Marijuana

Seattle Times, 14 May 2013 - TAKE a short drive through any corner of Seattle, and count the number of businesses with green crosses on their signs. For the uninitiated, that is the discrete symbol for a marijuana dispensary. But at this point, who isn't initiated?

The Gazette, 14 May 2013 - The Colorado Springs City Council will host public hearings this summer to talk about pot. The council must decide whether the city will allow retail marijuana sales or ban them. And there is much to consider in the meantime, said Kyle Sauer of the city attorney's office.

A bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana has made it through the Vermont legislature, winning final approval Monday. Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) has said he supports it. If he indeed signs it, Vermont will become the 17th state to either decriminalize or legalize marijuana.

[image:1 align:right]Senate Bill 48, sponsored by Sen. Joe Benning, and House Bill 200, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pearson, would impose a civil fine on possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Under H. 200, a person under 21 who is found in possession of up to an ounce of marijuana would have to undergo substance abuse screening and possible treatment. That language was carried over in the final votes.

Under current state law, possession of up to two ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for a first offense and up to two years in jail for a subsequent offense.

"We applaud the Vermont Legislature for adopting this much-needed legislation and setting an example for other states in the region and around the country," said Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project. "The exceptionally broad support demonstrated for this measure reflects the progress our nation is making toward adopting a new and more sensible approach to marijuana policy."

The Marijuana Policy Project has spent years lobbying for marijuana reform in Vermont.

"The days of criminalizing people simply for using a substance less harmful than alcohol are coming to an end,” Simon said.

That's already the cost in most of the states in the region. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island have all decriminalized pot possession. In New England, New Hampshire is now the lone hold-out.

The Intelligencer, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

The Expositor, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

Sentinel Review, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

The Chatham Daily News, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

The Beacon Herald, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

San Francisco Examiner, 13 May 2013 - Justice Department's Attempt Is First Such Move in S.F. The landlord's eviction proceedings against Shambhala Healing Center last year failed because the site complies with state, though not federal, laws.

Concord Monitor, 13 May 2013 - Hardy Macia speaks in a whisper, gentle like the hills and lake outside the hospital window, yet cruel in the illness it represents. He sits cross-legged in bed, his mouth and nose covered by an oxygen mask, signing paperwork handed to him by a friend, who's also an attorney. His family is everywhere: in Macia's room, where bags of liquid and twisting tubes hang beside his bed, and down the hall in the waiting area, near that window framing Vermont's serenity.

Chicago Sun-Times, 13 May 2013 - For seriously ill folks looking for relief, a big moment has arrived. Here's hoping the Illinois Senate doesn't blow it. A bill legalizing medical marijuana likely will come up for a vote this week. The bill already has passed the House. In years past, less restrictive versions of the very same bill have prevailed in the Senate. Yet, we worry. We fear that fear will overcome reason. We worry that speculation about opening the door to drug legalization will trump the facts. We worry that compassion for people in pain will get lost in the political shuffle.

Wisconsin State Journal, 13 May 2013 - A Weekly Feature on Proposed Changes to State and Local Law. in a Nutshell Under current law, a city, village, town or county can enact and enforce an ordinance prohibiting the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana or the possession of a synthetic cannabinoid. A person who is charged with possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana or who is charged with possession of any amount of marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid following a conviction for the possession of a controlled substance generally may not be prosecuted under the ordinance.

Seattle Times, 12 May 2013 - Cannabis Freedom March at Westlake Message: Police Make Sure It's Done Legally In a sign of how far and how fast mainstream attitudes about pot have shifted in Washington state, Seattle's top cop drew cheers Saturday when he addressed a crowd of several hundred people at the annual Cannabis Freedom March at Westlake Center.

Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2013 - What if your doctor smoked marijuana and then performed surgery on you? Not a comforting thought, but it could happen. That is why two Johns Hopkins doctors and patient safety experts say hospitals should make alcohol and drug tests mandatory for physicians. The doctors shared their views in a commentary published online April 29 in The Journal of the American Medical Association. They say doctors should also be tested if a patient dies suddenly or is unexpectedly injured during surgery. "Patients might be better protected from preventable harm. Physicians and employers may experience reduced absenteeism, unintentional adverse events, injuries, and turnover, and early identification of a debilitating problem," wrote the authors of the study: Dr. Julius Cuong Pham, an emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, director of the Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

Buffalo News, 12 May 2013 - It's time to set the record straight about marijuana policy in New York. The May 5 article "Look before you leap," by Dr. Robert Whitney, is both inaccurate and misleading. New Yorkers have had a hard and decades-long look at our marijuana policies, and they understand how much destruction they have caused criminalizing seriously ill New Yorkers, saddling tens of thousands of young people with criminal records each year and creating reprehensible racial disparities. Under our current policies, thousands of New Yorkers living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions must break the law or needlessly suffer, despite the fact that there is good scientific evidence to support the health benefits of medical marijuana for a range of serious conditions. In addition to at least 110 controlled clinical studies, including randomized controlled trials meeting the "gold standard" of scientific evidence, looking at cannabis or other cannabinoids, in 1999, the congressionally chartered Institute of Medicine conducted the most extensive review of the medical literature on marijuana to date. It concluded that "[t]he accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value for cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

Washington Examiner, 11 May 2013 - A student in a Fairfax County public school caught for the first time with marijuana would not be automatically expelled, under a new disciplinary policy the school board is scheduled to consider Monday. The current policy recommends expelling a student caught for the first time with marijuana or synthetic marijuana unless school leaders decide, after a hearing, that another punishment would be more appropriate.

Kamloops Daily News, 11 May 2013 - There's a tantalizing 10-page gap in the B.C. government's response to a freedom of information request. An unidentified media outlet asked for any records in the Justice Ministry dealing with the possible impact of decisions in Washington state and Colorado to approve recreational marijuana use.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 11 May 2013 - This week, the Colorado General Assembly put the finishing touches on legislation aimed at taxing and regulating the commercial distribution of marijuana for recreational use. The process has been haunted by the fear that the federal government will try to quash this momentous experiment in pharmacological tolerance - a fear magnified by the Obama administration's continuing silence on the subject.

The Steamboat Today, 11 May 2013 - Just in the nick of time last week, Colorado lawmakers came together to pass legislation establishing the regulatory framework for retail marijuana business in the state. While much remains in the air - including, for example, whether Colorado voters will approve this fall marijuana excise and sales taxes that will raise money for school construction and pot industry oversight, respectively - there are some fundamental positives about the bills approved Wednesday. Significantly for Steamboat Springs, Routt County and other municipalities, the laws provide at least a regulatory foundation on which they can build. Last November's passage of Amendment 64 very clearly legalized the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis for adults 21 and older, but the constitutional amendment left it up to the state to work out regulations for the operation of recreational marijuana businesses. The state was up against a July 1 deadline to create such regulations.

Packet & Times, 11 May 2013 - The possibility of a medical-marijuana facility has caused a big stir in a small Muskoka town. About two weeks ago, the 700 residents of MacTier, located about an hour north of Orillia in the Township of Georgian Bay, learned their council was considering converting their only community centre and arena into a medical marijuana research and development plant.