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.
Two billion year old meteorite from Mars contained marijuana
A meteorite from the planet Mars is giving scientists their first glimpse of extraterrestrial life–and it is shocking everyone. The meteorite sports a fossilized marijuana leaf, as well as some dried plant material. The estimated age of the fossil is almost 2-billion years old.
The strange, greenish meteorite was discovered in Antarctica, about 20 years ago. The martian rock has the scientific name of RUustoned-420-iEyEam, and is about the size of a football. Bored NASA astronomers decided just recently to split the meteorite in half. and take a look inside.
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.
Two tonnes of cannabis seized in Greece – woah!
Greek authorities have seized nearly two tonnes of cannabis during an operation to dismantle an international ring of Greek and Albanian drug dealers in Attica and Larissa, during which they placed six suspects under arrest.
The raid was carried out on Saturday by the Attica Security drugs squad, working in collaboration with the Attica financial crimes unit (SDOE) drugs department and the U.S. Embassy's Drug Enforcement Administration bureau.
They arrested one Albanian and five Greeks, including the suspected mastermind of the ring, who were in the process of transporting the drugs to western Europe using long-haul trucks for international transport.
The police operation was based on a tip-off about the ring's activities and a three-month investigation that led detectives to the ring's mastermind, who owned a trucking company and other businesses in Larissa, and one of his closest associates.
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."
Health Canada mails details of marijuana users
A privacy breach on the part of Health Canada has landed personal information in the hands of a medical marijuana patient in Toronto.
Kyle Andrews, who relies on medical marijuana to ease symptoms brought on by HIV and Hepatitis C, received a package from Health Canada Wednesday that included the rules and regulations he requested about how he was allowed to ingest the marijuana. But it also included two pages documenting personal information from other medical marijuana patients who had called the Marihuana Medical Access Division.
