Colorado: Boulder weeds out its medical marijuana industry
Boulder officials have rejected more than one-third of the applications from people seeking to run medical marijuana dispensaries or growing operations in the city, slowing the pace of what once was seen as a Wild West-style rush for riches.
Ten months after the initial 119 business-license applications were turned in by Boulder's November deadline -- set when the City Council last year approved sweeping new regulations for the budding industry -- 40 medical marijuana companies have licenses to operate.
So far, 41 of those 119 applications, from existing businesses that had opened prior to adoption of the new rules, have been rejected for reasons that include zoning problems, incomplete paperwork and -- in about half of the cases -- the sometimes extensive criminal records of owners, operators and investors.
City officials say the vast majority of the 38 applications that remain in their queue have passed their initial background checks and are well on their way to being awarded business licenses.
Israeli government approves guidelines for medical marijuana
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media adviser said "the Health Ministry will – in coordination with the Israel Police and the Israel Anti-Drug Authority – oversee the foregoing and will also be responsible for supplies from imports and local cultivation."
Of approximately 6,000 Israelis currently being treated with medical cannabis (aka medical marijuana), most suffer from chronic pain and terminal illnesses. The therapeutic potential of cannabis has been known for many years and is recognized by the Health Ministry.
Canada: Ontario closer than ever to legalization of marijuana
Ontario is one step closer to the legalization of marijuana after the Ontario Superior Court struck down two key parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prohibit the possession and production of pot.
The court declared the rules that govern medical marijuana access and the prohibitions laid out in sections 4 and 7 of the Act “constitutionally invalid and of no force and effect” on Monday, effectively paving the way for legalization.
If the government does not respond within 90 days with a successful delay or re-regulation of marijuana, the drug will be legal to possess and produce in Ontario, where the decision is binding.
The ruling stemmed from the constitutional challenge of Matthew Mernagh, a man who relies on medical marijuana to ease pain brought on by fibromyalgia, scoliosis, seizures and depression.
Medical marijuana is becoming a lucrative business in Hawaii
Legal users soared to more than 8,000 over the past decade from 255 in 2001, the program's first year.
$38 million a year, with patients consuming an average of 1 ounce per month at a street price of $400.
It's a burgeoning business for doctors, who charge as much as $300 to certify medical marijuana patients. The consultation typically lasts an hour and often is not covered by medical insurance.
There were 175 physicians licensed to certify medical marijuana patients as of June, up from 35 in 2001, according to the Narcotics Enforcement Division of the state Department of Public Safety.
The state charges a $25 processing fee for a medical marijuana certificate. Patients are required to be certified annually.
Hawaii's medical marijuana law allows patients with a debilitating condition — such as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, severe pain or nausea — to use the drug if they are certified by a physician registered with the state. It is still illegal to buy marijuana, but patients can grow it legally.
Most polled in Montana prefer to repeal marijuana regulation
A slim majority of Montanans favor repealing the law legalizing medical marijuana, but in response to another question, a much larger percentage support tightening regulations on the industry rather than terminating the law, a new Lee Newspapers poll shows.
When asked whether they would support or oppose repealing the 2004 state law legalizing medical marijuana, 52 percent said they’d support repeal and 38 percent opposed it. Ten percent were undecided.
In response to another question, however, 83 percent of voters said they favor enacting stricter regulation and licensing requirements for medical marijuana in the state. Thirteen percent opposed tightening the law, while 4 percent were undecided.
New Hampshire House passes bill allowing medical marijuana
The New Hampshire House on Wednesday passed a bill that allows the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes by terminally and seriously ill patients.
The bill, HB 442 (click to view status and text), is much like one Gov. John Lynch vetoed two years ago. It includes a provision for treatment centers that would be licensed to distribute marijuana to approved patients.
Rhode Island lawmakers consider legalizing marijuana
Will Rhode Island become the first state to legalize pot? Just days after three applicants have been approved to run medical marijuana dispensaries in RI, lawmakers are looking over legislation that would make marijuana legal for anyone over the age of 21.
Rep. Edith Ajello, the primary sponsor for the bill, tells 630 WPRO that legalizing marijuana would save money in courts and "make drug smugglers obsolete and raise new revenue for the state."
Medical marijuana issue heats up in Montana Legislature
The Montana Medical Marijuana Act is once again coming under fire in the state legislature. More than 150 people crowded into the Capitol in Helena on Friday as the Senate Judiciary committee addressed a bill which would repeal the Medical Marijuana Act.
The bill is sponsored by MT State Representative Mike Milburn (R-Cascade), who says there is no way to rein in the medical marijuana industry. Milburn says the rapid increase in the number of medical marijuana cards is out of control. He says it is a strain on law enforcement and it is getting into the hands of children.
Milburn's bill has already passed the House in a 63-37 vote. Now the bill is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Oregon medical marijuana activists protest new restrictions
Medical-marijuana activists demonstrated at the Capitol on Wednesday, protesting proposed legislation that would put new restrictions on legally permitted medicinal cannabis.
A rally on the Capitol steps drew about 60 participants. Some held signs reading "Cannabis is my friend" and "Don't tread on medicine."
Demonstrators decried a flurry of bills introduced in the 2011 legislative session that seek to narrow participation in the state's 13-year-old medical-marijuana program or enact other changes.
Colorado may impose a legal THC level for driving
The surge of medical marijuana use in Colorado has started another debate in the state Legislature: What constitutes driving while high?
Lawmakers are considering setting a DUI blood-content threshold for marijuana that would make Colorado one of three states with such a provision in statute - and one of the most liberal, according to Rep. Claire Levy, one of the bill's sponsors.
Under the proposal, drivers who test positive for 5 nanograms or more of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, would be considered too impaired to drive if the substance is present in their blood at the time they're pulled over or within two hours.
Levy, a Democrat from Boulder, said she's gotten resistance from medical marijuana advocates who fear it will restrict patients from using the drug.
"What I've tried to assure the patient advocates is that we're not talking about sobriety checkpoints, we're not talking about dragnets and massive stops," she said. "They're not going to be stopped if they're driving appropriately."
While it's already illegal to drive while impaired by drugs, states have taken different approaches to the issue. Twelve states, including Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Rhode Island, have a zero-tolerance policy for driving with any presence of an illegal substance, said Anne Teigen, policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Minnesota has the same policy but exempts marijuana.
