Mendocino County's economic future may rest with a marijuana-fueled version of Wine Country, complete with tasting rooms, bud boutiques and pot-garden tourism. "It's the only thing we have that brings money into the county," said Mendocino County Supervisor John Pinches, who believes that marijuana accounts for at least half of the county economy. Estimates of the value of the county's pot crop range from $1.2 billion to $4.4 billion. In comparison, the county's total taxable retail sales were $1.3 billion in 2007, according to the Center for Economic Development at CSU Chico. [continues 1057 words]
California will vote in November on a proposal to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol or tobacco, but local legislators said any similar initiative in Indiana remains remote. "The current system is an utter failure," said Aaron Smith, Marijuana Policy Project California policy director. "More teens are smoking marijuana than cigarettes." If approved by the people, the proposal would allow adults 21 and older to posses up to an ounce of marijuana and for the state, along with counties and cities, to tax marijuana sales. [continues 333 words]
Proposed legislation that would tax medical marijuana - if voters legalize it this fall - narrowly passed the state Senate on Thursday thanks to a split among Republicans. The bill passed with a vote of 17-12 after five Republicans, including Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria, supported it. It now goes to the House for consideration. Senate Bill 1222 would make medical marijuana subject to the state sales tax, which right now is at 5.6 percent. Most drugs and medical supplies are exempt from this tax. It would also tack on a $20-per-ounce luxury tax. [continues 319 words]
Charlie Smith needs a reality check ("Prosecutor at odds with medical marijuana," March 19). His opposition to Maryland's medical marijuana bill flies in the face of all available scientific evidence and the urging of scores of medical professionals, including the Maryland Board of Pharmacy, Maryland Pharmacists Association, and Maryland Nurses Association, who all endorse the bill. Smith is a law-enforcement official -- not a doctor. He has no professional qualifications to decide whether or not medical marijuana is a "proven drug" for certain conditions, and he has no business broadcasting his ignorance on the topic. [continues 115 words]
Time magazine recently published an interesting statistic: 5.1 percent of Americans aged 55 to 59 smoke marijuana regularly -- a major jump from 2002, when 1.6 percent of Americans aged 55 to 59 admitted to smoking pot regularly. The magazine attributed the rise to the aging of the baby boom generation. And you can look at the stat four ways: One, it shows marijuana use is not just for the young and wild. We can only assume the age bracket -- where AARP membership and senior discounts begin -- was considered significant because it says old people are smoking. [continues 616 words]
DENVER - A state lawmaker wants veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder to be able to use medical marijuana. Sen. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, will try to amend proposed medical marijuana regulations (House Bill 1284) to allow the practice during a committee meeting Monday. The amendment would require people to get a recommendation from a psychiatrist before they would qualify for medical marijuana. "Frankly, I think it's one small step to help our veterans," Pace said. The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project is backing Pace's amendment as is Sensible Colorado, a patient advocacy group. [continues 193 words]
Legislation designed to help pot smokers instead had many of them going all like, "Dude, what the fuck?!?!" But the author is now telling everyone to chill out, no problem, he's got it under control. California Sen. Mark Leno (D-SF) introduced a bill last month that would make possession of up to one ounce of marijuana an infraction instead of a misdemeanor. As introduced, the bill Senate Bill 1449 would also raise fines to $250 from $100, which pot advocates and their allies thought was a serious bummer. But Leno called this a "drafting error" that he intends to correct with an amendment this week. [continues 316 words]
The divisions between the pro- and anti-marijuana crowds at the state House Judiciary Committee meeting were already clear last week when the young man who described himself as a recovering heroin addict approached the microphone. As the man spoke about marijuana use leading kids to harder drugs and fears that medical marijuana from dispensaries would make it into teenage hands, the lines became even clearer. Law enforcement officers and treatment counselors in the audience looked on with interest, some nodding their heads. Several members of the marijuana community snickered or exchanged incredulous whispers during the testimony. [continues 563 words]
States' Moves Reflect 'New Era' of Acceptance LOS ANGELES -- James Gray once saw himself as a drug warrior, a former federal prosecutor and county judge who sent people to prison for dealing pot and other drug offenses. Gradually, though, he became convinced that the ban on marijuana was making it more accessible to young people, not less. "I ask kids all the time, and they'll tell you it is easier to get marijuana than a six-pack of beer because that is controlled by the government," he said, noting that drug dealers don't ask for IDs or honor minimum age requirements. [continues 1808 words]
Hobbled by a degenerative back disease and arthritis, there were days when Perry Parks was in near constant pain. He tried Vioxx, epidural steroids and other drugs, but he said nothing seemed to work. Then the Vietnam veteran from Rockingham turned to marijuana. "The results were overwhelming," says Parks, 67. "I now live almost pain free." Tonight Parks will share his story at a town hall meeting at UNC Charlotte hosted by state Rep. Nick Mackey of Mecklenburg County. "The evidence that it benefits patients is pretty much unrefuted," Mackey said Wednesday. [continues 391 words]
Monday, March 08, 2010 New Jersey's medical marijuana law will not increase marijuana use among teens regardless of what the state's drug-prevention advocates are saying. In fact, once New Jersey implements its medical marijuana law, marijuana use among teens is very likely to decrease. David Evans, with the Flemington-based Drug Free Schools Coalition, recently said that former Gov. Jon Corzine's administration complicated the message to teens, in part, by approving medical marijuana ("N.J. drug-prevention advocates encourage new administration to address drug policy as national study finds teen drug, alcohol use rising," March 4). [continues 136 words]
KALAMAZOO — A local marijuana reform group will begin collecting signatures this week seeking support to soften pot laws in the city of Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo Coalition for Pragmatic Cannabis Laws wants to amend the city charter to state that the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana by those 21 and older should be “the lowest possible priority” for law enforcement. If approved by voters, Kalamazoo would become the first city in Michigan with such a law. The coalition must collect 2,765 signatures of registered voters in the city — 5 percent of registered voters — by Aug. 10 to get the issue before voters in the November general election. [continues 169 words]
Editor, the Advocate: In a recent medical marijuana story published in the Victoria Advocate, reporter J.R. Ortega discussed both the pros and cons of the issue, but ended up doing far greater harm than good by printing false claims made by grossly misinformed doctors. For instance, Victoria oncologist Dr. Ahmad Qadri is quoted as saying that he "doubt[s] there are any pros" to using marijuana. Dr. Qadri, it's not theory that marijuana is medicine; it's fact, backed by 5,000 years of recorded history. Research has shown that marijuana relieves symptoms like nausea, appetite loss, muscle spasms and certain types of pain. This evidence has been acknowledged by the American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, and many other reputable health organizations. [continues 280 words]
The first of three initiatives to fully legalize marijuana use in California went up in smoke on Jan. 15, 2010. Written by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, Assembly Bill 390 would have legalized marijuana use and sales for adults 21 years or older and imposed a $50 per ounce tax for drug education and rehabilitation. Opponents of AB 390 cheered the failure as a victory for the safety of our state's children, but proponents of the bill still intend to bring the issue to the November election ballot. [continues 567 words]
Medical marijuana may be coming to New York soon. A bill to legalize the possession and use of the drug was recently proposed by New York State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and is being pushed by supporters of legalization. The bill stipulates that distribution will only be allowed by licensed entities under the supervision of the New York State Department of Health and will be limited to two and a half ounces. Despite these measures, opponents claim the bill would send the wrong message to the public. [continues 348 words]
TOPEKA - On Thursday, a Wichita lawmaker introduced a bill that would create state-registered "compassionate care centers" allowing for people suffering from chronic illness who have a doctor's prescription to receive medical marijuana. State Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, brought up the bill to legalize marijuana for people with prescriptions. "Mine is kind of personal," Finney said. "I am a lupus patient and I have been through the treatment and I have met a lot of people with chronic conditions. One of the reasons I ran was because I wanted to be an advocate for those people." [continues 344 words]
Re "Don't legalize marijuana," Opinion, Jan. 28 Skip Miller of D.A.R.E. America is entitled to his arcane opinions about marijuana, but his distortions of the truth are unacceptable. Miller conveniently cites one physician's opinion that marijuana leads to cancer, but this belief is contradicted by research. Federally funded research on marijuana's health effects conducted at UCLA found that marijuana smoking does not lead to lung cancer. Moreover, a 2009 study published in the Cancer Prevention Research journal found that marijuana smokers actually have a lower risk of head and neck cancers than people who don't smoke marijuana. [continues 72 words]
Thousands of South Dakota parents are hoping the threat of arrest will steer their kids clear of a run-in with the law. A new report, however, shows that nationally, marijuana use does not go down as marijuana possession arrests go up. In "Marijuana Arrests in the United States in 2007," a study funded by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, Jon Gettman, adjunct assistant professor of criminal justice at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., concludes that "nationally, there is little apparent relationship between increasing marijuana arrests and the rates of use." [continues 584 words]
The California Supreme Court overturned the limit on how much medical marijuana a patient can carry in a unanimous vote yesterday, ruling residents can have as much as personally necessary. The court found the former limit of six mature plants and eight ounces of cannabis was not consistent with state law. California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing residents to possess marijuana for medical use. Thursday's ruling puts a hold on a more than decade long legal debate about the meaning of the proposition, which said patients could possess whatever amount necessary for their "personal needs." [continues 408 words]
The boyish young man in the khaki slacks and brown sweater looks Warren County Attorney Bryan Tingle straight in the eyes and declares that his constitutional rights are being squashed. He tells Tingle from his seat in the courtroom that Iowa's legal system is treading on his freedom of religion, and on the freedom of science and medicine to explore treatment alternatives for the chronically and mentally ill. With eyes gazing intently through his curly black hair, he tells Tingle that he's not afraid of going to prison. And there's a distinct possibility that, within a few weeks, he could land himself there for five years. [continues 3518 words]
