Medical

Dispensary: Hundreds Of Pot Plants Could Perish After Lockdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 5, 2010 Dispensaries, Growing, Medical

Photo: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Plants that could help an estimated 2,400 local medical marijuana patients are in danger of dying with the power cut at CannaHelp dispensary after Thursday’s lockdown of the California pot collective’s building, owner Stacy Hochanadel said Friday.

“The just pulled out all the power so the plants are going to die,” Hochanadel said, reports Marcel Honore of The Desert Sun. “The heat, the lack of light, the lack of watering” puts the 400 plants “in danger of being unusable.”

DEA, U.N. Strong-Arm Canada On Legal Med Pot Program

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 5, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Matt Mernagh

Activist Matt Mernagh: Cannabis sovereignty for Canada!

It would be reasonable to assume that Canada is in charge of its own medical marijuana program — wouldn’t it?

Apparently not. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Nations are offering unsolicited “advice” and “expressions of concern” to our neighbors to the north due to Canada’s 5,000 legal medical marijuana patients.

Thanks to prominent Canadian cannabis activist and writer Matt Mernagh for this excellent guest post, and for being on top of the story. ~ Steve Elliott

Widened Access To Medical Marijuana Headed To WA Governor’s Desk

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 5, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: A Greener Country

Washington state patients who qualify for medical marijuana will be able to get legal recommendations for it from a wider range of health care professionals under a bill that appears headed to Governor Christine Gregoire’s desk.

Under Senate Bill 5798, it won’t be just doctors who can get sick people access to pot, reports Mark Rahner at The Seattle Times.

The bill widens the list of licensed medical professionals who can recommend marijuana to include physicians’ assistants, nurse practitioners and naturopathic physicians, according to one of its sponsors, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle).

“The reason is that, especially in rural areas of the state and away from Puget Sound, because of long distances, many people do not see M.D.’s,” Kohl-Welles said. “They see nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants who have prescriptive authority.”

Old Folks Set Up Medical Marijuana Club In Retirement Community

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2010 Culture, Medical

Photo: Todd Bigelow/Aurora for NPR

Laguna Woods resident Margo Bauer, 73, tokes up on the porch with her plant.

Residents of Laguna Woods Village retirement community have a new club to promote education on medical marijuana.

The Village Cannabis Club was started by Lonnie Painter, who also directs Laguna Woods for Medical Cannabis, a 100-member patient collective centered in the community, reports Claire Webb of The Orange County Register.

The main difference between the Village Cannabis Club and the patients’ collective is that any resident can be a member of the club regardless of medical status, while the collective requires members to have a doctor’s permission to use marijuana for medical purposes.

Determined In Dixie: ‘Medical Marijuana By 2012 In Alabama’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2010 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: Loretta Nall

Loretta Nall: “We plan to keep fighting”

Alabama is the last state many would expect to legalize medical marijuana; after all, the Heart of Dixie isn’t exactly known for its liberal ways.

But one determined group of Southerners there exemplifies the rebel stubbornness for which the state is famous — by refusing to give up their fight for the safe, legal, medicinal use of cannabis.

The brave efforts of Alabamians for Compassionate Care (ACC), ably led by legendary libertarian and former gubernatorial candidate Loretta Nall, have arguably made the state a good bet to be the first former member of the Confederacy to get a medical marijuana law.

For the past several years in a row, ACC has, against all odds, gotten a bill onto the floor of the Alabama Legislature, and 2010 is no exception. House Bill 642, the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act is expected to come before the House Judiciary Committee later this month.

Toke of the Town got a chance to chat with Nall about the state of medical marijuana in Alabama.

Hawaii Senate Votes To Tax Pot $30/Ounce, Allow Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Cannabis Culture

Medical marijuana would be taxed $30 an ounce and sold at county-licensed “compassion centers” that would grow and sell marijuana to qualified patients and caregivers under a bill passed Tuesday by the Hawaii State Senate.

The bill to allow the sale and taxation of medical marijuana, Senate Bill 2213, was passed by lawmakers as they try to add up enough money to stop the state’s projected $1.2 billion budget shortfall, reports Richard Borreca at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

The marijuana bill, after provoking debate on the Senate floor, eventually passed 20-4.

“I don’t think this is helping to alleviate the drug problem,” said Sen. Norman Sakamoto (D-Salt Lake/Foster Village), who had evidently wandered into the wrong debate.

Windward Oahu Republican Sen. Fed Hemmings said the FDA should test medical marijuana before people sell it.

Covering Your Cannabis: Marijuana Crop Loss Insurance Offered

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2010 Growing, Medical, News

Graphic: Statewide Insurance Services

A California-based insurance company says it is now offering cannabis crop loss insurance from coast to coast, targeting the rapidly growing medicinal marijuana business.

Statewide Insurance Services Medical Marijuana Specialty Division provides what the company says is “the only, nationally available insurance coverage designed specifically for the medical marijuana industry.”

The company is “revolutionizing the cannabis industry with its nationwide program covering growers and their products,” according to a press release.

Washington’s Medical Marijuana Law Offers Little Protection To Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition

Growing marijuana, as challenging as it can be, is the easy part. Figuring out the state law that allows sick people to use pot is a lot harder for Washington patients.

Since Washington voters passed a law in 1998 legalizing medical marijuana for seriously ill patients with their doctor’s recommendation, patients have been frustrated over how to legally get cannabis while following the rules, reports Diana Hefley at the Everett Herald Net.

Police officers, on the other hand, say they are faced with balancing the rights of medical marijuana patients and their duty to enforce the law, which makes pot illegal for everyone else.

The legal haze was evident in the criminal trial of a medical marijuana patient in Snohomish County, Washington in February.

Michigan Pot Smoking Club Sparks Controversy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Church For Compassionate Care

Wayne Dagit: “I’m not serving pot, I’m serving the Lord”

Wayne Dagit wants to run a place where patrons can belly up to a table, fire up a joint and swap stories and herbal remedies with other patrons.

The Green Leaf Smokers Club, a private club for medical marijuana patients, officially opens today in Williamstown Township, Michigan, reports Scott Davis of Gannett News Service.

Dagit said the club is the first one for marijuana smokers officially launched in Michigan, although there are many reports of underground clubs operating statewide.

“I’m not serving pot, I’m serving the Lord,” said Dagit, 60, who is a founder of the Church for Compassionate Care.

Williamstown Township officials claim they only recently learned of the club’s existence, and they are now investigating whether it’s legal for the club to operate.

At the same time, police claim they are concerned that the club will lead to an increase in “impaired” driving by patrons.

Colorado Senator Wants To Tax Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 26, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: anewscafe.com

A Colorado state senator said Thursday he wants to impose a special tax on medical marijuana.

Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver) said he plans to amend a bill creating regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries to include a provision placing an excise tax on medicinal cannabis, similar to the excise tax that already exists for alcohol, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

If approved by lawmakers, that provision must be put before the voters, due to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

Romer wants to use the expected revenue — which he estimates at about $10 million to $15 million a year — to fund drug education programs for teens, substance abuse treatment centers, and medical care for veterans and the poor.

The state senator claimed he was concerned that the state’s booming medical marijuana industry could create increased recreational marijuana use among young people.

Browsing: Medical