannabis to be taxed fairly. Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform are calling for Congress to address some of the disparities still faced by the cannabis industry. One big one: IRS Rule 280E, which prevents cannabis companies from deducting most normal business expenses.

Vancouver issues its first dispensary business license. The Wealth Shop won a license to operate in the city’s swank Point Grey neighborhood, The Globe and Mail reports. It’s the first business license the city’s granted to a dispensary as the city works to reform its local bylaws.

Kids still can’t get medication in Mississippi. Two years ago little Harper Grace Durval, who suffers from Dravet syndrome, became the face of Mississippi’s debate over cannabis oil. Advocates won, and the governor signed a medical legalization bill. Today Harper Grace still awaits her first dose. Her seizures are coming more often and lasting longer, her mom tells local news WAPT, and she now takes seven different medications to keep them at bay.

Portland will rein in cannabis events featuring free samples. Officials in the Oregon city are investigating at least three large-scale gatherings, Noelle Crombie writes in The Oregonian, though they won’t say which ones. Authorities are concerned the events might violate clean-air rules, as well as regulations preventing public consumption and sale.

Pittsburgh NORML hits back against crummy concentrate coverage. “Simply stated, this is absurd ‘reefer madness’ nonsense,” the group said in a blog post this week, referring to a lazily reported story on extracts by local news station WPXI. It’s more mediocre journalism by East Coast outlets more interested in selling salacious stories about shatter than informing their audiences. (We’re looking at you, New York Times.)

The squeeze is on in Michigan. Advocates are running out of time to collect signatures to qualify an adult-use legalization measure for November’s ballot, John Schroyer reports. “We’re in a mad dash and scramble to get as many signatures as we can,” says Jeff Hank, chairman of MILegalize. The group faces a June 1 deadline.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s dispensary crackdown is underway. Twenty-two shops have reportedly closed, and CBS Detroit says officials want to shutter 66 more in the near-term. (City authorities say many are operating in drug-free school zones.) Zoning laws in Detroit are complicated: Just try making sense of this map.

Want tickets to the gun show? Tough luck if you’re in San Francisco. The city’s last remaining gun store is about to become a medical marijuana dispensary. Toodles, High Bridge Arms. Hello, High Bridge Cannabis Club. Not everyone’s happy: “Take a shop that was good for the neighborhood for those of us who actually use guns and have guns,” resident Jo Lein told KTVU. “And now, we have to go all the way to San Mateo.”

“Synthetic marijuana” continues to confuse people and piss off cannabis advocates. Luckily the International Business Times knows the difference — a sign of nuance that’s missing from much mainstream media coverage these days. “Spice is not marijuana, but actually a designer drug that emulates its effect,” writes Vittorio Hernandez. (Never heard of spice? Here’s a good primer.)

And you thought cannabis was legal in California. Local cops raided San Diego-based Med-West Distribution back in January. Police had previously claimed the vape-cartridge company’s manufacturing process was illegal, but no charges have been filed yet against the lab or its employees, and the San Diego District Attorney’s office is keeping mum. “We just thought that we were part of the responsible marijuana industry,” CEO James Slatic tells the Huffington Post.

Washington state legislators are short-changing teen drug-prevention programs. Legalization “has, by some measures, been an immediate success,” writes the Seattle Times editorial board. But the state Legislature has been diverting cannabis taxes earmarked for education and steering them into the state’s general fund. C’mon, Olympia.

Washington has “enough” cannabis? It may not be so simple. A recent report suggested the current amount of cultivation would be more than sufficient to cover both medical and recreational demand in the state. But Tobias Coughlin-Bogue talked to patients for The Stranger and reports that many are struggling to track down high-CBD strains. Not all cannabis is created equal, people.

Local attitudes toward cannabis in legal states continue to ebb and flow. In Yakima, Wash., the City Council last night voted to undo the city’s ban on cannabis businesses. As the Yakima Herald reports, the ban has been in place since 2014. It’s an encouraging sign, but it’s a mixed bag across legal states. In Oregon’s election yesterday, Grant and Klamath counties voted down efforts to allow cultivation and sales. The state allows local jurisdictions to opt-out of the regulated state market, and more than 100 cities and counties have done so.

A book on cannabis won an Independent Book Publishers Association award. Congratulations to Jorge Cervantes, whose title, The Cannabis Encyclopedia, picked up the IBPA’s Benjamin Franklin Award last month.

And finally, want my job? UC Berkeley now offers a cannabis journalism extension course.

US OR: Christen Ties Cannabis To Economic Development

Grants Pass Daily Courier, 16 May 2016 – Shayne Christen is a man of few words. Asked what he would do about economic development, if he were elected to the Josephine County Board of Commissioners, he replied, “We need to do something about more jobs. There’s a lot of possibilities.”

The Shake: Urine Tests Wash Out Tech’s Best and Brightest, and Cannabis ‘Twinkie’ Defense Used

Imagine a world where working for someone else didn’t mean peeing in a cup. Employers have it tough these days, says The New York Times: “They are struggling to find workers who can pass a pre-employment drug test.” Screenings have become ubiquitous, the piece notes, not only in industries like trucking where federal law mandates testing, but also “at corporations with big human resources departments” and “increasingly at smaller companies.” Indeed, a recent survey found that 48.2 percent of working adults in the U.S. said their employers performed drug tests of some kind. Sometimes the tests actually prevent an employer from hiring the best and brightest: The FBI in 2014 complained it couldn’t land crucial cybersecurity personnel because, as The Wall Street Journal put it at the time, “A lot of the nation’s top computer programmers and hacking gurus are also fond of marijuana.”

Let that sink in. These drug tests aren’t weeding out bad actors — they’re actively preventing organizations from hiring the best people. “This is a problem with a very simple solution solution,” Gawker’s Andy Cush writes in a reply to the NYT story: “Stop drug-testing your workers.” He’s right. While it might seem sensible on some level, it’s not clear it does any good. In a deep dive into the history of America’s obsession with examining urine, Daniel Engber notes that there’s not much evidence that workplace drug testing does anything at all, at least aside from cost companies money, keep testing labs employed, and occasionally scare the crap out of people like me.

There are, obviously, good reasons to want your employees to stay sober at work. But take a look at a more reasonable approach: After critics like Tom Angell called it out for drug-testing workers, Denver-based vape pen company O.penVAPE changed its workplace policy to expressly forbid impairment at work rather than penalize workers’ decisions to consume on their own time. Roughly the same goes for truckers and alcohol use, writes Gawker’s Cush: “The DOT handles this by subjecting commercial drivers to random breathalyzer tests while they’re working. That last part is crucial. If an employee is directed to take an alcohol test while he’s off-duty, federal law considers that test ‘improper’ and bars employers from using it against him.”

Students are going to college on cannabis’ dime. Colorado cannabis is helping to send 25 students to college with the first scholarships in the U.S. to be funded by revenue from legal cannabis sales.

There’s money for homelessness, too. In Aurora, Colo., officials expect to take in $8 million in cannabis tax in 2016, which is $3 million more than they expected. So they’ve pledged $4.5 million to homeless programs. Nice.

A new study says states are losing billions by not legalizing. A study from the Tax Foundation, and independent think tank, concludes that federal and state governments lose an estimated $28 billion from not legalizing cannabis. Hot damn, that’s a lot of cash!

Ontario student gets insurance coverage for the ultimate study aid. Jonathan Zaid uses cannabis to concentrate on his studies, but couldn’t afford $30 a day to access it. The private Canadian health insurance provider eventually decided to cover the drug, which could open the door for insurance providers to cover medical marijuana in Canada.

NFL should legalize it, says Chicago Tribune. “There is no good reason for weed to be on the list of banned substances — any more than alcohol, which the NFL is more than happy to embrace in advertising,” writes Trib editorial columnist Steve Chapman. This is what happens when players like Baltimore Ravens lineman Eugene Monroe speak out (and donate $80K to research). The Guardian, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Fortune have more on the Monroe fallout.

Cannabis is the new Twinkie defense. The Daily Beast reports on the latest in the Richard Kirk case, in which Kirk’s attorneys are laying the groundwork for a “cannabis made me do it” defense. Kirk allegedly murdered his wife in 2014 in Denver.

Stop mailing cannabis, Texas. Just legalize it. KEYE-TV in Austin reports that far too many consumers in Texas are receiving cannabis via the U.S. Postal Service. Postal Inspector Mike Sullivan kind of takes it as a point of pride: With USPS, he said, “it usually gets there and it’s really dependable.” But seriously. Don’t mail it.

NCIA Hosts The 3nd Annual Cannabis Business Summit In Oakland June 20-22

TheNational Cannabis Industry Association, the only national trade association representing the businesses of the legal marijuana industry, will hold its third annual national conference, theCannabis Business Summit and Expo, in Oakland, CA,June 20-22, 2016, at the Marriott City Center. California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom will deliver the policy keynote address on Tuesday, June 21. Newsom,

Cannabis Advocates in Italy Down but Not Out After Disappointing UN Summit

The takeaway from April’s United Nations meetings on international drug policy, at least in Italy: We’re ready to culturally embrace cannabis and other recreational drugs, but we’re bureaucratically hamstrung when it comes to making it happen.

Marco Perduca, Italy’s permanent representative to the U.N. from the Radical Party, said that while many countries are calling for sensible policy and seeking to regulate and legalize cannabis, other countries continue to violate human rights in the suppression of the cannabis trade — and thus stymie progressive efforts worldwide.

“The result therefore represents a weakened consensus. The final 24-page document (summarizing the final agreed position of the entire U.N. delegation) contains a series of vague declarations of intent that marks a certain distance from past attitudes, but continues to focus on demand and supply reduction,” Perduca said.

Perduca spoke earlier this month at a gathering of Italy’s drug-reform activists in Florence earlier this month to discuss the future following the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug policy in New York. In Italy, calls for action and the long-sought establishment of sensible rules regulating cannabis and other controlled substances are only getting louder.

There appears to be a three-year window of opportunity to make progress. The next edition of UNGASS is proposed for 2019. After that, nothing is planned before 2030.

Italy used to be a leader in Europe in offering harm-reduction facilities to drug users, but recent conservative governments have made those efforts more difficult.

Italian Justice Minister Andrea Orlando told representatives in the U.N. plenary that now is the time to establish drug policies that really work, and to cut away from demagogic approaches on the road to the 2019 summit.

Perduca, a former Italian senator, noted that the most interesting part of the April summit were the discussions that took place in the underbelly of the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan. Topics ranging from cannabis regulation, harm reduction policies or the necessity to reduce or end the criminalization of the drug users created an atmosphere more like a symposium than a decision making event.

Perduca said that the Italian people need to raise their voices above those of the nation’s political dawdlers if Italy hopes to build on its drug-policy successes, such as the nation abandoning its drug-policy alliance with Russia and Japan, two nations that have always opposed the decisions and policies of the European Union.

“The government should start carrying out policies that really work and review existing laws and policies,” Perduca said. “It’s time to promote what really works.”

Policy developments in the United States, Canada and elsewhere — leading to regulated cannabis markets with a strong emphasis on safety—should continue to serve as models for best practices in Italy and the European Union, Perduca added.

7 High-Energy Strains to Help You Get Active and Fight Fatigue

Certain cannabis strains can actually provide a good deal of energy, allowing you to keep active and crush the fatigue keeping you down. This realization can be life-changing for those susceptible to daytime lethargy, whether that comes from depression, stress, insomnia, a genetic predisposition, or another disorder. Getting out of bed can seem like a monumental task when fatigue itself is a force of gravity, but the right strain can provide a boost of motivation to get those legs moving.

Maybe fatigue isn’t a problem and you just prefer a good energizing strain in lieu of a morning cup of coffee, or to pair with hiking or exercise. Some researchers theorize that sativas contain more uplifting, revitalizing cannabinoids and terpenes than indicas, and high-CBD strains are shown to keep energy high as well. Finding the perfect one for you often requires a good deal of experimentation, so hopefully this list narrows down a few starting places.

More energizing strains can be found in the Leafly Explorer – just search the “energetic,” “uplifted,” and “fatigue” tags for an extended list.

Durban Poison

Late one night, I was struggling to finish an article and my eyes were beginning to heavy. I fired up my vaporizer, loaded some Durban Poison, and breathed in its sweet and spicy vapor. Within minutes, I found myself hammering away at the keyboard with resurrected creativity and engagement. To no one’s surprise, this uplifting sativa is known to contain high levels of the energizing cannabinoid THCV.

“Durban Poison is like the “espresso” of cannabis. The raciest sativa I know of, it’s a stimulating and clearheaded high with no trace of numbing or “stoning.” It wakes you up, cuts through the bleary fog and leaves you clearheaded and bright, gives you energy to go and seize the day.” -MrTibet

Jillybean

The moment you unscrew the lid on Jillybean’s jar, the room fills with a sweet fragrance of oranges, honeyed mangoes, and sweet wildflowers. The aromatherapy provided by Jillybean is just a bonus to the uplifting effects that make your mind soar with newfound inspiration.

“Great daytime fix for when you need to be social or productive. Gives a nice uplifting head buzz, but doesn’t ever weigh down your body. Leaves you motivated, happy, energetic, and focused.” -vinylvixen

Harlequin

Some people are sensitive to THC. It can make them anxious, paranoid, sleepy, dizzy, or dry out the mouth and eyes. Luckily, not every energizing strain contains high levels of THC. Take the high-CBD sativa Harlequin for example. This strain provides a weightless sensation with very minimal psychoactive effects, making it an excellent choice for any tasks that require clearheaded cognition. Plus, it’s great for treating pain.

“During my daily workouts I smoke a little Harlequin before strength training. It keeps me focused through the pain and helps to maximize my workout. It keeps me up and feeling good on my days off (I work graveyard shift).” – naturallyjass

Chocolope

My go-to favorite for staying active, Chocolope is a fiercely cerebral sativa whose uplifting effects will keep motivation flying high. Its earthy flavor pairs perfectly with coffee, and it just so happens that the strain’s energizing effects complement each other nicely. Long touted as the perfect “wake-and-bake” strain, Chocolope will leave you feeling unencumbered and motivated to take that long hike or hit the gym.

“A great all-around daytime strain, Chocolope eases my worries and helps me get stuff done that I would be otherwise too stressed to handle. All of a sudden doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and running errands doesn’t feel like too much. This strain lifts the weight of the world off my shoulders and makes me want to do stuff!” – PhantomSpaceman

Ghost Train Haze

This speedy sativa is best saved for cannabis veterans and heavyweights. With a THC high enough to put this strain on our list of top 10 strongest cannabis strains, you can count on quite the euphoric ride when you hop aboard the Ghost Train. For those of you who can hang with an extra-potent sativa, expect to feel a trippy buzz that inspires appreciation of your surroundings, especially while outdoors.

“When I smoke this, I really want to get up and go on adventures. I feel aware of my surroundings and can even focus very well. But, at the same time, feel very chill and carefree. Carefree is the best word to describe the feeling. You just feel ALIVE. You feel perfect.” – Shock_T

Green Crack

I had to do it. I had to include Green Crack because despite having an eyebrow-raising name, this sativa is a godsend for those of us who need a giant kick in the butt to get active. Though the raciness of its high can be too much for the paranoia-prone, imbibing this sativa in a comfortable setting yields astonishingly stimulating effects. You’ll find your body humming with liveliness, fueling your desire to get out with friends and lose yourself to nonstop laughing fits.

“OMG, this stuff made me want to rearrange my furniture for four hours. LOVE IT!” – itsmemsj

XJ-13

I can hardly resist snagging this sativa-dominant hybrid when I see it on the shelf. Led by an astoundingly pungent aroma of lemon, lime, and tropical fruit, XJ-13 is as much a pleasure in flavor as it is in effect. XJ has a way of simplifying life, encouraging you to let go of stress and emotional baggage. Unencumbered by mental weight, XJ-13 leaves you buzzing with newfound energy and allows you to take genuine pleasure in conversation, art, and activities.

“This instinctively feels like an amazing strain for those with social anxiety as it brings your energy levels and creative thinking up. This may be a new favorite for the sativa lover in me.” – Koensayr

What’s your go-to strain for getting up and out? Share your favorites in the comment section below!

Pittsburgh NORML Responds To Media Reefer Madness Hysteria Over Cannabis Concentrates

It is with utter dismay that we awakened this morning to salacious reports from WPXI about a dangerous “new” form of marijuana that has arrived in Pittsburgh. WPXI seeks to warn us of the “dangers” of hash oil concentrates, also know as “wax”, “oil” “shatter” and “butter.” The alleged journalists at WPXI would have us

Louisiana Clears Legislative Hurdle to Dispensing Medical Marijuana

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An effort to speed up and expand the dispensing of medical marijuana in Louisiana won final legislative passage Monday, spurred by personal stories of people with seizures and severe pain that bill advocates say would be eased with MMJ.

Lawmakers created the framework for an MMJ program in Louisiana last year, but regulatory hurdles built into the law have slowed its start.

The bill by Republican Sen. Fred Mills, a St. Martin Parish pharmacist, will broaden the program to cover more diseases and make regulatory changes aimed at getting cannabis—in an oil form that can’t be smoked—into patients’ hands more quickly.

Senators agreed to House changes made to Mills’ bill with a 22-14 vote and no debate. The measure heads next to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has said he will sign it into law.

In sending the bill to the governor’s desk, lawmakers spurned opposition from local sheriffs and district attorneys who described the bill as a step toward unfettered, recreational use of cannabis.

Those arguments failed to gain traction against stories from parents who described children struggling with uncontrollable seizures, who talked of moving to Colorado to lessen their children’s suffering, and who launched billboards and social media campaigns for the bill.

During debates, lawmakers told personal stories of their own family members with cancer, epilepsy and other medical conditions that could be treated with MMJ.

The law passed last year will eventually get MMJ to people suffering from cancer and a severe form of cerebral palsy. Mills’ proposal will add seizure disorders, HIV, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and other diseases to the list.

The bill also sets a Sept. 1 deadline for LSU and Southern University to decide if they want to be the state-sanctioned grower of the product, in an effort to speed the decision-making since the schools get first right of refusal to grow the plant.

It also reworks some of the regulatory language to address doctors’ concerns about running afoul of federal drug regulations, allowing a physician to “recommend” use of therapeutic cannabis, rather than prescribe the drug.

Mills has estimated Louisiana is about two years away from getting MMJ to patients. The state-sanctioned grower needs to be selected, along with 10 licensed distributors

Gender Related Differences in the Acute Effects of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Healthy Humans

Verified August 2016 by Yale University Sponsor: Information provided by (Responsible Party): Mohini Ranganathan, Yale University ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02781519 First received: May 16, 2016 Last updated: August 17, 2016 Last verified: August 2016 The purpose of the study is to characterize the acute effects of cannabinoids in women relative to men and to begin probing […]

At a High-End Amsterdam Restaurant, Gourmet Food and Vapes Sit Side-by-Side

A new restaurant concept in Amsterdam proves the Dutch can still innovate when it comes to cannabis. Recently I paid a visit to The Green House Kitchen, where every table contains a top range vaporizer and you’re free to vape cannabis and other herbs while you eat.

The Green House Kitchen is located on Haarlemmerstraat, within walking distance of Amsterdam’s central station. The street has been a hot spot for cannabis coffeeshops for decades and these days it looks more attractive than ever, with lots of small specialty stores, bars, and restaurants. The name “Green House Kitchen” and the presence of a Green House coffeeshop right next door are no coincidence: the canna-friendly restaurant is run by Celester Roskam. Celester is the daughter of Arjen Roskam, self-appointed “King of Cannabis” and founder of Green House coffeeshops and seed company and the popular “Strain Hunters” series.

The Green House Kitchen looks wonderful, the interior balanced between cozy and stylish. On every table there’s a VapirRise 2.0 vaporizer and a wooden board with porcelain bowls containing different herbs. The name tags indicate the recommended temperature range for vaporizing. Hops—the aromatic sister of cannabis–should be vaporized at a temperature between 175 and 200 degrees Celsius, peppermint at 125 to 165. Other available herbs include chamomile, passion flower, lemon leaves, and rosemary.

I first visited The Green House Kitchen a few weeks after it opened, in the company of fellow journalists and cannabis connoisseurs. Our extra-long table also contained little glass jars with three cannabis strains: Super Lemon Haze, Pure Kush, and Lavender Kush. But this was just for the occasion: the Green House Kitchen is not allowed to sell any cannabis to its clientele. Not a real problem, since the Green House coffeeshop is right next door.

All adult customers are allowed to vaporize cannabis at the restaurant. The Dutch law that bans smoking in public places only concerns tobacco and the possession of cannabis by adults is one hundred percent legal (unlike in most European countries). Nevertheless, it was a new experience for me to vape copious amounts of primo herb while families with young children were having dinner two tables down from ours.

Vaporizing itself is still a rare phenomenon in the Dutch cannabis scene: the vast majority of consumers still favor the old tobacco and cannabis mix joint rolled in the classic Europe cone shape. The Green House Kitchen is doing its bit to popularize the healthy alternative, working together with Vaposhop, the company providing the vaporizers. It’s clear that the Roskam family wanted to maintain the quality standards that have brought the Green House coffeeshops and seed company their huge success.

As for the menu, all food is organic and there are options for vegetarians, vegans, and patrons on a gluten-free, raw, or paleo diet. The courses would have tasted good even without the appetite-stimulating vapors we enjoyed before and during the meal. The food was exquisite and looked marvelous too: munchies taken to the next level.

For me the real eye-opener was mixing cannabis with herbs and leafs like peppermint and rosemary in the vaporizer. It certainly added to the atmosphere, with people recommending combinations to each other, passing vaporizers and generally having a splendid time. One of the journalists present later wrote:

“I believe this concept is a solid attempt at changing the way not only we, but also the mainstream looks at cannabis consumption. The whole experience felt like something from the 21st century, whereas coffeeshops are a thing of the 20th century and thus (perhaps) the past.”

Maybe that’s going too far. Perhaps because I’ve been smoking “European style” joints for over 25 years. Or maybe because I love coffeeshops. But I do agree with sociology professor Egbert Tellegen, who has called the cannabis coffeeshop “the most important Dutch social innovation of the last fifty years.”

The Vape & Dine concept, like vaporizing in general, is a welcome addition to the range of ways to benefit from the plant. From a political perspective, innovative and well run places like The Green House Kitchen help to improve the public image of cannabis. Something that’s urgently needed, unfortunately. The Netherlands, once the proud front-runner in progressive cannabis policy, has seen an unprecedented wave of repression and bad press around cannabis since the turn of the century.

Despite the Dutch government’s repressive measures stifling the cannabis industry and generating negative media attention, progress is afoot. It’s so good to see a place like The Green House Kitchen breaking new ground in Amsterdam. Sure, things are tough, but the Dutch won’t give up their cannabis culture. They will continue to innovate, like they always have.

Colorado’s Smaller Communities Finding Cannabis Costs, Benefits in Uneasy Balance

DENVER (AP) — The mayor of a tiny Denver-area town looks forward to filling pot holes with pot revenue. The prospect of cannabis-tax proceeds also has raised spirits in a Colorado mountain county facing the closure of a major mine.

But across the state that has been a legal-cannabis pioneer, small communities are finding costs as well. Staff can barely keep up with licensing applications and keep tabs on the new businesses.

Jason Warf, head of the Southern Colorado Cannabis Council, an industry group, said cannabis can be revitalizing for small towns that most need an economic boost.

“It creates jobs that just aren’t there or replaces jobs that are about to be lost,” Warf said.

At a conference this week organized by the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Englewood Deputy City Clerk Stephanie Carlile was among officials from around the state who shared cannabis experiences, some of them cautionary tales.

Marijuana has “definitely been a tap on our resources,” Carlile said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference. “We’re a smaller municipality. We have been stumbling through.”

Englewood, a 7-square-mile Denver bedroom community of 32,000, allows medical marijuana but bans recreational cannabis sales. Officials were surprised to read last year in a magazine that the city was hosting a private club in which dues-paying members could consume recreational cannabis, Carlile said. Neighboring Denver had banned such clubs, but Englewood, which is almost entirely residential, hadn’t yet turned its attention to that aspect of cannabis.

Carlile said the sight of people on the streets with “huge” bongs got officials’ attention, as did questions ranging from whether the cannabis club had adequate parking to the advisability of its staff consuming cannabis on the job.

The cannabis club is still in business. But Englewood’s city council is considering a ban on such enterprises.

Meetings like the one Carlile attended in Denver to brainstorm about cannabis management also have been held in Washington, the state where recreational cannabis shops debuted a few months following Colorado. Candice Bock of the Association of Washington Cities said many of her state’s 281 cities and towns fall into the “small” category, adding some officials assume no cannabis entrepreneur would see opportunity in their towns, so they haven’t taken up zoning and other questions. Others are more proactive.

Prosser City Planner Stephen Zetz said his community of about 6,000 in southeastern Washington’s wine country left the licensing to the state and didn’t revamp its zoning regulations for the one cannabis shop that came to town. But it has drawn up regulations for cannabis growers, though none are present yet. Zetz said he hopes cannabis tourists stop at wineries and other businesses in town.

In Colorado’s mountains, the one Clear Creek staffer charged with processing cannabis licenses — a paralegal in the county attorney’s office — sometimes feels overwhelmed. The cannabis industry is licensed and regulated by the state, but local governments can require separate licenses and collect their own fees.

Recreational and medical marijuana shops are scattered along the stretch of Interstate 70 running through Clear Creek County, home to 10,000 people, and connecting weekenders to ski resorts and hiking trails. A number of growers are in the county, even though its altitude and lack of water hadn’t made it attractive to other kinds of agriculture. Some growers are trucking in water, said Fred Rollenhagen, the county official in charge of development.

Tim Mauck, one of three Clear Creek County commissioners, said the industry is small enough now that officials know all the players and feel they can manage oversight. Cannabis is growing just as Clear Creek has learned that Henderson Mine — for decades its main source of property tax revenue — will be closing in a few years.

Back down I-70, Edgewater has six recreational shops that stay open until midnight, five hours later than Denver permits. Edgewater Mayor Kristian Teegardin predicts the boom for his town of 5,000 people will slow as other municipalities embrace cannabis. But he doesn’t expect that to happen before he repaves all Edgewater’s streets with cannabis-tax proceeds.

Liberal Laws but Hostile Policing for Czech Republic’s Cannabis Community

The Czech Republic’s drug policy was praised as a “great example of a successful liberal approach to drugs” during last month’s UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in New York City. But the actions of the National Anti-Drug Agency, the Czech equivalent of the DEA, toward the country’s cannabis community reveals a painful gap between cannabis theory and practice.

The first sign that something was changing in the Czech Republic came in the summer of 2013, when police accused a journalist of “spreading and encouraging drug abuse.” Why? He made an innocent joke about the improvement of sight after smoking a joint. It did not come to a trial, because the jurisdictional district court judge refused to open such a case.

A few months later the cannabis community was shaken by the “Black Day.” On Nov. 4, 2013, hundreds of police stormed dozens of the hundred-plus dispensaries spread across the country. The biggest such raid in Czech history was masterminded by Col. Jakub Frydrych, head of the National Anti-Drug Agency. Frydrych, a hardcore, Harry Anslinger-type drug warrior, decided that the vague language in Czech law against “spreading and encouraging drug abuse” gave his agency the right to destroy legitimate businesses that had been legally operating for up to fifteen years.

Mainstream media, members of the public and a majority of Czech drug experts condemned the raids as unnecessary, costly, useless and even illegal. The government’s top drug-policy adviser, Dr. Tomas Zabransky, told online newspaper Idnes.cz that “growshops selling growing equipment and cannabis seeds operate all around Western Europe, Canada, and the U.S., because that’s how democracy works. … This kind of police action is actually helping the black market.”

The raids led to a series of trials against dispensary owners. To the surprise of many, all were found guilty. The judges sided with the police and considered “selling pots, lamps, rolling papers and books about cooking with cannabis under one roof” a crime.

Nobody was sent to jail, though. The owners lost all confiscated goods, but got off on probation — provided they pleaded guilty. A few brave owners refused the plea bargain, and one eventually won his trial. Prague District Judge Helena Chaloupkova heavily criticized the police in this case for “acting cowardly and inconsistently,” and stated that “the owners did not encourage cannabis use” by selling the above-mentioned goods.

But the story does not end there. Last week, in an unprecedented move, the Czech Republic’s highest district attorney, Pavel Zeman, intervened. He asked for the case to be reopened, because in his opinion, the owners were indeed spreading drug abuse. Zeman’s statement was riddled with Reefer Madness cliches.

The dispensary raids aren’t the only examples of police hostility toward the cannabis community in the Czech Republic. In the fall of 2015, a group of legal-hemp harvesters were beaten and jailed. The “accident” gained international attention for its absurdity: Young police officers from a little town some 100 miles north of Prague were bored and decided to check legally approved fields of hemp that was properly registered with customs and contained no THC.

More repression came this May at the annual Konopex cannabis trade fair in Ostrava. Local police concluded that the hemp farmers and hemp clothes producers posed a threat to public safety and staged dozens of heavily armed officers around the exhibition grounds and the after-party club. Police harassed visitors with time-consuming searches, and they confiscated bongs, roaches and industrial hemp plants. Leopold Svaty, one of the country’s most prominent hemp producers, told Leafly: “Although I presented all necessary paperwork and documents proving my hemp and hemp products are 100 percent legal, the police confiscated everything, simply to prevent me from exhibiting at the fair and to damage my business.”

So what are the results of the dispensary raids and other police actions directed against the Czech cannabis community? “The number of growshops went down temporarily, but it’s on the rise again,” says Robert Veverka, director of NGO Legalizace.cz and editor of Legalizace magazine. “Many owners basically split their companies into more than one, so one only sells pots and lamps, the other just seeds, and a third one sells smoking accessories and cannabis literature. By not offering everything under one roof, they hope to avoid police accusations of ‘encouraging drug abuse.’ Legitimate businesses selling stuff that’s freely available all over Europe have been destroyed, dozens of people lost their jobs, growshop owners lost millions worth of legal goods. Hundreds of millions of taxpayers money have been wasted during these maneuvers and the same can be said of the human resources of the police and justice system.”

The rate of cannabis use and production has not gone down in the Czech Republic since the raids. What has been going down, rapidly, is respect for the police within the cannabis community. As Albert Einstein pointed out in 1921, regarding the prohibition of alcohol: “The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.”

The Shake: Alaska’s VIP Bags Raise Hackles, Reefer Madness Meets Fargo, and the Clash of the Cannabis Titans

Tongues wag over swag bags in Alaska. Last weekend’s cannabis hot spot was the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, which hosted the Northwest Cannabis Classic trade show for the second—and possibly last—time. Alaska is famously legal, of course. Adults may possess and gift up to one ounce of cannabis. But that doesn’t mean local authorities have to like it. Last year the Anchorage Assembly prohibited cannabis giveaways inside municipal buildings during trade shows, a measure aimed directly at the Cannabis Classic. This year’s show, which took place over the weekend, saw Anchorage Police patrolling the Dena’ina to keep the air clear and the edibles unmedicated.

Any trouble? Just a house manager irritated by swag bags. A $299 VIP ticket got you a gift bag with party passes, breakfast and dinner tickets, and a few samples of actual cannabis. “They can’t do that,” said Steve Medina, the Dena’ina Center operations manager. But show organizer Cory Wray said it was all legal and by-the-book. “If Dena’ina wants to sue me because I broke their contract, then that’s up to Dena’ina,” Wray said. Anchorage Dispatch News has the full story. Extra tip o’ the cap to Radical Russ Belville, who kept us entertained all weekend with his live tweets from the show.

California and Canada battle over cannabis supremacy. Everybody wants to be the Napa Valley of cannabis. Canada thinks it’s got a shot. California laughs at the notion. The Guardian makes the case for the Great White North, while the Los Angeles Times shows why California remains the once and future king.

Maine hosts impaired driving summit today. On the heels of its groundbreaking report on cannabis and impaired driving — which concluded that science doesn’t support impairment charges based on THC blood levels—the AAA hosts an impaired-driving summit in Maine, which will vote on cannabis legalization in November.

Cannabis comes to West Virginia. But not in the way you’re thinking. For the first time in 70 years, cannabis will be planted legally in West Virginia, in the form of hemp. West Virginia University researchers will sow the hearty fiber as part of a project to investigate the plant’s ability to remove contaminants from the soil.

Legalization fights racism but doesn’t end it. It’s a point we’ve made before, and others have rightly highlighted. The London-based Independent carries the news overseas.

Speaking of which… Prohibiting people with criminal records from receiving cannabis licenses is an ongoing problem that extends the racism inherent in the drug war. Now California is considering an initiative that would end this barrier to market entry. The Christian Science Monitor has the story.

Prohibitionists emerge in Florida. The Vote No on 2 campaign announced itself earlier this morning by releasing a video alleging the state’s proposed medical marijuana amendment would lead to the opening of dispensaries. “Looks like Amendment 2 is still a scam to legalize pot,” the ad says. Interesting side note: Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who gave $5.5 million to defeat the MMJ measure in 2014, is now a leading contributor to the Donald Trump campaign, which raises questions about his financial commitment to Florida’s 2016 cannabis race.

Relax, Fargo, it’s not marijuana. An alert dog walker in North Dakota’s glamour capital spotted what he thought might be a sprig of cannabis peeking through the soil. Alarmed, he called the cops. They checked it out. Turned out it was just a tree putting up shoots. You betcha.

And finally… USA Today is on the case when it comes to cannabis moving beyond the borders of Colorado. But it appears that they missed the larger story here, which is Colorado’s clandestine takeover of its northern neighbor, Wyoming. Never bury the lead, folks.

Image Source: USA Today (since updated)

Industrial Hemp Producing Solid Revenue Opportunities for Cannabis & Agriculture Industries; Company Announces Product Sales of Raw Kenaf

CORAL SPRINGS, Florida, May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ —

The Cannabis industry’s applications continue to grow with the increasing demand for hemp-based and other natural fiber composite products. U.S. consumers are likely to find kenaf fiber in carpet backing and padding, a fiber mat in automobiles, biofuels applications while the US government is starting to recognize the difference between marijuana and hemp. Legislation is being passed in many states to allow industrial hemp with a THC content of 0.3% or less to be grown in research studies.

In hemp operations of importance in the markets today:  As Hemp, Inc.‘s (OTC: HEMP) multi-purpose industrial hemp decortication facility nears completion, executives are shifting their focus to sales and marketing and are pleased to announce the sale of approximately 7,000 pounds of raw Kenaf to a Tennessee company involved in the biofuel industry. According to David Schmitt, COO of Hemp, Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary, Industrial Hemp Manufacturing, LLC (IHM), the company purchased the raw kenaf for testing and evaluation. “We are extremely optimistic that this sale will lead to even more sales of our raw kenaf,” said Schmitt. “We are also currently working with several Fortune 500 companies on various projects involving either kenaf or industrial hemp.”  Last week’s sale of kenaf (a cousin plant to hemp in the hibiscus family) has definitely kicked Hemp, Inc.’s product sales into action. Schmitt says the company is currently negotiating a five-million-pound potential sale of raw kenaf. “We received a serious inquiry and price request for five million pounds of the raw kenaf we have on hand. If we finalize this sale, we could be looking at $1,250,000.”

Read the full Hemp Inc. (HEMP) Press Release at:  http://www.financialnewsmedia.com/profiles/hemp.html

Schmitt went on to say, “We are in a very advantageous position because Industrial Hemp Manufacturing, LLC is the only company in America with millions of pounds of kenaf on hand, ready to sell and we are the largest facility capable of outputting forty million pounds per year. Not to mention, we have 400 acres of kenaf planted this year, but if we sell more, we plan to increase this year’s planting from 400 acres to approximately 2,000 acres.”  Once the, now fully funded, North Carolina Industrial Hemp Commission creates the guidelines for the cultivation of hemp, Hemp, Inc. will kick its hemp fiber sales into high gear and process massive quantities for distribution… an easy feat for the 70,000 square foot commercial multi-purpose industrial hemp decortication facility. Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc. (OTC: HEMP) said, “Right now, we are focused on kenaf. That is what we are planting now. However, next year we expect to plant hemp.”

The raw kenaf is one of the company’s six initial products for sale. SpillSuck™, another one of the six products, is available for sale now. It is a super absorbent, environmentally friendly product made from the core of kenaf and hemp plants which is considered one of the world’s most absorbent natural materials. It’s generally used for oil, chemical and other liquid spills. It’s easy to handle and is thirty times more absorbent than clay. As mentioned in Hemp, Inc.’s previous press release, 25,000 pounds of SpillSuck™ are in the final stages of packaging.

In other Hemp/Cannabis operations, news and recent developments:  Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) recently announced that the Company and its portfolio company HempMeds® participated as exhibitors and speakers at the U-T’s Successful Aging Expo on Saturday, April 30 in San Diego. An estimated 8,000-10,000 was expected to attend the event, which is focused on education, entertainment and healthy aging solutions. Dr. Stuart Titus, Chief Executive Officer of Medical Marijuana, Inc., presented on cannabis-based anti-aging research and information on cannabinoids such as THC and CBD that are capturing global news headlines. Dr. Titus also provided insightful facts about non-psychoactive hemp cannabidiol (CBD)-based solutions available to any consumer without a medical marijuana card.

In other industry developments of note:  HempTech Corp. (OTC: HTCO), a provider of advanced Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with sophisticated automation and analytical tools for the cultivators of legal industrial hemp and cannabis, announces today that it has signed an exclusive MVA (Master Vendor Agreement) with Tinkerer’s Obsession Labs (TOL) to be an exclusive provider of containerized grow systems (grow.droid II) for TOL in the following jurisdictions: Alaska, Continental United States and First Nations in Canada. TOL agrees to purchase from HempTech a minimum of 1000 “grow.droid II” systems between 2016 and 2022, primarily to satisfy the growing needs of the people of the Indian Reservations.  HempTech has also signed an exclusive agreement with FutureLand Corp (OTC: FUTL) to obtain financing and consultation support for the life of the MVA agreement to better service the agreement with TOL. HempTech will compensate FutureLand through revenue sharing on the project.

Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) announced this month to shareholders and the public that the Brazilian government has approved its hemp cannabidiol (CBD) oil product Real Scientific Hemp Oil™ (RSHO™) from HempMeds Brasil™ for a fourth indication for import as a prescription medication for the treatment of cancer.  The first three indications approved for HempMeds Brasil™ to import are: epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain.  “We are right now tempering our excitement because this is a process and it needs to be approached carefully and scientifically,” states Dr. Stuart Titus, CEO of Medical Marijuana, Inc. “The opportunity within Brazil may open doors for the Company to explore our RSHO™ product as an adjunctive, potentially post-chemotherapy prescription medication, by assisting patients with their recovery. Further, this may even allow us to enter into pre-clinical work to see if there may be merit for botanical cannabis and its derivatives as a primary treatment option for certain types of cancers in those places in our world that may allow such alternative and integrative treatment options.”

Greengro Technologies, Inc. (OTC: GRNH), a world class provider of ecofriendly green technologies, announced in late April that it has acquired growcameras.com, a revolutionary way to monitor crop health. The Grow Camera is a self-contained, WiFi enabled, five megapixel NDVI camera and temp/humidity sensor. It can be used with most modern DVR equipment that support networked cameras while also featuring monitoring capabilities through Android, iOS, or Windows devices using the mobile application. The Grow Camera NDVI technology is traditionally used in space imaging and weather satellites, and can be used to quantify vegetation health and provide an early indicator to problems in the grow room.

GW Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ: GWPH), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform, announced that Justin Gover, GW’s Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 2016 UBS Global Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at 8:00 a.m. (EDT) at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.  A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available through GW’s corporate website in the investor relations section from the investor’s calendar of events page at http://www.gwpharm.com. A replay will be available soon after the live presentation..

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Chicago Tribune Editorial Board To Illinois Governor – Expand Medical Marijuana Program

Illinois has one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the country, allowing only those that suffer from a short list of conditions to become patients. Multiple times now the IllinoisMedical Cannabis Advisory Board has endorsed expanding the list of conditions for the program, and both times Illinois’ Governor, Bruce Rauner, has squashed the

Learn From Arcview’s Best At The Upcoming Virtual Cannabis Entrepreneur Summit

The ArcView Group was founded the same year this blog was founded (in 2010). I have watched the company grow over the years into the most respected cannabis industry investment network on the planet. Led by CEO Troy Dayton (previous Weed Blog CEO of the Year award winner), the ArcView Group helps investors find the

US CA: Column: Marijuana Is Going Mainstream

Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2016 – California Looks Poised to Emerge As the Center of the Cannabis Economy in November SANTA CRUZ – The other day, in a seaside cafe here, veteran cannabis journalist David Bienenstock gamely fielded my attempts to catch up on a subject I have failed to appreciate for far too long: the coming end of marijuana prohibition.

3 Cannabis YouTubers You Should Check Out

In the ever-changing social media landscape surrounding cannabis, video is quickly becoming a key player. A large reason why can be attributed to video streaming platforms like YouTube remaining flexible with their community guidelines, allowing users to post cannabis content on their channel without the fear of repercussions such as the removal of content or account deactivation. Conversely, competing social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook share a history of discriminating against cannabis-related content, thus stifling information sharing and suppressing an entire body of of voices within the community.

YouTube, however, has taken a slightly different approach wherein it simply encourages age restrictions for adult-oriented content. There, creators are free to post cannabis-related content without fear of removal. As a subsequent result, cannabis information sharing has flourished on YouTube over the last half decade, allowing users to upload cannabis content freely, amass followers, and use their platform to push cannabis activism forward to whole new levels.

Below is a list of three YouTube channels that have truly exemplified this movement to push video forward as a viable medium for cannabis activism and information sharing. Each of these profiles offer a unique take in facilitating a totally new perspective on sharing cannabis news and information. Whether you’re looking for videos on current events, strain and/or product reviews, recipes, grow tips, or historical information, you’re bound to find a spectrum of content in these three channels that’s guaranteed to grab your interest.

Bubbleman’s World

Ask almost any solventless hash enthusiast where to find a quality online video covering proper technique and chances are you’ll get referred to Bubbleman’s World. Marcus Richardson, founder of Bubblebags and FreshHeaddies.com, took to YouTube in 2007 to create Bubbleman’s World. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, his instructional videos offer an unrivaled openness to previous “proprietary” concepts in hash making, capturing nuances within the various processes that you simply can’t find anywhere else.

In September of 2014, Marcus set out to create a weekly online symposium for cannabis activists and enthusiasts by utilizing YouTube Live streaming in Google Hangouts to create a Sunday morning discussion series appropriately titled, “Hash Church.” These unedited discussions involve a rock star panel of speakers including long-time cannabis activist Todd McCormick of HempXXX.com and Berkeley Patients Group founder Etienne Fontan. Every week, new guest speakers are invited to join in.

Notable past guests include Dr. Lester Grinspoon, famed Harvard professor and author of Marijuana Reconsidered. Lifelong activist and researcher Robert Clark has also made appearances, as well as activist Rick Doblin, who appeared just last week. Discussions on the show range from current events within the industry to extraction techniques, patient testimonials, product R7D discussion, and much more. Anyone with a little free time on Sunday morning should tune in and check out the weekly 9AM-12PM show.

RuffHouse Studios

RuffHouse Studios is a cannabis culture video production company that began posting videos on YouTube in 2007. Today it boasts a body of over 300 videos packed full with high production quality content spanning from segments on cooking with infused cannabis to concentrate reviews and even cannabis themed parody movie trailers.

Popular videos on the channel include demonstration and tutorial pieces on joint rolling, canna butter recipes, and DIY hack videos that range from making water pipes out of household items to tutorials on various extraction techniques.

“Tips & Tricks,” a video series featuring RuffHouse Studios host Bogart, offers up a very polished and professional set of tutorial videos. Here you can learn how to roll various styles of joints, or how to extract kief from cannabis flowers with the use of dry ice. Each of these videos are between 8-10 minutes long, making them the perfect length for a quick look without being too lengthy or dense.

If you’re looking for some lighter entertainment, check out the cannabis movie trailer parody videos for a good laugh. There you can find gems such as “The Smoking Dead” and “Bongzilla.”

Green House Seed Company

Founded in Amsterdam in 1985 by Arjan Roskam, the Green House Seed Company and Coffeeshop has grown to become one of the most notorious seed banks in the world. In 2006, Green House Seed took its brand to YouTube by posting grow tutorials and Cannabis Cup coverage videos.

Two year later, in 2008 Green House Seed’s YouTube presence expanded with the introduction of a series called “Strain Hunters”, wherein Arjan and his partner Franco Loja traveled the world curating rare landrace seeds from remote destinations. Aside from being wildly entertaining, these hour long segments offer a unique perspective into the lives those behind the global cannabis trade.

After eight years and over 100 videos, The Green House Seed company is still posting exciting high-production content on a regular basis. Its series “Grow Sessions” gives one of the most polished and analytically sound analysis of any strain-specific cultivation journal currently available on the internet. In this series, Arjan and Franco analyze growth patterns of some of their most famed strains and seed offerings, even detailing disparities between certain strains grown hydroponics versus in organic soil mediums. Every week they chronicle further with lab tested terpene and cannabinoid profiles, macro photographs of trichome formation, and cultivation tips. This level of care and dedication to cannabis-related videography is practically unrivaled, and the Green House Seed Company has consistently pushed the bar forward by advancing its platform with quality content.

Looking for more great cannabis video content? Check out Leafly’s YouTube channel, where you’ll find strain spotlights, cannabis 101 features, our Cannabis Craftsmanship series, and more.

Trouble in Bogota: How the Risks of Homemade Cannabis Remedies are Being Felt in Colombia

These days, it feels like everyone in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is talking about cannabis.

The revolution has come to Latin America, and Colombia is now a hotbed of cannabis entrepreneurship. The country’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, signed a decree in December to legalize and regulate medical marijuana. After the decision, Colombian media coverage of medical cannabis surged, and seemingly everyone in Bogota began to talk about the companies producing homemade cannabis remedies to cure a long list of ailments.

Amateur enthusiasts have jumped at the business opportunity, motivated in part by internet postings and activists like Canadian-in-exile Rick Simpson. Simpson, who spent three years in the Czech Republic after leaving Canada, has played a major role in the reintroduction of medicinal cannabis oil. Millions around the globe have watched his Run From the Cure documentary and learned to produce oil using simple kitchen tools and techniques.

Simpson has traveled all around the Czech Republic, giving lectures, helping patients and promoting homemade cannabis oil. His work tapped into an ancient culture: Before prohibition and communist rule, cannabis medicines were a traditional part of Czech folk medicine, practiced by female shamans. The availability of high-quality genetics, combined with the “Rick Simpson effect” resulted in a surge in the production of kitchen meds. Not just oil, but also creams and tinctures with cannabis soaked in Slivovitz, the national spirit, made of plums.

Colombia has witnessed a similar boom in homemade cannabis remedies since the presidential decree last December. Colombians are brewing their own home remedies and some have started underground medical cannabis companies in precarious kitchen labs. Since it is relatively easy to extract the essential oils from cannabis flowers, these amateur entrepreneurs feel confident about their preparations.

But too often, they play doctor without considering the risks. Properly medicating people with serious health issues like epilepsy is not an easy task. Knowing the precise cannabinoid contents and proper ratios among the various active compounds is fundamental to achieve a desired effect.

Cannabinoids affect each body and mind differently, and their benefits or uncomfortable psychoactive side effects, such as anxiety, are enhanced or diminished by the interaction between cannabinoids. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is the antagonist of THC, meaning it can reduce some negative effects and it can extend the duration of the sought-after ones. It’s not hard to find THC in Colombia, and it’s very cheap, but CBD is lacking. Hobby chemists would need to import it, and it’s expensive.

The result: Many kitchen meds in Colombia are lacking this important cannabinoid. The knowledge and experience offered by trained medical personnel and physicians is required to treat patients properly and avoid complications. Too often hobbyists ignore drug interactions with other pharmaceuticals or simply ignore preexisting medical conditions. Such factors need to be evaluated for any serious treatment regime. Monitoring the efficacy of medical cannabis preparations in each case is an important step that should be carried out by doctors or properly trained caregivers.

Homemade cannabis tinctures that are high in THC but lack CBD can lead to uncomfortable psychoactive effects and increased blood pressure. What’s more, even benign substances carry risks. Different kinds of vegetable oils, such as olive oil, used to prepare the medicines can lead to a high level of triglycerides, a type of fat in your blood that increases the risk of heart disease.

Until now, the only way to obtain cannabinoids legally in Colombia is by growing them yourself in a garden of fewer than 20 plants. This home cultivation also allows for minimal contaminants on the flowers and therefore in the resulting medicine. In the optimal scenario, a home producer in Colombia can monitor the process to avoid pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, fertilizers, and even poisonous substances that the plant absorbs from contaminated soils.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to produce a meaningful supply of medicine from just 20 plants. That’s why black market and illegally cultivated cannabis ends up being used to produce most of the homemade cannabis meds increasingly being used to treat the ill in Colombia. Patients are putting themselves at risk, as there are no tests nor controls over the “medicines,” nor are they certified by any health organization or tested by a serious laboratory.

While Colombia waits impatiently for much-needed regulation to bring safety, reliability, and validated methods to the local market, recreational users and self-made cannachemists will continue to make the most of their legal, 20-plant supplies. Yet those who need healing could become victims of fake products, similar to the snake oil peddling of unregulated CBD products that goes on every day in the United States. Risk from irresponsible or even dangerous advice abounds.

Learn What The Best Practices Are For Operating A Licensed Dispensary At The Cannabis Business Summit

There was a time in America when simply opening a dispensary was enough to succeed. All one had to do in a lot of areas was just be the first to open a dispensary in that area, and success was almost guaranteed. Times are a lot different now. States seem to fall in one of