Toke of the Town

Browsing: Legislation

Medical Marijuana Advocates Celebrate N.H. House Victory

0
By on Legislation, Medical, News

In yet another powerful affirmation that support for medical marijuana transcends partisan boundaries, the Republican-dominated New Hampshire House voted 236-96 on Wednesday to pass SB 409.
 
Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, praised the House for ignoring Gov. Lynch’s veto threat, which was renewed the day before the vote, and passing the bill with a veto-proof supermajority
 “Gov. Lynch has repeatedly shown he is way out of touch on this issue, and since he has been unwilling to support a responsible medical marijuana law for New Hampshire’s most seriously ill patients, the House and Senate will simply have to get this done without the governor’s support,” he said.
 
The bill’s prime sponsor, Sen.Jim Forsythe (R-Strafford), agreed. “The promise to veto medical marijuana by Gov. Lynch shows a disappointing lack of compassion for patients battling illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, and AIDS,” Forsythe said.
 
Read More

Repeal: Fixing Our Government’s Control Over Cannabis

0
By on Legislation

American History Blog

By Anthony Martinelli
Sensible Washington
There are many who agree that cannabis prohibition is a failure; there are fewer who agree what to do about it.
Whether through a harshly regulated and heavily taxed system, or whether through one that more closely aligns cannabis with, say, tea leaf, there are many thoughts on how we should legalize cannabis. This is a conversation more than worth having.
When having this conversation, one thing must always be taken into consideration: cannabis doesn’t belong on a state or federal list of controlled substances, and work should be made to remove it from such — regardless of the accompanying regulation or taxation system.
Read More

Arizona Considers Expanding Medical Marijuana Law

0
By on Legislation, Medical, News

Moderate in the Middle

Four new medical conditions could eventually qualify patients to participate in Arizona’s medical marijuana program.

The state health department is considering whether it should add depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and migraines as “debilitating conditions,” which would allow patients suffering from those conditions to legally use medicinal cannabis under Arizona law, reports Yvonne Wingett Sanchez at The Arizona Republic.
If the new conditions are approved, Arizona would be the only state in the nation to specifically allow medical marijuana for anxiety and depression, according to Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services, which oversees Arizona’s medical marijuana program. However, California’s broadly written medicinal cannabis law basically allows physicians to recommend marijuana for any condition that, in their medical opinion, it could help.
Read More

Ironies and Omissions: Setting The Record Straight About I-502

0
By on Legislation, News

Joe Mabel
The medical marijuana industry in Washington state does not oppose legalization in the wholesale manner in which Dominic Holden, above, claims they do; they merely object to many of I-502’s provisions

By Philip Dawdy
Special to Toke of the Town
The road to cannabis legalization is certainly proving to be an odd one in Washington State, filled with so many ironies that I’ve lost count. Here comes another set of ironies.
On April 13th, the New York Times published an op-ed by Dominic Holden, “news” editor of The Stranger. Its contents prompted me to send the following letter to the editor, which the paper decided wasn’t important enough to share with its readers. In my opinion, Holden has been writing about I-502 in a way that is both deceptive and journalistically unprofessional.
Here’s what I sent the Times:
In journalism school, I was taught that journalists should strive to avoid conflicts of interest and should always reveal them in instances where they cannot be avoided. Interesting then that in his “Smokeless in Seattle” opinion piece on April 13 in which he lambasted the medical marijuana industry for opposing a legalization initiative in Washington State, Dominic Holden did not inform readers that he used to be an employee of the ACLU of Washington.
Read More

Historic 4/20 in Colorado: Voters Can End Marijuana Prohibition This November

0
By on Culture, Legislation, News

Vitamin Thick
CU-Boulder regularly holds one of the biggest 4-20 events in the country, but CU administrators have closed the campus to the public and are threatening arrests

CU-Boulder to Close Campus to Visitors, Threatens Arrests
DPA to Urge Reform of Punitive Marijuana Laws in Colorado on 4/20 with Airplane Banner, Full Page Ads and On-the-Ground Presence
April 20, the quasi-official holiday for people who enjoy marijuana, is recognized by millions around the world. This year’s holiday will have a deeper significance for Coloradans as Amendment 64 is on the ballot to tax and regulate marijuana. Amendment 64 decriminalizes marijuana for adults and allows local municipalities and the state to establish a non-medical, regulatory framework for cultivation, distribution and sale.
Read More

Sacramento County Medical Marijuana Initiative Would Ensure Safe Access

0
By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

CSPARC

Sacramento County, California voters will have an opportunity to get it right on medical cannabis in November. A voter initiative to regulate the medical cannabis industry in the county is halfway to its goal of 80,000-plus signatures, and organizers say they are confident it will qualify for the November ballot.
The Patients Access to Regulated Medical Cannabis Act of 2012 (PARMCA2012) is a voter initiative that will allow for a limited and tightly regulated medical cannabis market that will bring in an estimated $2 million in revenue for Sacramento County.
The Act will allow for one dispensary for every 25,000 residents in the unincorporated County that will be divided amongst Board of Supervisor districts to avoid clustering. The program will tax the businesses at a rate of 4 percent of gross sales on top of normal sales taxes that are paid by dispensaries. 
Read More

Patients’ Group Opposes Privacy Change to MI Medical Marijuana Law

0
By on Legislation, Medical, News

National Patients Rights Association

The National Patients Rights Association (NPRA), a Michigan-based alliance of leading medical marijuana advocates working to protect patient rights, on Wednesday announced strong opposition to proposed legislative changes to the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act it they said would would directly violate patients’ and caregivers’ civil and constitutional rights, privileges and protections.
Specifically, it opposes Michigan House Bill’s 4851, 4853, and 4856. The NPRA also strongly opposes HB 4834, which is sponsored by Gail Haines.
Under the proposed legislation, the most troubling, HB 4834, will allow officers or security personnel to easily gain access to the registry without a warrant, as is currently required. Patient and caregiver information would no longer be strictly confidential, and their private medical treatment choice will be available to a “near endless” list of authorized officials, according to the group, including security personnel or recreation officers hired by the state or local townships.
Read More

Obama Administration Increases Drug War Spending Again

0
By on Legislation, News

StoptheDrugWar.org
Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske (left) and President Obama: “Drug War Autopilot and Co-Autopilot,” according to Phillip Smith at StoptheDrugWar.org

Cops Slam Obama For Same Old ‘Drug War’ Budget

Despite Promises, President Continues To Favor Punishment Over Treatment
The Obama Administration on Tuesday morning released its annual National Drug Control Strategy, detailing the methods and budgets planned to “combat drug use” for fiscal year 2013. The report stresses that more resources need to be spent on addiction treatment and prevention, and that an enforcement-centric “War On Drugs” is unworkable. But in a prime example of political incongruence, the report also shows that budget allocations for law enforcement methods could increase by hundreds of millions of dollars, including military operations on U.S. soil.
Read More

Richard Lee Endorses Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment

0
By on Legislation, News

Oaksterdam History
Richard Lee: “Medical cannabis prohibition is unjust and counterproductive”

Cannabis icon Richard Lee, in one of his first statements since the raid on Oaksterdam University, has endorsed the Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment. 
“Can you imagine seeing your life’s work raided and seized?” Lee asked in a telephone interview. “Many patients like me can.”
At age 27, while working as a lighting technician, Lee fell off a scaffold and broke his back. A paraplegic, he must now use a wheelchair. Standard prescription pills didn’t ease the pain, but medical cannabis did.
Read More
1 … 69 70 71 72 73 … 172