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The report documents the failing role that current federal drug policies play in supporting safety and health and draws attention to the acute need for an improved system of supports for people who use drugs including harm reduction. The report’s authors found that Canada’s current federal government is openly hostile to evidence-based measures like harm [...]

Seattle Times, 23 May 2013 - Large Indoor Farms Limited to Certain Industrial Areas Rules Would Allow Operations As Big As a Football Field Indoor pot-growing operations as large as a football field would be allowed in some Seattle industrial areas under new zoning approved Wednesday by a City Council committee.

Sacramento News & Review, 23 May 2013 - Can you update us on some of the latest developments in the world of medical-cannabis research? - -Wanda Wellness Yes, I can! A new study by Israel's Meir Medical Center has found that inhaled cannabis is very effective for people with Crohn's disease. The study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, gave 11 people two joints per day for eight weeks. They also gave 10 other people placebo doobies. Out of the 11 people on the real weed, five of them saw their Crohn's disease go into complete remission, with the others reporting that their symptoms had been cut in half. All patients reported increased appetite and better sleep, with no adverse side effects.

Sacramento News & Review, 23 May 2013 - Eastern District Head Benjamin Wagner Explains That Colorado, Washington Faces Less Fed Intervention Because Laws Are Better Weed 'Free-For-All' Sacramento-based U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner drives a minivan.

Westword, 23 May 2013 - Dear Stoner: I recently read some quote from Thomas Jefferson about smoking bowls on his patio. Did our Founding Fathers actually smoke the hemp they were growing? History Buff Dear Buff: The quote that is falsely attributed to T.J. - "Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see" - actually can't be sourced anywhere in any of his writings, all of which are extensively documented. Yes, Washington and pretty much every other Founding Father, including Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Franklin Pierce, grew it. But that doesn't mean they smoked it.

Columbus Dispatch, 23 May 2013 - California voters passed the country's first medical-marijuana law in 1996, but many are having second thoughts. Last year, five California cities voted on initiatives to allow marijuana dispensaries, and all five voted no. Oregon also voted down dispensaries. These liberal West Coast states have seen medical marijuana up close, and learned it's barely medical at all. That shouldn't surprise anyone. The idea that smoking pot is medicine didn't come from doctors or groups representing the seriously ill. Neither the American Cancer Society nor the National Multiple Sclerosis Society supports it, and the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics strongly oppose it.

Northwest Arkansas Times, 22 May 2013 - SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Springfield's City Council has voted again not to lower the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The council Monday night defeated a proposal to limit penalties for possession of the drug and declined to place an alternative proposal on the August ballot. Supporters of the proposals said they would meet later to decide what their next step might be, The Springfield News-Leader reported.

Morning Journal, 22 May 2013 - Ohio Cannabis Amendment to Face First Obstacle COLUMBUS - Supporters of the right to use medical marijuana in Ohio will undergo their first legislative hurdle Thursday as the Ohio Ballot Board plans to discuss if the Ohio Rights Cannabis Amendment contains one issue or two. Approval is needed from the ballot board before petitioners can continue pursuing signatures to get the issue on the ballot.

East Bay Express, 22 May 2013 - New research suggests that the main ingredient in marijuana may help alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is believed that some 7.7 million Americans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Yet current treatments for the sometimes devastating anxiety disorder have limited efficacy. Now, a Yale University professor, who recently made a presentation of his research at a conference in Oakland, contends that there is strong evidence that the main ingredient in marijuana, THC, not only helps alleviate symptoms of PTSD, but also may ultimately help cure it.

Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2013 - Ex-Chicago cop given 18 years in prison for helping kidnap, rob drug dealers With prosecutors seeking a 30-year prison term for him, former veteran Chicago narcotics cop Glenn Lewellen closed his eyes tightly and held his palms together in prayer Monday as the judge was about to announce his sentence on federal drug conspiracy charges.

Sunshine Coast Daily, 21 May 2013 - COCAINE in toys and meth in curry paste are among the alarming discoveries Australian authorities are making as they battle record numbers of drug traffickers, a government crime report has revealed. In 2011-2012, more than 76,000 busts and 93,000 arrests took drug-related crime to its highest level in more than a decade.

Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2013 - With prosecutors seeking a 30-year prison term for him, former veteran Chicago narcotics cop Glenn Lewellen closed his eyes tightly and held his palms together in prayer Monday as the judge was about to announce his sentence on federal drug conspiracy charges. A smile cracked his lips as Lewellen heard his sentence: 18 years in federal prison. Moments later, as he was led away by deputy marshals, he turned and gave a thumbs-up to family members who had packed the courtroom.

The Trentonian, 20 May 2013 - Legal marijuana's sensational evolution is helping crack open a previously closed door: money to start and grow cannabis businesses. Marijuana entrepreneurs routinely are turned down for bank loans or deposit accounts and have struggled to attract financing from private investors.

Wall Street Journal, 20 May 2013 - Amid Relaxed Laws, Officials Wrestle With How to Determine Who Is Impaired As some states relax laws on pot possession, lawmakers are struggling to create rules for how police officers should identify motorists who are driving under the influence of marijuana.

On Friday, 17 May, in Bogotá, Colombia, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will present Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos with the groundbreaking outcomes of a high level drug policy review. Mandated by 34 heads of state – including the US – at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, [...]

Spokesman-Review, 18 May 2013 - The Washington Liquor Control Board left no would-be stoner unturned, developing comprehensive rules for marijuana sellers and growers. The 47-page draft released Thursday encompasses every step in the newly legalized retail sale of marijuana from seed to seller and, really, beyond, because even the waste has to be accounted for.

Southern Illinoisan, 18 May 2013 - SPRINGFIELD -- A proposal to legalize limited medical use of marijuana for certain chronically ill patients now is headed to Illi-nois Gov. Pat Quinn. By a 35-21 vote, the Illinois Senate on Friday approved a four-year pilot project to legalize medicinal use of marijuana under a regulatory framework the sponsors called the "tightest, most controlled" in the nation.

New York Times, 18 May 2013 - MEXICO CITY - A comprehensive report on drug policy in the Americas released Friday by a consortium of nations suggests that the legalization of marijuana, but not other illicit drugs, be considered among a range of ideas to reassess how the drug war is carried out. The report, released by the Organization of American States walked a careful line in not recommending any single approach to the drug problem and encouraging "flexibility."

The Times-Tribune, 18 May 2013 - Attorney General Calls Marijuana a "Gateway Drug." HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane told a gathering of newspaper editors Friday that she opposes legislation to legalize marijuana because users often move on to harder drugs.

The Australian, 18 May 2013 - The Benefits Are Clear; a Ban on Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes Cannot Be Supported MEDICINAL use of cannabis should be permitted in Australia. In 2013, we should not still be merely discussing this possibility. On Wednesday, a NSW parliamentary committee, chaired by Nationals MP Sarah Mitchell, unanimously recommended that medicinal cannabis be permitted for some people with certain terminal conditions.