News & Articles
Arizona Continues Crusade Against State Residents
It is truly a shame when a disagreement cannot be worked out and the only discourse to solve a problem is within the confines of a stuffy courtroom. Unfortunately, we see it every day as families are unable to come to an agreement and take their affairs before a judge. A similar situation is going on in Arizona, as once again disputes between a lawmakers and medical marijuana patients.
Although Arizona’s medical marijuana program was voted on and approved by residents, Governor Jan Brewer and other officials have directly challenged the will of the people. After an embarrassing court showing the Governor dropped her most recent lawsuit against the people of her state. However, there still has been echoing voices in the background of Arizona’s government to keep up the fight against its own sick residents.
While the Governor has been staying somewhat silent on the issue recently, apparently her police officers have taken the ball and started running. In a raid of state legal medical marijuana patient Charise Voss Arfa’s home, police seized a tincture bottle. After taking the bottle police charged her with a felony narcotics arrest, even as marijuana and its tincture extracts are supposed to be covered in the state’s medical marijuana laws. Now the state will have to deal with a lawsuit challenging the legality of the arrest.
Many critics are upset about the recent direction of Arizona law, especially as officers have not proved their competency. Arizona is known some “unique” laws that range from the silly, to the absurd (click here for a list). However, in recent years they are also known for passing laws that create tension and division within its residents, most notably the law that requires residents to “show me your papers” should they match a particular profile. Additionally these new directives are placing officers out of their comfort zone. They are trying to uphold the marijuana laws but are not familiar with a tincture. The immigration laws obviously lend themselves to even more problems as officers must make a determination on the fly based only on physical observation.
While this kind of political grandstanding may help to motivate political bases, it is extremely short sighted. The electorate has changed and this can clearly be seen in this year’s U.S. Senate race. In a state that traditionally elects Republican candidates, Democratic challenger Richard Carmona looks to have a very realistic chance of winning the Senate seat. While old guard tries to wring the people dry through infringing on civil rights and turning to the courts, a new generation of patients, non whites, and the compassionate will remember, like any scorned family member, that officials choose the courts over listening to the will of the people.
Medical Marijuana Industry News October 12, 2012
Melissa Etheridge Becomes Newest Celeb to Endorse Marijuana Legalization…
Melissa Etheridge, has provided inspiration to many people through her music and her successful fight against breast cancer. The singer of popular songs such as “Come to My Window” has now come out in support of Colorado’s Amendment 64. She appears on an advertisement and says she supports the legalization initiative “because a few years ago I was going through cancer chemotherapy and I was suffering.” She also goes on to say “Prescription drugs were not helping. The only thing that allowed me to function and regain my strength was marijuana and I’m grateful for the relief it provided me. You know before I needed to use marijuana I just accepted the laws that treated marijuana users as criminals. But it’s funny how a serious illness can give you a new outlook on life. I now see that it’s wrong to arrest adults for using marijuana and it’s even more wrong to allow gangs and cartels to profit from selling marijuana. Instead we should allow adults to possess limited amounts of marijuana and we should regulate marijuana sales in order to generate tax revenues for public schools construction and other community needs. To me, regulating marijuana is simply the right thing to do. Please vote yes on Amendment 64.” Residents will have the opportunity to vote on passing the marijuana legalization law. If they do so, marijuana will be treated in a similar way to alcohol with those 21 and over being to purchase it in a controlled, regulated, and taxed manor.
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Study Shows Missouri Could Make $149 Million off of Marijuana Legalization…
Last night America watched the two vice presidential candidates argue over taxes and the economy. We did not hear any fresh ideas, but thankfully, a study in Missouri will provide us with information as to how we can jumpstart the economy. Three states will have their residents vote on whether or not to legalize, regulate, and tax recreational marijuana. In the above story we already mentioned Colorado, but Oregon and Washington State will also be putting similar measures to the people. Missouri may join these states in the future as a study released by the groups National Cannabis Coalition and Show-Me Cannabis with the help of Harvard University economist Dr. Jeffrey Miron. According to the groups Missouri would generate over $149 million if the state legalized marijuana. This statistic includes $90 million saved by reducing funds associated with incarcerations, arrests, and prosecutions of marijuana offenders. The additional $59 million would come through taxes placed on marijuana sales. Dr. Miron said “The main thing I hope people think about is, ‘Why should the government be intervening with individuals using marijuana?”
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City Of Oakland Stands Up For Patients and Local Collectives….
Federal agents have been targeting the world’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center, for some time now. Harborside is known to serve many patients and has gained even more attention as they were the focus of a Discovery Channel show, Weed Wars. The Feds are attempting to seize the property that Harborside Health occupies, however, in what may be an unprecedented move, the City of Oakland is not sitting idle. They have filed a lawsuit contending the federal government’s right to do so. City Attorney Barbara Parker said “This lawsuit is about protecting the rights of legitimate medical patients. “I am deeply dismayed that the federal government would seek to deny these rights and deprive thousands of seriously ill Californians of access to safe, affordable and effective medicine.” Harborside’s famous Executive Director, Steve DeAngelo said “It is heartening to see the city stand up and support us.” Oakland is notoriously struggling financially and many analysts are wondering how big the impact would be if Harborside was closed. The dispensary paid $3.5 million in taxes with over $1 million going directly to the city of Oakland.
Vice Presidential Showdown Being Held in Hemp Country
The political world has been buzzing since last week’s presidential debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Most analysts and viewers felt Mr. Romney won the debate and that the President seemed distant and unmotivated. The president has vowed to turn up the intensity next week as the polls have shifted toward Romney a bit. However before next week’s showdown we will watch the right hand men of the two candidates go into political battle.
Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan will be in Danville Kentucky for their debate. While this may not seem significant for some, Kentucky is hemp country both in a historical sense and in a modern sense. Kentucky lawmakers, one of them being the widely known Rand Paul, have been fighting to reform hemp laws, which if possible, make even less sense than our marijuana laws. Our politicians are the quickest to include American flags on their lapelle but often the slowest to remember exactly what the stars and stripes stand for. America’s history on hemp will forever be intertwined as George Washington even required farmers to grow the plant in order to help during the revolutionary war.
Irrational and overblown fears of marijuana during the turn of the 20th century into the 1930s lead to lawmakers also outlawing hemp. The fact that it is virtually impossible to get “stoned” from this part of the marijuana plant would not serve as a deterrent for dogmatic lawmakers. Hemp stalks include a fraction of 1% of THC, where most strains of marijuana can range from 10-25% THC. As more is being uncovered about hemp’s versatility, even politicians who love reminiscing in the good old days of anti science are forced to reconsider their opposition.
The two vice presidential candidates will probably stick close to the talking points of their runningmates/bosses. Even as Joe Biden is known for abandoning the script, we do not feel he will be fielding questions on marijuana and hemp, even though much of the debate will revolve around recycled ideas as to how we get America back to work. If only each debate required a local segment, where the issues impacting the region where the debate is being held were discussed. If that were the case then last week we may have heard President Obama and Governor Romney articulate their position on compassion and relief while this week we would be treated to Paul Ryan and Joe Biden telling us how they would jumpstart hemp farming, create jobs, and educate Americans about the wonder fiber.
New Study Highlights Marijuana Benefits for Patients with MS
The wonder plant marijuana is showing off its medical diversity again. Research has been discovering many potential medical uses for marijuana. This week a new research study has uncovered even more evidence that marijuana can be beneficial to a wide variety of ailments, including multiple sclerosis.
Researchers in the United Kingdom analyzed the results of over 300 participants across 22 medical facilities who were suffering from MS. The study was aimed specifically at relieving muscle stiffness, which impacts approximately 90% of those who have MS. The effects of MS are well documented and many who have it find themselves having trouble with mobility and leading their daily lives. Sleep deprivation is also commonly associated with MS and muscle stiffness.
The study results may give new hope for patients with MS who have not been responsive to traditional treatments. In the UK study, which will be published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, researchers gave one group of participants marijuana while giving another group placebo. After 12 weeks, 30 percent of those who were given marijuana reported improvements in pain and mobility. Only 16% of the placebo group reported improvements. The known side effects of marijuana, dizziness, confusion, fatigue etc. have been previously reported as negative side effects in past marijuana/MS studies. While those still occurred study researchers announced “No new safety concerns were observed.”
Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, like many, have eluded scientists for decades. However, marijuana breakthroughs have been occurring regularly in recently with scientists also discovering that cannabis may be able to stop the metastasis of cancer, the spreading of HIV/AIDS, and many other difficult to treat conditions. The hope now is that mainstream media outlets and political leaders keep the issue on the forefront.
Large Marijuana Grow Found in Plain Sight Within Chicago City Limits…
Marijuana grows are located by authorities with great frequency. A simple Google search using the key word “marijuana” will almost always quickly produce many stories where authorities have discovered large scale grows. Even as this is occurring regularly, authorities still seemed to be baffled at how widespread marijuana is. While the reports seem to indicate some sort of victory by law enforcement, they are only revealing a drop in the bucket. For every illegal grow discovered there are countless that they will not find. This is to be expected as an outdated approach can only yield outdated results.
The desperate need for cannabis regulation cannot be more clear after we learned of a developing story in America’s third largest city, Chicago. Authorities found rows of marijuana plants, with many being 10 feet tall, lined in a space located just off the Bishop Ford Freeway. Edward Graney of the Cooke County Sheriff’s Police Department noticed a patch of lime green while on a routine helicopter flight. He said “I never thought I’d see something like this.” Barely believing the location and size of the operation Graney went on to say “When I walked in there to get my head around this, I couldn’t believe how big it was, I was in shock. Basically, someone put 1,500 plants in the middle of an industrial park.”
As government officials still hope for a naturally growing plant to simply disappear off the face of the earth, their approach seems sillier by the day. The field off the Chicago highway was estimated to contain as much as $10 million of street valued marijuana. These illegal grows will never be taxed and often it is difficult to even ascertain who is behind the operation. The size and location of plants found shows that those growing are not exactly living in fear of authorities. If one of the world’s largest metropolitan area is now considered a safe place to grow marijuana in the open, what hope does law enforcement have of uncovering grows deep in the woods of rural areas?
Police and DEA officials are left without the ability to enforce marijuana policy. Of course it is not the fault of individual agents. Would we hand modern physicians tools from last century and demand cutting edge results? Regulation and legal economics offer the only plausible way to move forward. If marijuana were regulated within the United States, the need for a black market would quickly dissipate. Once the economics and demand are damaged, illegal drug trafficking simply will not offer lucrative rewards. Those new lucrative rewards could be redistributed toward tax payers or for repairing our crumbling bridges and infrastructure. That would also result in putting many of the currently 7.8% of our population who find themselves unemployed. For those serious about keeping marijuana away from children and restoring our economic prosperity should be shocked at the decades long failure that has produced an even larger and more dangerous unregulated marijuana market.
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.
For more on this story click here
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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Maine Lawmakers Target Medical Marijuana and the Poor
The poverty rate in the United States is set to reach its highest numbers in 50 years. During an election the assumption would be that both candidates running for president would champion the cause of reducing poverty. While we have heard about job growth, we do not hear the “p” word much, as both candidates are likely hoping poor people just goes away. Perhaps a sitting president and one of the richest men in America just cannot relate.
Unfortunately, this election season has taught us that there are other priorities. Millions of dollars have been spent on political Super PACS. These outside groups that are allowed to spend as much secretive money as they want on campaign ads thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizen’s United v. Federal Election Commission case. The result is a political mess that focuses much more on large donors than the working class who is in dire need of help.
In a move that mirrors the greater social shift in ignoring the poor, Maine lawmakers have decided its time to target those who do not have Super Political Action Committees to fight their battles. By a vote of 4-3, members of Maine’s Housing Board decided that medical marijuana is banned from all section 8 housing. This builds on momentum from other states who have tried to enact drug testing for welfare recipients. The idea sounds great from the surface, but it also costs significantly more in tax revenues to do so and seems specifically targeted at lower income families. While critics say it is fair because government money is used supplement section 8 housing, we have to wonder why this is not across the board. Will the government start to drug test seniors on Medicare, or the elderly who live in government supplemented retirement homes?
Medical marijuana has become a reliable and more cost effective solution for many who simply cannot afford traditional modern medicine. While this may score points with many in Maine, the policy seems specifically targeted toward those who are unable to fight back in world of corporate politics.
90 Minutes
Why is 90 minutes so important? It is about the average run time of a movie. It is the allotted time for a regulation soccer match. Ninety minutes is probably the length of your bosses lunch break. On Wednesday night, it represents the amount of time Americans have to formulate their opinion on who they will be casting their vote for the United States Presidency.
For political junkies the presidential debates offer a breath of fresh air. This is where the two candidates will actually be face to face and respond to each other. The system is not perfect, but this true reality show offers more than the same campaign speech rehashed over and over again to a receptive crowd. They certainly are not perfect, as many important topics will be skipped over, but in this age of hiding behind talking points, Wednesday’s 90 minutes may be the closest thing we get to an intellectual conversation about fixing this country.
Unfortunately for marijuana activists, it is unlikely that the “M” word will even be muttered during the 90 minutes. Even as politicians and residents remain sharply divided on medical marijuana dispensary raids, this issue will continue to be avoided. Though elections are won and lost on the issues, we never seem capable of moving forward. Roe V. Wade was decided 40 years ago, yet we are sure to hear the two men in suits talk at length about abortion rights. School vouchers, tax rates, the deficit, and tort reform, are all important but have dominated debate questions for many elections now. Instead of tackling a new age issue in marijuana reform, we are likely going to be relegated to hearing about the same old issues.
One would think that in 90 minutes, there surely is time to talk about those who struggling, about compassionate relief. Well if 90 minutes is too short for that, perhaps the wasted money and lives on the war on drugs can be fit in? Hmm,no? Certainly all of the lives (many of them teens) that are ruined by incarcerations linked to low level marijuana possession will get its day in the sun. Again you say no? Then personal freedom, in a country founded on the very principle should definitely spring marijuana into the presidential debate. Of course a discussion on returning rights and liberties to the people likely has virtually no chance of taking place whether the debate is 90 minutes or 90 days.
Click here for a schedule of all of the Presidential debates and a list of the moderators
Applications Now To Be Available for Connecticut Medical Marijuana Program
Federal pressure on state run medical marijuana programs has been increasing over the last year. However, this has not been successful in stopping states from responding to the call from patients and regulation advocates. Vermont is about to open medical marijuana dispensaries and Arkansas is set have its residents vote on a measure that would have them join the other 17 states with legalized cannabis.
Today, Connecticut provides another example of states taking on a new approach to marijuana law. Lawmakers passed a bill to permit medical marijuana several months ago and Governor Dannel P. Molloy signed it into law shortly after. The program is making even more progress today. Starting today, it is expected that patients will be able to apply online to the state’s medical marijuana program.
Although the program seems to be progressing, residents who are concerned about unregulated marijuana availability may be able to relax. The state is expected to have a tight grip on their program. Governor Malloy’s Criminal Justice Adviser, Michael Lawlor recently said “From talking to a lot of people, Connecticut clearly will have the tightest, most restrictive system in the country.” The list of conditions that can qualify patients for the Connecticut program include HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, and MS.
Analysts may consider Connecticut’s medical marijuana patient application process overly restrictive, however, it is important no to lose sight of the progress that is being made all over the country. Even as federal authorities demonstrate their inability to take action, residents and state lawmakers have decided not to sit idle as patients seek compassionate relief Connecticut will soon be providing relief to patients and activists will have the opportunity to push for patients with underrepresented conditions to qualify.
Rep. Barney Frank Says Supports Marijuana Reform and Personal Freedom
Longtime supporter of marijuana reform, Representative Barney Frank, recently told CNN that he supports marijuana reform and believes in “personal freedom”. When talking to Erin Burnett about individual freedom, Congressman Frank said “I think is a great hypocrisy. I think frankly it contributes to a good deal of the sense of unfairness you have among younger people who are told they shouldn’t do this because it’s got all these negative effects, but then older people are engaging in all kinds of things that have a greater impact on people.” Mr. Frank also said he ate a marijuana brownie that made him “sleepy”. The congressman said he prefers a cigar instead. While he does not smoke marijuana much or gamble, but that others do and it is their right to do so and it should not be the government’s priority to regulate these behaviors. Barney Frank is also an outspoken supporter of same sex marriage and was wed to his partner, James Ready, in July of 2012.