MAP Drugnews

Kansas City Star, 26 Mar 2018 - The Kansas House of Representatives rejected medical marijuana legalization Monday. But the closeness of the 54-69 vote and the hour of emotional testimony that preceded it made advocates more confident that Kansas is now closer to joining the 30 states that allow marijuana by prescription.

Philadelphia Daily News, 27 Mar 2018 - Gov. Murphy greatly expanded New Jersey's medical marijuana program Tuesday, opening the door to tens of thousands of new patients and allowing the five dispensaries spread across the state to add satellite retail centers and cultivation facilities. The governor added to the list of ailments that qualify for a cannabis prescription. He also cleared the way for any doctor in the state to prescribe cannabis, ending a system in which only those physicians who registered -- and thus, joined a publicly available list of providers - -- could do so. He said some doctors had been reluctant to participate in the program because they viewed joining the list as a stigma.

Philadelphia Daily News, 27 Mar 2018 - FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The U.S. Senate's top leader said Monday he wants to bring hemp production back into the mainstream by removing it from the controlled substances list that now associates it with its cousin – marijuana. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told hemp advocates in his home state of Kentucky that he will introduce legislation to legalize the crop as an agricultural commodity. The versatile crop has been grown on an experimental basis in a number of states in recent years.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 27 Mar 2018 - GAINESVILLE -- The University of Florida could start growing industrial hemp as soon as the fall. But the project still has to pass some hurdles before planting begins, said Rob Gilbert, chairman of the UF/IFAS agronomy department.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 27 Mar 2018 - Cure Oahu, backed by a local private investment group, opened with 10 strains, including top sellers Master Kush, Da Glue, Sour Chem and Sunset Mango. The dispensary in the former Bank of Hawaii branch building at 727 Kapahulu Ave. said there was heavy demand for indica, sativa and hybrid flower strains as well as tinctures and lozenges, which sold out shortly after opening. The 5,434-square-foot building has had a major makeover with a high-tech, 2,400-square-foot open lobby and dispensing area with two private consultation booths and large electronic tablet stations where customers can browse through information and choose from a variety of strains. Patients are also able to register and order products online before coming into the dispensary.

The Globe and Mail
Marijuana marketing: The race to stand out - The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
Advance work is crucial because as the market opens up, restrictions on ads are likely to become much tighter.

and more »

AL.com
Mobile FedEx reports large marijuana haul in package
AL.com
Up to 75 pounds of marijuana was discovered inside a FedEx package in Mobile Wednesday. FedEx employees at the Trippel road site called police officers when they smelled marijuana coming from inside the package. The package was turned over to narcotics ...

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Marijuana industry getting support from lawmakers in three states.

Berkeley, one of California’s most progressively pro-cannabis cities, did it first. Now the entire state may follow suit. Alaska and Massachusetts may also join in on the movement.

 

Last month, the Berkeley City Council passed a resolution declaring official sanctuary status for recreational marijuana, hoping to fend off a federal challenge from the Jeff Sessions-led Department of Justice. Under the Berkeley resolution, “no department, agency, commission, officer or employee of the City of Berkeley shall use any City funds to assist in the enforcement of Federal drug laws related to cannabis.”

The vote was a direct response to Sessions’ decision in January to roll back Obama-era protections for the cannabis industry. Sessions announced the DEA would be free to go after state-legal marijuana growers and stores because they are in violation of federal law.

“We knew we had to do something,” Berkeley City Councilman Ben Bartlett told the Associated Press. “This is a new engine of a healthy economy.” Berkeley became a sanctuary city for medical cannabis in 2008.

• Related Story: ACLU Suing California City For Not Allowing Residents To Get High

Less than a month after Berkeley’s vote, similar bills are pending in the state capitals of Alaska, California and Massachusetts.

Alaska state Rep. Adam Wool introduced his bill to protect the nascent industry. “If the federal government wants to prosecute someone for breaking federal law, I guess they have every right to do that,” said Wool, a Democrat from one of the state’s largest marijuana-growing areas. “I’m just saying, we will have no obligation to assist them.”

 

Last week, Mass. state Reps. Dave Rogers and Mike Connolly filed a bill called the “Refusal of Compliance Act.” The law would prevent local and state authorities from handing over people who follow state cannabis laws to federal agents unless those agents have a warrant.

“Massachusetts voters have gone to the polls and expressed their support for what I’d call a sensible drug policy and an end to marijuana prohibition,” said Connolly. “I can appreciate the parallel between this and more typical sanctuary-state-type stuff. I think the comparison is pretty clear, to the extent that we are a state government responding to the will of our own voters and people in our community.”

• Related Story: California Closer To Being A ‘Sanctuary State’ For Marijuana

Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, said the federal government is focused more on larger markets such a California. “I don’t think the feds care too much about marijuana in Alaska, to tell you the truth,” he told AP. “But marijuana has been a big industry in this state, so we’re sort of on the front lines.”

Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, doubts federal agents would hassle companies complying with state law. “But you can’t put it past them,” he said, adding that new U.S. attorneys have been appointed by President Donald Trump in many states. “I wouldn’t put it past at least a few of them to want to gain points with their boss. But I think, politically, it would be a disaster for them.”

 

Detroit Free Press
Michigan medical marijuana dictionary: Words you should know
Detroit Free Press
Sativa: One of three families of cannabis, known for its energizing effects and used to treat depression, stimulate appetite and reduce nausea. Blunt: A marijuana cigarette made by dumping the tobacco out of a cigar and replacing it with marijuana ...
Marijuana Dispensaries Are Keeping Cannabis Out Of The Hands ...Forbes
Marijuana-Friendly States Want to Meet with Jeff Sessions to Resolve Cannabis' Legal LimboTIME
PEI reveals rules around cannabis, set to allow 4 plants per homeGlobalnews.ca
Calgary Herald -Richmond.com -Baltimore Sun
all 987 news articles »

Heavy alcohol use shrinks the brain's gray matter. Marijuana use doesn't.

 

 

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CBC.ca
From pale ale to pot: brewery guides prep for budding business in ...
CBC.ca
Tourists converge on British Columbia for a lot of reasons, but there's one major attraction that's only mentioned in winks and whispers: that fabulous B.C. bud.

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Barron's
Marijuana Stocks Could Be a Buzzkill
Barron's
Canada's experiment is being closely watched by other countries, including the U.S., where federal law still classifies marijuana as an illegal narcotic, but where more than half of the states allow prescription sales and nine have legalized ...

New York Times
California Today: In Oakland, a Clash of Artists vs. Big Cannabis
New York Times
Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Here's the sign-up.) The Oakland Cannery is just the type of place that the city likes to promote as its heart and soul. The former Del Monte fruit processing facility has for several decades served ...

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koin.com (US) Oregon and other marijuana-friendly states are seeking a meeting with U.S. (Fri Mar 30 21:51:25 2018 PDT)

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