The narks of the social media have reared their ugly heads and set their crossed-eyed sights on purging Americans’ newsfeeds of vital information regarding the medicinal properties of marijuana. To be more specific, there is some meathead Ivy Leaguer who considers himself an “Internet Deputy,” fighting from behind his computer to shutdown an established Facebook group dedicated to spreading the good word of patients medicating with cannabis oil.
| Eric Hood/OC Weekly. |
According to a Santa Ana Police Department investigator, 17 medical marijuana dispensaries were visited by police in the past week. 42 tickets were issued to dispensaries operating in violation of the city’s 2007 ban on pot clubs, three of which–Wax City, Emerald, and Wax-R-Us–have now closed. The operation came in the wake of a July 15 city council meeting in which councilmembers voted to appropriate $500,000 for ongoing anti-pot enforcement actions.
| Toke of the Town 2014. |
The Iowa legislature this past session approved a bill legalizing high-CBD oil for children with chronic siezure conditions. The law was approved but the roll-out hasn’t happened yet, and families are still waiting on the green light to buy the oil out-of-state and bring it home.
It’s a program that some are saying is already a failure due to being so limited, and several groups say they want the program expanded to include the use of all medical cannabis – including the bill’s sponsor.
A measly ten percent of Florida voters think the medical use of marijuana should remain illegal. The rest, for the most part, agree that toking up to relieve pain and suffering should be a right every Floridian should have.
A Quinnipiac University study released this week shows that 88 percent of voters want to legalize medical cannabis. Even senior citizens, who make up one of the largest anti-pot demographics in many other states, support the measure 6 to 1.
| Rand Paul. |
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul this week stood up for state medical marijuana rights, filing an amendment to Sen. John Walsh’s jobs bill that would allow the 33 states with some form of legalized medical cannabis to “enact and implement laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana for medical use” without the feds intervening.
| Use this, you’ll feel better. |
Minnesota’s Department of Health finally made its pick to head up the new medical cannabis program wednesday, choosing department vet Michelle Larson to lead the program as it prepares to launch over the next year. Larson comes to the program after nearly a decade with the department, and while she won’t have any say on new policy, she will help guide the shape and logistics of the cannabis program, which is set to go into effect in July 2015. There isn’t that much information out there about Larson, but what we do know is this: She’s been working in the state’s Department of Health since 2004 in varying capacities, starting as a planner and working her way up to deputy director. In her latest role, she’s primarily focused on two big issues: obesity and tobacco use.
Want to know more? Check out the Minneapolis City Pages.
They won’t say who, but the American Cannabis Company is counseling a group of “Minnesota-based entrepreneurs” who want to become manufacturers of the new state-sanctioned medicine.
ACC got off the ground last year in Colorado, working with local applicants, but has since expanded to include clients across the U.S. and as far as the eastern seaboard of Canada. Trent Woloveck, the company COO, says his team will be tasked with meeting Minnesota regulatory standards while “bringing what our best practices are from these more mature markets.”
Read more about ACC’s vague announcement over at the Minneapolis City Pages.
| Benton Mackenzie in court. |
Benton Mackenzie doesn’t have much time left. The angiosarcoma eating away at his blood vessels and leaving fist-sized tumors on his skin is in the final stages. He’s in pain. It’s why he chose to grow cannabis at his parent’s Iowa home where he lives with his wife. It was worth the risk, a risk that ultimately led to his conviction for cannabis cultivation earlier this month along with his wife.
Without much strength or time left, though, Mackenzie wants to be comfortable. So he’s travelled from Iowa to Oregon where he can legally purchase cannabis with a doctor’s recommendation. It’s likely a last trip for Mackenzie, his wife and their son. And one he is already enjoying.
It has long been known that the various compounds (cannabinoids) found within the cannabis plant have amazing healing capabilities, particularly when it comes to fighting cancer.
The American mainstream media finally began to catch on after Dr. Sanjay Gupta went primetime on CNN with his groundbreaking documentary, simply titled WEED. Almost overnight, the acronym “CBD” had entered households and vocabularies who would otherwise never consider any form of cannabis.
| High-CBD oil. |
Paula Crews, a suburban mom with short black hair, dumps a stick of butter into a double boiler and stirs in her secret ingredient. Her 24-year-old son, John, waits expectantly at the white Formica counter in their West Broward kitchen, watching while his mom mixes the butter into a pot of melted chocolate. Finally, she pours the candy into a rectangular mold and puts it in the fridge to cool. A few minutes later, John pops a piece of his mother’s creation into his scruffy face. In about a half-hour, the frat-boy archetype in a Guy Harvey T-shirt will be comfortably numb from the marijuana baked inside the homemade candy bar.
“And that’s how you make chocolate with canna-butter,” Crews concludes proudly. “That’s my son’s medicine.”
Like parents of other epileptics, Crews was hopeful last month when Gov. Rick Scott signed the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014, a bill that makes a mild strain of weed available to medically suitable patients like John. But many of the Republicans who supported the measure now admit they hope the law helps stall a full medical pot reform initiative on this November’s ballot. Broward-Palm Beach New Times has the full story.