Search Results: guam (8)

Photo: KUAM

​Senator Rory Respicio of Guam introduced Bill 420, the Compassionate Healthcare Act of 2010, to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana on the island. The bill was introduced at 4:20 Monday afternoon.

“We want to file this at 4:20 p.m. to tie in with the symbolism and the whole meaning behind 420,” Respicio, a veteran Democrat lawmaker, said, reports Nick Delgado of KUAM.
While Senator Respicio introduced his bill at the traditional time for recreational pot smoking, he said his bill only allows for medical use of marijuana.

Coloradans suffering from mental illness have been left behind when it comes to the state’s legalization efforts, according to Teri Robnett, founder and executive director of Cannabis Patients Alliance. That’s why advocates plan to perform 22 push-ups on the steps of the State Capitol on Monday, January 30, as part of an effort to get Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), among other mental illnesses, on the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Colorado.

Prospects look bright for SB17-017, which would allow medical marijuana use for stress disorders. Groups supporting the bill had a strategy meeting on January 25, at which representatives from the Cannabis Patients Alliance, along with the Strong Alliance and Veterans for Natural Rights, said they are gaining ground.

About a dozen states, as well as D.C. and Guam, have PTSD listed as a qualifying condition for treatment with cannabis — but Colorado doesn’t. Advocates have been hoping to change the minds of officials at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the agency involved in approving new conditions. The department has denied earlier requests, however, so the bill is a backup.

The nominee doesn’t seem to care much about the environment either.
Here’s your daily dose of pot news from the newsletter WeedWeek.

President Elect Donald Trump selected Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) to run the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt has repeatedly sued the agency to block anti-pollution laws. While this might be seen as support for states’ rights — and by extension the marijuana industry — Mark Joseph Stern at Slate calls Pruitt “ one of the phoniest federalists in the GOP.

In particular, Pruitt joined Nebraska in suing Colorado over the state’s REC industry. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, retired Marine General John F. Kelly, opposes legalization saying that it increases health care costs and crime, and that the state experiments with it open the U.S. to accusations of hypocrisy from Latin American nations. Kelly is open to the plant having medical benefits.

Meanwhile veterans’ group American Legion, pushed the administration  to loosen cannabis laws. ” I think they were a little caught off guard and didn’t expect such a progressive statement from such a traditional and conservative organization,” a senior Legion official told Marijuana.com.

It also emerged that Jim O’Neill, a Silicon Valley investor who Marijuana.com describes as a “ Marijuana legalization activist,” could be tapped to lead the Food and Drug Administration. O’Neill is neither a doctor or scientist, typical credentials for the position. For more see here.

Marijuana entrepreneurs want Trump to see them as “ job creators,” Forbes reports.

The New York Observer, which is owned by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, called for rescheduling.

In an effort to protect marijuana laws under the Trump administration, Colorado is cracking down on home growers. The state is poised to surpass 3,000 licensed businesses next year.

What attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) means for state-legal pot business remains the big green question. In an in-depth piece, Politico says Sessions could easily “ ignore the will of millions of pro-pot voters” and crack down. Time lists seven reasons Trump is unlikely to go after the industry.

The Sessions hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 10 and 11.

Pro-cannabis group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is petitioning the Justice Department to correct what ASA says is incorrect or misleading information about cannabis on the DEA web site. ASA is represented pro-bono by the major San Francisco law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Though he’s promised to legalize next year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he still wants police to prosecute dispensaries. His pro-pot supporters feel “cheated.”

Canadian producer Cronos Group will work with First Nations groups in Canada to help them join the cannabis economy.

An upcoming March ballot measure for regulating the industry in Los Angeles raises many questions.

A Democratic state Senator in Texas introduced a “longshot” MED bill. Virginia Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R), asked for a study of how the state’s cannabis laws might be changed.Tennessee could also be in play.

Oregon took emergency steps to lower the testing burden on growers, but the industry is skeptical.

REC opponents in Maine were accused of not providing enough volunteers for a recount of the recent vote. A judge ruled that following the recent vote, MED dispensaries in Montana can reopen immediately.

Maryland named 102 pre-approved dispensary license winners. In New York, licensees are worried about competition in the relatively small market.

Guam is implementing a MED program. Dusseldorf, Germany is on the path to legalization.


During the upcoming midterm elections, Hispanic voters are likely to be key in many races across the country — but could they slow the move toward broader marijuana legalization? That possibility is among the takeaways from a Pew Research Center study looking at Latino voting trends. PRC found that Hispanics are less likely than white or black voters to favor such policies.
The report, entitled “Latino Voters and the 2014 Midterm Elections,” notes that proposals to legalize marijuana for recreational use are on ballots in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia, with medical-marijuana measures up for voting in Florida and Guam. Such votes are important, say cannabis-reform advocates such as the Marijuana Majority’s Tom Angell, because positive results are likely to lead to a tipping point that would cause the federal government to alter pot policies for the country as a whole.

Although it has been a U.S. territory since we swiped it from the Spaniards in 1898, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is rarely taken into consideration when discussing American politics.
But with the issue of various levels of cannabis reform quickly becoming a dominant topic of debate here on the mainland, there is a rising wave of support for a 3-way blast of more progressive pot legislation for Puerto Ricans.

Photo: DEA
No, it’s still not legal, even in the Marshall Islands.

Cokeheads briefly thought on Wednesday that there was a place where their drug of choice is legal. 

But the Republic of the Marshall Islands said it hasn’t legalized cocaine, nor has it created a no-visa entry program allowing unrestricted access to the Pacific islands nation, reports Erin Thompson of Pacific Daily News.
“We do not, have not, and don’t intend to legalize any substance,” said Soye Brown, acting attorney general for the Marshall Islands.

Photo: Westword
Ralphie May: “These dogs love me!”

​Comedian Ralphie May described himself as an “idiot” after he got caught carrying marijuana through customs in Guam after he approached and petted a drug-sniffing dog because he thought it was cute.

May was busted in the incident last week, but only had to pay a small fine because he was carrying less than an ounce, reports TMZ.
The comedian, who has a California medical marijuana card, said he didn’t realize the pot was in his bag when, on his way through customs, he went up to the dog and started petting it.

Photo: Saipan Realty
Can you say marijuana tourism? As soon as Saipan’s voters get around to legalizing marijuana — which they’ll soon have a chance to do — the stoner dollars will start pouring in, mine included.

​Imagine this: a tropical Pacific island paradise where weed is legal — and no passport is required to visit from the United States. While that dream may have just suffered a setback, it lives on and may soon be put up for a popular vote.

A House committee on Monday recommended killing a bill which would have legalized marijuana for all uses in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), which includes Saipan, Tinian, Ascuncion and Rota islands in the Pacific. But the bill will be reintroduced as a legislative initiative to allow the people to vote on it, according to its sponsor.

Rep. Stanley Torres (I-Saipan), author of CNMI House Bill 17-47, said Monday he is “disappointed” that the committee decided to recommend killing his bill, reports Haidee V. Eugenio of the Saipan Tribune.