Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy yesterday announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing to discuss the conflicts between state and federal marijuana laws next month.
Both medical and recreational marijuana laws will be on the table for discussion, notably whether or not state employees implementing the programs will be safe from prosecution however Leahy also feels that the state’s rights to enact recreational laws should be respected.
Want to own a medical marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts? Get in line and bring your checkbook.
Officials with the state public health department announced that more than 100 people applied to be one of 35 licensed dispensaries allowed under state law. The deadline for applications was yesterday at 3 p.m.
Los Angeles may have an estimated 1,000-plus pot retailers — which pretty much blows all other cities (and state) counts out of the water — but other states are becoming medical cannabis powerhouses of their own.The Massachusetts Medical Society’s “Answer Page” recently crunched the numbers on medical cannabis patients across America and concluded that California is not king. That title goes to Colorado, with Oregon coming in second.
The L.A. Weekly (begrudgingly) has the full story.
Don’t expect any major changes in marijuana policy from the White House any time soon (okay, if you were expecting major changes in the first place you were in for a disappointment).
At a press briefing yesterday, CNN’s Jessica Yellin asked White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest if marijuana rescheduling was on the president’s radar these days after what seems to be a rapid public opinion shift on all things marijuana over the last few years. The answer? Our president isn’t even considering it — at least, not now.
For almost two years now, medical marijuana patients the state of Delaware have been sitting in limbo waiting on their state to enact medical marijuana dispensary laws passed in May of 2011.
Thankfully, they won’t have to wait much longer as Gov. Jack Markell announced last week that lawmakers will establish the rules and implement the program soon.
The New Jersey Senate has caved in to Gov. Chris Christie’s demands, altering a medical marijuana bill that would have eased access for suffering children to make it more restrictive.
The 34 to 1 vote means that children will have to have two doctors signing off on a child’s recommendation for medical cannabis, one of which has to be a child psychiatrist. The new bill also expands the available forms of medicated edibles, but limits those new forms to children only – a baffling move to anyone who has researched medical cannabis for even five minutes online could tell you.
Florida is one step closer to getting a statewide public vote on legalizing medical marijuana. With powerful backers like Orlando super-lawyer John Morgan and funding from big Democrats around the state, the push by People United for Medical Marijuana is blazing ahead.
The group needed to collect 68,314 signatures to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the initiative’s language. And so far, the groups says they’ve collected at least 100,000. New Times Broward-Palm Beach has the full story.
| Two-year-old Vivian Wilson suffers from major siezures that could be helped by cannabis. |
Update 3:20 p.m. 8-16-2013: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie doesn’t care about suffering, sick children in his state. That’s the message sent to medical marijuana supporters today after the guv vetoed a bill and sent a bill easing minor access to medical cannabis back to the legislature for fixes.
Among his chief complaints: edibles should be accessible only to minors and children would still need two doctors to sign off before the children could access medical cannabis. Christie says he will sign the bill if those issues are addressed.
While medical marijuana dispensaries have existed in Oregon for a number of years, the shops are only just now state legal after Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3460 into law Wednesday creating a state-run licensing and regulatory system for the shops.
| Tim Tipton with former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl. |
Medical cannabis has been on the fast-track to mainstream acceptance over the last few years, and more and more high-profile organizations, including the MS Foundation, are aligning themselves with cannabis groups promoting the safe and beneficial plant.
Add to that list Boulder’s BStrong foundation, which raises money for cancer research and treatment for the Boulder Community Hospital and George Karl Foundation. Last Saturday, BStrong awarded Colorado cannabis activist Tim Tipton with its Extra Mile Caregiver award at the annual BStrong Bike Ride and fundraiser for his work with indigent cancer patients, as well as his efforts on behalf of the Phoenix Tears Foundation. Denver Westword has the full story.