William Breathes

Florida legislature holds hearing on high-CBD medical cannabis for kids

By William Breathes on January 13, 2014 Legislation, Medical, News

High CBD Purple Diesel oil.

Florida state representatives made drug law history yesterday when they held the first ever Florida legislative hearing on a specific medical therapeutic use of marijuana. The topic was “Charlotte’s Web” a strain of the cannabis said to be greatly effective in the treatment of pediatric epilepsy.
In some folks’ view, a great advantage of high CBD strains is that it is has no euphoric effect. Bummer. But if that’s what it takes to get the stuff out of the arms of John Law and into the hands of patients, so be it.

West Virginia legislator promises fourth medical marijuana bill attempt in 2014

By William Breathes on January 13, 2014 Medical, News

There’s growing talk about a medical marijuana bill being submitted in West Virginia in the coming months, with Del. Mike Manypenny announcing last week that he will make a fourth attempt at winning over his fellow lawmakers.
While the bill does face considerable challenges in the conservative state, Manypenny’s last bill in 2013 managed to get nine co-sponsors as well as a hearing before the House Health and Human Resources Committee before failing to move forward to the House floor.

(Another) Colorado tourist pissed off over pot writes letter to ski town

By William Breathes on January 13, 2014 Culture, Legalize It, Say what?

Flickr.com/DenverJeffrey

Houstonian Joe Mattingly likes the finer things in life. Namely, he enjoys expensive ski trips to Vail, Beaver Creek, Utah and Lake Tahoe. And now he’s thinking about visiting Steamboat Springs. The only problem? Colorado legalized marijuana and this Texan doesn’t want it interfering with his vacation. In fact, he might choose another destination if he and the youngsters with him are subjected to to the sight or scent of pot, or the sound of people talking about it.
“While Colorado politics is certainly none of my business, I thought that my thoughts might potentially be of interest to some people in Steamboat,” he wrote Steamboat Today last week. Translation: “I clearly think Colorado politics is my business and I’m going to tell you why right now.”
Denver Westword has more.

“Highest City” survey claims Winston-Salem, NC has more dispensaries than Denver

By William Breathes on January 13, 2014 News, Say what?

Yes, Denver is called the “Mile High City” and yes marijuana is legal. Not surprisingly, Colorado peaked at the summit of the Movato Real Estate “Highest City in the U.S.” survey of cities and towns across the United States.
Movato.com says it took into account a large body of data, including the number of medical (and recreational) dispensaries, how many medical pot licenses are issued and whether or not adult use is legal. While it is not hard to determine that Denver is the highest city based on that criteria, we wonder what the researchers were smoking (or not) when they came up with their results

Minnesotans want medical marijuana but split on full legalization

By William Breathes on January 13, 2014 Legalize It, Medical, News

A new St. Cloud State University survey shows that the overwhelming majority of Minnesotans favor legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.More than three-fourths of people interviewed in late October — 76 percent — answered yes to the question, “Would you support or oppose making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe?”

As for full legalization? They weren’t as warm to that. Minneapolis City Pages has more.

Alaska could be the third state to legalize adult use of recreational cannabis

By William Breathes on January 10, 2014 Legalize It, News

Making money off of gold nuggets could be soon replaced by green nuggets in Alaska as a ballot initiative to legalize pot for adults 21 and up collected and submitted at least 45,000 signatures Wednesday -15,000 more than necessary to qualify it for a vote this August.
“It’s not that the initiative would bring marijuana to Alaska,” Bill Parker, a campaigner for the bill and a former Department of Corrections deputy, told the Anchorage Daily News Wednesday. “Marijuana is already in Alaska. It would legalize, regulate and tax it. It would treat it like alcohol.”

Pennsylvania governor fails at trying to soften his image on medical cannabis

By William Breathes on January 10, 2014 Medical, News, Say what?

Wikimedia commons/Hunter_Kahn.

Tom Corbett.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett doesn’t want to seem square on medical marijuana or be accused of being tough on sick citizens of his fine state, but he’s not doing a very good job of it.
Take his statements this week that he would totally support medical marijuana if the federal government were to give their approval, though he won’t do anything about challenging that in defense of sick Pennsylvanians in the meantime.

Marijuana facing uphill federal battle in California

By William Breathes on January 10, 2014 News

Wikimedia commons/SanFranMan59

Hopes were quite high for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ consideration of a case that would have tested the federal legality of medical marijuana in the Western United states, including California.
Unfortunately, the court dashed the hopes of medical cannabis supporters when it announced Monday that it would not hear oral arguments in the case. What does that mean? LA Weekly has the four-one-one.

Florida medical marijuana petition close to one million signatures

By William Breathes on January 10, 2014 Follow that story, Medical, News

Supporters of an embattled ballot measure to create a constitutional amendment in Florida allowing for medical cannabis say they have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this November.
Ben Pollara, who is heading up the People for United Medical Marijuana campaign, says that the campaign will hit one million signatures sometime next week – hundreds of thousands more than the 683,000 valid signatures required by state law.

Colorado sushi restaurant offering pot/sushi pairings just a publicity stunt… or is it?

By William Breathes on January 10, 2014 Culture, Say what?

Hapa veggie sushi.

Even if it’s nothing more than a publicity stunt, it’s a brilliant one: The homegrown Hapa Sushi chain is running ads promoting a pairing menu unlike any other in the country (because it wouldn’t be legal anywhere else besides Washington!).
Whether you’d like your raw fish with indica, sativa or a hybrid, Hapa’s got some suggestions for you, along with ideas about how to craft your high-as-a-kite dinner conversation. Denver Westword‘s Cafe Society blog has the full story.

Author William Breathes