Search Results: prescription (306)

The activists put up a long fight.

Here’s your daily round-up of pot-news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek.

Michigan almost certainly won’t vote on REC this year. The state’s Senate advanced regulation for MED dispensaries.

Both MED initiatives that will appear on the Arkansas ballot “ are simply recreational marijuana masquerading as medicine,” according to Jerry Cox, executive director of the conservative Christian group Family Council. If both initiatives pass, the one with more votes prevails.

It used to be tolerated in one part of town.

Here’s your daily round up of pot news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek.

Residents of Copenhagen’s Christiania area tore down the area’s open air cannabis booths after two police were shot and a suspect was killed. Police are concerned about organized crime’s involvement in the industry.

Alaska AG nominee Jahna Lindemuth said the state won’t allow standalone consumption lounges. Dispensaries may be able to have consumption areas. Denverites will vote on a limited social usemeasure in November. If approved it would allow businesses, such as bars, to create consumption areas.

The long awaited decision was a disappointment for cannabis activists.
The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will not reschedule marijuana. The 186-page decision was published Thursday in the Federal Register. The DEA also  put hemp growers on notice .

Following the decision, The Washington Post’s Christopher Ingraham wrote: “The FDA cannot determine it has a medical use in part because of the highly restrictive legal status of the drug. It’s a classic bureaucratic Catch-22.” Ingraham also collected responses from members of Congress.

For additional details and analysis on the DEA decision see Scientific American,  John Hudak atBrookings and  Wednesday’s  special edition  of WeedWeek. The industry weighs in here and here.

Federal law will continue to view cannabis as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has high potential for abuse and no recognized medical value. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy (MDMA).

Some in cannabis circles expected the agency to reclassify the plant as a Schedule II drug, the next most restrictive classification under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule II drugs include cocaine, methamphetamine and several prescription opioids. (See a more complete list here.)

Cannabis activists and businesses generally want to see marijuana de-scheduled and regulated like alcohol. Rescheduling, which still could happen in the future, raises problematic questions for the pro-cannabis community about regulations governing businesses and access to MED. One lawyer called the prospect of rescheduling a “ nightmare” for the industry. My reporting suggested that the changes wouldn’t be as drastic.

NPR quotes DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg saying that he gave “enormous weight” to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  view that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States”

“This decision isn’t based on danger. This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine,” Rosenberg said, “and it’s not.”

The DEA says it will, however, expand the number of facilities allowed to grow marijuana for research. For a long time, a facility at the University of Mississippi has grown all of the marijuana ordered by the federal government. Scientists who want to study MED will still need to obtain permission from the federal government.

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I spoke to Hilary Bricken, a cannabis business attorney at Seattle firm Harris Moure, about the decision. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity:WW: This is what you predicted. What do you think were ultimately the main factors in the decision?
HB:My honest conclusion is it’s politics. It’s totally political. It’s so strange that there’s not been more transparency regarding the dialog between the DEA and the FDA. All of a sudden the DEA is saying the decision is not being based on danger to consumers. Now they’re saying quote,
“It’s based on whether marijuana as determined by the FDA is a safe and effective medicine, and
it’s not.” And that allegedly this is based on science, which is interesting because there’s a
significant lack thereof. Only recently have scientific research barriers been removed by the feds.
What’s your interpretation of the ruling to increase the number of growing facilities?
Basically, Ole Miss has had this monopoly for years. Even though the [request for proposals], to be able to cultivate cannabis for the federal government gets issued publicly, they’ve always chosen Ole Miss on a contract basis.
[The potential is] to start expanding those cultivation licenses to other researchers that may not have such, I don’t know if the word is bias, but certain types of opinions that they haven’t changed for two decades. I think it’s a positive PR piece, but I’ll believe it when I see it, if they actually do [grant more licenses].
What’s going to be the next big thing to look out for?
It’s a hurry up and wait situation with the federal government, like it always is.
Even if Hillary Clinton won the presidency, even though we have the Democratic platform calling for a reasonable pathway to legalization, I think she’s going to follow through on what she’s maintained regularly, which is: We need more research before we can unleash this product on the American public, even in the medical capacity.
To me what that also means, is that states are going to continue to lead the way on marijuana law reform and policy. I think [cannabis]just turned more into alcohol then let’s say pharmaceuticals because states are going to continue to legalize, despite what the federal government may do. It could take years now for legalization or even some type of pathway for medical marijuana. I think the states are actually going to be the ones that force [the federal government’s]hand eventually. I think it’s going to be a hurry up and wait situation, even with a Clinton administration.
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Additional reactions:

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, (D-Ore.):

“This decision doesn’t go far enough and is further evidence that the DEA doesn’t get it. Keeping marijuana at Schedule I continues an outdated, failed approach—leaving patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws. …It’s not enough to remove some barriers to medical research. Marijuana shouldn’t be listed as Schedule I; it shouldn’t be listed at all.”

Tom Angell, Chairman, Marijuana Majority:

“President Obama always said he would let science — and not ideology — dictate policy, but in this case his administration is upholding a failed drug war approach instead of looking at real, existing evidence that marijuana has medical value…A clear and growing majority of American voters support legalizing marijuana outright and the very least our representatives should do is let states implement their own policies, unencumbered by an outdated ‘Reefer Madness’ mentality that some in law enforcement still choose to cling to.”

Kevin Sabet, CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group:

This is not on surprising at all to scientists and people who follow this issue. What we’ve seen in the last couple of years is actually the science pointing in the direction of marijuana being more harmful, not less harmful…It’s also a huge blow to medical marijuana companies who were ready to press send on marketing emails touting a decision to reschedule and pushing their goods on to people who might now think that the feds totally gave up on the issue.

In Europe, they drink much more than they smoke cannabis.

The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

U.S. teens are more likely to smoke pot than to binge drink according to a new study. A government study says Miamians are more anti-weed than residents of any other U.S. city, a finding at odds with a visit to Miami.

Vice says legalizing can mitigate problems associated with synthetic cannabis.

LAWeekly talks to Dr. Francis D’Ambrosio, an orthopedic surgeon turned pot activist. “Is the medicine working?” he asked a patient. “Well, then it’d be criminal of me not to renew your prescription.”

The long awaited PTSD study for veterans is recruiting volunteers.

A New York doctor is accused of trading a prescription for the powerful opioid Suboxone for a few grams of pot.

Police in Baton Rouge, La., have reduced their enforcement of narcotics offenses since Alton Sterling was fatally shot on July 5.

Marco Vasquez, police chief of Erie, Colo., spoke in favor of legalization at a national law enforcement conference.

Forbes explains how a Congressional career offender provision got Tennessee grower Paul Fields sentenced to 15 years. It was Fields’ third offense. For the second one, he was sentenced to 100 days.

Hundreds of doctors in Georgia have registered to recommend low-THC, high-CBD cannabis oil but there’s no official directory. Word of mouth is the only way to find one of the doctors.

Bruce Schulte, former chair of Alaska’s Marijuana Control Board, was fired by Gov. Bill Walker (Ind.). Schulte said the state is trying to “subvert” the industry.

Anti-REC activists in Arizona say the state’s upcoming initiative would  block employers  from firing people for cannabis use. In fact, the proposed law says the opposite.

Portland City Council appears ready to undo some of the restrictions governing dispensary operations. Humboldt County, Calif. growers are divided on a proposed excise tax.

The situation appears under control.

The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

An investigation in Hugo, Colo. found THC in the drinking water. Authorities found signs of tampering on a well and initiated a criminal investigation. Additional tests are underway to confirm the finding. Initially, the cannabis community said contamination is unlikely since THC is not soluble in water.

Screening stations have been set up for residents and water is being trucked in. Hugo, a town of about 750 on the state’s eastern plains, does not have any marijuana businesses.

LA Weekly looks at how legalization  could change employer drug testing  policies. The California Supreme Court has ruled that a MED card does not allow employees to be high on the job, or overrule company drug testing policies. In the future, the piece notes, this stance may lead to disability suits.

In California, concentrates remain a “ legal gray area.”

A random controlled study out of Holland proved that alcohol makes users more aggressive and cannabis makes them less aggressive. (Read the study here.)

Vancouver activist Dana Larsen said customers don’t need prescriptions at his MED pharmacies.

Colorado has released a PSA on cannabis and pregnancy. Chronic and/or severe pain is by far the most common qualifying condition for MED.

Washington state hopes new labelling will keep kids away from edibles.

Between 2002 and 2013, it’s estimated that Massachusetts crime lab chemist Annie Dookhan, who was later convicted of perjury and evidence tampering, corrupted more than 24,000 cases. Those convicted based on her work can now seek new trials. Dookhan served three years in prison.

An audit in Houston found 298 wrongful drug convictions. A researcher at the libertarian Cato Institute argues that the drug war has made policing more violent.

Operation Sabot, Canada’s annual sweep for illegal outdoor grows, takes place at the end of summer. Each year it targets a different region right before the harvest.

Maryland withdrew a proposal to ban letters to prisoners (except legal correspondence). The state’s prisons have been overwhelmed by Suboxone, an opioid available in sublingual strips that prisoners receive in envelopes.

If California legalizes, what will happen to people in prison for marijuana offenses? Missouri governor Jay Nixon (D), signed a law that will make it easier for marijuana offenders to get their records expunged.

A bill in the U.S. Senate would protect the families of children with epilepsy from prosecution if they obtain CBD treatments.

Politicians have not caught up with public opinion. 

The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

A new poll found that for the first time, Republicans narrowly favor legalizing marijuana, 45% to 42%. Last week, however, Republicans voted against including support for MED in their party platform. As far as I saw, the plant went unmentioned at the convention.

Hillary Clinton named Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) as her running mate. Speaking at a high school in April, Kaine said he favors “drastic changes in sentencing laws…[but] wouldn’t vote for a law at the federal or state level that would decriminalize marijuana.” Kaine has a NORML rating of F.

Donald Trump has a NORML rating of C+Hillary Clinton gets a B+Libertarian Gary Johnson scores an A+.

Leafly meets Ann Lee, founder of Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (RAMP). Lee, 86, attended the GOP convention as an alternate in the Texas delegation. Her son Richard Lee founded the trade school Oaksterdam University in Oakland.

Decriminalization appears to have support from the Texas Association of Business and  bipartisan support in the Texas legislature. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) opposes legalization.

Marijuana.com digs up that the DEA has reduced the size of its 2017 cannabis order from last year. This hints, the piece suggests, that the agency will not reschedule. The DEA gets its weed from a facility at the University of Mississippi, the only federally legal grow in the country.

Fifty-one percent of voters oppose Massachusetts’ REC initiative and 41% percent support. The numbers are similar in Arizona.

An Arizona judge will hear cannabis-opponents in a case that could block the upcoming REC vote. They argue that the 100-word petition voters signed didn’t adequately explain the effects of legalization. Plaintiffs include Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery (R), Phoenix’s lead prosecutor.

Last year, before a weed convention in Phoenix, Montgomery offered “An aside, just a polite warning to folks traveling here…I can’t confirm or deny whether or not local or federal law enforcement may be on hand in an undercover capacity. So welcome to Phoenix, enjoy your stay, but be careful.”

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) opposes the state’s MED initiative. In Wisconsin, a poll found that REC legalization has 59% support. Activists are collecting signatures for a MED initiative in Oklahoma.

Florida’s first CBD dispensary opens this week. The state is expected to vote on MED in November.

The question of use by women who are expecting heats up.

Excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

A study suggests that cannabis use during pregnancy affects brain development. More Colorado newborns are testing positive for THC.

Thirty-three were hospitalized in Brooklyn, for suspected synthetic cannabis (“K2”) overdoses in the area around a subway stop.

The National Institutes of Health sent out a request for information about varieties of marijuana and their possible research value.

Check out this chart which illustrates last week’s remarkable finding that drug prescriptions are falling in MED states.

Project CBD published a CBD Users Manual. It’s one of the better ones I’ve seen.

Cannabis allergies are climbing.

The big move by Scotts Miracle-Grow into cannabis is dividing the industry.

Buzzfeed makes the case that Facebook and Google’s cannabis policy enforcement is a mess.

The U.K.’s GW Pharmaceuticals which has seen its stock soar on data from its cannabis-based drug Epidiolex, plans to raise $252 million on the Nasdaq exchange with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch shepherding the deal.

Business attorney Hilary Bricken lays out  six weed scams  for investors and others to watch out for.

Compliance at Millennium Bank, a community bank in Des Plaines, Ill. is reportedly under scrutiny from state and federal authorities for working with marijuana companies.

Whitney Hobbs, a founder of Oregon distributor Highly Distributed, has sued CEO Christopher Mallott for sexual harassment that led to her departure from the company. She says he groped and smelled her. The company declined to comment but an employee refuted Hobbs’ claims.

Cannabis sales continue to climb in Colorado and support the state’s economy. See here for more.

A glimpse of the future? A group of Colorado’s largest craft breweries, led a break-up of the Colorado Brewers Guild to form a new group called Craft Beer Colorado. The split follows an overhaul of state alcohol laws.

Analyst Alan Brochstein writes that Canada’s pot policies make more sense than America’s.

Former NORML head Allen St. Pierre joined a publicly-traded consultancy called Freedom Leaf.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D)  blames legal weed for the “urban travelers” who have caused violent episodes on Denver’s 16th Street Mall, the city’s main pedestrian thoroughfare. Recently, a 32-year old Indiana man was arrested after video showed him attacking pedestrians with lengths of PVC pipe. It’s not clear whether he was high at the time.

Other recent incidents, also caught on video, have seen arrests after attacks and aggressive panhandling. New research shows that legal states have seen a drop in Medicare prescriptions for anti-depressants and opiods, and a corresponding reduction in Medicare costs.

Prescriptions did not drop for drugs like blood-thinners that can’t plausibly be replaced with MED. (Read that study here.) If California legalizes REC in November, it could influence federal policy on banking and other issues. Regulators in the state said they will start inspecting dispensary scales  to ensure that customers are getting their money’s worth.

Massachusetts’ REC initiative will be on the ballot in November. Gov. Charlie Baker (R), Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo (D) have banded together to oppose it. Arkansas voters will decide on a MED initiative. Fortune sees signs of a backlash in Colorado. Murders in California’s Lake County, a center of growing, reached a 10-year high of eight last year. Donna Weinholtz, wife of Utah gubernatorial candidate Mike Weinholtz (D), is under federal investigation related to her MED use.

The rules for Alaska’s pot café’s are under review. Voters in the state’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough will decide on a commercial ban in the fall. Former Liberal Party deputy prime minister Anne McLellan will lead Canada’s nine-member legalization task force. McLellan is a former law professor at the University of Alberta. Canada’s legal purchasing age may vary across provinces, but the government wants a consistent national law on DUI. Both LSU and Southern University are exercising their option to grow Louisiana’s MED supply.

This article also appeared in the the pot-focused weekly newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

Dear Stoner: I’ve been dealing with migraines for years, and my prescribed medication rarely works. I’ve been thinking about medical marijuana as an alternative treatment. Does it do anything for migraines?
Ken

Dear Ken: They say that those who deal with migraines and insomnia are the most intelligent and creative people; I am neither, but my dumb ass still dealt with the same issue growing up. I tried all sorts of treatments — aspirin, prescription ibuprofen and Imitrex, multiple MRIs, even locking myself in a dark, silent room — but nothing worked. I’ve also gotten so stoned that I’ve forgotten I even had a migraine — but that put me out of commission longer than the headache ever did. Finally, I spoke with a medical marijuana doctor about my condition, and he recommended tinctures and edibles.

Michael Mol/Flickr


A new study just put out by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has once again proven that Americans are misinformed, and therefore easily confused, when it comes to cannabis use and driving a car.
As cannabis reform sweeps the nation, so too does a new round of the same stale talking points about the supposed dangers of marijuana use that have been regurgitated for decades, always muddying the waters of the debate.
If the numbers revealed in the AAA study are anywhere near accurate, all it would prove is that you can probably train a monkey to hate bananas with the right amount of propaganda.

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