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Browsing: Dispensaries

Hawaii Marijuana Patients Want Dispensaries, More Plants

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: www.hawaiimedicalmarijuana.org

​Medical marijuana advocates in Hawaii say it’s time to make it easier for patients in the state to have safe access to medicinal cannabis.

Ten years ago, Hawaii became the first state to legalize medical marijuana through the legislative process (California [1996], Oregon and Washington [1998] had already passed voter initiatives), but advocates say the the state program has failed to adapt to evolving patient needs, reports B.J. Reyes of the Honolulu Star Bulletin.
“We haven’t made any changes to our legislation since day one,” said Pam Lichty, president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii and co-chairwoman of the Medical Cannabis Working Group, convened last year to study the state’s law and make recommendations to the Legislature.
The report from the working group, due this week, plans to make four recommendations:
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Denver Accepting Applications For Marijuana Dispensary Licenses

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Graphic: Out Front Colorado

​Dozens of medical marijuana dispensary owners lined up before daylight in Denver Monday to apply for their licenses. It was the first day the owners could apply for the required licenses under the city’s new regulatory scheme.

The new process includes several steps, including $5,000 in application and licensing fees, a background check with excludes felons, a required security plan, and fire and zoning inspections, reports KUSA-TV.
“At $5,000 a pop for the application/licensing, all we need is another 100,000 pot shops to open up in Denver and our budget crisis is solved,” wisecracked “PugMartin1,” one commenter on KUSA’s site.
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D.A. Threatens To Jail City Council For Allowing Pot Dispensaries

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Hardwick Fundlebuggy

​District Attorney Mike Ramsey doesn’t want any marijuana dispensaries in Chico, California. He dislikes them so much, in fact, that he threatened to jail members of the city council if they allow the pot shops in town, reports Toni Scott of the Chico Enterprise Record.

Ramsey, who obviously doesn’t mind running his mouth and throwing his weight around, “warned” the councilors: “I want to make the distinction that you cannot authorize that which is illegal, legal.”
“If that which is illegal is authorized as legal, you can expect to see every one one of those city councilors in jail,” he said.
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Is Kansas Ready For Medical Marijuana?

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: movies.popcrunch.com

​A bill has been introduced in the Kansas Legislature to legalize marijuana for medical use.

Although the bill, which comes from Rep. Gail Finney (D-Wichita), doesn’t have much a chance, “It’s the right thing to do,” Finney said.
Her bill was introduced the same week that lawmakers voted to make the Sunflower State the first in the nation to outlaw fake marijuana, reports David Klepper of the Kansas City Star.
Finney’s bill, like medical marijuana laws adopted in New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Maine, would set up state-registered “compassionate care centers” where those with a doctor’s recommendation can buy cannabis.
The bill would require that all medical marijuana used in the state be grown in Kansas.
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Arrest Warrant Issued For Fresno Pot Shop Owner

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: CBS47.com
Rick Morse says he will fight for what he believes is right until officers take him away in handcuffs

​An arrest warrant has been issued for the owner of a Fresno, California medical marijuana dispensary.

Rick Morse, who owns the Medmar Clinic in Fresno’s Tower District, is accused of illegally running the dispensary, reports Alicia Coates of CBS47.tv.
Morse’s contempt of court arraignment was Wednesday but he didn’t show, resulting in the court issuing a felony warrant for his arrest.
Surprisingly, local TV station CBS47 found Morse at his Medmar clinic Wednesday night, and he didn’t seem overly worried about the warrant.
“I would rather go by my constitution than what some void order says,” Morse told CBS47.
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Coloradans May Get To Vote On Marijuana Dispensaries

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By on Dispensaries, News

Photo: www.agreenercountry.com
Coloradans may have to go to the polls in November to defend medical marijuana dispensaries from the Legislature.

​Sensible Colorado, a medical marijuana advocacy organization, has announced it plans to place an initiative intended to “secure patient access to medical marijuana” on the Colorado ballot this November.

The idea, reports Michael Roberts at Westword, is to let voters establish regulations more friendly to the medical marijuana industry than those likely to be passed by the Legislature.
The group will file a statewide ballot initiative Thursday at the Office of Legislative Council in the State Capitol.
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N.M. Medical Marijuana Tax Could Push Patients To Black Market

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Flickr / Westword
New Mexico: Land of Enchantment. And, well, taxing the sick.

​New Mexico’s Legislature has been looking mighty hungrily at the state’s medical marijuana program as a source of tax revenue. But according the state’s Tax and Revenue Department, such a tax could cause patients to turn to the black market.

A 25 percent excise tax on medical marijuana could potentially raise about $1.2 million for the state, according to the Legislative Finance Committee’s fiscal impact report on Sen. John Sapien’s bill, SB 56, reports Marjorie Childress at The New Mexico Independent.
The analysis estimated a typical patient spends $6,256 annually on medical marijuana, and would pay about $1,564 in excise tax per year.
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R.I. Medical Marijuana Hearing Is Packed, But Few Speak Up

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: thefreshscent.com

​The auditorium was packed Tuesday, but only five people voiced their opinions on the proposed tightening of Rhode Island’s medical marijuana law during a public hearing held by the Department of Health.

Two individuals spoke, as well as representatives of three organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Society, and the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, reports Talia Buford at The Providence Journal.
The bill, backed by two state legislators — who are, surprise, surprise, both retired police officers — is designed to “close loopholes” in the state’s medical marijuana law.
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Colorado Banks Get Paranoid About Marijuana Dispensary Accounts

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By on Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Reality Catcher
If you’re a marijuana dispensary operator, Wells Fargo now says your money’s not green enough. Or maybe too green. Anyway, they don’t want your business.

​Wells Fargo — which, according to medical marijuana dispensary owners, was the only bank in Colorado which wanted their business — has stopped opening new accounts for dispensaries.

Cristie Drumm, spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, said the bank is looking at state and federal laws to determine what risk the bank runs in working with dispensaries, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.
“We’re not actively opening accounts with these businesses at this time,” Drumm said.
The bank hasn’t said if it would close its existing dispensary accounts, but the news has many dispensary owners wondering if they might lose a key part of their business plans.
“We wouldn’t have a bank to put our money in,” said Ryan Vincent of The Health Center in Denver. “I don’t know what we would do. We’d probably have to start rallying to put together a credit union.”
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