{"id":1420,"date":"2013-03-08T08:44:29","date_gmt":"2013-03-08T08:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/?p=20711"},"modified":"2013-03-08T08:44:29","modified_gmt":"2013-03-08T08:44:29","slug":"marijuana-industry-news-march-8-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-industry-news-march-8-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana Industry News March 8, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-industry-news-march-8-2013\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"288\" height=\"175\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-house3.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"white house\" title=\"white house\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-20713\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/marijuana-industry-news-march-8-2013\/attachment\/white-house-4\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-20713\" title=\"white house\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-house3-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>E<strong>x-DEA Officials Pressure White House to Go After New Recreational Marijuana States\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As we have previously reported at Marijuana.net, federal authorities have remained relatively quiet on the issue of legal marijuana ever since the voters of Colorado and Washington state decided to legalize recreational use.\u00a0 The issue is gaining national acceptance as a <a href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2013\/01\/31\/poll-feds-should-butt-out-of-states-that-legalize-pot\/\" target=\"_blank\">recent Reason\/Rupe poll<\/a> suggested that 72% of Americans do not think marijuana users should be arrested.\u00a0 The poll also found that 68% of respondents do not feel growers should be arrested.\u00a0 Fifty three percent of those included in the national poll said they felt marijuana should be regulated in a similar fashion to alcohol.\u00a0 Even with swelling public support, former DEA officials are trying to convince the federal government to overpower Colorado and Washington.\u00a0 The retired DEA members feel that if the feds do not act now, they may lose the issue forever.\u00a0 Peter Bensinger, a former DEA administrator recently told the Associated\u00a0 Press that &#8220;My fear is that the Justice Department will do what they are doing now: Do nothing and say nothing.\u00a0 If they don&#8217;t act now, these laws will be fully implemented in a matter of months.&#8221;\u00a0 In a country where consensus is becoming a rare phenomenon, these soaring levels of support may already have signaled the point of no return.\u00a0 As we start to feel the impact of sequestration and lack of compromise, DEA officials may find it a tough sell to continue using tax dollars to go after marijuana users and growers.\u00a0 Additionally, federal law is actually preventing billions in potential tax revenue that is desperately needed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/8301-250_162-57572521\/ex-dea-heads-press-white-house-to-quickly-seek-stop-to-legal-recreational-marijuana\/\" target=\"_blank\">For more on this story click here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Jersey Lawmakers Seeking to Keep Medical Marijuana Patients on Organ Transplant List\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many lawmakers around the United States have long snickered at medical marijuana.\u00a0 The easy and quick analysis is that it <strong><em>MUST<\/em><\/strong> be front a for those looking to circumvent the law.\u00a0 However, for many this is the most serious issue they have ever encountered in their life.\u00a0 As millions worldwide have improved their quality of life with medical marijuana use, na\u00efve talking point politicians have been slow to research the issue.\u00a0 One major problem for elderly medical marijuana patients is that they typically taken off organ recipient lists.\u00a0 This places them in a difficult situation. \u00a0How does one value the long term (needed organ transplant) over the short term (immediate daily pain relieved by cannabis)?\u00a0 New Jersey is attempting to fix this before it becomes a major issue in the Garden State.\u00a0 Earlier this week, New Jersey\u2019s Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed S-1220.\u00a0 The panel stated that S-1220 \u201cwould provide that a registered, qualifying patient\u2019s authorized use of medical marijuana would be considered equivalent to using other prescribed medication rather than an illicit substance and therefore would not disqualify the person from needed medical care, such as an organ transplant.\u201d\u00a0 It took New Jersey several years to cut through their bureaucratic red tape and institute a medical marijuana program passed under previous Governor, Jim Corzine.\u00a0 However, it is reassuring to see that they are taking a compassionate approach with this issue.\u00a0 In a press release by the bill\u2019s co-sponsors, lawmakers said that removing patients from the organ recipient list because of medical marijuana use is a practice that is \u201cunconscionable as the patients have followed their doctors\u2019 orders and have taken a legal medication to reduce the pain and suffering associated with their illness. Transplant centers should not be able to discriminate against people for using this prescription pain killer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/health\/2013\/03\/07\/1685791\/new-jersey-medical-marijuana-transplant\/\" target=\"_blank\">For more on this story click here<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Michigan Judge Rules that Medical Marijuana Patients Cannot be Denied Unemployment Benefits\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The story above highlighted a victory for patients in New Jersey.\u00a0 We also have good news to report for those patients in Michigan.\u00a0 Last August, a Michigan court ruled that the Michigan Marijuana Act of 2008 &#8220;does not offer any employment protection to card holders&#8221; and &#8220;does not regulate private employment.\u201d\u00a0 In September the decision was upheld when former Walmart employee, Joseph Casias, was let go for marijuana use even as he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor.\u00a0 He was also denied benefits after being let go.\u00a0 This week, Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette ruled that medical marijuana patients can receive unemployment benefits after termination of employment. \u00a0Medical marijuana has had a wild ride in Michigan over the course of the past several years since it was legalized in 2008. Even as Michigan lawmakers and state <a href=\"http:\/\/www.billschuette.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Attorney General, Bill Schuette<\/a>, try to fight against medical marijuana, residents have made it clear they support a patient\u2019s right to use medical cannabis.\u00a0 Michigan has some of the most progressive medical marijuana laws and is one of the only states that allows for minors to receive legal marijuana for certain qualifying conditions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/03\/08\/medical-marijuana-unemployment-benefits-michigan_n_2832136.htmlhttp:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/03\/08\/medical-marijuana-unemployment-benefits-michigan_n_2832136.html\" target=\"_blank\">For more on this story click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"288\" height=\"175\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-house3.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"white house\" title=\"white house\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-20713\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/news-and-articles\/marijuana-industry-news-march-8-2013\/attachment\/white-house-4\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-20713\" title=\"white house\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marijuana.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/white-house3-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>E<strong>x-DEA Officials Pressure White House to Go After New Recreational Marijuana States\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As we have previously reported at Marijuana.net, federal authorities have remained relatively quiet on the issue of legal marijuana ever since the voters of Colorado and Washington state decided to legalize recreational use.\u00a0 The issue is gaining national acceptance as a <a href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2013\/01\/31\/poll-feds-should-butt-out-of-states-that-legalize-pot\/\" target=\"_blank\">recent Reason\/Rupe poll<\/a> suggested that 72% of Americans do not think marijuana users should be arrested.\u00a0 The poll also found that 68% of respondents do not feel growers should be arrested.\u00a0 Fifty three percent of those included in the national poll said they felt marijuana should be regulated in a similar fashion to alcohol.\u00a0 Even with swelling public support, former DEA officials are trying to convince the federal government to overpower Colorado and Washington.\u00a0 The retired DEA members feel that if the feds do not act now, they may lose the issue forever.\u00a0 Peter Bensinger, a former DEA administrator recently told the Associated\u00a0 Press that &#8220;My fear is that the Justice Department will do what they are doing now: Do nothing and say nothing.\u00a0 If they don&#8217;t act now, these laws will be fully implemented in a matter of months.&#8221;\u00a0 In a country where consensus is becoming a rare phenomenon, these soaring levels of support may already have signaled the point of no return.\u00a0 As we start to feel the impact of sequestration and lack of compromise, DEA officials may find it a tough sell to continue using tax dollars to go after marijuana users and growers.\u00a0 Additionally, federal law is actually preventing billions in potential tax revenue that is desperately needed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/8301-250_162-57572521\/ex-dea-heads-press-white-house-to-quickly-seek-stop-to-legal-recreational-marijuana\/\" target=\"_blank\">For more on this story click here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>New Jersey Lawmakers Seeking to Keep Medical Marijuana Patients on Organ Transplant List\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many lawmakers around the United States have long snickered at medical marijuana.\u00a0 The easy and quick analysis is that it <strong><em>MUST<\/em><\/strong> be front a for those looking to circumvent the law.\u00a0 However, for many this is the most serious issue they have ever encountered in their life.\u00a0 As millions worldwide have improved their quality of life with medical marijuana use, na\u00efve talking point politicians have been slow to research the issue.\u00a0 One major problem for elderly medical marijuana patients is that they typically taken off organ recipient lists.\u00a0 This places them in a difficult situation. \u00a0How does one value the long term (needed organ transplant) over the short term (immediate daily pain relieved by cannabis)?\u00a0 New Jersey is attempting to fix this before it becomes a major issue in the Garden State.\u00a0 Earlier this week, New Jersey\u2019s Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed S-1220.\u00a0 The panel stated that S-1220 \u201cwould provide that a registered, qualifying patient\u2019s authorized use of medical marijuana would be considered equivalent to using other prescribed medication rather than an illicit substance and therefore would not disqualify the person from needed medical care, such as an organ transplant.\u201d\u00a0 It took New Jersey several years to cut through their bureaucratic red tape and institute a medical marijuana program passed under previous Governor, Jim Corzine.\u00a0 However, it is reassuring to see that they are taking a compassionate approach with this issue.\u00a0 In a press release by the bill\u2019s co-sponsors, lawmakers said that removing patients from the organ recipient list because of medical marijuana use is a practice that is \u201cunconscionable as the patients have followed their doctors\u2019 orders and have taken a legal medication to reduce the pain and suffering associated with their illness. Transplant centers should not be able to discriminate against people for using this prescription pain killer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/health\/2013\/03\/07\/1685791\/new-jersey-medical-marijuana-transplant\/\" target=\"_blank\">For more on this story click here<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Michigan Judge Rules that Medical Marijuana Patients Cannot be Denied Unemployment Benefits\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The story above highlighted a victory for patients in New Jersey.\u00a0 We also have good news to report for those patients in Michigan.\u00a0 Last August, a Michigan court ruled that the Michigan Marijuana Act of 2008 &#8220;does not offer any employment protection to card holders&#8221; and &#8220;does not regulate private employment.\u201d\u00a0 In September the decision was upheld when former Walmart employee, Joseph Casias, was let go for marijuana use even as he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor.\u00a0 He was also denied benefits after being let go.\u00a0 This week, Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette ruled that medical marijuana patients can receive unemployment benefits after termination of employment. \u00a0Medical marijuana has had a wild ride in Michigan over the course of the past several years since it was legalized in 2008. Even as Michigan lawmakers and state <a href=\"http:\/\/www.billschuette.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Attorney General, Bill Schuette<\/a>, try to fight against medical marijuana, residents have made it clear they support a patient\u2019s right to use medical cannabis.\u00a0 Michigan has some of the most progressive medical marijuana laws and is one of the only states that allows for minors to receive legal marijuana for certain qualifying conditions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/03\/08\/medical-marijuana-unemployment-benefits-michigan_n_2832136.htmlhttp:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/03\/08\/medical-marijuana-unemployment-benefits-michigan_n_2832136.html\" target=\"_blank\">For more on this story click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1150,249,1438,52,166,98,337,56,9,196,69,51,1439,70,495,1440,1,3,1109,173,61],"tags":[3720,2827,4007,2632,2744,2676,2915,2636,2774,2648,2631,4008,5,3069,4009,3679,2751,6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1420"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}