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House votes to decriminalize marijuana at federal level
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House on Friday approved a bill to decriminalize and tax marijuana at the federal level. The bill would reverse what supporters called a failed policy of criminalization of pot use and take steps to address racial disparities in enforcement of federal drug laws.
University to offer cannabis-growing minor
MACOMB, Ill. — The art of growing cannabis will become a minor subject at Western Illinois University in the fall, school officials announced Monday. The university’s school of agriculture in Macomb is acting on interest officials expressed in such a class before adult-use marijuana became legal in January. The minor in cannabis production will require 18 to 19 credit hours with additional coursework offered by Western Illinois’ department of biological sciences. School of agriculture director…
State Supreme Court case on whether those probation can use medical pot moves forward
Wednesday was a big day for medical marijuana proponents in Pennsylvania. Briefs were due Wednesday in the state Supreme Court coast that will decide if people on probation will be allowed to use medical marijuana. While the case deals with a Lebanon County case, a ruling would set a precedent for other counties to follow. The court will hear a challenge brought by the ACLU on behalf of three people against the 52nd Judicial District…
Lawmakers want more medical pot regulations in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY — Some GOP lawmakers are taking steps to ban billboards that advertise medical marijuana, further limit where dispensaries can be located and make Oklahoma’s medical pot program more transparent. Those lawmakers filed bills ahead of the Feb. 3 start of the legislative session, The Oklahoman reported, even though the legislators who passed last year’s “Unity Bill” that established a legal framework for State Question 788, indicated they don’t want sweeping changes to the…
Should medical marijuana patients be concerned by Trump statement?
President Donald Trump said late last year that in effect he reserves the right to ignore a congressionally approved provision that seeks to protect state medical marijuana laws from federal interference, Tom Angell reports at forbes.com. Angell, who covers politics and policy of cannabis for Forbes and Marijuana Moment, that Trump attached the statement in signing a large-scale funding bill. According to the story, Trump wrote: “Division B, section 531 of the Act provides that…
Cannabis-related psychosis, addiction, ER visits: For young users, marijuana can be a dangerous game
Not long ago when Joseph Garbely, chief medical officer for the Caron Foundation, reviewed younger patients starting drug or alcohol treatment on his unit, he usually saw people shaking, sick and seizing from alcohol or opioid withdrawal. Marijuana was seldom what put them in those medical beds. That has changed. “A few years ago, it was rare to see a young person enter Caron with marijuana-induced psychosis,” said Garbely. “Now we see it on a…
Officials list pot vape brands reported in US outbreak
NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials investigating a nationwide outbreak of vaping illnesses have listed, for the first time, the vape brands most commonly linked to hospitalizations. Most of the nearly 2,300 people who suffered lung damage had vaped liquids that contain THC, the high-inducing part of marijuana. In a report released Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed the products most often cited by patients, noting that some of them said…
Wolf takes new step on marijuana with town hall sessions
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Wolf administration wants to open a “conversation” about legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania and announced Thursday that the lieutenant governor will hold a series of town hall-style sessions on the subject. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, himself an advocate of legalizing recreational use of the drug, said he will hold a listening session in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in the coming months and otherwise accept comments submitted online or through other…
U. of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State ban medical marijuana
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University both say all marijuana, including medical marijuana, remains banned on the two campuses. OU and OSU say in a joint news release Thursday that they’re legally required to comply with the Federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act that mandates drug prevention programs and prohibits the use of illegal drugs on campus or at university-sponsored events and activities. The two must also comply with…
Conservative states balk at voter-approved medical marijuana
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Pot advocates celebrated the culmination of a yearslong effort to ease restrictions on the use of cannabis last month when nearly 60 percent of Oklahoma voters approved medical marijuana. Oklahoma’s proponents had even included a two-month deadline for the implementation in their measure so as to avoid the years of delays they had seen elsewhere. But that has not stopped state health officials and the Republican governor from making drastic changes…
Justice Grown CEO answers questions about medical marijuana
KINGSTON — Mark McNeely had been taking prescription medication for pain without much success when a doctor suggested a different option. “I’ve been trying to deal with my pain from doctor prescribed medications,” said McNeely, 51, of Wyoming. “I’ve been paying out of pocket for drugs that aren’t helping me. I went to a clinic and the doctor asked me if I ever considered medical marijuana. “The problem is the doctor couldn’t tell me how…
Utah’s state-funded study of pot’s effects on pain delayed
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A $500,000 state-funded study, designed to gauge marijuana’s impact on pain, has been delayed so many times due to federal regulations that it might not be ready before Utah voters decide in November whether to pass a medical marijuana ballot initiative. Ivy Estabrooke, executive director of the Utah Science Technology and Research, told the Deseret News it took nearly a year and a half for researchers to jump through the…
Feds: Oklahoma medical marijuana users can’t possess guns
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Federal officials say Oklahoma residents with medical marijuana cards will be prohibited from obtaining gun permits, following a recent decision by voters to approve the medical use of the drug. State residents voted in favor of the marijuana measure Tuesday. The move puts Oklahoma gun owners in a conflict 25 other states are facing between state and federal laws governing guns and marijuana. Federal law says it’s illegal to possess both…
Pain medicine group cancels doctor training about marijuana
A national medical group Thursday abruptly canceled its plans to train doctors about marijuana for pain relief after a federal agency pulled its funding. The episode highlights an ongoing conflict between federal and state laws on marijuana. The American Academy of Pain Medicine scrubbed its plans for a one-hour online course next month after a request from the U.S. government agency that provided the funding, a spokeswoman for the pain medicine group said. The money…
Some fear changes to state laws as US weighs pot medicine
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Some American parents who for years have used cannabis to treat severe forms of epilepsy in their children are feeling more cautious than celebratory as U.S. regulators near a decision on whether to approve the first drug derived from the marijuana plant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue a decision by the end of the month on the drug Epidiolex, made by GW Pharmaceuticals. It’s a…
Mother of sick boy seeks legalization of medical marijuana
LONDON (AP) — The mother of an epileptic boy at the center of a debate over medical marijuana in the U.K. is calling for an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss liberalizing British policy. Charlotte Caldwell said Sunday she also wants assurances from the government that her 12-year-old son Billy will be able to keep receiving cannabis oil once a 20-day emergency supply approved by the government runs out. Caldwell wants to make sure there…
Alaska US senators supporting marijuana states’ rights bill
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators are supporting a bipartisan bill that seeks to ensure states’ ability to regulate legal marijuana industries. Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts originally co-authored the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Friday. The bill looks at a number of areas in which state and federal marijuana laws conflict while also containing a number of safeguards to…
Women cite ‘grass ceiling’ in male-dominated weed industry
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — When Danielle Schumacher attended her first convention of marijuana activists about 15 years ago, she could count on one hand all the women in a room of older men. The lack of diversity struck the then-college student, who remembers feeling out of place but also determined to make her mark. “That feeling just really stuck with me that this isn’t going to last. This is going to shift in my lifetime,…
Don’t expect joints if the FDA ever approves medical marijuana
While past marijuana opponents like John Boehner are coming around to legal weed, the Food and Drug Administration isn’t likely to recommend that Americans light up a joint anytime soon. That doesn’t mean that cannabis will never be sanctioned by the FDA in some form, said Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. It’s just highly doubtful that the agency would ever approve it for smoking. “I prescribed blood pressure pills and all kinds of other things to my…
Pot politics: Schumer joins politicians rethinking marijuana
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Senate Democrat is using marijuana’s informal holiday to announce a change of heart about the drug, another sign of the growing political acceptance of pot. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Friday he’ll introduce a bill taking marijuana off the federal list of controlled substances — in effect decriminalizing its use. His bill would let states decide how to treat marijuana possession. Under the measure, the federal…
Cannabis business convention comes to Boston
BOSTON (AP) — More than 250 exhibitors and 100 experts are descending on Boston this weekend to discuss the country’s burgeoning marijuana industry. The New England Cannabis Convention is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Hynes Convention Center The programming will cover medical marijuana, cannabis business strategies, innovation in growing and marketing, and more. Highlights include a discussion of Massachusetts’ established agricultural industry and how local family farmers may be able to enter the…
US to end policy that let legal pot flourish
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that had paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Sessions will instead let federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana law, the people said. The people familiar with the plan spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized…
Federal firearms law takes aim at PA medical marijuana users
The choice between having access to medical marijuana or keeping his firearms isn’t one Patrick Nightingale will make. The Pittsburgh-area criminal defense attorney and executive director of the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society is sticking to his guns and state-issued medical marijuana card and wants others to do the same. “I’m simply going to carry on my day-to-day as I always do,” Nightingale said Wednesday. However, he will make sure he doesn’t have a firearm or…
Maryland medical marijuana dispensaries are running out of pot in opening week
Maryland’s medical marijuana dispensaries finally opened this week after years of delay, but many are running out of the drug as limited supply is struggling to keep up with high demand. Five of seven licensed dispensaries that started selling the drug in recent days say they’ve either completely or almost run out of flower – the raw part of the marijuana plant that is smoked or vaporized. The other two are limiting sales to a…
Former NFL players look to score with hemp-derived CBD products
PLAINS TWP. — The hemp business is growing and Nate Eachus is growing hemp. The former fullback for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs who played high school ball at Hazleton Area was in town to promote the benefits of the products derived from hemp as an alternative to prescription medications and medical marijuana. “I’m in the hemp business now, basically partnered with a farm in Colorado and we supply the main ingredient,” Eachus, 27, said…
Continued protection sought for medical-marijuana states
SALEM, Ore. — Two members of Congress — one an Oregon Democrat and the other a California Republican — are pushing to ensure that protections against federal intervention remain for another year for 46 states, Washington DC, Guam and Puerto Rico that allow some form of medical marijuana. Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California have sent a letter with the signatures of 64 colleagues to congressional leaders supporting the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer…
Study: Medical marijuana an alternative for opioids
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — University of New Mexico researchers say the legal availability of medical marijuana has the potential to reduce opioid use among chronic pain patients. The work of associate psychology professor Jacob Miguel Vigil and assistant economics professor Sarah See Stith was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE. The results indicate a strong correlation between enrollment in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program and cessation or reduction of opioid use. Vigil says informal…
Study: Medical marijuana an alternative for opioids
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — University of New Mexico researchers say the legal availability of medical marijuana has the potential to reduce opioid use among chronic pain patients. The work of associate psychology professor Jacob Miguel Vigil and assistant economics professor Sarah See Stith was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE. The results indicate a strong correlation between enrollment in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program and cessation or reduction of opioid use. Vigil says informal…
Veterans are key as surge of states OK medical pot for PTSD
NEW YORK — It was a telling setting for a decision on whether post-traumatic stress disorder patients could use medical marijuana. Against the backdrop of the nation’s largest Veterans Day parade, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month he’d sign legislation making New York the latest in a fast-rising tide of states to OK therapeutic pot as a PTSD treatment, though it’s illegal under federal law and doesn’t boast extensive, conclusive medical research. Twenty-eight states…
Lawsuit: State of Florida ignoring medical marijuana law
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida nursery and a man who suffers from epilepsy filed a lawsuit last week against Gov. Rick Scott’s administration, contending that state officials are flouting the state’s new medical marijuana law. It’s the latest legal challenge against the way Florida officials and state legislators have acted since voters approved medical marijuana a year ago. Bill’s Nursery, located in Miami-Dade County, and Michael Bowen want a judge to order the Department…
Ohio gets 370 applications for medical marijuana licenses
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — State officials say they’ve received more than 300 applications to operate 60 dispensaries that will sell medical marijuana. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy said Monday that it had received 370 applications to operate the dispensaries the state expects to have in about a year. The deadline for applications was Friday. A board spokesman says no deadline has been set for determining which businesses will get licenses to operate the dispensaries. The…
New York governor signs bill to allow medical marijuana for PTSD
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of ailments that can legally be treated with medical marijuana. The PTSD bill was part of a package of legislation that Cuomo signed on Saturday to mark Veterans Day. “Our veterans risked their lives in order to defend the ideals and principles that this nation was founded upon, and it is our duty to do…
Indiana prosecutors vehemently oppose medical marijuana
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s county prosecutors remain vehemently opposed to any form of marijuana legalization and insist the plant “is not medicine” amid a push by a conservative state lawmaker to have it recognized as such. In a letter to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration, the Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys argues any type of marijuana legalization would come with grave consequences. The letter, dated last week, was publicly released this week. “Reports abound of…
Montana takes in $300,000 in medical marijuana taxes
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Medical marijuana providers in Montana paid about $300,000 in taxes for the three months ending in September. Department of Revenue spokeswoman Mary Ann Dunwell told The Billings Gazette that most providers paid about $800 in taxes, but one paid $30,000. A 4 percent tax on providers’ gross revenue of the medical marijuana industry began July 1. The proceeds will be used to administer the medical marijuana program, which is run by…
First medical marijuana grower in Pennsylvania gets OK to plant seeds
HARRISBURG — A licensed grower and processor of medical marijuana in northwestern Pennsylvania became the first with the state’s approval to begin planting seeds Tuesday. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said the Department of Health approved Cresco Yeltrah’s operations at its Jefferson County location, a former carbon graphite and metal graphite factory in Brookville that closed four years ago. Tuesday’s approval makes the 40,000-plus-square-foot facility the first to be deemed fully operational in Pennsylvania’s medical…
Opinion: Don’t let Sessions turn back the clock on medical marijuana
How ironic is it that conservatives who routinely criticize the federal government’s allegedly heavy-handed intrusions into state and local affairs seem to have no problem with such interventions when the overreach happens to advance policies dear to their own hearts? This year we’ve seen a lot of this kind of back-and-forth, including the Trump administration’s insistence on punishing so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to go out of their way to assist in the White House’s…
Michigan to allow multiple marijuana grower licenses per spot
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state of Michigan intends to allow large marijuana growers to apply for and be granted multiple licenses in a single location. The Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulation, which is implementing medical marijuana regulations under a new state law, says the guidance issued Thursday is advisory and subject to change. The state intends to let potential licensees apply for multiple “stacked” Class C grow licenses. The Class C license will allow…
Man who gave cannabis to boy behind medical pot law is charged
DENVER — A man who made cannabis oil for a Colorado boy who was instrumental in passing a state law requiring schools to allow students to use medical marijuana is facing several felony drug charges. Mark Pedersen had been providing the oil to Jack Splitt before the boy’s death on Aug. 25, 2016. Jack, who was 15 when he died, had severe cerebral palsy and dystonia, a disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions. After he…
Decision on limiting the number of plants expected in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A judge is expected to determine on Monday if a Rhode Island town can go beyond state law by creating a stricter marijuana ordinance. WJAR-TV reports that Smithfield wants to limit to two the number of plants a licensed grower can have. Under state law, growers are allowed to have 12 plants. The Smithfield Town Council says the ordinance is a way to prevent excessive marijuana sales. Patient advocates say the…
Kentucky ban on MMJ survives initial test in court
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s ban on medical marijuana has survived an initial test in court, with a judge ruling this week that the state has a good reason to “curtail citizens’ possession of a narcotic, hallucinogenic drug.” Twenty-nine other states, including Pennsylvania, have legalized marijuana in some way, the most common being for medical purposes. While Kentucky lawmakers have embraced hemp — the fibers of the plant that are used to make rope, clothing…
Medical marijuana plants stolen in break-ins in Vermont town
MORETOWN, Vt. (AP) — Vermont state police say someone broke into a licensed medical marijuana facility over three consecutive days and stole marijuana plants. Police say the Vermont Patients Alliance in the town of Moretown was burglarized this week. The facility is associated with the state’s marijuana registry dispensary. There are five licensed dispensaries for people suffering from debilitating illnesses. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. https://s24531.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MMJ-logo.png Medical marijuana plants stolen in…
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch’s pun-filled news release on medical marijuana
Pot puns are always a hit (see what we did there?). We just don’t always expect them from an 83-year-old Mormon who is a Republican senator. But Sen. Orrin Hatch, from Utah, this week provided the laughs we all needed with a double-entendre-laden news release announcing the introduction of a bill that would boost research into medical marijuana. “It’s high time to address research into medical marijuana,” Hatch said in the release. Get it? High?…
Law allowing marijuana-derived oil spurred Indiana crackdown
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new Indiana law that allows people with certain types of epilepsy to use a marijuana-derived oil for treatment spurred a statewide crackdown that made it more difficult for those seeking the product to obtain it. Lawmakers passed legislation in April allowing certain patients to use cannabidiol. The substance also known as CBD can’t get a person high. The Indianapolis Star reports data from State Excise Police show the agency confiscated CBD…
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A small Ohio college says it will apply to become a testing laboratory for medical marijuana in a role that other Ohio schools have been reluctant to pursue. Hocking College in the southeast Ohio city of Nelsonville is the first school to announce a bid to test cannabis for potency and safety before it is sold at dispensaries. Ohio law mandates only colleges and universities can apply for testing permits for…
Law protecting medical pot businesses is extended by Congress
DENVER (AP) — A law protecting the medical marijuana industry from interference from the federal government has been extended through December. Marijuana Business Daily reported Friday that the law, known as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, was extended under the provisions of an aid package for victims of Hurricane Harvey approved by Congress. The law bars the U.S. Justice Department from using federal funds to interfere with state medical marijuana programs or prosecuting medical marijuana businesses following…
How does medical marijuana in Maryland affect Pennsylvanians?
Maryland’s first legal medical marijuana crop finally is growing after years of delays. Industry officials estimate the drug will be available for purchase by early 2018. Here’s what you need to know: How can I get it? First, you must register as a patient with the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. For children to receive medical cannabis, at least one parent or guardian must register as a caregiver. Then you need a certification from a doctor…
Opinion: Fellow conservatives should protect medical marijuana from government
Editor’s note: Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, represents California’s 48th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Not long ago, a supporter of mine, visiting from California, dropped by my Capitol office. A retired military officer and staunch conservative, he and I spent much of our conversation discussing the Republican agenda. Finally, I drew a breath and asked about an issue I feared might divide us: the liberalization of our marijuana laws, specifically medical marijuana reform,…
No applications yet to grow, dispense Arkansas medical marijuana
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Demand for permission to use, grow and sell medical marijuana in Arkansas is low as the state reaches the halfway point for the application period. Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin told The Associated Press Friday morning that the agency had received no applications to grow and distribute medical marijuana. “We are not concerned, as we understand the applications require detailed and specific information that will take…