Medical Marijuana and Cannabis News
The Maryland legislature has approved a bill creating a state-regulated medical marijuana program, pushing on to the governor's office for final approval. Earlier today the state Senate passed a third and final reading of the bill 42-4, marking the end of its legislative journey over the last few months. 
Back in February, police raided the home of Florida Cannabis Action Network president Cathy Jordan and charged her and her husband Robert with cultivating marijuana. Jordan, who uses cannabis to manage Lou Gehrig's disease. Thankfully, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's office has a heart, and dropped the case because Cathy clearly needs the marijuana for medical reasons. Hopefully this drives a message to Florida legislators who have stalled on a proposed medical marijuana bill this session.
MPP. Cathy Jordan.
For more, check out the Broward-Palm Beach New Times coverage.
Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 1:20 pm
West Virginia medical marijuana users will remain illegal in the eyes of the law thanks to the House of Delegates refusing to allow a floor vote on a proposed medical marijuana bill earlier this week.
Despite nearly two-dozen supporters speaking on behalf of House Bill 2961 before the Health and Human Resources Committee - and not a single person speaking out against it - the chairman refused to move it forward.
Maryland caregivers may soon have the same protections as medical marijuana patients in that state after the general assembly yesterday passed laws allowing them to possess up to an ounce at a time.
Laws passed in 2003 and 2011 allow patients to use medical necessity as a defense in court if they are busted with pot and paraphernalia. Caregivers would now have the same protections, which won't necessarily keep them from being arrested but will allow them a valid argument in court. Charges could either be dismissed or dropped to a $100 civil fine.
Some big changes to Michigan's medical marijuana laws go into effect today, including extending the length of time a recommendation is good for, redefining a doctor-patient relationship and clarifying who can be a state-registered caregiver.
Innovation is inevitable in any industry, and the field of medical marijuana is no different. With laws already in the books in 18 states and more on the way, investors who might not know their Blue Chips from their Blue Dream are flocking to these regions to stake their claim in what they see as the next big commodity.
White-collar Wall Street-types can certainly see the budding upside to sinking money into dispensaries, growing operations, and other cannabis related retail outlets. But those potential gains are often outweighed by the prospects of inventory control, employee management, product naiveté. And of course, the grey area that exists in all current state-level medical marijuana laws that fly in the face of Federal statute. Cue MedBox.
Colorado's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division has been a colossal waste of money and has failed to meet the goals set for them in 2010. That's the sum of an audit released earlier this week by the state that lambasts the agency for their ineptitude over the last two-plus years.
FAIL.
Identical medical marijuana bills were introduced into both the New York General Assembly and the Senate on Tuesday. If either Senate Bill 6357 or Senate Bill 4406 pass, it could make New York the 19th state to approve medical marijuana.
TokeoftheTown.com
The bills, introduced by Manhattan Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Staten Island Senator Diane Savino, would allow patients to possess and use up to two and a half ounces of marijuana at a time.
The state-regulated medical-marijuana dispensary industry that Arizona voters approved in late 2010 is becoming a reality, with three new retail shops opening this week.Two dispensaries were slated to open today: One in Glendale (the city that already supports the only medical-pot facility in the Phoenix metro area), and another in Eloy. By next Monday, stores in Fort Mohave and Bisbee should be open.
Last weekend, Nevada state Sen. Tick Segerblom and five other lawmakers took a trip to Arizona for some medical marijuana. Medical marijuana education t be exact. 
According to Segerblom, a Democrat from Las Vegas, if Arizona - arguably one of the most conservative states in the country - can not only pass medical marijuana laws but implement a state-regulated dispensary program, then so can Nevada. The trip is his way of convincing legislators to support Segerblom's Senate Bill 374 which would allow for medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada.
