Washington Post - Karl Vick The same day they rejected a gay marriage ballot measure, residents of Maine voted overwhelmingly to allow the sale of medical marijuana over the counter at state-licensed dispensaries. Later in the month, the American Medical Association reversed a longtime position and urged the federal government to remove marijuana from Schedule One of the Controlled Substances Act, which equates it with heroin. A few days later, advocates for easing marijuana laws left their... Read Full Story
Huffington Post VIA Cannabis News USA -- April 20 is "National Pot Smoking Day."
It's a day where people across the world celebrate in the conspicuous
consumption of the magical herb, marijuana. It's an unofficial
counterculture holiday that is based on the simple concept of smoking
some cannabis and being happy. The
history of its origin is somewhat cloudy. I found some interesting
theories into the beginning of this toker's holiday. The most
convincing account was recorded in the San... Read Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court handed medical marijuana patients and advocates a resounding victory on Monday, refusing to hear a case brought by San Diego County, which has long chafed at implementing statewide medical marijuana laws. The state of California, in an effort to systematize the 1996 voter-approved initiative, required localities to implement identification card programs for patients with doctor approval in 2004. Such ID cards are required to enter medical marijuana shops in California... Read Full Story
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... 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... 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... Read Full Story
REUTERS - 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... 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... 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... Read Full Story
An incremental acceptance of medical marijuana has spurred a cottage industry of business ventures — from iPhone applications to lobbyists — whose expansion shows no sign of slowing despite the recession. Instead, pot is the new growth industry.
The market began to take off in 1996, when California became the first state to approve the sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Today, medical marijuana sales in California are estimated at $700 million to $2 billion per year. Profits... Read Full Story
