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Browsing: Medical

Terminally Ill Cancer Patient Being Evicted For Medical Pot

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By on Culture, Medical

Graphic: Reality Catcher

​A terminally ill woman in Michigan is being evicted from her apartment for legally using medical marijuana to treat the painful symptoms of her advanced brain cancer.

Lori Montroy, 49, of Elk Rapids, Mich., is facing eviction by the Gardner Group of Michigan, the company that manages her apartment complex.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan is coming to the aid of the woman. The ACLU wrote a letter Tuesday on behalf of Montroy.
“No one deserves to be put out in the cold for legally treating the crippling pain, nausea and weakness caused by brain cancer,” said Dan Korobkin, staff attorney for ACLU of Michigan. “We believe that the landlord’s decision was not motivated by malice but rather a misconception of the law.”
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Marijuana Potency Testing Business Thrives In Colorado

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By on Dispensaries, Medical, Products


Photo: Westword
Full Spectrum Laboratories: Finally, a more detailed analysis of marijuana than, “That’s good shit, man!”

​One of the biggest question marks with the medical marijuana industry is the lack of quality control. As Joel Warner points out at Westword, it’s difficult to know just how potent herbal medicines and edibles are until you use them.

Full Spectrum Laboratories to the rescue. The four-month-old Denver company is making a business of analyzing medical marijuana samples.
Dispensaries are delivering small samples (about 500 milligrams) of the pot they’re getting from growers to Full Spectrum, which uses high-performance liquid chromatography to determine their potency. The tests reveal amounts of THC and other cannabinoids, the active ingredients of cannabis.
The service costs $120 per test, or $60 per test for 40 or more samples.
“Dispensaries are getting all this really cool stuff, but it turns out 80 percent of the edibles aren’t being made properly, so it’s not as active as it could be,” said Bob Winnicki, Full Spectrum’s 35-year-old co-owner.
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Medical Marijuana Hearing Today Could Set Precedent In Colorado

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Westword
Attorneys Bob Hoban (left) and Rob Corry, joined by patients, speak at a news conference about the CannaMart lawsuit.

​Breaking Update: Judge delays any decision until after Christmas

Medical marijuana advocates say today’s court hearing in Centennial, Colo., could set a big precedent for the future of the state’s booming medical marijuana industry, reports Gene Davis at Denver Daily News.

In October, the City of Centennial revoked the business license of CannaMart after learning the place was a medical marijuana dispensary. Two caregivers and three patients from CannaMart then sued the city, trying to have the decision overturned.
The case could, according to Davis, become a landmark decision on whether Colorado cities can use home rule authority to ban dispensaries from operating within city limits, despite approval of medical marijuana in a voter initiative in 2000.
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Long Beach Police Serve Warrants At 15 Marijuana Dispensaries; 17 Arrested

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By on Dispensaries, Medical, News

Illustration: Joe McGarry
Long Beach Police maybe want to join the DEA, since they seem to be enforcing federal laws.

​Police said Tuesday that search warrants were served at 15 dispensaries in and around Long Beach, Calif., last week in connection with an investigation into the “illegal sale of marijuana.”

Specifics of the search warrants are still being kept under wraps, reports Tracy Manzer at the Press-Telegram, but the Long Beach Police Department confirmed Tuesday that 15 search warrants were served and that 17 people were arrested during last week’s sweep.
Both the LBPD and the office of hardline anti-pot crusader, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, confirmed last week they were working together on an investigation into “illegal sales of marijuana” at medical marijuana dispensaries.
Sgt. Dina Zapalski, LBPD spokeswoman, said the department wasn’t releasing the names of those arrested because charges have not yet been filed.
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Washington State Patrol Ordered To Return 9 Ounces Of Pot

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By on Culture, Medical, News

Photo: knoxnews.com
“Make sure it’s all there, man.”

​A King County judge has ordered the Washington State Patrol to return nine ounces of medical marijuana to an authorized patient.

During a routine traffic stop, a state trooper smelled Scott Verner’s cannabis, searched his vehicle and seized the medicine, even though Verner showed his medical marijuana paperwork to the officer as required by law.
The trooper told Verner he was allowed to use medical cannabis, but not to transport it by vehicle.
“Congratulations to Cannabis Defense Coalition member Aaron Pelley, the attorney on the Verner case,” said Ben Livingston of the CDC. “Aaron made the news last September after winning the return of over 11 pounds of medical marijuana from the Kent Police.”
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Letter To Obama: Yes We Cannabis

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By on Culture, Legislation, Medical

www.norml.org

​Yesterday’s Whittier Daily News carried an extraordinary piece by Frank C. Girardot, senior metro editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group.

The piece was so interesting and so well done that I wanted to share it with you in its entirety, which Frank has graciously given Toke of the Town permission to do.
Frankly, I’m with Frank.

Dear President Obama:

Over the weekend I think I stumbled on a great plan to put people back to work.
What I need from you is some stimulus money. Think of it as seed money if you will.
I’m going to use it to start a business. And in a matter of months I think the business can be one of the Fortune 500.
Tax money generated by this startup can go to work fixing our health care system, our roads and our schools. By some estimates consumers already spend $110 billion a year on the product I plan to sell.
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California DMV Ordered To Pay Almost $70K In Fees For Medical Marijuana Case

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By on Culture, Medical, News

Photo: www.westcoastleaf.com

​A Superior Court in California has ordered the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to pay $69,400 in attorneys’ fees to a medical marijuana advocacy organization.

The Merced Superior Court on Thursday ruled the DMV must reimburse Americans for Safe Access (ASA). The attorneys’ fees award results from a lawsuit filed by ASA in November 2008 against the DMV for its policy of unjustly revoking drivers’ licenses of qualified medical marijuana patients.
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Mass. Bar Association, Local Sheriffs Support Medical Marijuana Bill

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By on Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: Cannabis Culture
The Massachusetts Bar Association — and a huge majority of state residents — favor medical marijuana.

​The Massachusetts Bar Association’s (MBA) House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly last month to support House Bill 2160, a bipartisan medical marijuana bill introduced in the State House earlier this year.

The bill would “regulate the use of marijuana by patients approved by physicians and certified by the department of public health.”
“The MBA supports this legislation because it affirms the rights of patients to be treated with medical marijuana — a drug with proven efficacy — while including important regulations to deter improper use,” said former MBA president David White, who introduced the measure.
“Provisions like state-issued ID cards for patients, state certification of a limited number of dispensaries, and rules governing secure growing sites ensure that only patients who have their doctor’s recommendation can obtain medical marijuana.”
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Dispensary Death Watch #2: Latest Raids, Bans, And Moratoriums

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By on Dispensaries, Medical, News

Artwork: Jim Wheeler
Safe access to marijuana remains a distant dream to many patients — even in states which have legalized medical use

​One by one, the lights are winking out. In city after city, town after town, in states where medical marijuana is now legal, patients who had dared hope they would at last have safe access to the medicine recommended by their doctors are having those hopes dashed.
The problem? Political cowardice and the panicked reaction of the status quo.
Every week brings more news of freaked out city councils and county boards of supervisors who desperately want to appear to be “doing something” — anything — about the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries.
This phenomenon is so far mostly confined to California and to a lesser extent Colorado, but it’s unfortunately also starting to happen in Michigan, Montana and even Maine — where voters specifically approved dispensaries in November.
Rather than showing true leadership by showing genuine concern for patients and communities, too many local government officials are going for the easy, knee-jerk reaction. The level of disregard for the intentions of the voters — who clearly expressed their will by legalizing medical marijuana — is breathtaking.
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Marijuana Dispensary Wins; City Gets Spanked And Cries About It

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

MediLeaf
The little dispensary that could: MediLeaf is still open, despite the efforts of the Gilroy, Calif., City Council

​​A Superior Court judge handed down a ruling Tuesday keeping Gilroy, California’s new medical marijuana dispensary open for now, prompting a city councilman to call for a refund from the city’s legal firm.

MediLeaf owners embraced and sighed with relief in San Jose when Judge Kevin Murphy denied the City of Gilroy’s legal request for an injunction to shut the dispensary down immediately until after a trial ended, reports Jonathan Partridge of the Gilroy Dispatch.
The dispensary could open remain for a year or longer as the case winds its way through the labyrinthine legal process.
If that sounds expensive for the city, yes, it is. Councilman Craig Gartman said this week the he’d heard litigation could cost the city at least $250,000, and maybe up to half a million dollars.
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