Though legal medical marijuana sales have been allowed since July if this year in our nation’s capitol and dispensaries are open and in operation, less than 60 people have actually signed up for the program — or just 0.0093 percent of the population.
The problem isn’t a lack of interest, dispensary owners argue. It’s that the process of obtaining a recommendation is difficult and the city is strictly regulating who is and isn’t eligible for medical cannabis access.
| TokeoftheTown.com |
The organizers of an upcoming debate about the legalization of marijuana in Florida say that they are expecting overflow crowds, protests, and extra police. The head of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy will debate a UF professor who has advised three presidents. The event is set to take place at Palm Beach State College October 30.
Medicinal marijuana is already legal in 20 states, and Colorado and Washington have both legalized the wacky weed for recreational use as well. It’s very possible that medical marijuana could be on the ballot in Florida for 2014. United for Care has already gathered almost double the 68,000 votes needed to trigger a state Supreme Court review of language for a referendum. The group needs 683,149 signatures to get it on the ballot, and 60 percent of voters would need to approve it for it to pass. Broward-Palm Beach New Times has the full story.
Medford, Oregon doesn’t want any hippie lettuce shops opening up in their fair city. That would be just plain unlawful in their eyes, despite new state laws expressly allowing dispensaries and a federal policy permitting such state laws.
So the town has written an ordinance banning business licenses to anyone violating local, state or federal law. “I don’t see how you could license unlawful activity,” Police Chief Tim George tells the Yamhill Valley News-Register.
The Washington state Liquor Control Board, which was charged with overseeing cannabis regulations after voter approved Initiative 502 last November, is expected to pass the state’s initial set of rules governing the cannabis industry later today.
The rules will iron out the details of things like the number of plants in grows, security at recreational shops and how many shops can open in each city and county.
| Stepography. |
When the budtenders at the La Brea Collective packed their last bowl on June 20, it was the end of an era. For years, hundreds of stoners came to LBC every day to pick up, get high and hang out. Then voters in May approved a ballot measure that banned on-site smoking at marijuana dispensaries and the party abruptly shut down.
Well, now the gang is back together again, with a slightly different setup meant to edge around the law by separating out the bar from the dispensary. On September 27, friends of LBC’s owners opened TreeHouse Social Lounge, a swanky, alcohol-free clubhouse where patients can bring their own “medication” and chill for the evening, a block away from the old spot, where they can still legally buy weed. TreeHouse membership packages range from $5 a day to — duh — $420 a year. LA Weekly has the full story.
Arizona counties must allow state-legal medical marijuana dispensaries and cannot zone the shops out of existence, a judge ruled yesterday.
The ruling comes after Maricopa County essentially banned dispensaries on the grounds that they were federally illegal. Judge Michael Gordon called the law changes “a transparent attempt to prevent implementation of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act”.
City Hall is starting to make its move against the majority of marijuana dispensaries in town that were made illegal when voters passed Measure D, a May ballot initiative that only allows 135 or fewer older pot shops in L.A. to survive.
Some counts put the number of cannabis retailers in Los Angeles at more than 1,000, though the City Attorney’s office says it’s more like 800. For now, the office said today that 38 locations are being prosecuted. LA Weekly has the full story.
| John Morgan. |
Orlando attorney John Morgan has become the face of a growing grassroots medical marijuana ballot initiative campaign in Florida.
Morgan, who has recently taken to radio airwaves to get his message across, has also put his money where his mouth is by donating more than a quarter-million dollars to the People United for Medical Marijuana campaign.
| Justin Trudeau. |
The leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, Member of Parliament Justin Trudeau has been honest about his cannabis use in the past few months.
But now he’s drawing attention to the medical cannabis use of thousands of Canadians that is being threatened by law changes that prohibit home cultivation and force patients to purchase from state-regulated outlets. Trudeau has said the changes stem from the current prime minister’s “nanny state” approach to marijuana.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday heard an earful from some wicked-pissed prospective dispensary owners who say that they can’t find a place to do business in the medical marijuana-legal state.
More than 400 people packed the boardroom of a Holiday Inn in Somerville, Mass. yesterday for the first and only public hearing regarding state licensing.