A proposed New Jersey law would allow medical marijuana patients in New Jersey to purchase meds in other medical marijuana states and travel back to New Jersey with their meds.
While it has good intentions, it seems the authors are missing a few key components: namely that New Jersey law only extends to the border of New Jersey and they can’t compel other medical marijuana states to follow New Jersey law.
The headline on a post published around this time last Tuesday — “Marijuana: Denver City Council ban on front-porch smoking looks bound for victory” — reflected the conventional wisdom regarding an addition to the Denver pot ordinance that would have made smoking weed on front porches and front lawns an offense that could have resulted in a $1,000 fine. But conventional wisdom went down the chutes last night, when a rubber stamp turned into a direction reversal. Denver Westword has the full story.
Colorado isn’t the best place to grow cannabis outdoors, what with the early falls and cold, dark winters and all. Because of that, medical marijuana dispensaries (and soon recreational dispensaries) grow a large portion of their cannabis indoors.
With that comes the energy costs of running lights, air conditioning and heating and fans, and when you’re talking thousands of square feet it can get expensive quickly. One Denver dispensary says they regularly get $21,000 electricity bills and say competitors are facing monthly energy bills of $100,000 or more.
| Flickr.com/AlexK100 |
Take it with a grain of sale (we do), but researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine funded by the National Institutes of Health, say that the offspring of rats exposed to cannabis were less motivated than offspring of non-THC dosed rats.
Their proof? Researchers had two groups of rat: one given THC injections and the other given saline. The researchers then bred the rats and say that they showed a lowered desire to seek “highly tasty food”.
| Hemp Industries Association |
Back in October, we shared with you the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s draft regulations for the growing of industrial hemp. Now, those regulations are official — with one change. Instead of facing a registration suspension or revocation if testing reveals that a grower’s plants exceed 0.3 percent THC, the final rules say that a grower will not be subject to any penalty as long as the “crop is destroyed or utilized in a manner approved of and verified by” the state agriculture commissioner.
Denver Westword has the full story.
| Flickr.com/WreckageandSalvage |
Washington state needs a few good narcs under the age of 20 to help them try to bust recreational pot stores selling to minors. If anyone reading this thinks they’d be good for this role, find a tall cliff on Mt. Rainier and jump.
The state Liquor Control Board says the planned “controlled buyer” program is identical to one they already run on alcohol stores. Adults ages 18, 19 and 20 are paid $10 an hour to work with the cops and try to make purchases.
Marijuana use for adults 21 and over is legal in Colorado and Washington, but any wannabe toking tourists headed here from other countries might want to keep quiet about it until they get here.
According to reports in the Canadian press, simply admitting to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent that you’ve smoked pot or that you plan to smoke pot apparently can get you turned away at the border — and perhaps permanently banned from the good ol’ U.S. of A because marijuana is still illegal under federal laws. Click over to Westword for the full story.
| TokeoftheTown.com |
In just six days on Dec. 5 the Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether or not a proposed medical marijuana initiative already in the signature-gathering process will be allowed to move forward.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says that the language proposed would open the floodgates for rampant abuse of the medical marijuana program. Medical marijuana supporters – including nearly 80 percent of Florida voters – think Bondi is horribly out of touch.
| gallegoforarizona.com |
| Ruben Gallego. |
Assistant House Minority Leader Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix Democrat, announced plans to introduce a marijuana-legalization bill during the upcoming legislative session.
Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, said he’s working on a bill “that would regulate and tax marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.” (Before we get ahead of ourselves, yes, Republicans still have a healthy majority in both chambers of the Legislature, and several Republicans still try to fight the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana program.) Check out the Phoenix New Times for the full story.
Last week, the DEA and the IRS, aided by local officers, conducted raids on multiple marijuana businesses in Denver and Boulder.
While the feds haven’t shared many details of these actions, info has surfaced about a potential link to Juan Guardarrama, aka “Tony Montana, a Miami con who, until recently, held a Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division license. Nonetheless, Colorado NORML thinks the timing of the raids is suspect. Denver Westword has the followup coverage.
