Flint, Michigan stops medical marijuana dispensaries for now
Flint is taking action on medical marijuana businesses.
The City Council passed a moratorium on dispensaries Monday night.
The moratorium temporarily bans any new dispensary from opening its doors in the city. It does not mean current dispensaries cannot do business.
This is a move many cities and townships have made over the past few months, as officials try to figure out how to regulate the Michigan Medical Marijuana act passed by voters.
Last night's council vote on the 180-day moratorium was unanimous. This gives the city time to establish a zoning ordinance for dispensaries.
Former New Mexico Governor says: Yes, It Is time for Pot Legalization, Mr. President
The Web is humming with stories and discussion from the aftermath of President Obama's response to questions about drug legalization during last Thursday's YouTube forum. While his words this time around are a bit more encouraging than previous signals from the administration, I would strongly suggest that we all, including the president, cut through the platitudes and get to the truth about marijuana prohibition.
If, as the president suggests, it is time for a "serious debate" about legalization, let's get to it, starting with a few questions that beg for truth:
Medical marijuana debate coming to Helena, Montana
The Montana Legislature will hear the first of several medical marijuana bills on Friday.
House Bill 68 would change the current law, passed by voters in 2004 and people on both sides of the medical marijuana debate say the current Montana law needs changing.
"It's been up to us as caregivers for the most part to self regulate ourselves," said Mark Higgins, owner of medical marijuana store, Montannabis, Inc. In Billings. "Not everybody is good at that. And I think that's where a lot of the problems came in at."
New Bill Sparks Medical Marijuana Debate in Washington
Washington lawmakers say a new bill would help protect medical marijuana patients and providers from arrest.
But some patients say it could make things much worse for them.
Chet Biggerstaff was in an on-the-job accident. he went through several surgeries and was on several medications...but he says medical marijuana saved his life.
"Before i found cannabis I was writing my will, letters to family, I was ready to go. None of the medication they had me on touched it...nothing," says Biggerstaff.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington for more than a decade, but some say the law isn't clear enough.
Now lawmakers have introduced a new bill intended to clear things up.
That includes a new licensing system for medical marijuana providers and dispensaries.
Tommy Chong joins British Columbia’s NDP supporting weed activist
Tommy Chong toking an imaginary joint. Credit: Getty Images
Marijuana activist Dana Larsen is hoping his NDP leadership bid in B.C. gets a bit of a buzz from a smokin' endorsement by Canadian comedian Tommy Chong.
"I joined the B.C. NDP for one reason, and that is Dana Larsen," said Chong, best known as half of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong who starred in the potbuster movie, Up In Smoke.
Chong released a video Tuesday in which he appeared in a jovial, relaxed mood, with a Free Marc Emery poster shown prominently in the background. "Dana Larsen can change the face of this country but he needs your help," Chong says.
B.C. marijuana crusader Emery is currently in a U.S. jail.
Larsen has been in a war of words with the B.C. NDP since announcing his bid for leadership on Dec. 28. So far, he is the only declared candidate.
But party president Moe Sihota said Larsen was ineligible to run because his party membership expired in November.
Injunction issued against L.A.’s medical marijuana law
A judge has ordered Los Angeles not to enforce key sections of its controversial medical marijuana ordinance, issuing a preliminary injunction that once again leaves the city with limited ability to control dispensaries and raises the possibility that new ones could open.
The decision comes almost six months after the City Council adopted the law, which opponents said was riddled with flaws. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Mohr, in a decision released Friday, agreed with most of the criticisms raised by the dispensaries.
In his ruling, Mohr acknowledged "there is a good chance that a large number of collectives could open once this injunction takes effect."
Mohr enjoined a crucial provision of the ordinance that outlaws all dispensaries except those that registered with the city in 2007 after the City Council adopted a moratorium on new stores. He concluded it is invalid because the moratorium was improperly extended and therefore had expired before the registration deadline for dispensaries.
Win or lose, California’s Prop. 19 is the right way to go
In just over 48 hours the polls in California will close and citizens of that state will have either accepted or rejected Proposition 19, a citizen's initiative to seriously decriminalize possession and cultivation of marijuana for adults. If passed, California will be the first state in the nation to allow an adult to possess up to one ounce of the fibrous herb, and to operate a 25 x 25 foot grow op. Predictably, law enforcement, drug treatment professionals, and concerned parents are up in arms and warning of dire social consequences should Prop. 19 be adopted.
They offer the same arguments that proponents of cannabis prohibition have been advancing for decades. They warn of rampant pot abuse by children, death and mayhem on the highways, sky high cancer rates, and a surge in addiction. Certainly, they argue, if the wild weed is legalized thousands, perhaps millions of pot users will be subject to marijuana's proposed gateway effect and move on to hard drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.
New High of 46% of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana
While California's marijuana ballot initiative is garnering a lot of attention this election cycle, Gallup finds that nationally, a new high of 46% of Americans are in favor of legalizing use of the drug, and a new low of 50% are opposed. The increase in support this year from 44% in 2009 is not statistically significant, but is a continuation of the upward trend seen since 2000.
The year is 2020: What’s happening with marijuana?
Social change rarely occurs in a logical direction or at a predictable pace. Many Americans thought rampant, open use of marijuana in the 1960s and '70s would lead quickly to legalization of the drug, but that didn't happen. To the contrary, enforcement of anti-pot laws increased in the 1980s, and penalties grew stiffer.
But over the past few years, as several states and now the District of Columbia have legalized use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, a path to full legalization for recreational use has once again seemed clear to advocates of legalization and skeptics alike. California voters' decision in a referendum Tuesday will play a large role in determining the momentum of the legalization movement.
Continue reading and view a cool video at The Washington Post
Virginia Senator files bill to ban synthetic marijuana
Spice synthetic marijuana packet, getting banned internationally Credit: wikimedia.org
State Senator Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt Co, 22nd District) doesn't want to see "Spice" smoked anywhere in the Commonwealth.
The former Roanoke City Mayor pre-filed a bill for the upcoming General Assembly session in January, that seeks to ban the sale of synthetic marijuana products in Virginia.
The legislation comes after Roanoke County and Salem City leaders both passed resolutions earlier this month, asking the General Assembly to ban the product.
Sen. Smith's bill would classify "Spice" as a Schedule 1 drug. Missouri and Kansas state governments are also considering legislation against synthetic marijuana.
Back in July, Blacksburg officers said two teens were sent to the hospital after smoking synthetic marijuana. One was a Virginia Tech student. Officers said the two teens were smoking "Bayou Blaster," and suffered from violent seizures.
California’s Prop 19: the end of the war on marijuana?
Californians will go to the polls this Election Day, and decide whether to legalize marijuana for adult, recreational use. The measure’s called Proposition 19, and the debate has largely centered on how it could impact the financial future of the state.
But how has California’s anti-pot policy faired so far? Some argue that prohibiting pot keeps people from using more dangerous drugs. Others say that criminalizing cannabis disproportionately harms minorities.
