Over the objections of law enforcement and health officials, a second House committee approved a bill Wednesday that would legally allow some Tennesseans to use medical cannabis. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Crosby, would give those suffering from roughly a dozen maladies a legal defense if they are arrested and prosecuted for having […]
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has had cannabis in his crosshairs since even before he took office, but his first formal shot at legalization—the decision last week to rescind the Cole memo—looks more and more like it could backfire. On Friday, a California congresswoman introduced a US House bill that would protect state-legal cannabis from […]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is actively lobbying Congress to overturn existing law prohibiting federal interference in state medical-marijuana policy. As someone who believes in strong constitutional limits on federal power and the rights of patients to choose, I am deeply disappointed. And as a cancer survivor who wanted the choice for myself, I wonder: Does […]
Voters in two states chose new governors on Tuesday. Both of those elections — as well as the results of a number of local races across the country — will have huge implications for efforts to legalize marijuana. Here’s an overview of cannabis-specific ballot measures that voters approved, along with details on how the Democratic […]
Stuck between Congress and voters’ will, residents of this politically charged town are becoming urban gardeners, turning closets and living rooms into tiny cannabis farms while politicians dither over whether it ever will be legal to sell marijuana in the nation’s capital. They’re also ignoring a ban on sales and illegally buying cannabis from a […]
In an industry rife with “extreme uncertainty” at pretty much every level, the best thing business leaders can do is ‘Be Ready.’ This is both the slogan and the guiding principle of the newly launched National Association of Cannabis Businesses (NACB). Founded by Joshua Laterman – who spent 20 years working in business management and […]
Orlando-based Attorney John Morgan, who financed the campaign to pass Amendment 2, filed a lawsuit Thursday demanding that the state allow patients to smoke medical marijuana. Morgan discussed details of the lawsuit during a news conference has been scheduled in front of the Leon County Courthouse in Tallahassee. Morgan told WESH 2 News in June […]
Just like that, Mexico joined Canada this month in making medical marijuana legal nationwide. And the Canadian Parliament is considering making adult-use marijuana legal across the nation by mid-2018. All of this could potentially put legal marijuana businesses in the United States far behind their neighbors to the north and south. Marijuana remains an illegal […]
Nevada voters legalized recreational marijuana in November, and officials are trying to put rules in place to start selling it on July 1. It would be the shortest turnaround from legalization to the launch of sales in any of the other seven states and District of Columbia where recreational cannabis is legal. Regulations are complicated […]
Vermont Governor Phil Scott has vetoed S. 22, legislation that would have legalized cannabis in the state for adults over the age of 21. The libertarian-leaning governor sent the law back to the legislature to develop clauses that further protect the health and safety of his constituents, he said in a press conference. The proposed […]
The U.S. Virgin Islands may have failed to legalize medical marijuana in the past, but one tenacious lawmaker believes he has the power to change naysayers’ minds in 2017. Senator Positive Nelson, the political force behind the island nation’s 2014 marijuana decriminalization measure, recently told the Virgin Islands Consortium that he plans to reintroduce legislation […]
Two of the biggest names to pass the expansion of medical marijuana in Florida—Orlando attorney John Morgan (above, right) and Florida For Care Executive Director Ben Pollara (left)—are going through a very public breakup after the state Legislature killed off a bill to regulate Florida’s medical marijuana industry late Friday evening. After 60 days, state […]
Two South Carolina bills planned for introduction in 2017 would legalize medical cannabis for qualifying patients in the state, effectively nullifying the unconstitutional federal prohibition on the same. South Carolina is one of the many Southern states that allow the use of cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive cannabinoid, for specific medical conditions. However, the Palmetto state […]
In 2016, more countries legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. Marijuana, or cannabis, is “the most widely cultivated, produced, trafficked and consumed drug worldwide,” according to the World Drug Report, but its legality has long been a topic of debate worldwide. In the US, Maine recently confirmed legalized recreational marijuana use, […]
When California voters approved Proposition 64 on Tuesday, the basic idea was simple: a majority of people in America’s most populous state believe that adults should be able to consume marijuana if they feel like it, like a glass of wine at 5 o’clock. But the details of the proposition, which stretches more than 60 […]
Two years after voters narrowly rejected a medical marijuana law in Florida, the state overwhelmingly passed Amendment 2 last week. But despite the 4 million votes cast on Election Day to legalize cannabis for medical use, patients eager to access medicine may have a long wait ahead of them as the Legislature gears up to debate the […]
The DEA will make one small change when it comes to cannabis: the agency intends to loosen restrictions on federally-approved research of marijuana. As of this writing, only one entity has a federal license to grow cannabis for research: the University of Mississippi. Thursday’s changes will expand the number of places where cannabis can be […]
Minnesota may have already legalized medical marijuana but it wasn’t until Monday that pain patients of the state finally had the opportunity to buy it. Even though the Minnesota state legislature legalized the drug for medicinal purposes in 2014, strict laws banned the plant form in favor of pills, oils and vapors. However, to obtain […]
This is going to be a transformative year for the United States. Not only are we set to vote in a new president for the first time in eight years this November, but we could also see the most rapid expansion of marijuana ever, with eight states now set to vote on recreational or medical […]
Rumor has it that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) plans to legalize marijuana any day now. Rumor also has it that Barack Obama is secretly a foreign-born Muslim and that the CIA had a hand in the attack that brought down the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, that first claim is about as likely to be […]
The Democratic Party released its official pre-convention platform this afternoon, giving all of us policy wonks stuck in our offices prior to the July 4 weekend something to read and grumble about. So let’s get grumbling! The party’s position on cannabis consists of 86 words of room-temp tea. Cold oatmeal. Stale fries. Choose your own […]
In the United States, medical marijuana is not legal in all states and only half the country’s patients can be treated with cannabis. In addition to this, some advocates in states like Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska are willing to legalize recreational marijuana. However, all of this could change if the DEA reclassifies the plant […]
A tech billionaire’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana in California has taken a major step toward the November ballot. Known as the “Adult Use of Marijuana Act,” the ballot measure legalizes possession of small amounts of cannabis for adults, establishes tax rates and a structure for farmers to grow pot, and creates the framework for […]
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PETITION LANGUAGE BALLOT TITLE: Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions BALLOT SUMMARY: Allows medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating medical conditions as determined by a licensed Florida physician. Allows caregivers to assist patients’ medical use of marijuana. The Department of Health shall register and regulate centers that produce and distribute […]
While her two young daughters were shopping with their father in South Weber, Utah, last Oct. 1, Enedina Stanger stayed behind in the parking lot. She had tried everything to help ease the pain from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – the rare and potentially fatal genetic tissue disorder she suffers from – but nothing else worked. She […]
Ohio voters are deciding today whether to pass the state’s controversial ballot measure, Issue 3, that would legalize marijuana and grant a de-facto monopoly on production of the plant to the ballot measure’s wealthy backers. The issue has split the drug reform community, with some national groups offering tepid last-minute endorsements and others steering clear […]
One way to examine the effects of dispensaries on local economies is to consider the impacts on states where recreational cannabis has been legalized, which currently includes Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — as well as in the District of Columbia. Before considering impacts in other states, let’s first take a look at Colorado, the […]
Nearly a year behind schedule, Florida health officials on Monday selected five “dispensing organizations” to grow, process and distribute non-euphoric medical marijuana for a select group of sick patients. But many in the industry believe that the biggest challenge in the drawn-out process is yet to come. Click here to read the entire article on […]
November is upon us, and although this month will surely be quieter than next year’s presidential election, it doesn’t mean that cannabis advocates are taking a break. In fact, quite the contrary — Ohio is pulling out all of the stops to legalize cannabis, but they’ve created quite a heated debate among the locals. Can […]
Marijuana legalization now enjoys majority support in the U.S. — 52 percent of Americans support legalization, 42 percent oppose it, and 7 percent remain undecided, according to the latest General Social Survey. But most changes to marijuana law aren’t happening at the federal level, they’re happening in the states. In some, possession and use remains […]
The march to bring marijuana legalization before California voters in 2016 ramped up Thursday with the announcement by a group of longtime Bay Area cannabis advocates that they have hired heavy-hitting Democratic political strategists and plan to release a draft of the proposed initiative in the coming weeks. Click here to read the entire article […]
Gov. Bill Haslam will sign into law a measure that allows limited usage of cannabis oil for medical reasons in Tennessee. The governor had said several times he wasn’t opposed to the bill, but confirmed Tuesday he could sign the bill as soon as the end of this week. “We do plan to sign that. […]
Two new measures that would decriminalize cannabis and establish a medicinal cannabis program in the state of South Carolina have been introduced by a bipartisan group led by house minority leader James Todd Rutherford. Medical Marijuana Bill To Allow Safe Access For Patients House Bill 3140, entitled “Put Patients First Act,” would help qualifying patients […]