Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday called drug overdose deaths "the top lethal issue" in the U.S. and urged law enforcement and social workers to "create and foster a culture that's hostile to drug use." Sessions spoke to the annual conference of the National Alliance For Drug Endangered Children. He said preliminary data show nearly 60,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016, the highest ever. "Our current drug epidemic is indeed the deadliest in American history. We've seen nothing like it," said Sessions. [continues 143 words]
SPRINGFIELD (AP) - Medical marijuana in Illinois would be required to carry warning labels about possible side effects under a bill of a Republican lawmaker. Rep. Dwight Kay, of downstate Edwardsville, said the goal is to treat medical marijuana like other prescription drugs that warn patients about possible adverse effects. His bill, up for a House committee vote Monday, doesn't specify what warnings should be on the products, leaving it to the state health department to decide. But Kay said he would like to see warnings about how marijuana can cause drowsiness and impaired driving, and that it can affect pregnancies. [continues 80 words]
But Opposition Fierce From Foes Including Law Enforcement Officials SPRINGFIELD - Another attempt to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana statewide is again in front of Illinois lawmakers, but as before, the proposal faces strong opposition from law enforcement and anti-pot advocates. The omnibus bill in the Senate also sets a standard for what's considered too high to drive and automatically purges municipal citation records for possession annually, unless local governments decide against it. Opponents of the legislation dislike both of those provisions, too, saying there should be zero tolerance and that expunging records will make it difficult to determine when someone needs drug treatment. [continues 468 words]
Colorado Will Compile Stats to Find Impact on Students (AP) - Colorado schools will begin compiling data on students who get busted for using or distributing marijuana, an effort aimed at gauging the effects of the drug's legalization in the state. The new requirement is an addition to a 2012 law directing law enforcement and district attorneys to collect information on how students are punished and whether they're being arrested or ticketed when they should be disciplined by educators for minor offenses. [continues 218 words]
State Aims to Study Effects of Legalization DENVER - Colorado schools will begin compiling data on students who get busted for using or distributing marijuana, an effort aimed at gauging the effects of the drug's legalization in the state. The new requirement is an addition to a 2012 law directing law enforcement and district attorneys to collect information on how students are punished and whether they're being arrested or ticketed when they should be disciplined by educators for minor offenses. [continues 359 words]
DENVER (AP) - Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana sales. Now the state's voters may consider a ballot measure to allow cannibis smokers to carry concealed firearms. The "Colorado Campaign for Equal Gun Rights" is working to put a question on the November 2016 ballot to have Colorado ignore guidelines from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about firearms and marijuana. The measure would change state law to prevent sheriffs from denying concealed carry permits because of marijuana use. It's a new frontier in the marijuana wars, and one that has divided gun-rights activists. [continues 573 words]
Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana sales. Now the state's voters may consider a ballot measure to allow pot smokers to carry concealed firearms. The Colorado Campaign for Equal Gun Rights is working to put a question on the November 2016 ballot to have Colorado ignore guidelines from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about firearms and pot. The measure would change state law to prevent sheriffs from denying concealed-carry permits because of marijuana use. It's a new frontier in the marijuana wars, and one that has divided gun-rights activists. [continues 184 words]
DENVER - Two hot-button marijuana measures dealing with the potency and appearance of edibles will be considered by Colorado lawmakers in the final weeks of the legislative session. Legislators heard testimony Thursday on both bills but votes were not expected until next week. One bill would set possession limits for concentrated forms of marijuana such as hash oil. Currently, Colorado adults can possess up to an ounce of marijuana without regard to whether it's leafy flowers or concentrated oils. However, in its concentrated form, an ounce of pot has far more servings than the same amount in plant form. [continues 321 words]
The Colorado Measure Would Place Limits On The Potency Of Edibles. When people buy marijuana from a store in Colorado, the ounce they can walk out the door with is fairly easy to measure. Not so when the pot is in concentrated form, perhaps baked into a cookie or brownie. The state could soon address that issue with a bill pending in the House. "An ounce of concentrate is a significant amount - it's probably close to about 10 times the amount that you would have in an ounce of the flowers," said Democratic Rep. Jonathan Singer, who is co-sponsoring a bill that directs the state Department of Revenue to determine how much concentrated pot is equal to an ounce of leafy pot. [continues 233 words]
Colorado Considers Pot DUI Law DENVER - Colorado is considering setting a blood-test standard for what constitutes driving under the influence of marijuana. It is already illegal in all states to drive while impaired by drugs but only a few states have set a measurable benchmark for how much marijuana you can have in your system to be charged with a DUI. The bipartisan proposal from Reps. Claire Levy and Mark Waller would set a limit of 5 nanograms of THC, the psychoactive marijuana ingredient. [continues 60 words]
