Medical

Maine Likely To Have First Marijuana Dispensary In New England

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 24, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Safe Harbor Maine is expected to open early next year in Biddeford, becoming New England’s first medical marijuana dispensary.

Until two weeks ago, it appeared that Rhode Island would open New England’s first marijuana dispensary. Now it looks as if Maine will be doing the honors.

One of the two will be the first state in New England to open a compassion center to sell cannabis to patients registered in state-authorized programs.

“It appears our neighbor to the north will beat Rhode Island to the punch,” concedes W. Zachary Malinowski of The Providence Journal.

A spokesman for the Maine Health Department said the first of eight dispensaries across the state should open for business soon after January 1, 2011. Licenses have been awarded over the past two months to operate dispensaries in each of the state’s eight public health districts, according to the Health Department’s Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services.

Safe Harbor Maine Inc., a nonprofit organization, hopes to be the first to open early next year in Biddeford, Maine, not far from the New Hampshire state line. The business will probably serve fewer than 100 patients in the first year, according to Glenn Peterson, Safe Harbor’s CEO.

Ala. Patient Faces 10 Years For 1 Gram Of Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 23, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Ron Crumpton

Alabama marijuana activist Loretta Nall, left, and patient Michael Lapihuska, who faces 10 years in prison for one gram of medical cannabis.

A former Alabama resident who was back home for the holidays last December — and who is a legal medical marijuana patient in California — is facing 10 years in prison for one gram of cannabis.

Michael Lapihuska, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, grew up in Alabama, but left the state after serving 13 months for possessing five grams of marijuana in 2003, reports Phillip Smith at Stop The Drug War. He was arrested on marijuana possession charges again on December 15, 2009 in Anniston, Alabama, as he visited his family for Christmas.

Trooper Takes Man’s Medical Marijuana Despite Paperwork

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 23, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: KIRO 7

Neil Leno: “I was surprised and then I was also frustrated”

A Washington man said his medical marijuana paperwork wasn’t enough to keep an officer from taking his personal supply of cannabis Tuesday morning.

Neil Leno said at first he wasn’t worried when a State Trooper stopped his friend’s car for a cracked windshield, even though he had a bag of marijuana on the back seat, reports Lee Stoll at KIRO 7.

“The officer is asking if there’s anything in the car that he should know about and we state, ‘Yes, we have medical marijuana,’ ” Leno said.

Ireland Could Legalize Medical Cannabis Within Two Years

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2010 Global, Medical

Graphic: Clker.com

There have been several very important developments on the Irish medical cannabis front over the past few weeks, which have led many to believe that Ireland could be set to legalize medicinal marijuana within two years.

The first significant development happened on September 10, when Ireland’s Minister for Health, Mary Harney, said she would be “open” to legalizing cannabis for medical purposes. Harney said she would get expert opinions on the matter, with a view to making a decision on the issue by the end of the year, reports Daniel O’Carroll at Irish Central.

Police Want Info About Licensed Medical Pot Growers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2010 Growing, Medical

Photo: safetyprod.ru

Medical marijuana patients who choose to grow their own medicine want privacy — both to avoid rip-offs, and because many of them have no great trust of the police. But law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and other states with privacy provisions in their medical marijuana laws say they are worried that raids of legal pot grows drain their resources unnecessarily and could result in someone getting hurt.

Police in Boulder, Colorado complained last year about their state’s grower confidentiality provisions, saying officers spent considerable time investigating operations that turned out to have legal permission to cultivate marijuana. Providence, Rhode Island police secretly monitored a suspected dealer for weeks, only to find out he was allowed to have marijuana, too, reports Sue Major Holmes of The Associated Press.

Drug Czar Blames Medical Marijuana For Increased Drug Abuse

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 17, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: The Fresh Scent

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske: “Calling marijuana medicine has sent the absolute wrong message to our young people”

Advocates Say Federal Health Study Exaggerates Claims, Fails To Connect The Dots

The results of a national survey on drug use and health were issued Wednesday by the federal government, noting a surge in the use of marijuana and other drugs such as ecstasy and methamphetamine. Gil Kerlikowske, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), took the opportunity to rail against medical marijuana use.

Drug Czar Kerlikowske used the study to argue in mainstream media outlets that marijuana “is not medicine,” claiming that the issue of medical marijuana sends “mixed messages” to youth.

Nebraska Pharmacy Board Won’t Reclassify Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 16, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: NORML Blog

The Nebraska Board of Pharmacy rejected a request to reclassify marijuana so that it could be used for medicinal purposes. The board decided Monday that it lacks the authority to reclassify marijuana as a drug that could be legally prescribed by physicians.

Any decision to reclassify marijuana so it can be prescribed for certain medical conditions is up to the federal Food and Drug Administration, State Pharmacy Board Chairman Richard Zarek said Wednesday. So the board declined to act on the matter, reports Paul Hammel of the Omaha World-Herald.

“There’s nothing the Board of Pharmacy can do as long as it’s listed as a Schedule I drug and ineligible for dispensing,” Zarek said.

Plant Medicine Expo Brings Cannabis Experts To Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 15, 2010 Medical, Products

Photo: Plant Medicine Expo

The Cannabis Therapy Institute has announced it will participate in the Plant Medicine Expo and Healthcare Provider Conference on September 25 and 26 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, Denver, Colorado. The Plant Medicine Expo will bring together some of the leading national experts on medical marijuana for a two-day conference and expo focused on the scientific and health aspects of medical cannabis.

Conferences are designed both for health care professionals and medical cannabis patients.

Two instructors for the Cannabis Therapy Institute will be presenting talks at the PME. Deanna Gabriel will discuss “Cannabis Medicine Making” and “Cannabis Therapy Fundamentals.” Timothy Tipton will discuss “Bringing Medical Marijuana Into Your Practice” for health care providers.

Libertarian Party Decries Nevada Medical Marijuana Raids

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 15, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Graphic: Las Vegas City Life

The Libertarian Party of Clark County, Nevada has issued a statement which says it is “outraged” at the recent medical marijuana raids in the county. “Voters spoke some time ago about this issue and agree that medical marijuana should be legal in our state,” the statement said.

“We support the rights of citizens of Nevada to decide and in conjunction with the Constitution of the United States; we hold emphatically this supersedes any federal law on this matter,” the statement said, according to the Independent Political Report.

“As a reminder, President Obama promised that states’ laws concerning this matter would be respected and that the federal attacks would end,” the statement said. “However, it seems that resources are still being wasted targeting patients and law-abiding Americans.”

“What occurred was nothing less than government-sponsored theft,” the statement said. “The fact that no arrests were made adds to the reasoning that no crimes have been committed. These businesses have been given no answers or reasons for the seizures and the Libertarian Party is stating that these raids are illegal and that the targets are innocent of any wrongdoing.”

DEA, DOJ Won’t Talk About Medical Marijuana Raids

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 14, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Disinformation

Despite campaign promises to the contrary, the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder has continued raiding marijuana dispensaries in states where cannabis is legal for medical purposes. But the DOJ has changed one policy now that it’s under Democratic control: It has stopped publicizing medical marijuana raids, refusing to distribute press releases and requesting that more cases be sealed under court order.

After recent Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI raids of medical marijuana dispensaries in Las Vegas, Nevada (last week), Mendocino County and San Diego, California, and in Michigan (all in July), the DEA and U.S. Attorney’s offices issued no press releases and held no press conferences, reports Mike Riggs at The Daily Caller.

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