Legalization of Marijuana

       It's good to see the state move forward on potentially legalizing marijuana .  The commission set up to study the issue is set to release a report by January 31, 2009.  Among the questions they will attempt to address: Other topics to be explored are the effects and costs of Rhode Island’s prohibition of the drug, except to sick people; whether adult use has increased since it was banned in 1918; whether its sales are financing drug cartels and fomenting violence; and its current availability to young people. The group will also look at how states and countries that have decriminalized the drug ... Read Full Story

From: http://www.reuters.com/ By Dan Cook PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug. The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it -- as long as they are out of public view -- despite a federal ban. "This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members," said Madeline Martinez, Oregon's executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization. "Our plans go beyond ... Read Full Story

The times, they are a changing as Portland, Oregon celebrates the opening of their very first medicinal marijuana café. While I totally believe that controlling and regulating marijuana is the answer (rather than banning it altogether), I never though I would see a marijuana café in the US. I have said my words before about the benefits and such of marijuana as a pain reliever and relaxant, so I will just leave it at that for now. However, I do want to say that I am quite proud of America for opening up a bit and learning more tolerance when it comes to marijuana. Read Full Story

In 1988, just a year after Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide for terminal patients with its Death with Dignity Act, the state broke trail again when voters passed the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act . However, federal laws make it very difficult to legally obtain marijuana for medical use. Although the law made it legal for patients to request and physicians to prescribe a medical permit to use marijuana to ease symptoms of arthritis, glaucoma, cancer, AIDS/HIV, multiple sclerosis, and many other conditions, patients were only allowed to grow their own, and they needed to obtain a special permit for that, too. Where to obtain the ... Read Full Story

Perhaps one of the most controversial debates today, the argument over Marijuana and its social effects and medical benefits is one that is making ripples in the public mind. In 1928 the use of cannabis was prohibited as the result of the 1925 Geneva International Convention on Narcotics Control, after Egypt and Turkey requested its inclusion. Since then, recreational use of the drug has grown with it reaching a peak more recently as a result of growing public awareness, and an ever increasing relaxed attitude towards the use of the drug. However, at present the argument over its continued prohibition is one which is ... Read Full Story

Portland, Oregon has opened the Nation’s first Cannabis Cafe offering medical marijuana card holders a place to get high! Despite a Federal ban on marijuana use, NORML, a group that has been on the heels of the government for some time trying to get them to legalize marijuana, has opened the United States’ first cannabis cafe [...] Read Full Story

MEDPAGE TODAY - Kristina Fiore The American Medical Association has changed its policy on medical marijuana, urging the federal government to review the drug's status as a top-tier controlled dangerous substance. The new policy, adopted Tuesday at its semiannual House of Delegates meeting in Houston, also calls for further studies of marijuana "and related cannabinoids in patients who have serious conditions for which preclinical, anecdotal, or controlled evidence suggests possible efficacy" of the drug. The agency adopted the policy to "help facilitate scientific research and the development of cannabinoid-based medicines," Edward Langston, MD, an AMA board member, said in a statement. "Despite more than ... Read Full Story