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Legalizing Medical Marijuana Won’t Hurt Kids: Hospital Study

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 2, 2011 Legislation, News

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital concludes that legalizing medical marijuana in that state did not increase use among youth.

Lead author Esther Choo, M.D., an emergency medicine physician with Rhode Island Hospital, said the study was performed to gauge the impact of medical marijuana legalization in the state in 2006, reports GoLocalProv.

Choo and her coauthors compared trends in adolescent cannabis use between Rhode Island and Massachusetts using a self-report called the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System. The team included surveys completed between 1997 and 2009 in their study.

Based on their analysis of 32,570 students, they found that while marijuana use was common throughout the study period, there were no statistically significant differences in marijuana use between states in any year.

“Our study did not find increases in adolescent marijuana use related to Rhode Island’s 2006 legalization of medical marijuana; however, additional research may follow future trends as medical marijuana in Rhode Island and other states becomes more widely used,” Choo said.

NAW’s Thorny Rose: Legalization Measure Gets $300K Infusion

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 2, 2011 Legislation, News

Profile Kiss

Washington state medical marijuana patients and advocates find themselves in an odd position this year. New Approach Washington’s I-502, a legalization initiative, is doing quite well gathering voter signatures, and just received a major cash infusion. But every rose has its thorn: The happiness activists would otherwise feel about expanded access to cannabis is tempered by concern at the harsh DUI provisions contained in the measure, as well as the prohibitions on home cultivation and on possession of more than one ounce at the time.

The ACLU-backed initiative is getting $100,000 this week from philanthropist Harriet Bullitt, and it expects to have $200,000 more from Progressive Insurance Chairman Peter Lewis, who has already given $50,000 to NAW, reports Gene Johnson at The Associated Press.

I-502 would remove criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce for people 21 and older. Marijuana would be sold in state-licensed stores under the auspices of the Washington Liquor Control Board, and taxed at 25 percent.

NAW has two months left in which to collect enough signatures to qualify for the November 2012 ballot, but seems to be sitting pretty in that regard. With more than 180,000 signatures already gathered, principally by paid workers from California, I-502 needs 241,000 valid voter sigs to qualify, reports Curtis Cartier at Seattle Weekly.

CA Lt. Gov. Newsom, Ex-NM Gov. Johnson Headline Drug Policy Reform Conference Nov. 3

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 2, 2011 News

LA Weekly

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will join former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, NAACP director Alice Huffman and more than 1,000 drug policy experts and health care professionals to kick off the opening plenary at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and California NAACP director Alice Huffman will headline the opening plenary session at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference on Thursday, November 3 at 9:30 a.m.

In the past decade, voters and legislators have enacted more than 150 drug policy reforms on issues ranging from medical marijuana to treatment-instead-of-incarceration for nonviolent drug law violations.

Building on the momentum from these victories, Newsom, Johnson, Huffman, Mexican poet and movement leader Javier Sicilia, and travel writer Rick Steves will join more than 1,000 drug policy experts, health care and drug treatment professionals, a half-dozen elected officials, law enforcement, students, and formerly incarcerated people from around the country and across the world to promote alternatives to the failed War On Drugs.

Activist Claims Marijuana Prohibition To End November 5

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 1, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Time 4 Hemp

Richard Brumfield claims cannabis prohibition will end November 5, and that he’ll be in charge of all legal production in America. Dude has a healthy sense of self, at least; not so sure about his grip on reality, though.

Richard Brumfield, a medical marijuana activist from California, is in a unique position — that is, if you believe him. Brumfield claims not only that he is in direct communication with the White House and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, but also that — oh yeah by the way — marijuana prohibition ends on November 5. Did I mention he’d be in charge of all production?

One might rightly ask why the mercurial Brumfield, who vehemently opposed California’s marijuana legalization measure Prop 19 in 2010, would be anointed to be in possession of such important information, rather than, say, letting President Obama or maybe Drug Czar Kerlikowske announce it.

But Brumfield, who if nothing else seems to have quite a healthy ego, insists on his Facebook page and elsewhere that he is the “newly appointed Chief Clinical Director of the IAMB/TbT group” (whatever that is), and further, that clinical trials of medicinal cannabis will begin on November 5, according to a press release from pot podcast Time 4 Hemp.

If Brumfield is to be believed, he has the blessings of both the White House and Vice President Joe Biden (yeah, he even included ol’ Joe in his claims), “along with the support of many organizations such as the National Institute of Health, R.E.A.D.[Editor’s note: ??], and NIDA.”

Clinic, Collectives Cooperate To Kick Off Cannabis Classes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 1, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

The Money Times

A Seattle medical marijuana recommendation clinic has joined forces with several local collectives to offer free and reduced cost educational classes to their patients.

“We wanted to offer the best training, wellness, and educational services to the access points that exemplify the best practices and standards for the industry in the Seattle area,” said director Greta Carter of the C.A.R.E. Medical Group of Seattle.

Seattle metro area collectives joining CARE to present the classes include The CPC; Conscious Care Cooperative in Ballard, Lake City and Aurora; Green Hope in Shoreline; The Dockside in Fremont; The Joint Cooperative in the University District; and NWRPC in West Seattle, according to Carter.

“With the belief that education is an important key to the success of any healthcare program, the C.A.R.E. Loyalty Program will allow patients from different medical cannabis access points to learn about a variety of topics from cooking with medical cannabis to the laws that protect the rights of patients, providers, and healthcare providers,” reads a Tuesday press release from CARE.

9 Congress Members Express Concern On Marijuana Crackdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 31, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

StoptheDrugWar.org

Nine members of Congress have taken their concerns about the federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries directly to President Obama.

In a bipartisan letter signed by nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the lawmakers criticized what they called the “unconscionable federal effort targeting dispensaries,” reports Jason Hoppin of the San Jose Mercury News. They also called for the federal reclassification of marijuana from its current Schedule I status as a drug with, supposedly, no legitimate medical uses and a high potential for abuse and addiction.

“It is critically important for patients to have safe access to this treatment that continues to be recommended by doctors,” said Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) “California voters decided to adopt clear regulations to allow patients to do just that. It is unfortunate that the federal government has decided to target these legal vendors instead of focusing limited resources on those who sell illicit drugs.”

Rally & Concert To End The War On Drugs: L.A., Nov. 3

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 31, 2011 Culture, News, Products

Punk Rock Gypsy

Arise Roots, an up and coming reggae band from L.A., will headline the No More Drug War rally in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 3.

The international movement against the War On Drugs will convene at Levitt Pavilion in historic MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, on Thursday, November 3, for the largest-ever “No More Drug War” mass protest.

Hundreds of people will gather to acknowledge this year’s 40th anniversary of Nixon’s declaring a War On Drugs, demand health-centered alternatives, and celebrate this incredible diverse moment. The event will acknowledge the violence in Mexico, California’s mass incarceration crisis, and the nation’s overdose epidemic, among other topics.

The rally and concert will feature a host of gourmet food trucks, live reggae music by Arise Roots, spoken word artists, youth performers, and international reform leaders — most prominently Javier Sicilia, the Mexican poet who lost his son to Drug War violence and who is now leading a mass movement against the Drug War that brings tens of thousands to the streets of Mexico.

LEAP Responds To White House: Pot More Popular Than Obama

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 29, 2011 News

THC Finder

Late Friday night the White House issued a typical evasive rejection of eight marijuana legalization petitions that collected more signatures than any other issue on its “We the People” website. Even though recent polls show that more voters support marijuana legalization than approve of President Obama’s job performance, the White House categorically dismissed the notion of reforming any laws, focusing its response on the possible harms of marijuana use instead of addressing the many harms of prohibition detailed in the petitions.

One of the popular petitions, submitted by retired Baltimore narcotics cop Neill Franklin, called on the Obama Administration to simply stop interfering with states’ efforts to set their own marijuana laws.

White House ‘Responds’ To Marijuana Legalization Petitions

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 28, 2011 News

Injustice In Seattle

White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske is lying his ass off.

The Obama Administration has officially “responded” to the “We The People” online petitions regarding marijuana legalization. Well, kind of — if you’re willing to dignify a bureaucrat mouthing the same old meaningless platitudes by calling that a “response.”

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske chose to respond to eight petitions regarding cannabis law reform with one blanket response. Speaking of which, ol’ Gil tried to put a wet blanket on the grass-fire that is the legalization movement, but it turns out all he could do is blow smoke.

Conventional wisdom dictates that when you have to make a press release, but really want it to get as little media attention as possible, you release it late on a Friday — which is exactly what the White House has done with this one. That way, all the top-line reporters have gone home or are bar-hopping by the time the release hits, and it has Saturday and Sunday to blow over before the week’s regular news cycle resumes Monday morning.

Kerlikowske, required by law as director of the ONDCP to oppose marijuana legalization, is either completely unaware that history has passed him by, or is pointedly ignoring the obvious. His refusal to even meaningfully engage with drug policy reform advocates shows that worse than being useless, he is an intentional obstruction — a willing part of the problem.

Colorado Issues First Medical Cannabis Business Licenses In US

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 28, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Cannabis Therapy Institute

I could surely do without that big ‘CRIMINAL’ up there at the top of the badge, but it’s still good news that the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue has issued the first medical marijuana business licenses in the United States.

The great state of Colorado has started issuing the first state medical marijuana business licenses in the nation, bringing to fruition an application process that lasted more than a year for dispensaries and makers of cannabis-infused products.

The state issued 11 licenses to businesses in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Littleton, said the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division of the state Department of Revenue, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

Another seven shops have been told they’ll probably get a license. The state has sent out letters to local governments regarding an additional 467 dispensaries and products-makers, double-checking that those businesses have local approval, which is one of the final steps in the licensing process.

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