Maria Cantwell
Medical Marijuana Industry News October 5, 2012
Los Angeles Patients and Activists Score Huge Victory as they Force City Council To Repeal Dispensary Ban…
The decision by the Los Angeles City Council to drop their current efforts in banning marijuana dispensaries is a huge lift for many concerned patients. While we at marijuana.net have posted the story already on our page, we thought it was important to bring more focus to the issue. The city wanted the ban as they have proved unable to come up with an adequate system of regulation. Instead of rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty, they decided the work would be too difficult and tried to brush the issue under the rug. A dispensary ban would have likely lead to a resurgence of unregulated gang related marijuana sales on the street level. This week’s victory shows how the voice of the people still matters and how great things can be accomplished. Americans for Safe Access was able to collect the over 27,000 signatures needed to block the ban. After the signatures were collected the City Council had the option of repealing the ban themselves or putting the vote to the people. Many analysts expected the issue to go to a vote. While we have been hard on how the City Council has handled the situation, we would like to applaud them in this decision. As it was becoming more clear that there was enough voter support to repeal the ban in the City Council decided not to drag out the inevitable.
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Synthetic Marijuana Linked to Kidney Failure in Oregon Residents…
Over the course of the past year fears have grown over synthetic marijuana use. Most state governments and the federal government have outlawed its production. Many health complications have been linked to synthetic cannabis use with kidney failure now emerging as the newest problem. In Oregon, 6 cases of kidney failure have been linked to use of popular products such as “Spice” and “K2”.
State Public Health Division Director Mel Kohn, M.D., M.P.H, said “People need to know that synthetic or designer drugs like ‘spice’ or ‘synthetic amphetamines’ are chemicals that are not safe, can contain dangerous contaminants, and may cause serious harm to users – even death, If you become ill after taking a designer drug, seek medical attention immediately and bring the drug in so it can be tested.”
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Republican Senate Candidate in Washington State Endorses Marijuana Legalization Initiative…
Bi-partisan has become a dirty word in Washington D.C. as neither party seems willing to give the other credit. Hopefully in Washington State this can be corrected. Many people may associate marijuana reform with Democrats, but many Republicans, especially those who favor state rights seem to moving toward supporting marijuana. This is the case in Washington State as Republican Senate hopeful, Michael Baumgartner, has endorsed Initiative-502. This ballot initiative will be voted on by residents of the state and would create a system of regulating, taxing, and distributing marijuana in a similar way that alcohol is handled. In actuality, the marijuana industry will be handled by the states Liquor Control Board. Mr. Baumgartner explained his support of Initiative 502 by saying “It’s taking a different approach to a very expensive drug war, and potentially a better approach. They’ve checked all the boxes as far as what you would want to see happen in terms of provisions to keep it away from children and limiting access in the public space. I’ve just been impressed with the initiative and the people running it.” While he may be a longshot to unseat U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, he may be successful in motivating the already high support for the bill.
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