The Minnesota Department of Health on Friday released rules governing future medical cannabis manufacturers, stressing that the 40-page document is only a first draft. State officials acknowledge that the rules are pretty vague, but also ask for public feedback.
The security requirements are no joke. Manufacturers will be prohibited from employing anyone with a felony criminal record and must visually record the entrances of their facilities 24-hours a day — even in the event of a power outage. The vehicles transporting cannabis are not allowed to make stops away from facilities and fueling stations. Their routes must be random.

The war of attrition between advocates for and opponents against medical marijuana in Florida entered another chapter this week, after the Florida Police Chiefs Association put out a media release on the dangers of medical weed legalization. In the statement, the FPCA cited studies and stats showing how the number of automobile accidents and ER visits in Colorado have gone up, and drawing a direct correlation to the legalization of medical marijuana in that state.
This, United For Care says, is all false and they’ve issued a media release of their own.

The last time we heard legislators arguing about medical cannabis, it was in May, with politicians, law enforcement officials, and activists taking swings at each other over how broad the legislation should be. The bill the state ultimately passed was underwhelming, and left several legislators fuming over just how narrow it was.
On Thursday, those same legislators, activists, and law enforcement officials gathered together again, for the first meeting of the state’s 23-member medical marijuana task force. This time, the mood was far more cordial, reports the Minneapolis City Pages.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to acting Commissioner of Health Howard Zucker on Tuesday asking Zucker to consider expediting the medical marijuana legalization specifically for epileptic children in New York.
Cuomo’s letter comes after two children, nine-year-old Anna Conte and three-year-old Olivia Marie Newton, died this month. In June, state legislators passed the Compassionate Care Act, legalizing marijuana for patients with conditions including epilepsy, but legalization will not be implemented in the state for at least 18 months.

New York City emergency rooms are seeing an outbreak of synthetic smokable drug-related illnesses, according to the city’s health department.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a warning on Sunday urging people not to buy or use “synthetic cannabinoids,” which are often sold at head shops under names like K2, Spice, and Green Giant. The agency says it’s gotten reports of 15 fake weed-related emergency room visits over the past two days, concentrated in East Harlem, Central Harlem and Chelsea.