Virginia is for medical cannabis lovers. Too bad their state government hasn’t caught on yet. A study released today by the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws Virginia chapter shows that 72 percent of registered Virginia voters would support medical marijuana laws in their state.
| Some people are taking this quite literally. |
This weekend, Denver’s CBS4 reported about marijuana being advertised for free on Craigslist in exchange for donations or other offers, and questioned whether the practice was legal under Amendment 64; see the video below. But the folks behind 4 Strains Pipe & Tobacco are confident they’re doing nothing wrong in offering a small amount of cannabis as a bonus to folks purchasing other merchandise.
Hearings begin tomorrow on whether California cities and counties have the right to outright ban medical marijuana businesses from operating. The City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness begins opening arguments Tuesday, in a case many believe will set precedence for future dispensary operations.
| A greener New Hampshire. |
New Hampshire has three different marijuana related bills for state legislators to consider this session, including two bills concerning recreational cannabis use and one allowing for medical marijuana in that state.
Currently, possession of any amount can net you a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Cultivation falls under sales and possession with intent to sell in that state and is based on weight. Anything over an ounce (roots, leaves, stalks and all) will get you seven years in prison and $100,000 in fines.
Think you know cannabis better than the Washington state government? You do? Great. You’re probably right, and because of that they might like to talk to you.
In an effort to begin constructing laws and regulations around Washington’s Initiative 502 that legalized limited amounts of cannabis possession and created a state-regulated recreational marijuana industry, Washington officials are looking for a few knowledgeable cannabis cultivators, tokers and scientists to help guide the policy.
| Vintage post card from Kentucky showing hemp farming. |
A Kentucky state senator says his proposal for regulated industrial hemp production in that state has a pretty good chance of succeeding this year. Senator Paul Hornback, a republican from Shelbyville who currently holds the Senate Agriculture committee chairman seat, has the backing of the Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, and high-profile U.S. Senator Rand Paul. Some say the bill would have as many as 22 votes out of the 38 possible needed for the Senate to push the bill forward.
| simplecannabis.com |
While it might be a longshot, a Texas lawmaker is trying (for the sixth time) to get medical marijuana on the books in the Lone Star State.
State rep. Elliot Naishtat, a democrat from Austin, is sponsoring the bill which would allow for physicians to recommend medical cannabis (called “marihuana” in the bill) for patients with qualifying conditions. Possession of cannabis would be legal so long as a doctor had signed off on it. The bill would also protect physicians from having their licenses stripped for making the recommendation. Otherwise, that’s really all there is to the page-and-a-half long bill. No mention of plant limits, possession limits, or anything like that.
| Rose Law Group. |
Marijuana paranoia is alive and well in Illinois, where city leaders in the northern Chicago suburb of Libertyville have unanimously voted to ban marijuana businesses in their city.
Knee jerk? You betcha. Keep in mind that medical marijuana isn’t even legal in Illinois. So these people are wasting their time banning businesses that can’t even exist according to their state law.
| Dank Depot / Flickr |
Yesterday the L.A. City Council approved two competing marijuana initiatives for the May 21 ballot and came a step closer to putting its own measure before voters too.
The Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance said it would abandon campaigning for its own measure (which will nonetheless remain on the ballot) and throw its weight behind the City Council’s proposal.