News

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) recently weighed in on marijuana use and policy during an interview with the Hoover Institution, warning of negative effects from using the drug while also arguing against incarceration for such behavior.

New York City Mayor Michael “Nanny” Bloomberg thinks medical marijuana is a hoax, but as far as I know he’s never been to medical school, which is obvious based on the results of a new survey that found more than three-quarters of physicians would prescribe it to their patients if they could.

A network of pastors is speaking out against the so-called "war on drugs" and the devastating effect it has had, particularly on the black community.

At a certain location on Wall Street, a group of investors were thinking of getting in on the ground floor of an industry that is, for now, largely illegal.

Nevadans who have legitimate reasons to use medical marijuana will soon find themselves buying supplies from regulated pot dispensaries. That is after Gov. Brian Sandoval signed into law SB374 on Wednesday.

Yesterday, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) issued "What's the Cost?" a report on the federal war on medical cannabis (marijuana).

Most Americans continue to support legalizing medical marijuana, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, and most think the federal government should refrain from prosecuting patients and dispensaries in states where it is legal.

Alaska will be the next battleground in the effort to legalize marijuana.

Potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and many other illnesses are being blocked by anti-drug laws, according to a new editorial review published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Federal prosecutors have sent dozens of letters warning medical marijuana shops in Los Angeles and Long Beach to shut down or risk potential criminal or civil action.

At the behest of Social Affairs and Health Minister Marisol Touraine, France has modified its Public Health Code to allow for the use of marijuana-based medicines, apparently including raw marijuana itself.

The outlawing of drugs such as cannabis, magic mushrooms and other psychoactive substances amounts to scientific censorship and is hampering research into potentially important medicinal uses, leading scientists argued on Wednesday.

For most of her life, 6-year-old Charlotte Figi has suffered from 20 to 60 seizures a day due to an incurable genetic disorder called Dravet Syndrome.

District of Columbia residents are now one step closer to legal prescriptions of medical marijuana.

As the feds weigh their response to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington, members of the marijuana industry pressed lawmakers this week to change federal tax laws that make it extremely difficult to operate their businesses.

Canada, a pioneer in the use of medical marijuana, will take legal production out of private homes next year as it seeks to address more than a decade of neighborhood spats and criminal activity.

Marijuana continues to be a paradox as it makes its way from illicit drug to wonder medicine being used to treat a number of symptoms and disorders more safely than traditional pharmaceuticals.

With 16 states having decriminalized or legalized cannabis for non-medical use and eight more heading toward some kind of legalization, federal prohibition’s days seem numbered.

Parents of children with severe epilepsy pleaded with New Jersey senators Thursday to approve a measure that would make it easier for kids to have access to medical marijuana, but some medical professionals warned the move could prove to be dangerous.

Until she introduced "magic cheese" to her sick and aging bulldog, Laura Bugni-Daniel watched him suffer for two years. He'd spend his days lying down or throwing up.

The words “marijuana” and “brain damage” usually go in that order in medical literature. An Israeli researcher has flipped them around, finding that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, may arrest some forms of brain damage in mice.

When California’s Compassionate Use Act first took effect in 1996, the premier medical cannabis dispensaries-notably, Dennis Peron’s in San Francisco and Jeffrey Jones’ Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative-counted many seniors as core members.

The Mile High City is about to get a whole lot higher. On Monday afternoon, Denver City Council voted 10-1 to opt-in on pursuing local regulation for recreational marijuana sales beginning in 2014.

My friends have always told me that rock stardom was wasted on me.

States together spent somewhere around $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010, according to a new study by the American Civil Liberties Union, entitled “The War On Marijuana In Black and White.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks arguments for legalizing medical marijuana are half-baked.

A bill aimed at bringing some clarity to medical marijuana regulation in California has failed to pass the State Assembly in a vote held late last week.

Researchers find cannabidiol is as effective as standard antipsychotic drugs—with fewer side effects.

Carl Hart wants drug policy to go where science takes it. The rest of us may not be so ready.

Matthew R. Davies, a California man facing a litany of charges stemming from his work as a medical marijuana provider, pleaded guilty Friday to 10 federal felony offenses.

A majority of doctors would approve the use of medical marijuana, according to a new survey.

A former Microsoft executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico, and said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states.

More people are using medical marijuana to treat pets for a variety of conditions, ranging from separation anxiety and noise phobia to cancer.

On Tuesday, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed several historic measures to implement marijuana legalization in the state, establishing Colorado as the world's first legal, regulated and taxed marijuana market for adults.

Nearly half of Americans say that growing marijuana should be legal, and even more support legalizing the growing of hemp, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov Poll.

Other than a skunky aroma, the waiting room at the Cannabis Care Foundation in Belfair, Wash., resembles your typical pharmacy. Chairs line walls next to stacks of magazines -- in this case, issues of Rolling Stone -- and a steady stream of patients step up to the counter with doctor's notes.

People who had used marijuana in the past month had smaller waists and lower levels of insulin resistance - a diabetes precursor - than those who never tried the drug, in a new study.

L.A. Councilman Bill Rosendahl's cancer is in remission -- and he credits medical marijuana for this.

Mayor Bob Filner took on the federal government once again Monday in the argument against medical marijuana.

Illinois on Friday took one more big step toward becoming the 19th state to legalize medical marijuana.

The Organization of American States on Friday released a report laying out a future in which more countries in the Western Hemisphere legalize marijuana.

With legislation that would bring legal medical marijuana to Illinois pending in the statehouse, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon on Sunday announced the bill has her support.

People who regularly smoke marijuana may have better control of their blood sugar and may be skinnier than non-marijuana users, according to a new study.

Key officials helping to create Washington state's potentially lucrative recreational pot market say its success may hinge on preventing consumers from choosing to get high on readily available medical cannabis because of low and sometimes nonexistent taxes on it.

The fight to decriminalize marijuana possession in Washington, D.C., just got an unlikely ally: former mayor and current city councilman Marion Barry (D-Ward 8).

People who admitted using marijuana were found to have lower blood glucose levels and were less likely to be insulin resistant, according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey.

People who smoke marijuana may be less likely to get bladder cancer than those who smoke cigarettes, a new study says.

Springfield farmer Ryan Loflin is now watching over one of Colorado's first industrial hemp crops in almost 60 years.

Several dozen pro-marijuana protesters swarmed U.C. Berkeley's campus Saturday to protest the visit of Attorney General Eric Holder, on hand to address the graduating law school class.

Legislation that would bring legal medical marijuana to Illinois cleared a key Senate committee vote on Wednesday.

The pot doctor has a backache.

Several dozen protesters gathered in downtown Berkeley Wednesday afternoon to fight federal action against one of California's oldest medical marijuana dispensaries, targeted for closure by the Justice Department.

On the final day of the legislative session, Colorado lawmakers finally passed two historic bills to implement recreational marijuana legalization in the state...

Lawmakers took a key step toward implementing Colorado's recreational marijuana law on Tuesday when they set blood-level limits for driving, but a measure to tax retail pot was in limbo a day before the legislative session was set to end.

Massachusetts public health officials have approved final regulations for the use of medical marijuana.

Hardy Macia, a former Libertarian Party candidate for Congress who's struggling with cancer, posted a video online pleading with New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) over medical marijuana, Patch reports.

Not that there isn't already some amateur cannabis research going on in Arizona college dorm rooms and student houses, but as of today formal cannabis research is now allowed at universities across the Grand Canyon state.

He’s been smoking pot for decades.  Ken has epilepsy. It’s a chronic disorder that causes seizures, but Ken says it’s eased my smoking marijuana.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was reminded by BuzzFeed's John Stanton on Monday of what he looked like during the 1970s and 80s.

Medical marijuana advocates are trying to persuade New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan to support a provision allowing patients to grow marijuana at home, saying it’s crucial to ensuring immediate access for terminally ill patients.

OCD is a relatively mild disorder that seems to pose very little threat to a personal’s physical wellbeing. On the other hand, for those who suffer from severe forms of OCD, the disorder can wreak havic on social and mental stability.

The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that cities and counties can ban medical marijuana dispensaries, a decision likely to further diminish the network of storefront pot shops and fuel efforts to have the state regulate the industry.

California cities and counties can ban marijuana shops, the state's highest court ruled Monday in a unanimous opinion likely to further diminish California's once-robust medical marijuana industry.

Learn how marijuana is regarded and used in countries other than the United States.

Washington finalized swift changes to the state's definition of marijuana Wednesday after prosecutors and crime lab scientists expressed concern about the technical aspects of a voter-approved legalization initiative.

Buyers of recreational marijuana in Colorado could pay a 25 percent tax on their legal weed if voters approve of the rates that state lawmakers have proposed in a bill that passed the House, Tuesday.

City leaders must have got distracted or something. It's been six months since Grand Rapids voters approved a measure amending the city's charter to decriminalize marijuana -- and up to now there's been little to show for it.

The chemical compound in cannabis, THC, appears to be able to damage and weaken the most common strain of the HIV virus.

Oakland resident Sableu Cabildo was diagnosed at the end of 2011 with a kind of brain cancer known as an astrocytoma. It originated on the right side of her thalamus, the lobed mass under the cerebral cortex that acts like the brain’s switchboard, regulating sensory perception and motor functions.

Marijuana as a potential tax bonanza has Colorado lawmakers wrestling with a question both sides say they don't know how to answer: How much will people pay for legal weed?

A late legislative session effort that could put Amendment 64 back on the ballot led to a finger-pointing exercise in political theater late last week — a wild turn of events in marijuana regulation activity that capped an eventful period of pot-related action at the Capitol.

Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, and that's a dilemma for pot entrepreneurs in states that legalized it.

The Senate approved a measure Saturday, that prosecutors and crime lab scientists say is needed because of concerns that a provision in Washington's new legal marijuana law jeopardizes their ability to go after any pot crimes at all.

As more states consider the move, they will face some new and tricky issues.

The secret is out: marijuana is medicine. And not to the surprise of the pharmaceutical industry, who is slowly but surely gaining exclusive rights to the medical properties of this age-old plant.

First it was a cough. Then it was bronchitis. Then it was time to say goodbye to Michelle Aldrich.

A bill to regulate California's billion-dollar medical marijuana industry cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when the state assembly's public safety committee voted to move it forward.

A pill form of marijuana may work just as well to relieve pain as the smoked form, but with fewer side effects, new research suggests.

The tragic fate of Norman B. Smith is all you need to know about to see how senseless it is to make consumption of marijuana a crime.

It is time for California to decriminalize, tax and regulate marijuana and decide who sells it, who can buy it legally, and for how much. When California became the first state to approve medical marijuana, we led the nation on progressive drug policies, and now it is time to lead again.

Eighteen states and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana. Connecticut joined that group last year.

A clear majority of Americans say that marijuana should be made legal if it will be taxed and regulated like alcohol, even though few say they use marijuana themselves, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.

There's a new congressional push to end the federal War on Pot in the states – and it's being spearheaded by some of the most conservative members of the Republican conference.

The call for legal medical marijuana in Illinois grew stronger Tuesday as nearly 250 physicians asked state lawmakers to legalize pot use for patients with serious illnesses.

The Organicann Harvest Market in Northern California's Sonoma Country is a lot like the farmers' markets dotting small towns up and down the West Coast.

Thousands of people are expected to join an unofficial counterculture holiday celebrating marijuana in Colorado and Washington this coming weekend, including out-of staters and even packaged tours. The events and crowds will test the limits of new laws permitting pot use by adults.

After 17 years of legal battles and uncertainty over legalized medical marijuana, some new clarity will be brought to the issue on May 21, when Los Angeles city voters will be asked to choose among three different measures regulating the growing industry.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress are coming together in defense of states' rights -- and marijuana.

Sensing greater support from lawmakers to legalize marijuana for people with serious illnesses or chronic pain, medical marijuana opponents suggested at a Senate hearing Thursday that the drug be allowed in the context of a clinical study.

Dennis Hill, Biochemist cures his cancer with cannabinoid oil. Also claims it works in all cancers.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer has reported that the US Department of Justice secured a court order demanding that the state agency in Oregon that oversees the provision of medical cannabis to Oregonian patients who are suffering from serious, and in some cases, life threatening diseases to turn over records that personally identify patients, care givers and suppliers of the medicine.

In the Nation, Isabel Macdonald has an excellent long read on the history of U.S. drug testing, beginning with a government program to test returning Vietnam War veterans and the drug-testing provisions in President Ronald Reagan’s Drug Free Workplace Act as part of the misdirected War on Drugs.

Gov. Christie has proposed a $1.6 million budget for New Jersey's three-year-old medical marijuana program - more than twice the current spending plan - in anticipation that more dispensaries will open this year.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, a vocal critic of marijuana legalization in Colorado, advised Denver City Council on Monday to ban marijuana clubs in the city as well as create a two-year moratorium on new pot business licenses.

The Maryland Senate has passed a measure to allow academic medical research centers to have medical marijuana programs.

For four decades, libertarians, civil rights activists and drug treatment experts have stood outside of the political mainstream in arguing that the war on drugs was sending too many people to prison, wasting too much money, wrenching apart too many families -- and all for little or no public benefit.

Dr. Craig Blinderman, a palliative care specialist at New York Presbyterian Hospital, is one of the New York physicians intrigued by the potential medical marijuana holds for treating pain.

California veterinarian Doug Kramer has launched a campaign to legalize medical marijuana for dogs. Kramer believes THC in marijuana could help canines with conditions that are not responding to other treatments.

The 2012 election happened over five months ago, at the beginning of November. One notable result of this election was that two states -- Washington and Colorado -- voted to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use.

The General Assembly is poised to pass legislation that would make Maryland the 19th state to legalize marijuana use for medical reasons -- though how quickly the state's cancer patients and others might benefit remains in question.

For the first time since attitudes began to be tracked, a majority of people in the United States say they now support making the use of marijuana legal, according to a new study.

Medical marijuana is a controversial treatment option for adults – let alone children.

A majority of Americans are in favor of legalizing the use of marijuana, a national survey finds, a shift in attitude after more than four decades of polling on the issue.

Though Obama has frequently spoken of the need for more "green jobs," he has failed to acknowledge the inherent environmental advantages associated with a curious plant called hemp.

A bill that sets a legal limit for THC in a motorist's bloodstream passed in the Colorado House on Tuesday.

Eighteen states and D.C. have passed medical marijuana legislation but in Florida, the "Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act" can't even get a hearing in the state Senate or House.

For decades, Colombia has been searching for ways to treat people who are addicted to basuco, the nation's version of crack cocaine.

This is not a prank: Rhode Island will officially decriminalize less than an ounce of marijuana on April 1, as a law signed last year by independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee goes into effect.

Twelve years ago, Portugal eliminated criminal penalties for drug users. Since then, those caught with small amounts of marijuana, cocaine or heroin go unindicted and possession is a misdemeanor on par with illegal parking. Experts are pleased with the results.

Last November, with voters in Colorado and Washington state leading the way, ballot initiatives legalizing, taxing, and regulating recreational marijuana use passed for the first time ever.

A marijuana tax is being considered as a reason to legalize the drug by several cash-strapped states, including New York and Maine.

Lawmakers have introduced a measure with stricter provisions than failed past efforts to legalize marijuana sales to New Yorkers with a "severe debilitating or life-threatening'' health condition.

After years of delays and narrow-misses, might the Illinois state legislature finally be ready to legalize medical marijuana in the land of Lincoln.

Montel Williams joined HuffPost Live host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Tuesday and spoke out in favor of medical marijuana.

When T.J. Thompson returned from serving in Iraq, the Veterans Administration put him on Lorazepam, a high-potency, short-acting drug used to fight anxiety, insomnia, seizures, and aggression.

For the fourth time in six years, New Hampshire House lawmakers voted this week to approve two marijuana bills, one that would legalize medical pot and another that would decriminalize the substance.

Marylanders caught with marijuana may soon face a small fine instead of time behind bars.

As the Maryland Senate voted Tuesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, advocates for legalizing the drug saw an opening move in a multiyear effort to make it completely legal.

State lawmakers are hunkered down in Albany this week trying to finalize a new state budget, which is pretty run of the mill, as these things go.

Two top Democratic fundraisers in Florida have committed to providing the money and know-how to get the question of legalizing medical marijuana on the state ballot in 2014.

The NYPD spent 1 million hours making 440,000 arrests for low-level marijuana possession charges between 2002 and 2012, according to a new report released Tuesday.

The United States must not turn a blind eye to the recreational use of cannabis in states that liberalize drug laws, an international monitoring group said, urging the country to live up to its treaty commitments.

Real marijuana might prove more popular than its synthetic cousins in this year's state legislative session.

Two states became the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use Tuesday, but it's not just users that may get a high as a result.

In a recent report, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the Federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), stated that marijuana "inhibited the survival of both estrogen receptor–positive and estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer cell lines."

Right now in Texas if you are caught with an ounce of marijuana, you'll face up to 180 days in a jail and a fine of $2,000. If House Bill 184, sponsored by Representative Harold Dutton of Houston, becomes a state law you wouldn't get locked up and the fine would be $500.

A bill that would provide the fabric for a legal hemp industry in Kentucky is set to die in the state House, the chamber's top lawmaker declared Monday, strongly suggesting that the popular effort will come unraveled without a final vote.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration withdrew its opposition to legislation allowing doctors and nurses to dispense medical marijuana to patients through academic medical centers, raising prospects for passage this year.

Maryland's health secretary is expressing support for a measure to allow medical marijuana in the state.

New findings about how the brain functions to suppress pain have been published in the leading journal in the field Pain, by National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) researchers.

It's up to state representatives to decide whether to decriminalize marijuana in Hawaii.

A national group advocating less-stringent drugs laws is criticizing eight former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs for their call to nullify new laws in Colorado and Washington legalizing recreational marijuana use.

A U.N. drug agency says the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington violates international drug treaties.

Former U.S. Navy Corpsman Jeremy Usher came home in 2003 from Iraq and Afghanistan to sleepless nights and panic attacks, with vivid flashbacks of combat, horrifying nightmares, anxiety and depression, all amid memory loss and a severe stutter.

Dear President Obama, Members of Congress, The DEA, The FDA, Department of Health and Human Services, Attorney General Holder and Legislators across the Nation,

As New Hampshire again considers whether to legalize medical marijuana, neighboring states offer lessons about enforcement of the law, dispensaries and the complexities of implementing such a law.

Can someone be too stoned to drive? A bill that would set a legal limit for the amount of THC allowed in a motorist's bloodstream has cleared its first hurdle and passed unanimously in the Colorado House Judiciary Committee Tuesday night.

A firm majority of California voters now favors legalizing marijuana for recreational use, signaling a significant change in attitude from ambivalence in recent years and outright hostility three decades ago, according to a Field Poll released Wednesday.

Idaho, a state known more for growing potatoes than marijuana, is bracing for a battle to legalize medical marijuana, as a growing number of U.S. states permit pot for both health and recreational use.

Cannabis relieves pain and suffering in dogs, but most vets want nothing to do with it. What do you think?

The push to legalize marijuana, both in its standard and non-psychoactive hemp forms, is alive and well in California.

It may be called weed, but marijuana is legendarily hard to grow.

Flanked by more than 150 advocates from around the country, Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer on Monday put forward his legislation allowing states to legalize medical marijuana in an effort to end the confusion surrounding federal pot policy.

The GOP-controlled North Carolina House Rules Committee killed a medical marijuana legalization bill earlier this week, after lawmakers complained that backers of the measure were bothering them with requests for their support.

UNTIL recently it seemed that nothing would disturb the international consensus that the best way to deal with narcotic and psychotropic drugs is to ban them. Codified in a United Nations convention.

A 17-year-old South Carolina high school student was transported to the hospital Tuesday for a reaction caused by an unknown substance.

Perhaps you know whether you’d want to use marijuana to relieve severe pain or nausea. But if you were a doctor, what would you tell patients who asked about taking something that’s against federal law?

Oakland's Harborside Health Center, which bills itself as the "largest pot shop on the planet," was dealt a major legal setback last week when a federal judge rejected a lawsuit the city had filed on behalf of the popular dispensary.

Marijuana tourism is on the way to Colorado, under a recommendation made Tuesday by a state task force to regulate the drug made legal by voters last year.

A little more than a week after the state Supreme Court ruled that Michigan's medical marijuana law doesn't allow for dispensaries, a state lawmaker is ready to file a bill that would allow cities and counties to approve them via local option.

More than a dozen people, many of them medical marijuana patients or providers, testified Monday against a measure to tax medical marijuana dispensaries, an effort to undermine any black market when sale of state-taxed recreational marijuana starts at the end of this year.

Just before President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Colorado Congressman Jared Polis started an "Ask Me Anything" Reddit thread and discussed, among many things, his bill (HR-499) that would end the federal ban on marijuana.

Starting next month, people who get picked up on charges of having a small amount of marijuana will be released with desk appearance tickets if they have ID and no open warrants, the mayor said.

Marijuana may be coming out of the black market in Colorado and Washington state, but the drug, at least for now, will retain a decidedly underground feel: Users may not know what's in it.

Massachusetts public health officials are set to begin a series of ‘‘listening sessions’’ to get input from the public as they develop regulations for medical marijuana.

A bill that would have legalized marijuana in Hawaii has died in the state House.

White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske recently gave an interview with Canada's Maclean's Magazine and appeared to candidly criticize President Barack Obama's administration for falling short in its effort to address marijuana policy.

If state Sen. Daylin Leach gets his way, Pennsylvania would become the next state to legalize marijuana.

Advocates for the legalization of marijuana plan to step up their political giving and lobbying efforts now that members of Congress are taking an interest in changing federal drug laws.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Tea Party hero and GOP gubernatorial candidate in this year's election, said this week that his views on marijuana legalization were "evolving."

The State Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday about whether cities have the authority to ban cannabis dispensaries within their jurisdictions. The defense argued that distribution should be permitted, because medical cannabis is legal statewide, thus superseding local ordinances. The Court didn’t seem convinced, but their ruling will not come until spring. Roughly 200 cities and counties in California have dispensary bans.

Asthma is one of the most ubiquitous chronic inflammatory diseases in the U.S., affecting an estimated 35 million people, and claiming the lives of 4,000 each year. The disease is typically caused by inflammation of the bronchial tubes, causing the chest to become tight and breathing fairly difficult. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing (especially at night), shortness of breath, and pain or pressure in the chest. While not every case of…

Marijuana dispensaries that handle patient-to-patient sales are not protected under the state's medical pot law, according to a new ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court.Marijuana dispensaries that handle patient-to-patient sales are not protected under the state's medical pot law, according to a new ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court.

U.S. states would be free to decide whether to legalize marijuana without running afoul of federal law but would require purchasers to pay federal taxes on its sale under legislation being proposed by two Democratic lawmakers.

An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a hefty federal pot tax.

These are trying times for California's medical marijuana dispensaries.

In Colorado and Washington, adults now can legally unwind after a tough day at the office by lighting up a joint. Meanwhile, here in California, 17 other states and the District of Columbia, anyone complaining of nearly any ailment, from migraines to menstrual cramps, can seek a prescription for medical marijuana and fill it at a local dispensary, of which there are an estimated 1,000 in Los Angeles.

In a move aimed at preventing children from accidentally eating marijuana and the state’s police from falling foul of federal drug laws, a state lawmaker is proposing two pieces of legislation to tighten the state’s medical-marijuana program.

An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a federal pot tax.

Ask any small-business owner: Starting a new venture, getting in the black, growing and expanding — it’s not easy.

Sure, pot is legal in Colorado, but getting your hands on some legal weed is more difficult than it may seem.

The city of Oakland's arguments for why it should be allowed to challenge a federal attempt to shut down the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary are simply "window dressing" that ignores the law, a federal prosecutor said in court Thursday.

Heartbroken and desperate, an Oregon family has turned to medical marijuana to help manage their son's self-destructive rages. They say the treatment, which has sparked controversy, has helped their child, described as "severely autistic," like nothing else has.

The push to re-establish industrial hemp in Kentucky has won an endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Parliament's upper house has approved legislation that makes it legal in the Czech Republic to use marijuana for medical treatment.

Wanted: A green thumb with extensive knowledge of the black, or at least gray, market.

Medical marijuana may help reduce the use of pharmaceutical drugs among the elderly, providing a safer alternative to drugs that often carry serious side effects, according to a study conducted by researchers from Tel Aviv University. The researchers also found that elderly participants who took medical marijuana achieved not just pain reduction, but also improvement in markers of physical, emotional and cognitive health.

So far, no one is suggesting checkpoints or fences to keep Washington state's legal pot within its borders.

With recreational marijuana now legal in Colorado, small-scale pot shops will open up soon in places like Denver and Boulder. But that's not the only business that could get a boost: Large-scale commercial farmers may also be in line to benefit.

Many farmers in Colorado will be expanding their list of planted crops this Spring after groundbreaking legislation was passed last November that allowed not only for the legalization of marijuana, but hemp as well.

A Kansas state senator has proposed a medical marijuana bill.

In the summer of 2007, the owners of Harborside Health Center, then and now the most prominent medical marijuana dispensary in the U.S., were reflecting on their rapid rise.

The DEA and the National Institute for Drug Abuse block serious research on medical uses of marijuana, creating a ridiculous circle of denials.

Though controversial, medical cannabis has been gaining ground as a valid therapy, offering relief to suffers of diseases such as cancer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ALS and more. The substance is known to soothe severe pain, increase the appetite, and ease insomnia where other common medications fail.

Medical marijuana is not making U.S Attorney Melinda Haag's life easy. Among Bay Area cannabis advocates, she's become a loathed figure, scorned and mocked in unflattering effigy. All of this due to her role in the Justice Department's crackdown on state-legal medical marijuana clubs.

Costa Rica, Mexico and Colombia have opened talks with U.S. officials to prepare for the legalization of marijuana in some U.S. states, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla said Wednesday.

In the land of cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) gets most of the publicity. It is, after all, the compound with the most well-known flair, being the main source of all the euphoric, trippy effects.

A federal appeals court has rejected a petition to reclassify marijuana from its current status as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use.

In recent weeks, we have seen a shift in how drug war proponents are talking about marijuana. No longer able to convince the public that people who use marijuana should go to jail, they are singing a new tune; they should all go to treatment.

Irrigation canals line Washington's Yakima Valley east of the Cascade Range, transforming a desert landscape into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world – including crops for some of America's biggest vices.

Americans are shifting on marijuana. More than half of them think it should be regulated like alcohol and cigarettes, 18 states have passed legislation approving it for medical use and Washington State and Colorado have legalized it for recreational use, but it remains illegal under federal law. And the arrests continue — one every 42 seconds, and 86 percent of those are simply for possession, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.…

In this uncertain reality of ours, the last place to look for a nugget of truth is the legally fuzzy world of medical marijuana. But the California Supreme Court gifted us all an unexpected dose of certainty this week by refusing to do anything.

A new analysis is challenging a report that suggests regular marijuana smoking during the teen years can lead to a long-term drop in IQ.

Driving east on Interstate 70 through Denver’s warehouse district, the smell of the marijuana plants growing inside unmarked industrial buildings blasts through car air vents and overwhelms drivers who roll down their windows.

Washington State Patrol said Monday it expects its Marijuana Eradication Program, which has confiscated hundreds of thousands of plants and arrested dozens of illegal growers, to continue despite the passage of I-502.

When Washington and Colorado residents voted to legalize marijuana in November—by 11-point margins in each state—18- to 21-year-old adults cast ballots for measures that left criminal sanctions affecting their age group untouched.

The wife of a California medical marijuana provider who is facing 10 years in prison after being indicted by federal authorities last year is appealing to President Barack Obama to end her family's "nightmare."

You might think the issue of marijuana legalization had been settled, at least as far as Coloradans were concerned. Turns out some people aren’t so sure, and one of them is former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

A new analysis is challenging a report that suggests regular marijuana smoking during the teen years can lead to a long-term drop in IQ. The analysis says the statistical analysis behind that conclusion is flawed.

Matthew R. Davies graduated from college with a master’s degree in business and a taste for enterprise, working in real estate, restaurants and mobile home parks before seizing on what he saw as uncharted territory with a vast potential for profits — medical marijuana.

Hawaii's governor signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana back in 2000, but a new poll shows that the state's residents are ready to take it a step further.

The White House weighed in once more Tuesday on the issue of marijuana legalization, responding to a trio of highly popular petitions submitted to its "We the People" website.

Former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy says he's established a group to lobby against legalized marijuana.

A federal magistrate on Monday ruled that the Harborside Health Center located in Oakland and San Jose, Calif., can continue to operate, despite a bid by federal prosecutors to shut it down. Harborside is widely considered the world's largest medical cannabis dispensary.

Aaron Sandusky, whom prosecutors said used the ambiguity of California’s medical marijuana laws to create an illegal, for-profit, grow-and-sell operation that included a cultivation warehouse in Ontario and dispensaries in Moreno Valley, Upland and Colton, was sentenced to the maximum 10 years in prison on Monday, Jan. 7.

By day, The Front Tea & Art Shop sells papier-mache piggy banks, handmade flutes and elaborate carvings alongside tea leaves and hemp coffee.

The administration of vaporized, low THC cannabis is associated with reduced pain in subjects with neuropathy, according to clinical trial data published online by The Journal of Pain.

One local woman’s mission to use marijuana and hemp to help returning veterans

President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs" in 1971. The expectation then was that drug trafficking in the United States could be greatly reduced in a short time through federal policing—and yet the war on drugs continues to this day. The cost has been large in terms of lives, money and the well-being of many Americans, especially the poor and less educated. By most accounts, the gains from the war have been modest at…

Dangling on ropes suspended from a helicopter, sheriff's deputies were dropped into eight rough and remote Santa Clara County locations last week to dismantle clandestine marijuana operations and haul out environmentally unfriendly gear.

With reggae music pumping in the background and flashing disco-style lights, members of the recreational pot club lit up in celebration of the new year – and a new place to smoke legally among friends.

The pain relief experienced by marijuana users varies greatly among individuals, a brain imaging study at the University of Oxford suggests.

Lawyers for the landlords who rent buildings to Harborside Health Center argued in federal court that they should be allowed to evict the dispensary because selling pot violates federal law.

After years of opposing the full-scale legalization of marijuana, California's outspoken Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom has officially come out in favor of ending prohibition on weed. And he's urging other politicians to do the same.

A teen who consumes alcohol is likely to have reduced brain tissue health, but a teen who uses marijuana is not, according to a new study.

Will the Marlboro Man light up a joint soon?

David Letterman is absolutely fascinated by how the kids these days are smoking marijuana. Luckily for him, unofficial Ambassador of Cannabis Seth Rogen was his "Late Show" guest on Wednesday, and Rogen indulged Dave's curiosity about the now-kind-of-legal drug.

In Thursday's New York Times, the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading drug policy reform organization, is running a full-page ad to thank voters in Colorado and Washington and emphasize the growing support for drug policy reform. Last month, Colorado and Washington became the first two states in the country -- and the first political jurisdictions anywhere in the world -- to approve legally regulating marijuana like alcohol,…

The Supreme Administrative Court of Munster has ruled that under strict conditions severely ill Germans will be allowed to grow cannabis at home.

Parents drill certain warnings into their children: don't drink, don't smoke and don't do drugs. But those conversations have gotten tougher now that two states, Colorado and Washington, have decriminalized some recreational marijuana use.

Last week Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Amendment 64 into the state constitution making marijuana officially legal in Colorado.

The Berlin Wall of pot prohibition seems to be crumbling before our eyes.

President Obama says recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a "top priority" of federal law enforcement officials prosecuting the war on drugs.

Americans may be coming around to the idea of legalizing marijuana, but, according to a new survey, most aren't prepared to see bars and restaurants offer areas where customers can light up.

Former President Jimmy Carter gave a full-throated endorsement of state efforts to legalize marijuana during an appearance at a CNN forum aired on Tuesday.

Colorado gave a lonely reception to marijuana when it became the second state to legalize the drug. Just as state officials planned.

Washington and Colorado say you can legally smoke marijuana for fun now, but here's the catch: You can't legally buy it.

History was made once again today when Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed an Executive Order that makes an “official declaration of the vote” related to Amendment 64. This declaration formalizes the amendment as part of the state Constitution and makes legal the personal use, possession and limited home-growing of marijuana under Colorado law for adults 21 years of age and older.

Senior White House and Justice Department officials are considering plans for legal action against Colorado and Washington that could undermine voter-approved initiatives to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in those states, according to several people familiar with the deliberations.

In 1925, H. L. Mencken wrote an impassioned plea: "Prohibition has not only failed in its promises but actually created additional serious and disturbing social problems throughout society. There is not less drunkenness in the Republic but more. There is not less crime, but more. ... The cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased, but diminished."

Kyung Lah reports on a 6-year-old epilepsy patient who has been suffering fewer seizures since taking medical marijuana.

Arizona's first medical marijuana dispensary is open for business, two years after voters approved an initiative to legalize the drug for certain patients.

The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early this morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Washington state made history on Thursday as the first in the nation to legalize marijuana possession for adult recreational use, an occasion celebrated by dozens of users near Seattle's famed Space Needle tower amid blaring reggae music and a haze of pot smoke.

New Jersey's first medical marijuana dispensary opened this morning.

Yet another study detailing the positive medicinal benefits of marijuana is making headlines around the world. This time, the cannabis plant isn’t being hailed as a cure for glaucoma or back pain, but as a key weapon against the most feared disease of all: cancer.

National support for legalizing marijuana is at a record high, according to a poll sponsored by the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.

Oakland's Harborside Health Center, widely considered the world's largest medical cannabis dispensary, was handed a huge legal victory Friday when a superior court judge ruled that their landlord cannot evict the business on the grounds that it violates federal law.

In the late-1980s heyday of the anti-drug "Just Say No" campaign, a man calling himself "Jerry" appeared on a Seattle talk radio show to criticize U.S. marijuana laws.

Between 2010 and 2011, California experienced a drastic 20 percent decrease in juvenile crime--bringing the underage crime rate to the lowest level since the state started keeping records in 1954.

For the first time since CBS News began asking the question, as many Americans now think marijuana use should be legal as think it should not.

Indiana's state police chief told lawmakers Tuesday that marijuana should be legalized and taxed, prompting his own agency to quickly walk back his statement as lawmakers consider decriminalization.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie is co-sponsoring legislation that would require the federal government to honor state laws allowing production of industrial hemp.

In two weeks, adults in this state will no longer be arrested or incarcerated for something that nearly 30 million Americans did last year. For the first time since prohibition began 75 years ago, recreational marijuana use will be legal; the misery-inducing crusade to lock up thousands of ordinary people has at last been seen, by a majority of voters in this state and in Colorado, for what it is: a monumental failure.

Less than two weeks from now, on Dec. 6, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to light a joint in Washington state and, practically speaking, there's nothing the government can really do to stop that. The same will be true in Colorado within a matter of weeks.

A seven-year-old girl suffering from leukemia is one of Oregon's youngest medical marijuana patients.

1 in 3 Americans admit to having smoked pot. 5 million use it almost every day. And experts say we still know surprisingly little about this drug

Medical marijuana is now legal in 18 states, but it's clear we've discovered a fraction of its potential for health.

Two weeks ago, Washington and Colorado passed historically unprecedented measures legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults dealing a major blow to the decades-long drug war.

Of all the bakeries in Denver, Lexi Yurkovsky never expected to end up at Dixie Elixirs and Edibles after earning her Bachelors’ degree in culinary nutrition.

After Washington and Colorado passed measures legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, members of Congress are asking that the federal government respect state laws.

On Friday, Congresswoman Diana DeGette's office announced the introduction of the Respect States' and Citizens' Rights Act, a bill intended to ensure that federal marijuana laws don't exempt the Colorado voter-approved Amendment 64 and a similar measure in Washington state. DeGette's also signed a letter with seventeen fellow legislators asking the Justice Department to respect pot laws in the two states. See the letter…

Cash Hyde lived half of his life with a feeding tube surgically attached to his stomach. And about half of his life was spent in hospitals -- including a 49-day coma -- after a diagnosis with brain cancer. It was that cancer which claimed his life Wednesday night; he had beaten it twice, but after two full remissions, its third appearance was too much. He died in his father's arms at the family home in Missoula, Mont.

I talked to a lot of older cannabis users when I researched my novel, Betty's (Little Basement Garden). The average age of those who puffed or ingested cannabis was about 55 years old and while most of them were imbibing for medicinal purposes, there was a good percentage that enjoyed cannabis purely for recreational purposes. In fact, some of them liked it so much, they made a conscious choice to give up alcohol entirely in favor of the…

There are a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to this new age of state recreational marijuana legalization. Eventually marijuana will be legal in every state, and each state will have different laws and regulations concerning it.

When reporter Tony Dokoupil was a teenager, he found out that his father had sold marijuana, but he just thought his parents "were hippies." A few years ago, while working on a story about his father's drug dealer past, he discovered that actually, in the 1970s and '80s, his father, Anthony Dokoupil, had been a big-time marijuana smuggler.

Mark Twain is said to have remarked that a gold rush is a good time to be in the pick and shovel business. Investors may be able to apply that same bit of wisdom to the growing number of U.S. states that have legalized pot.

Amendment 64 passed here in Colorado, prompting district attorney's across the state to start dropping marijuana cases.

Campaigns to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington were well-financed and gave states regulatory and taxing power over it, both changes from a failed attempt in California two years earlier.

Potheads everywhere rejoiced when two states finally achieved what was previously impossible: legalize marijuana for recreational use. The industry would finally go retail.

But entrepreneurs hoping to become shop owners or growers in Colorado or Washington should beware.

With three states contemplating legalizing marijuana and a growing chorus of support, prohibition’s days seem numbered

A statewide marijuana measure is failing.  Ballot Measure 80 would have legalized and regulated the sale and growth of marijuana.

With just hours before polling places open for Election Day, advocates for the legalization of marijuana in Colorado got some good news from Public Policy Polling about the popularity of Amendment 64, a ballot measure which seeks to regulate marijuana like alcohol, on Monday.

The Rocky Mountain High just got a whole lot higher. On Tuesday night, Amendment 64 -- the measure which sought the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by adults -- was passed by Colorado voters, making Colorado the first state to end marijuana prohibition in the United States.

Voters in Massachusetts approved a law Tuesday allowing people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, NBC News projected.

During his two terms as New Mexico governor, Gary Johnson was best known for two things: vetoing nearly half of the bills that reached his desk and advocating for marijuana legalization.

Legalizing marijuana could affect more than just where users buy their drug of choice. It could seriously impact how those users are prosecuted for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs.

SAFED, Israel — Moshe Rute survived the Holocaust by hiding in a barn full of chickens. He nearly lost the use of his hands after a stroke two years ago. He became debilitated by recurring nightmares of his childhood following his wife's death last year.

MEXICO CITY — This may not weigh heavily on the minds of voters in Seattle, but if Washington and two other U.S. states decide to legalize marijuana in next week’s election, the effect on drug traffickers in Mexico could be enormous.

Voters in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington will decide on election day whether to legalize marijuana in their states. All three initiatives have a chance of passing, and two are ahead in polls. In Massachusetts and Arkansas, voters may legalize medical marijuana. And last year, a Gallup poll found that a majority of American voters supported legalizing marijuana for the first time.

After all the economy-focused campaign talk, voters in some states will get a chance on Election Day to sound off on intriguing topics that the presidential rivals ignored, including death-penalty repeal, marijuana legalization and assisted suicide.

State Sen. Robert Singer (R-Ocean) seemed misinformed in a recent news release regarding medical marijuana.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition has been one of the national organizations most active in promoting Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act. No surprise, then, that the group puts an election-oriented spin on just-released crime statistics from the FBI for the year 2011. According to LEAP, the data shows that one marijuana arrest is made every 42 seconds.

Stoners aren’t known for their memory prowess but a new review suggests that drugs similar to marijuana’s active ingredients may hold promise for preventing— or even reversing— brain aging and possibly Alzheimer‘s and other degenerative brain diseases.

Now that medical marijuana is permitted in about one-third of the nation, advocates hope to move beyond therapeutic uses with ballot questions in three states that could legalize pot for recreational use.

A top university professor says people should legally be allowed to grow their own cannabis. Drug expert Alex Stevens claims anyone aged over 18 should have the right to cultivate up to six plants each.

Full dark in downtown Denver, and inside one of the twinkling high-rises that make the skyline, drug dealers are putting money into envelopes. They’re trying to be discreet. No one signed the security logbook in the lobby. All assume the room could be bugged. But if your image of the drug trade involves armed gangs or young men in parked cars, these dealers offer a surreal counterpoint. There’s a finance veteran, two children of…

Medical Marijuana Inc. a leading hemp industry innovator, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Red Dice Holdings, received national media attention for its Dixie Elixirs & Edibles brand on the 60 Minutes "Rocky Mountain High" segment this past Sunday, October 21. Today, Dixie Elixirs and Edibles landed on the front-page of Newsweek in a story entitled, "The New Pot Barons." 60 Minutes, the most successful…

If I sprayed your salad with some “RAID” roach killer right now, just a little bit right on the lettuce and maybe a little more on the tomatoes, would you still eat it all, and just assume your body will simply filter out those “small amounts” of toxins?

In the battle for credibility between medical cannabis supporters and MMJ opponents, chalk one up for the marijuana industry.

Colorado's thriving medical marijuana business isn't just named for the color of today's green, potent pot. It's the color of the money being made in the medical marijuana industry. Steve Kroft goes to the Rocky Mountain state to report on a business that's legal there and 16 other states, but in the eyes of the federal government is still as illegal as dealers selling heroin or LSD. "Rocky Mountain High" will be…

Culture wars seem to be raging around the world at the moment. To me, they all have a similar shape. They're generally about "traditional values" (the community knows what's best for you) versus "modern values" (individuals wanting to decide for themselves). To me, they're often about frozen beliefs, versus dealing with a complex, constantly changing modern world.

Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), a leading hemp industry innovator, applauds the pioneering work that could change decriminalization and implementation of Medical Marijuana and Hemp laws in this country for the first in nearly 20 years.

A federal appeals court in Washington is considering whether marijuana should be reclassified from its current status as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use.

The administration of synthetic cannabinoid agonists reduce cell viability in human hepacarcinoma cells and may be a potential option for the treatment of liver cancer, according to preclinical data published online in the journal Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods.

The federal government lists marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance — meaning it has no medically accepted use. Next week, interest group Americans for Safe Access will present the scientific case for marijuana's therapeutic effects to a federal appeals court, in hopes of relaxing federal restrictions. Oncologist Donald Abrams reviews the evidence on cannabis.

It started with a coalition of disgruntled Americans, then a handful of governors took up the cause last year, and now -- for the first time in nearly 20 years -- a federal court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the classification of cannabis as a dangerous drug without medical benefits.

Breast cancer is a very common disease that affects approximately 1 in 10 women at some point in their lives. Importantly, breast cancer cannot be considered a single disease as it is characterized by distinct pathological and molecular subtypes that are treated with different therapies and have diverse clinical outcomes. Although some highly successful treatments have been developed, certain breast tumors are resistant to conventional…

A marijuana extract appears to ease painful muscle stiffness in people with multiple sclerosis, according to a new British study.

The oral administration of the non-psychotropic cannabis plant constituent cannabidiol (CBD) is safe and well tolerated in humans, according to clinical trial data published online by the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design.

Marijuana is on the ballot in 6 states this election. Dr. Sanjay asks what doctors really mean by "medical marijuana."

Medical marijuana advocates are hoping an impending court case will force the government to re-evaluate the potential upsides of cannabis use.

Larry King spoke about the legalization of marijuana Wednesday on HuffPost Live.

Michael Baumgartner, the freshman state senator who is challenging Democrat Maria Cantwell for her U.S. Senate seat, has endorsed Initiative 502, which would make retail sales of marijuana legal.

Medical Marijuana Inc., a leading hemp industry innovator and its CanChew Biotechnologies portfolio company are pleased to announce the planned introduction of their CanChew CBD chewing gum product line with a free market trial offer for patients suffering from MS Spasticity, Cancer Pain, and Neuropathic Pain.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used an interesting phrase on Monday in response to a question about his stance on marijuana policy.

In an interview with the Denver Post, Romney was asked to weigh in on the future of the state's highly active medical marijuana industry.

Four years after enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama, marijuana entrepreneurs and advocates are closing their checkbooks to the president's re-election bid.

A ballot initiative in Colorado that could make the state the first to effectively legalize marijuana has an unlikely bunch of people very nervous: owners of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries.

November could be a huge month for medical marijuana, with voters in two states set to weigh in on MMJ legalization and those in another considering tough new restrictions on dispensaries.

UCI study points to role endocannabinoids play in common genetic cause of autism.

A heads-up for those in the Bay Area: This Sunday, Sept. 30, at 12:30 p.m. local time, San Francisco TV station KICU TV 36 will be airing “Dylan’s Gift,” a documentary about a particularly heart-wrenching slice of pediatric cancer research. The 25-minute film explains the work of Stanford physician-scientist Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, who studies diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a childhood brain tumor with a five-year…

Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTC: MJNA), a leading hemp industry innovator, is pleased to report on a September 18 San Francisco Chronicle Article, "Pot compound seen as tool against cancer."

Marijuana could be legalized for recreational use by adults in three states this November -- Colorado, Oregon and Washington state -- and following the latest developments on the ballot measures in each state can be a full time job.

If Amendment 64 passes, it will become almost immediately legal under Colorado law for adults to possess, grow, consume and give away up to an ounce of marijuana. It may take more than a year, however, before adults can purchase marijuana legally in a store.

A Michigan appeals court ruled this week that a Walmart employee with an inoperable brain tumor and cancer was not wrongfully fired over medical marijuana use.

Marijuana, already shown to reduce pain and nausea in cancer patients, may be promising as a cancer-fighting agent against some of the most aggressive forms of the disease.

The therapeutic uses of cannabis have long been a focus of research for Dr. Donald Abrams, UCSF professor and chief of the hematology-oncology division at San Francisco General Hospital. Abrams wrote a study last year on the combination of cannabinoids - the main ingredient in cannabis or medical marijuana - and pain drugs. Abrams talks about the preclinical work by the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute and other research…

Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTC: MJNA), a leading hemp industry innovator, is pleased to announce the Compassionate Care Club, a customer loyalty program for its Dixie X line, launched by portfolio company Red Dice Holdings. 

A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco has found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever.

An initiative to override Los Angeles's ban on medical marijuana dispensaries has qualified for the ballot. Currently, federal, state, and city laws have created a confusing tangle.

Epilepsy is a disruptive condition with little in the way of effective treatments, but researchers in Britain have discovered that a compound in marijuana may be of benefit in managing the condition.

A U.S. crackdown on pot shops threatens a father's search for cannabidiol in hopes of halting his son's seizures from Dravet syndrome.

Medical Marijuana Inc. MJNA +0.48% , a leading hemp industry innovator, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Red Dice Holdings, has seen an excellent response to the soft launch of its revolutionary new Hemp-based Cannabidiol (CBD) enriched health and wellness Dixie X line of products. Dixie X is carried in over 100 retail locations throughout Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico and launched national sales through its online…

Researchers at the University of Reading have discovered that a compound found in cannabis may be used to treat epilepsy. Moreover, they add, this natural compound does not cause side effects as do other drugs used to treat epilepsy.

Five-year-old Jayden David suffers from a rare form of epilepsy. In his short life, he's taken two dozen different kinds of medication and has been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance 45 times.

Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTC: MJNA), a leading hemp industry innovator, is pleased to announce a new on-line sales website for its Hemp-based Dixie X line of products:  www.dixiex.com This announcement supports the company’s large scale national launch of on-line sales of its Hemp-based Cannabidiol (CBD) enriched health and wellness Dixie X products.

The Missouri city based the law on one that voters passed in 2004 in Columbia, MO. Passed 6-3, the new law stipulates that possession of under 35 grams is punishable by fine. More serious possession arrest records will now be cleared in just two years. There may be changes over the next 30 days, and we’ll keep you posted.

By dismissing the case, Pack v Long Beach, the Court dismissed the legal justification often cited by cities for not allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in their borders. Pack centers on the threat to local city employees from the Federal raids and other aggressive tactics.

The DOJ recently sent letters to dispensaries in Seattle that operate within 1,000 of a school. An oft-used metric in marijuana laws, it affects dense urban areas with greater severity. The action targeted 23 stores out of over 140 total dispensaries.

A former police chief issued the petition. This is an interesting mix between city and federal governments, one that is undermining the authority of the state. We hope this isn’t a sign of a new tactic, using city councils as allies, employed by the DOJ in its efforts to shut down the medical marijuana industry.

The home state of the president who didn't inhale has become an unlikely front in the battle over medical marijuana.

When the United States Medical Marijuana Chamber of Commerce earlier this week endorsed President Barack Obama, folks in the media were surprised that an industry that hadn’t been too thrilled with the administration was rallying behind it.

The figure comes from the Colorado Center on Law & Policy and reflects new revenues from tax and licensing fees as well as cost-savings from the shift in marijuana laws. The Center claims that figure could double after five years. Also, that figure does not count the increase in income from jobs created by the potential new law.

A quasi-depressing story about drug use in Appalachia centers on the abuse of legal drugs pushed into our society by Big Pharma… the same Big Pharma who fights to keep marijuana illegal.  Should these hillbillies be smoking herb or snorting crushed up OxyCotin? One funnels profit to corporate America, the other would keep their economy more local.

They will be the first southern state to do so. If passed, Arkansas will be the 18^th state, plus D.C., to support legal medical marijuana. Only South Dakota has ever not passed a medical marijuana initiative.

By a large margin too!  58% say Yes, and just 27% say No.  Even Republicans are behind the initiative, although a Republican in MA is a far cry from a Republican in the Midwest.

A recent ruling from the U.S. Tax Court denies dispensaries the ability to claim significant tax deductions that are available to the vast majority of other retail operations. While the implications have yet to be acutely felt, this ruling confirms an earlier IRS ruling and will cost dispensary owners who dodged the DOJ raiding blitz millions in taxes. The case involved the Vapor Room in San Francisco, who admittedly used shoddy bookkeeping…

At least not in an election year.  The article suggests that the DA, Eric Holder, is using the aggressive actions against medical marijuana dispensaries as a distraction from the Fast and Furious scandal. Obama might feel as if he cannot come to the support of the industry with the election so close.

Spoiler alert, a seemingly conservative-as-can-be jury of 12 mostly white, middle-aged people completely disregarded a marijuana case based on their feelings that marijuana should be legal anyhow.  Great, short, read.

We here at doobons.com couldn’t agree more. Study after study all seem to point in the same general direction, marijuana has a wide array of medical purposes. This German study analyzed over 100 other studies to arrive at this conclusion. Maybe someday the US Government will realize this and drop the Schedule I designation.  Or maybe they’ll keep it to benefit their Big Pharma allies.

After Los Angeles officials passed a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries last month, activists vowed to take legal action.

This time with bipolar folks. We here at Doobons.com enjoy reading and sharing these reports because individually, they don’t pack much punch, but collectively, they help illustrate cannabis’ synergy with our brain and body. In this study, bipolar folks with a history of cannabis use perform better on an array of cognitive tests than bipolar folks with no history of usage.

State officials conducted a Lotto-style random selection process to determine who receives the initial round of licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries. 68 regions in AZ were contested by 404 total applicants, with an additional 29 areas having only one dispensary bidding for the rights to do business.

The bill is a bipartisan effort from four Senators, two Democrats from Oregon, one Independent from Vermont, and a Republican from Kentucky. The bill seeks to differentiate hemp from cannabis, and allow industrial hemp farming. Canada allows the practice, which produces fiber for clothes, seeds for oil and food products, and an array of other applications.

North Dakota joins a growing number of states to push for medical marijuana. The group, whose website and plan is linked above, submitted 20,000 signatures, with 13,500 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

Cancer-busting chemotherapy can cause damage to healthy cells which triggers them to secrete a protein that sustains tumour growth and resistance to further treatment, a study said Sunday.

Cannabis-based medications have been demonstrated to relieve pain. Cannabis medications can be used in patients whose symptoms are not adequately alleviated by conventional treatment. The indications are muscle spasms, nausea and vomiting as a result of chemotherapy, loss of appetite in HIV/Aids, and neuropathic pain.

Medical marijuana advocates will get their day in court later this year, when they argue the therapeutic value of cannabis.

Measuring from 2011 to 2012, the number dropped by 35%, mostly because of a steep drop in the number of plants eradicated in California. California has medical marijuana laws that protect some growers and have limited DOJ actions. Instead, the DOJ is targeting the dispensary. While the amount of plants eradicated have gone down, the amount of assets seized has risen, which the link discusses.

Which is likely the reason marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug… it is bad for the bottom line of Big Pharma.  From the study’s conclusion:  “safe access to medical cannabis may reduce the personal and social harms associated with addiction, particularly in relation to the growing problematic use of pharmaceutical opiates”

A few weeks ago we highlighted a story about a judge in New York that used medical marijuana up to his death in July, now we highlight a story from a L.A. City Councilman who said he uses medial marijuana. He was one of two that voted against the dispensary ban in L.A.

The residents will vote in November, unless the City Council just passes the bill before then.

Events from around the country have made the future of legal medical marijuana use in America unclear at best. Medical marijuana dispensaries are facing pressure from federal agencies and even local governments that are forcing them out of business.

There were plenty of tears shed during yesterday's funeral procession dedicated to medical marijuana and all the local dispensaries that have closed in the last year.

Four-year-old Cash Hyde's brain cancer is back a third time, but this battle will be different.

In a 14-0 vote, the City Council says No to collectives with over three members. The decision, with threat of legal action should dispensaries ignore the ban, is seemingly at odds with California state law… which of course is at odds with federal law.

Trinity County, part of the Emerald Triangle, is exploring ways to regulate large, aggregate grow operations that supply the medicine for dozens, hundreds, even thousands of patients. Growers would have to follow 31 regulations, and be registered with the County.

If you’re interested, the link has the technical data. The end result, however, is this: (the experiment shows) the superiority of CE over placebo in the treatment of muscle stiffness in MS.  The study used an extract, similar to the legal cannabinoid extract Sativex, which is sold in several European countries.

The hearing is the result of a ten-year effort by Americans For Safe Access to force the DEA to the table. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug, classified by: a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

The crowd’s upper estimate is over 1,000, one of the largest medical marijuana protests ever. Oakland politicians have been vocally opposed to the DOJ’s aggressive behavior towards Oaksterdam, Harborside, and other medical marijuana facilities. Other businesses near the protests, which were centered on the Fox Theater, showed support for the medical marijuana industry with green flags in their windows.

The Los Angeles City Council is plainly out of its depth when it comes to regulating medical marijuana. This was already clear after years of fumbling and court-delayed attempts to limit the number or locations of cannabis dispensaries, but it became painfully obvious Tuesday when the council approved a ban on all dispensaries — along with a separate motion to draft an ordinance that would allow well-established pot shops to stay open,…

Under the bill, which is supported by a bipartisan group of 19 members of the House of Representative, including Ron Paul (Rep) and Barney Frank (Dem), people who are targeted by federal DOJ raids can use the fact the were in compliance with their own state’s laws regarding the cultivation and use of medical marijuana. Further, the bill limits the DOJs ability to destroy evidence, regardless of decision.

Drug use rates are some of the lowest in the EU, more addicts seek treatment since there are no legal ramifications, and criminals haven’t taken over the country. Drugs are not legalized, one can’t light up on the street, but the country treats users as victims of a disease, not as criminals, and the results of that mindset are (very) interesting.

Belize is floating an idea to decriminalize marijuana possession, which currently results in a three-year prison sentence and/or a fine up $50,000 for 60 grams or less. The motivation comes from a desire to reduce the strain on the court system.

When you read marijuana news every day for a living, you begin to notice disturbing trends in the sensationalism used to cover the issue. Take this most recent example for the state of Arizona, where patient advocates are trying to get the state to recognize PTSD, anxiety, depression, and migraine as qualifying conditions for legal medical marijuana use.

An effort to persuade the Obama administration to legalize marijuana for sufferers of post-traumatic stress has met with a sound rejection from the White House.

Martin Olive, the executive director of the Vapor Room, which is set to close July 31, can remember about eight years ago when he met a man who stood six feet two inches tall, but due to cancer weighed no more than 110 pounds. Over time, Olive said, he watched as the man grew stronger and started to grow physically because of regular treatment with medical cannabis.

The Republican Governor signed the bill last week, taking possession from a 4^th degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, down to a minor misdemeanor, punishable with a citation and fine. Holding the actual pot, at least up to 100 ounces, is also a traffic-ticket like minor misdemeanor.

Researchers analyzed several experiments that explored the connection between marijuana usage and long-term cognitive effects… and found none.

Early signs from the Dutch “Weed Pass” initiative suggest a growing black market for marijuana, just two months into the effort, which is expected to go national in 2013. Street dealers are often immigrants, and also push harder drugs.

The massive Oakland-based dispensary received a Complaint of Forfeiture last week. The tactic targets the property owner, not the dispensary itself, providing the Feds with additional leverage in the attempt to bring Harborside down. Harborside co-founder Steve DeAngelo vows to fight “openly and in public” and any eviction orders themselves, promising an interesting story during an election year. Harborside claims 108,000…

It is officially on the November ballot as Measure 80. The Act establishes a new committee to govern the cultivation, use, sales, and taxation of the plant. Check out the entire Act, linked above. The power of the committee is… high. That said, should the law pass we’ll have a(nother) state in open defiance of the Federal government and the War on Drugs.

Like Oakland's Harborside Health Center, the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center had the approval of local law enforcement and political leaders for its medical marijuana dispensary.

Lynette Shaw who opened America’s first licensed medical marijuana center in 1997, has filed for personal bankruptcy due to a $1.27 million bill she received from the IRS for back taxes and penalties. The bankruptcy filing lists $276,000 in California state sales taxes among her debts.

The federal attack on safe access for medical cannabis patients continues. Yesterday morning, taped to the front doors of the nation’s model medical cannabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center in Oakland and San Jose, was an official ‘Complaint for Forfeiture of Property.’ The complaint is signed by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvan Perteet, and DEA Agent David White, filed on July 6, 2012, in the…

Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, has arguably received more attention than any other pro-pot ballot measure in the U.S. But there's a similar proposal in Washington, and one could soon be approved for this year's election in Oregon. Could these efforts hurt fundraising for Amendment 64? A campaign spokeswoman isn't worried and sees the initiatives as more evidence that change is needed here and beyond.

A fascinating study done by an international collection of investigators from the US, UK, and Germany, the findings suggest that using marijuana (the study used marijuana resin) significantly helped the subject of the study, a 19-year old military veteran with severe PTSD. Of note, the final judgment from the study: cannabinoids might play a role in fear extinction and antidepressive effects. And the stance of the federal government: our…

Describing the situation as “not tenable,” the report from scientists at UC San Diego and UC Davis is a direct challenge to the DEA’s assertion that marijuana has no medical value and is subject to abuse.

The decision came in response to LA County’s decision to ban dispensaries. The judges ruled that under the state law, storefronts operating as a dispensary are legal. State law routinely trumps local law, as the CA 2^nd Court of Appeals mentions in support of its decision.

There are still a few votes left to be counted and verified, but President-Elect Enrique Pena Nieto already addressed the country’s drug problem by calling for legalization… or at least calling for the conversation to be opened up. He joins a growing chorus of Latin American leaders frustrated by the US War on Drugs and its effect on their countries.

High FICO score be damned: Your credit is no longer any good at California medical marijuana dispensaries, whose accounts with credit-card processors have been canceled, thanks to pressure from the federal government.

Under Oregon state law, some food stamp recipients are permitted to deduct their medical marijuana costs from their income in calculating their eligibility for the federal program.

The bill still needs to pass the state Senate and the Republican Governor, who has already vowed to veto it. The Gov’s veto can be nullified by enough votes from each of the two legislative bodies, but the Assembly vote is already 10 short.

Similar to the NJ issue, the state’s House and Senate lacked the votes to override the Governor’s veto power. In this case, however, the Governor, John Lynch, is a Democrat. He has already announced he will not run again, perhaps opening the door for a pro-reform politician to take the spot. The state has made repeated attempts to create a medical marijuana law.

This has been in the works for a few weeks, with the Mayor voicing his support of the law in order to free up the police force for more important matters. Interestingly, the Council voted 43-3 in favor.  The more local the politics, the more support decriminalization appears to have.

Like Uruguay last week and mirroring the sentiments expressed by several Latin American leaders over the past few months, Columbia chose a direction of drug reform, rejecting the U.S.-led War on Drugs. In this case the high court is fighting against the President, who has rolled back drug reform laws during his tenure.

Has pre-employment urine screening for marijuana actually helped businesses save money? According to studies done for the NAS back in the '90s, the answer is NO. What do you say? Is this a boondoggle for drug testing companies or a concretely measurable asset to our national prosperity and economic security?

The Chicago City Council approved a measure on Wednesday that allows police to issue citations for those carrying small amounts of marijuana rather than make arrests. It's the latest follow through by U.S. officials to decrease penalties associated with the drug.

A survey shows that 60 percent of Uruguayans are against the government’s proposal to legalize the sale of marijuana, with many expressing concern that it would do little to address the growing drug trade in that country.

Which contradicts what the anti-drug lobby keeps saying. This report synthesizes information from three American academic institutions and actually shows a slight decrease in teen marijuana usage.  The results closely match those of three other studies.

Possession of marijuana is now just a misdemeanor. It was widely expected he would veto the bill.  Good news for us, he did not!

If the law is passed, Uruguay would be the first state to sell marijuana, a significant challenge to the international drug war advocates. Unlike US-based dispensaries, which are private businesses regulated by local or state law, marijuana would be sold directly by the state. Buyers must register to purchase the product. Who would grow the product remains to be seen. The move is an attempt to stem the rising tide of unrest in the relatively…

Now at 61%, the percentage of pro-legalization voters has increased from 49% (Dec 2011). The state will vote in November on a bill to regulate the drug like alcohol. It is expected that anti-drug coalitions will release ads closer to the election that could lower that percentage… but just 27% of respondents opposed the bill, with 12% undecided. It looks like the bill will pass, even with a spirited attack ad campaign.

Peaceful Uruguay is planning a novel approach to fighting rising crime: having its government sell marijuana to take drug profits out of the hands of dealers.

Use of cannabinoids for medicinal purposes -- particularly for pain relief -- is popular among patients with fibromyalgia, who either smoke marijuana or take synthetic prescription formulations, a Canadian study found.

The NH House and Senate sent the bill, which would allow the personal possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. The Gov is expected to override the bill.  The state Senate can remove that option with two more votes.

And think the War on Drugs is a failure.  Just 10% of the 1,017 polled Americans think the War on Drugs has been a success. 52% support legalizing marijuana, with women, older people, and Republicans the groups most opposed.

The commonly held truth is that pot dispensaries are a target for crime, or attract crime into neighborhoods where they are located. The industry itself is highly visible, and any crime is magnified by the nature of the store and its product. The researchers do note that more time could improve the study, but so far, no connection has been found.

Citing the amount of time officers spend on low-level pot crimes, the Mayor and Police Superintendent both favor making low-level possession a simple misdemeanor. Instead of hours processing a suspect, police now write one quick ticket and then free to continue their work.

Interesting info… obviously we at doobons.com find the numbers far too high.  Here is a link to a more comprehensive section of their website: http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/Prisons_and_Drugs

Comedian-actor Tommy Chong has revealed he has prostate cancer.

Last week the Governor of RI passed a medical marijuana bill.  This week he signaled he would sign a law, passed by the state Legislature by a wide margin, which would decriminalize possession down to a misdemeanor. The move makes RI the 6^th state to do so.

More and more people care about the decriminalization… or at least the ability for states to make their own laws about it. Linked above is an interesting read about how the issue will affect Colorado voters.

The linked story is from one of our favorite bloggers.

The new Socialist gov’t in France says No.  Their coalition partners say Yes.  One of them spoke up this week, thrusting the issue into the national spotlight.  The Socialist gov’t was elected in reaction to the European debt crisis and France’s desire to avoid austerity measures like those threatening Greece.

The company Medical Marijuana has acquired a 50% stake in CanChew, a cannabinoid (CBD)-based chewing gum developed as a pharmaceutical delivery mechanism to relieve pain, xerostomia, and other side effects of disease and disease treatment.

Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday defended the Justice Department's pursuit of medical marijuana growers and dispensers, saying they "took advantage" of state medical marijuana laws.

Attorney General Eric Holder "lied" to members of Congress when he insisted that the only targets of the federal Justice Department's medical marijuana crackdown were breaking state law, cannabis advocates said today.

When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed changing the state law regarding public marijuana possession earlier this week to reduce the number of arrests, the move was as likely good politics as policy from his perspective.

As the debate over marijuana legalization continues to heat up, those who'd rather duck the discussion are increasingly incapable of concealing their discomfort.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to change New York’s laws to decriminalize marijuana. New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly have rushed to agree.

The song is an infectious track from Nelson's latest album 'Heroes', reportedly about his penchant for smoking marijuana,

The Internet is buzzing about a new breed of marijuana that apparently causes no buzz of its own. Israeli researchers have bred cannabis plants that look, smell and taste like ordinary marijuana — but lack THC, the active ingredient responsible for the spacy, giddy and sometimes hallucinatory part of pot’s high.

Voters in this presidential battleground state won't just decide whether to go red or blue this fall but also green - as in weed or grass.

One day after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he wants to partially decriminalize marijuana in the Empire State, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) said District officials should focus on implementing the medical marijuana program but also keep open their options in dealing with recreational use.

President Obama smoked pot when he was younger, we know that to be true. How? Because the Tawainese Media Authority made this video about it.

Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama hasn't exactly been a friend to marijuana users.

After a nearly two-year legal battle, the Michigan Supreme Court cleared the way Friday for a referendum question that could make Detroit the state's first city to legalize marijuana.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy on Friday signed a bill permitting the medical use of marijuana statewide, making Connecticut the 17th state to enact such a law.

A majority of California voters remain opposed to legalizing marijuana, according to results of a new poll.

Eighty percent of respondents said they support doctor-recommended use of marijuana to help deal with severe illness, a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found. But only 46% said they support legalization of "general or recreational use by adults," while 50% said they oppose it. Those against using pot were more adamant…

A ban on storefront medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles has received the backing of a city council committee.

Nearly 500 applications have been submitted by those hoping to operate one or more of the 126 legal marijuana dispensaries that will be allowed to open later this year.

Candidate Andy Caffrey made a name for himself by promising he would smoking a marijuana cigarette on the steps of the Capitol building if he won his Congressional bid in his home district in Humboldt County, California. Caffrey visited Now with Alex Wagner to make the case for legalization, arguing that marijuana was not just a medical product in his eyes, but a potentially integral part of his district’s economy.

The use of cannabis is associated with lower mortality risk in patients with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, according to a forthcoming study to be published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. (Read the abstract of the study online here.)

The link to the study has all the technical jargon, but the money quote is this “data presented here allow us to suggest that non-THC cannabinoids, and CBD in particular, retard proliferation and cause apoptosis (programmed cell death) of prostate carcinoma growth.”  Researchers suggest cannabinoids could form the foundation for a cure for prostate cancer. Cannabinoids have been shown to have anti-cancer properties in tests…

A forthcoming biography on President Obama is making headlines, with new details about the president smoking marijuana with his teenage friends in Hawaii.

Yet Obama still seems to be making an election year play to appear “tough on crime.” Both Republican and Democrat voters prefer to let the states handle the issue. The largest demographic to approve of federal laws regarding medical marijuana is the 65+ group… and even then 64% of them support state’s rights.

Nice work, Mr. Judge. This takes a large amount of courage and self-confidence to publically proclaim, especially as a member of the law enforcement industry. The more people like Judge Reichbach speak out, the more mainstream marijuana usage will become. His story is a perfect anecdote for why we started doobons.com… he should have safe, legal access to his medicine of choice.

Well, not yet.  Oregon voters overwhelming supported a pro-medical marijuana judge in her bid to win the Attorney General position. She still has to beat whomever the Republicans field, but the party decided to not actively pursue to office. She defeated a former federal prosecutor who is anti-marijuana. She received $140,000 in campaign contributions from the pro-marijuana constituency.

NYC’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has dramatically ratcheted UP the policy of stop-and-frisk, a tactic that calls upon officers to randomly stop just about anybody they please. Unfortunately, that means they tend to stop young black and latino men. Here is the money line from Mayor Bloomberg:  “The whole idea here is not to catch people with guns; it's to prevent people from carrying guns.”  A noble thought, but…

Throughout the past several decades the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has received increasingly more attention.  The active ingredient in marijuana belongs to a class of compounds called cannabinoids, which have been used to treat numerous conditions ranging from insomnia and PMS to chemotherapy-induced nausea and appetite loss associated with AIDS therapy.  More recently, cannabinoids have been shown to be effective…

The classification of cannabis as a schedule one narcotic is among the least defensible aspects of prohibition.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans and more than two-thirds of Republicans believe federal officials should respect state laws on medical marijuana, a new Mason-Dixon survey of 1,000 likely 2012 general election voters found.

The Arizona Department of Health Services will accept applications for medical-marijuana dispensaries today through 5 p.m. May 25.

Under the voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, the state can have 126 medical-marijuana dispensaries, but the application process had been stalled because of lawsuits and rule making.

Smoking medical marijuana could help relieve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a small new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, found that people with MS who smoked cannabis had decreased pain and muscle tightness, called spasticity. However, the researchers warned that smoking the cannabis also led to problems with focus and attention.

Tired of bearing the brunt of the United State’s drug problem, Columbia’s House of Representatives voted to legalize illicit crops, including coca, marijuana, and opium poppies. Transport and processing is still illegal under the proposed bill. The move shows Latin American countries are no longer willing to wait for Uncle Sam to end the War on Drugs.

An element of marijuana, the cannabidiol tested significantly more favorable than the currently prescribed amisulpride in reducing the effects of schizophrenia. The researchers think the findings may point the treatment of schizophrenia in a new direction. Either way, it is yet another study that demonstrates marijuana’s beneficial effects on the human brain.

The Week is one of doobons.com’s favorite websites. They portray multiple viewpoints with easy-to-follow reference articles. This primer proposes three reasons, tough on crime, we don’t vote, and states went too far.  I’ll add one more I think they missed… Big Pharma doesn’t like marijuana.

The House of Representatives voted down a resolution to defund the Department of Justice’s raids on the medical marijuana industry. In a largely partisan vote, it was denied 163-262. While largely useless, the bill would have at least put the raids in the national conversation and forced Obama to publically acknowledge his administration’s flip-flop on the issue.

Sir Richard Branson believes that the ideal way for Spain to get out of its current morass of national debt, savage austerity cuts, and social turmoil would be to legalize and tax marijuana.

Sometimes even the best-laid plans go up in smoke. And sometimes these plans end up costing a lot of money.

When you think about medical marijuana, or pot in any way, you typically picture Cheech and Chong, not an elderly Yiddish speaking grandfather. However, according to the Jerusalem Post, Rafael Mechoulam, a geriatric research scientist from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, known as the “Marijauna Maven,” is the go to guy when it comes to issues of medical pot.

On Friday May 4^th the CT senate approved the bill 21-13, following the House of Representatives who had voted in favor of the bill a week prior. A list of conditions that would allow a physician to prescribe medical marijuana will be forthcoming from a joint panel consisting of members of the Department of Consumer Protection and the Board of Physicians.

Following in the footsteps of their New England sister state, lawmakers in New Hampshire approved an amended bill 236-96, a vote so overwhelmingly decisive it does not allow Governor John Lynch the ability to veto it. The bill has more administrative hurdles as it winds it’s way though the legal process.

CT beware!  Based on the aggressive tactics of the DOJ, the Berkeley Patients Group, with over 9,000 members, was forced to close its doors last week. The landlord received a letter from the DOJ threatening to seize the asset if the tenant, BPG, remained. The BPG, in operation for 12 years with no history of criminal incidents, will look for a new location but noted the current environment discourages landlords from taking a dispensary…

Maybe a little late, maybe a little weak, but it is always good to have the House Minority leader voice concerns for aggressive federal police action, medical marijuana or other issues pertaining to state’s rights.

Medical-marjiuana dispensaries will have to employ a "medical director" at their operations as state health officials require, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled. The non-profits could begin opening this summer.

Recently, what has been noticeable on both sides of the Atlantic has been the lack of imagination when it comes to policy reform. When faced with the greatest financial crisis in decades, the British government ring-fenced the National Health Service from cuts; the coalitions attempts at moderate reforms to the British healthcare service have been strongly opposed. In the U.S. Obama’s administration has not only continued, but…

A bill legalizing marijuana for medical purposes has passed the Connecticut Senate. The state joins 16 others and the District of Columbia in enacting such legislation.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has joined critics of the Obama administration's campaign against medical marijuana suppliers in California, saying the government is endangering patients and undermining its own proclaimed policy of deferring to states on the issue.

For a brief moment in 2009, medical marijuana advocates exhaled. A new President had taken office promising to call off the federal prosecutors in states that had legalized weed for the sick.

Pot patients are marching to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco office as we type to deliver a petition demanding she do something to stop the ongoing and significant crackdown on local pot clubs.

William Randolph Hearst’s legacy continues… the White House’s official statement was released last week, linked above. Basically, because the stalks, stems, and leaves of the hemp plant contain trace amounts of THC, the whole plant is deemed illegal and not useful.  Europe and Canada both farm industrial hemp for use as fiber, clothing, paper, and in foods.

Published in Rolling Stone magazine, the interview ranges across many topics.  Regarding the one near and dear to us, the POTUS offered a weak argument, essentially “it’s against federal law.” This seems to put the responsibility on the Justice Department, which makes Obama either a weak leader or he stretched the truth during his election year.

Kimmel is funny and has some god lines in the video/article, but the main point here is the US AG, Eric Holder, saying that Obama’s rationale behind the aggressive DOJ raids against the medical marijuana industry isn’t 100% true.  He could, with no approval from Congress, reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II or lower drug, thereby immediately removing all legal impetus for the raids.

As medical marijuana gains approval across the nation, how we deal with driving will be the next step.  A user can test positive for THC long after they ingested marijuana and long after it would have any effect on their driving.

Wait, what!?  I thought we all want to get tough on crime?  This study suggests otherwise, and the results are closely mirrored in Canada and the UK.  Obama might want to reconsider his aggressive tactics against the medical marijuana industry if seven out of every ten favor lighter penalties.

The mayor of Vancouver, and seven other mayors from around the state, petitioned the central government to reconsider legalizing marijuana.  They join the leaders of several South and Central American countries and many cities and states in the United States in their call to tax and regulate.

Eager to back up District Attorney George Gascón’s recent public support for medical marijuana, prosecutors from his office plan to meet soon with San Francisco medical marijuana providers to flesh out a set of rules agreeable to both sides.

By adding Amendment 64 to their platform, state Democrats join the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol group in supporting the legalization of marijuana. The Dems added support for the bill as part of their “essential platform.”

Anchored by Oaksterdam University, the cannabis-centric downtown Oakland neighborhood hosted protests on Friday, 4/20, to call attention to the Obama administration’s aggressive anti-marijuana law enforcement tactics. Oaksterdam announced it will continue to operate, but with a different parent company and in a new office.

Why is Obama reversing his announced stance on the medical marijuana industry?  Is it election-year politics?  Check out the article.

California is finally starting to get serious about setting up statewide regulations on medical marijuana dispensaries.

It’s about time.

Cannabis Science, Inc. a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana) products, is pleased to announce we are in final negotiations to purchase 50% of a 10,000 square foot Cancer Centre in Arizona. This Cancer Centre already has 500 existing patients with new patients inquiring daily, from around the world, looking for cannabis-based treatments for numerous critical ailments.

Sacramento County voters will have an opportunity to get it right on medical cannabis in November. The Patients Access to Regulated Medical Cannabis Act of 2012 limits cannabis transactions, taxes them, and meets Federal location requirements as requested by CA US Attorneys. They are currently gathering signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Visit Thepuffingtonhost.com to donate and sign today!

Business is booming at Harborside Health Center in Oakland as medical marijuana patients from across the state seek new places to buy cannabis amid a federal crackdown on marijuana.

European researchers conducted a study of drivers who sustained injuries in a car crash in Belgium and the Netherlands. The big take-away?  Alcohol was far and away the most prevalent drug found.  Duh, right?  The curious part, marijuana was found in 8% of the drivers from Belgium, but almost none at all in the Netherlands group, which happened to be much younger and more male than the Belgium group.  The Netherlands has a…

In order to enforce the 2010 law approved by voters and signed by the governor, the legal arm of NORML filed a suit against the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Sponsored by the Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol folks in Colorado, the billboard is near Mile High Stadium and hits just the right tone.

Oregon marijuana growers respond to the aggressive federal actions by either shutting down their own grows, or getting raided themselves. Large grows are down over 35% since 2011, decreasing access for those who rely on the herb to medicate a variety of ailments.

Still in the state’s Legislature, the bill is dead on arrival after Gov. Cuomo’s comments.  He did leave the door open for a change of heart in the future. However, he also linked medical marijuana to drug abuse and didn’t elaborate on the risks of legalizing medical marijuana.

The LatAm leaders respectfully disagreed.  Their countries are bearing the brunt of the hemisphere’s drug trafficking. Obama suggested stronger countries, stronger law enforcement, and better economies would reduce the strength of the drug cartels and that legalization would only allow the cartels to further dominate certain societies.

OAKSTERDAM University, a self-proclaimed “cannabis college” in Oakland, California, has been called everything from “the Princeton of Pot” to “the Harvard of Hemp”. Its founder, Richard Lee, has become the public face of the movement to legitimise marijuana.

The war on drugs is going to the classified sections of Mexican newspapers.

Commercially available baby soaps and other wash products that are commonly used with newborns may yield false positive results for THC in immunoassay drug screens, according to a just published study in the journal Clinical Biochemistry.

World: Increasing numbers of patients use cannabis for medicinal purposes

Various NFL players who have been fined and suspended for their marijuana use.

American authorities haven’t been policing pot for very long, only about one hundred years.

Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law on Tuesday a bill to ban medical marijuana from being used on the campuses of state universities and community colleges in the latest salvo in a long-running battle over legalization of the drug.

Possibly in response to the raid on Oakland’s Oaksterdam University, six national drug policy organizations publically ask President Obama to… reconsider the administration’s aggressive actions against medial marijuana providers.

Some Oakland, California residents are furious that on the same day that a gunman murdered seven people at Oikos University, armed SWAT teams raided a different university less than a mile away where peaceful activities were being conducted. Federal agents also went to the home of Oaksterdam University’s owner Richard Lee, the sponsor of a nearly successful 2010 California initiative that had received the public denunciation of the feds…

While federal agents were raiding a medical marijuana dispensary and the nation’s first pot trade school in Oakland, run by one of California’s most prominent legalization advocates, less than a mile a way, a gunman was murdering seven people at a Christian nursing school. The feds couldn’t have predicted the rampage, but it’s hard to imagine a starker illustration of misplaced law enforcement priorities.

One former heart surgeon says that while some people are on a daily dose of aspirin to lower the severity of problems -- and the likelihood of strokes -- after a heart attack or a first stroke, there's a better way.

The founder of a Northern California medical marijuana training school said Friday he was giving up his downtown Oakland-based pot businesses after a federal raid bankrupted him.

MARIJUANA, INC. (otc-pink:HEMP) is proud to announce the acquisition of the exclusive rights to the Hemp.com web address through a joint venture agreement.

Medical marijuana advocates on Tuesday vowed to reopen a San Francisco-area college devoted to cannabis cultivation and known as the "Princeton of Pot" a day after federal agents shut down the school in a raid.

On many fronts, Oakland is in dire need of federal assistance.

The city needs help reducing violent crime and would benefit from the feds' expertise in investigating allegations of government corruption.

An enthusiastic crowd of more than 200 medical marijuana patients and supporters rallied at San Francisco City Hall today to hear six city supervisors and an Oaksterdam University official decry a recent federal crackdown on cannabis dispensaries.

And Marijuana in general, issuing a quote “prosecuting illegal marijuana sales is not a priority.” This is good news for those on the west side of the Bay…

… but we have some bad news for those on the east side of the Bay. The Department of Justice raided the flagship location of the growing legalization movement, Richard Lee’s Oaksterdam University. Located in Oakland’s cannabis-oriented downtown district, the facility provides growing lessons, cloning, marijuana sales, and other matters related to growing and using marijuana. No cause was given for the raid at this time.

In a study published by the National Workrights Institute, federally certified laboratories are not following federally mandated protocols, have a high rate of false positives, and operate with little oversight. For a process that is involved in parole matters, employment, and other key aspects of life, the news is alarming.

Doobons does not condone driving while impaired, but it is hard to compare driving after utilizing marijuana and driving drunk. At any rate, the bill is riddled with problems, the least of which involves blood testing for a substance that can remain in the body for 30 days. Is it OK to give a DUI because somebody used pot 2 weeks ago?  4 weeks ago?

Hundreds of protesters visited Mayor Bloomberg’s house to voice their concerns over the police’s use of the Stop-And-Frisk policy, which overwhelmingly targets young black and brown skinned residents. 50,000 NYC residents are arrested for low-level marijuana charges, even thought the state of New York has decriminalized marijuana.

Kinda ironic, given Obama’s and the DOJ’s recent aggression against dispensaries in the West. Medical marijuana is one step closer to being a reality in our nation’s capital.

Americans are more and more supportive of taxing marijuana to help our financial situation. 42% are opposed and 10% remain undecided.

In honor of this year’s 420 holiday, celebrated on April 20th each year, Phototron is giving away one of its advanced hydroponic indoor growing systems to one lucky winner. Details and rules are posted on the Phototron website, and clues will be posted on Facebook.

Or, technically, a spliff. The request came at a dinner function honoring Mike Cameron, the British Prime Minister. Branson, who is Great Britain’s 4^th wealthiest man, is known to partake in marijuana yet claims his question was “a joke.” Either way, it serves as one more prominent person calling for smarter drug policies.

No real surprise, this isn’t Richard Branson here.  Willie Nelson, famous stoner and country singer, appears in a minimally produced commercial endorsing Oregon Cannabis Tax Act. The sweeping bill calls for full legalization of marijuana, including producing paper and other industrial applications.

Connecticut approaches its third attempt to get medical marijuana laws passed and implemented. Previous attempts failed when, in 2007, the governor overturned the law and in 2011 when the law never made it out of committee, despite having the support of the voters and the governor. This year, all three bodies appear aligned and without any snags, Connecticut will join the 17 other states with medical marijuana laws. NH politicos passed their…

The Washington Post floated the idea as a way for Romney to capture the Ron Paul voting bloc, and present himself as a state’s rights advocate. In addition, he could get out in front of a popular social issue that is gaining mainstream momentum… heck, even Pat Robertson came out in favor of legalized marijuana.

The leaders of Guatemala, Panama, and Costa Rica attended a conference calling for a new direction in dealing with illicit drugs. Mexico and Colombia’s presidents sent messages of support. Honduras and Nicaragua leaders do not support the idea.

Chris Williams, former owner of a Montana dispensary that was raided last year, has secured a lawyer and a group of other dispensary owners to form a suit that challenges the Federal crackdown that occurred in Montana, and other Western states. Mr. Williams may face jail time, and is risking up to 40 years behind bars by standing up for his rights, and the issue of state’s rights in general.

"Chronic Future - Killing Cancer" is a documentary about the truth and benefits of medical marijuana, including its success in treating cancer. Through the power of the media, this documentary will reverse the negative stigma and propaganda that has been instilled in the public since the 1930's.

The Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments as to the constitutionality of various provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Note that phrase: "Various provisions." The Supreme Court is not looking at the act as a whole. Rather, it’s considering four separate questions related to separate parts of the law.

The Marijuana Policy Project and Tuftonboro resident Ted Wright, whose wife Cindy has been battling breast cancer for more than 18 years, are asking for your help in passing medical marijuana legislation in New Hampshire. Our ads, which you can listen to below, are running this week on radio stations throughout New Hampshire.

Warning to marijuana shops selling Linsanity weed: Your buzzkill has arrived.

A Gallup poll last year showed that half of the U.S. population wants marijuana legalized. But not everyone is in on the smoke sesh.

Researchers studied the use of alcohol and marijuana among teen and young adult populations. Their findings indicate that alcohol use spikes dramatically after age of 21, with a corresponding decrease in marijuana usage. This effect is more pronounced among female populations. This finding reaffirms previous studies suggesting that marijuana and alcohol use are often substituted.

Pennsylvania, you’re up next!  A Democratic senator, Daylin Leach, is the primary force behind the bill, which is currently in committee. The bill may not make it to the ballot, but the political conversation has started. PA joins 17 other states with legislation related to medical marijuana.

The above link is to a Huffington Post reaction piece; the actual letter is linked from that article.  This time, it is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claiming marijuana leads to death.

But won’t say when. The next round of aggressive action will target dispensaries operating within 1,000 of a school, and continues the Fed policy of disregarding state voters and their decision to offer a regulated medical marijuana industry.

Politicians can’t seem to avoid the topic of marijuana, whether they’re being asked to fess up about their own use of the drug in the past or about their views on its legalization. Last week, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson joked that he had asked President Barack Obama if he could “have a spliff” at the White House state dinner. Here’s POLITICO’s look back at what 9 politicians have said about pot...

The Doctors debate the pros and cons of medical marijuana legalization, and how marijuana prescriptions have become so prevalent that there are even doorstep delivery services.

Country music star and marijuana enthusiast Willie Nelson is endorsing the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 2012. The superstar appears in a recently released ad throwing his support behind the initiative to end the prohibition on marijuana and restore the production of hemp in Oregon.

According to an article in the evangelical news magazine World, "marijuana is losing its stigma," largely because of "its claim to have medicinal purposes" and "the perception that everyone uses it."

Green media executive Cheryl Shuman announced today that Green Asset International Inc. (GreenAssetInc.com) is dedicating an unprecedented US $100 Million funding facility to develop the corporatization and rebranding of the cannabis industry's ancillary

In reaction to the recent spate of aggressive moves by the Department of Justice, pro-medical marijuana groups in California submitted four simultaneous lawsuits in each of the states four federal districts. This is the first of the four to receive a decision. The suits rely on the Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution to show the Fed’s actions are unconstitutional.  The judge in this case cited the Commerce…

The study also pointed out that inhaled cannabinoids treat hard-to-treat neuropathic pain conditions, such as those arising from HIV. Of the respondents, 71% reported improved conditions.

Martin O’Malley pledges to veto any legalization bills the state’s House of Delegates submits over concerns the bill would invite federal crackdowns similar to what we’re seeing in Montana, Colorado, and California. Currently, there are three pieces of legislature up for debate.

An interesting take on the War on Drugs, from a very pragmatic point of view. Corruption, lost wages, lost taxes, and other costs are discussed.

Faced with a 500,000 deficit of required signatures, the advocates for a bill to regulate dispensaries decided to pull the plug on the attempt to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. Instead, the groups will lobby lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown to tackle the issue. A campaign of radio and TV ads will educate the public on the issue, and hopefully generate grass roots support.

Winning 162 -161, the bill drops the penalties of possessing under one-half ounce of marijuana. The same body overwhelming rejected a legalization and regulation bill.

The world renowned medical research institution released a paper on its website calling for the Feds to drop their “illogical” classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, citing the potential for “head-to-toe therapeutic benefits.”

Legalized in January of 2010, New Jersey’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is slowly developing the institutional framework to safely manage a medical marijuana program. Republican Governor, Chris Christie, is on-board and not publically blocking the program. The DHSS’s slow pace reflects their desire to watch California and Colorado and develop a better system.

The whole discussion in based on tax revenue and the fiscal benefits of raising the cash crop. The municipality is deeply in debt, and located in the semi-autonomous region of Catalonia. Given the widespread debt of governments around Europe and the US, this could be an important first step to get the public behind legalized marijuana.

…against the Fed’s warning?  Legalized since 2009, three dispensaries are still waiting to open its doors, as the state bowed to Fed pressure to halt the program. That stance appears to have changed, driven by the General Assembly.

Is this a concession?  Or a confusing document meant to muddle the marijuana legalization conversation? It’s a good read with many solid points (no advertising) and many pipe dreams (automatic repeal).

Of course, those leaders don’t much care if the War on Drugs is leading to horrific conditions in their country, right Janet? The War s a success, according to her, because it “…keep(s) our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs.”  We’re not sure the general public in Colombia, Mexico, and other heavily hit countries, cares about that. They’re likely more concerned with their own peoples.

Costa Rican president calls for renewed talks on drug legalization, hopes to avoid becoming Mexico or Colombia.

Mike McGinn likens marijuana laws to alcohol prohibition in the 1920’s, and calls for Seattle to take a leading role in changing the conversation and legalize marijuana.  Local politics taking the lead!

Canada’s C-10 crime law passed a conservative, unelected, Senate body, enacting draconian drug laws that minimize freedoms and reward the prison complex industry. Marijuana laws get stricter, the War on Drugs gets more intense, and the bill was decidedly partisan in a country whose crime rates haven’t been this low since the 1970’s.

MJ Freeway Software Solutions Co-Founder Mark Goldfogel is giving a free webinar on “How to Improve Your Medical Marijuana Business Practices and Stay Compliant” Wednesday, March 7 at 11 am MST.

The newly redesigned cans of Chronic Ice, the delicious all-natural hemp iced tea, offer some surprising facts about the history and benefits of hemp.

Interest in indoor gardening has blossomed, particularly in the last few years, as concerns over contamination and disappointment with the flavor of shipped produce have people taking matters into their own hands. But to ensure optimal results, Phototron recommends doing some homework before purchasing a hydroponic system.

Mendocino County, one of three Northern California marijuana-producing counties known as the Emerald Triangle, instituted a novel plan two years ago to track and regulate marijuana farmers. The system, involving site and operation inspections from the Sheriff’s Department, generated over $600,000 for the department and reduced the amount of friction in the rural communities. The Fed’s shut it down under threat of a lawsuit,…

Unlike alcohol, cigarettes, and cocaine, mild to moderate use of marijuana does not result in subtle alterations of a person’s dopamine release. Dopamine, a pleasure and reward chemical active in human brain, maintained similar release patterns between a group of marijuana users and a control group.

Previously, a number of signatures were deemed invalid, sending the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol bill supporters scrambling for additional signatures. They gathered 14,000, giving them a comfortable margin of error to reach the 2,500 needed. Colorado residents will vote in November on the bill.

The study, a collaboration between scientists at three California universities, suggests that legal marijuana leads to a 5% reduction in suicide rates. The study considered states with medical marijuana laws against those without, and from year zero, the suicide rates show a distinct difference. Possible reasons include the positive effect cannabis has on the brain or increased access to marijuana leads to a decrease in alcohol consumption.

The Feds have moved north. In conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, federal DEA agents raided Greenwell Cooperative, arresting the owner and stripping the plants bare. There are 25 total dispensaries in Vallejo, and the local police rep said they are also in danger of being raided. Curiously… agents from the Franchise Tax Board and the Board of Equalization were present, although their presence was not explained.

Nick Diaz resides in California, and holds a medical marijuana card issued by the state. After his fight in Nevada, the Nevada State Athletic Commission conducted a urine test and found THC. This resulted in a suspension from the UFC for the top-tier mixed martial artist.

Check out National Geographic’s “American Weed” show, on Wednesday's at 10pm.

The article linked above is a great primer on saying “No,” and why it matters. Know your rights, folks!

Twelve medical cannabis states form a national alliance, 280E Reform, to challenge U.S. IRS Tax Code 280E.

But they may not, either.  In 2010, the Coalition for a Safer Detroit accumulated 6,000 signatures, enough to place the initiative on the ballot. However, the city claimed it would violate Michigan state law, and never placed the initiative on the ballot. The Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the city’s decision, clearing the way for a 2012 ballot appearance. The city filed an appeal of their own, perhaps stalling the procedure…

Last week the Feds play the heavy with Delaware, which canceled their medical marijuana initiative, passed by voters in 2011. Continuing the hardball tactics undertaken in California, Colorado, Montana, and other states, the Department of Justice sent threatening letters to the governors office, suggesting they would pursue legal actions against state employees who implemented the law.

Peter Lewis, chairman of Progressive Corporation, the parent company of the Progressive Insurance brand (think Flo), recently donated over half a million dollars to the Massachusetts pro-legalization organization Committee for Compassionate Medicine. The organization seeks to place a measure on the 2012 ballot that would legalize marijuana.

The link above is to the actual document.  Long story short, there is virtually no change in budget or approach to drug laws.  More incarceration, less freedom, and certainly nothing close to common sense steps towards legalization.  For a longer editorial viewpoint, see here: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2012/feb/15/meet_obamas_proposed_2013_federa

Jumping from rooftops BETTER than smoking pot!!  We promise!

Greenlight Beverages is getting ready to quench the Aloha State’s thirst for a flavorful energizing drink made with nutritious ingredients.

Confusion over California’s medical marijuana laws has prompted many to call for more specific regulations. California medical marijuana attorney Chris Van Hook proposes cannabis be regulated under 3 current laws, depending on the intended use of each crop.

The number of people now gardening indoors has grown significantly in the last few years—and many people are wondering if starting an indoor garden is the right thing to do. Phototron explains 5 reasons to consider indoor growing.

A recent study out of McGill University in Montreal shows no increase in marijuana use by teens after a state passes medical marijuana laws. The findings match previous studies at Brown University and Texas A&M. Opponents of medical marijuana laws frequently trot out the potential for rampant use among teens as one reason to keep marijuana classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic. This simply is not true.

This is despite an internal order from the Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, to do just the opposite. After the NYPD was embarrassed by a radio station’s investigation into their methods, Mr. Kelly ordered his men to cease the tactic of “stop and frisk,” where a person, frequently a Latino or black young man, would be stopped at random. If they had marijuana in their pocket, they would be arrested for having it “it open…

Registered with the Green Party, Roseanne formally announced her candidacy last week. Among her core tenets is the legalization of marijuana. Is this good for those of us who want marijuana drug laws taken seriously?

Seriously, read that.  Your friendly pot law newshound will give you a teaser: What about the children’s day care workers? If they smoke it and their senses are dulled by its use and they drop little Johnny on his head, whose fault is it now?  I think I know the answer!!!

Basically, the tide of history is on the side of legalization. Those who oppose it are on the losing side of this battle and will look foolish in years… like those who opposed a woman’s right to vote or equal rights for African-Americans during the 1960s.

The legalization of medicinal cannabis in a growing number of states and countries has opened up new areas of study and research, which is very exciting to the industry in general, and thrilling to Greenway doctors, who pride themselves in keeping up with the latest developments and passing essential information on to their patients.

The Israeli report finds that over 60% of the cancer patients in the study get long-term symptomatic relief from the use of medical marijuana. Researchers claim that marijuana, as a medicinal option, was presented to cancer patients too late, and should be immediately recommended upon diagnosis. Two-thirds of those polled would recommend medical marijuana to others.

In a move that appears to be politically motivated and designed to send a message, Montana state rep Diane Sands is under investigation by the DEA for her alleged role in the medical marijuana industry. An openly lesbian, Ms. Sands is quoted as denying any involvement in the industry, besides supporting her states ability to pass its own drug laws.

Data from a recent poll shows 52% voters in RI favor full legalization.  A bare majority, but a full 65% favor decriminalization. Support fanned across party lines, suggesting that drug reform laws are wanted in RI. The state legislature will have the chance to approve a decriminalization measure in the coming months. Voters over 55 were the group most against legalization, with just 45% approval.

The entire building was being used as a grow house, with each floor hosting a different stage in the growth cycle. Seedlings were downstairs, and fully mature plants were on the top floor. The entire house was rigged with ventilation and lighting, supporting a 600 plant operation. In other NYC cop news, they shot an unarmed kid: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203711104577199620095178212.html

The drug, containing both THC and cannabidiol, is made from the cannabis plant itself, unlike Marinol, which is a synthetic. The natural derivate is being tested in a mouth spray form and could be approved by the FDA by late 2013. If approved, Sativex would be the first marijuana-like drug on the market since Marinol arrived in 1985.

Demi Moore inhaled a little too much hippy crack and passed out. She gets on TMZ, we just look like foolish college kids.  Nitrous, hippy crack, whip-its, by any name it is a short term, dangerous, and synthetic high.

While the personal history of marijuana use among presidential hopefuls seems irrelevant these days, their positions on the national debate over drug laws is not. However, everybody seems to be ducking the issue.

Despite the fact that we, the people, continue to request he addresses the issue, President Obama matches his Republican peers by ducking the issue.

Americans for Safe Access, an activist group focused on ending the marijuana prohibition, filed a Circuit Court brief that seeks to force the DEA to reclassify marijuana. It is currently a Schedule 1 drug, meaning no medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.

Per the city’s controller’s office, San Francisco received over $410,000 in tax revenue in 2011 from the sale of medical marijuana. The city has been one of a few in California to continue to regulate and permit dispensaries, despite the federal crackdown occurring up and down the state.

The results are from a study that polled 800 California voters. The link contains interesting statistics confirming that the general populace wants updated marijuana laws. The group, Regulate Marijuana Like Wine, seeks to place a proposal on the 2012 ballot, and enjoys support from LEAP – law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

The initiative, known as I-502, seeks to regulate the sale of marijuana and tax it, similar to the current laws regarding liquor. The fate of I-502 first lies with the Legislature, who can confirm the bill outright, or the body may let it go to the ballot for the voters to decide. Colorado will also vote on a similar initiative.

Republican Jan Brewer initially resisted the passing of Prop 203 in 2010, filing a lawsuit to halt the process, citing conflict with federal drug laws. The ACLU filed a counter-suit, won, and now Gov. Brewer will no longer challenge the voters will, ordering her administration to begin the process of authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries. The link above is the reaction from the Director of the Arizona Dept. of Health Services.

More letters threatening federal action were sent to multiple Colorado facilities that engage in the medical marijuana industry. The twist this time? The facilities were thought to have been grandfathered in under state law, thus immune from Federal harassment. The Feds are moving the goalposts, as those targeted were operating under state license. In the link above, the Federal agent describes the escalating tactics the Feds will be using,…

… and gets a standing ovation!  From both the Republicans and Democrats! Hopefully a sign of things to come, the bipartisan support for his comments, made during a speech, is welcome news. While the Feds crack down on state’s rights, states continue to take the lead in crafting sensible drug policies.

The headline says it all. Enjoy (and share) the link.

For the past three years, farmers in Kentucky have proposed a bill to legalize industrial hemp farming. The DEA currently does not allow industrial hemp farming, refusing to make the distinction between hemp and marijuana. The plant may be imported, but not produced in the United States, the only plant to have that dubious honor.

Research coming from a report found in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that cannabis, or any other illicit drug, doesn’t cause memory loss or impair functioning in middle-aged adults. Most of the test subjects had used marijuana, and those who did use marijuana tested slightly better or as well as peers during the study.

Good week for marijuana smokers!  A new study released in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that occasional marijuana use does not adversely affect the lungs. No connection between use of marijuana and lung cancer was found as well. Heavy marijuana use may still affect the lungs adversely, the study cautions.

Of the estimated 200 million people who use illicit drugs, worldwide, 121-191 use marijuana. With up to 95% of all drug users using marijuana, maybe it is time to separate marijuana from hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and meth.

Three dispensaries in San Diego were the targets of federal DEA raids last week. The action continues the aggressive policy set forth by President Obama. The three shops were among those who received warning letters from the DEA.

Some good news!  The judge in the case ruled the dispensary owners in Ferndale, MI did not have criminal intent when they sold local undercover police officers medical marijuana. The cops used forged documents to appear as normal customers, bought MM, then tried to bust the dispensary… despite them following the rules.

The motion, sponsored by the party’s Young Liberals group, passed a general party vote with 77% of the vote. The Liberal Party is Canada’s third party, having lost the #2 spot last year to the New Democrats.

In keeping with the traditional Libertarian credo, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson would pardon all non-violent drug offenders. While holding virtually no chance of becoming elected President, his stance at least puts the issue in the national spotlight and encourages the conversation.

The group, linked above, acquired 160,000 signatures (needing only 86,000) to place the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act on the Nov 2012 ballot, ensuring that Colorado state residents will vote to end prohibition in their state. The group has the rest of 2012 to convince the 51% of the state voters that do not favor legalization.

A paper in the Harm Reduction Journal gathered a number of studies together to show that cannabis is a legitimate medicine when it comes to nerve pain. Doctors frequently prescribe opioids such as morphine and oxycodone for treatment, medicines that are addictive, expensive, and contributed to the overdose death of 65,000 people between 1999 and 2006. During that same period, cannabis killed zero.

Active in Kentucky politics, Mr. Galbraith was a long time advocate for sane drug laws. Wisdom from Mr. Galbraith, “My view is that government's role should be to uplift, enlighten, educate and ennoble the citizen, not oppress them with taxation and intrusive laws.”

Newt:  Washington would have punished pot growers

Santorum:  The Federal government doesn’t do that (imprison non-violent drug offenders)

Romney:  I’m not quite sure what industrialized hemp is

Noting that Prop 215 passed 15 years ago, Kamala Harris called upon state legislators to clarify where the medical marijuana would come from.  Ms. Harris also urged state lawmakers to clarify laws on profits related to medical marijuana, as Prop 215 contains no language on the issue.

Tom Ammiano, assemblyman in San Francisco, met with Melinda Haag to discuss the recent federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries. The meeting, which occurred mid-Dec., had no discernable effect on federal policy and Haag was unclear on what would cause the crackdown to cease.

State-regulated dispensaries of medical marijuana that are located within 1000 feet of a school will be sent letters demanding they move or shut down operations. The tactic is eerily similar to the Fed’s crackdown in California, Montana, and Washington.

A Brazilian study of CBD, a compound found in marijuana, shows it to be “well-tolerated” at high dosage levels. CBD has previously been shown to have a number of health benefits, yet remains classified by our government as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has a high chance of being abused and has no medical use, which this report directly contradicts.

Check out the short clip to see Barney Frank’s pro-medical marijuana rant.

According to the new NBA labor agreement, players will only be tested for steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. Marijuana will no longer be part of the testing procedure, which means no more multi-game suspensions for athletes or media attention focusing on marijuana-related non-incidents.

The increased use of marijuana among 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th graders mirrors a growing perception among the age group that pot is not dangerous. Is this changing perception due to the advancements of the medical marijuana laws?

Federal Drug Czar R. Gil Kerlikowske blames the medical marijuana conversation on the uptick in teen pot use. Displaying an interesting thought process that suggests he was never a teen, Mr. Czar seems to think teens want adults to tell them marijuana is bad, instead of confusing them by calling it medicine.

In recent years, the rise in popularity of fake cocaine and fake marijuana, known as spice, K2, bath salts, and other names, has led to abuse and even death from the unregulated drugs. Last Thursday, Congress voted to make the synthetic drugs illegal, classifying them as a Schedule 1 narcotic.

Aside from Mendocino County, which voted to support legalizing medical marijuana, and Humboldt County, which merely placed a moratorium on new dispensaries, cities and counties across California are taking sides with the fed’s, who recently began a crackdown on the growing medical marijuana industry.

49% of polled residents support the full legalization of marijuana, and 68% support medical marijuana. Curiously, most of the respondents identified themselves as conservative and older than 45. On a related note, Colorado residents like Tim Tebow!

A coalition of drug policy experts, public health officials, and concerned citizens went public with a new website, drugpolicy.ca, and a position supporting evidence based drug policy that supports public health and human rights over incarceration and criminalization.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed a county zoning amendment that will not allow medical marijuana dispensaries to get a permit to operate do to conflict with federal law. The previous zoning ordinance did not expressly prohibit the dispensaries, which attracted a large number of poorly regulated MM businesses.

A new poll shows residents of the Garden State support medical marijuana.  80% favor use of the drug for medical purposes, and 55% believe in decriminalization.  A solid 35% want outright legalization.  Each figure represents a marked increase from a study done in 1972.

The City Council of Redding voted unanimously to file a lawsuit in reaction to a suit brought by 5 local area dispensaries that challenged an earlier ban on dispensaries. NorCal Safe Access protested the suit.

Oakland proceeded with its plan to double the number of medical marijuana dispensaries within its city limits from 4 to the proposed 8. A list of finalists can be seen on their website, linked above.

A recent study examining the relationship between medical marijuana laws, alcohol consumption, and traffic accidents contains shocking statistics. Notably a 9% decrease in traffic related fatalities and a 5% decrease in the amount of beer sales. Clearly, people will substitute beer for marijuana when it is not legally available, to the detriment of society.

The Director of the Center for Medical Cannabis Research speaks about what he’s learned about the medical benefits of marijuana, what is left to learn, and what happens next in the march to legalize medical marijuana.

I think we all knew this, personally, but this study shows that the quality of life for those suffering from IBS goes up when medical marijuana was added to the mix. Specifically, users reported increase in social activity and positive weight gain.

With a largely corrupt police force, the Honduran congress overwhelmingly voted to call out the Army to battle Mexican drug cartels. The Army will now have broad domestic policing powers, including the right to make arrests and gather evidence.

The results of a 16-question study asking health professionals at hospices across the nation shows, in general, the group favors the use of medical marijuana in caring for the terminally ill.  They join dozens of other health professionals calling for, at least, further study on the subject.

Researchers added vaporized cannabis to the prescription pain medication regime of 21 chronic pain sufferers. The subjects of the study were taking morphine or oxycodone when researchers added vaporized cannabis for the five-day study. Blood samples and pain assessments were taken daily. The subjects reported a significant decrease in pain, suggesting that dosage levels for prescription opioids could be reduced when augmented with vaporized…

DOOBONS.COM, the new face of the medical marijuana industry, made its long awaited debut by creating a huge splash at the San Jose HempCon trade show on 11/11/11. "We expected to fly slightly under the radar at the San Jose show," said owner and founder John. This, however, proved to be impossible as soon as the doors opened...

Federal agents staged coordinated raids across the state of Washington on Tuesday, November 15th, targeting storefronts that operated under the states 1998 law that allows medical marijuana. The law does not explicitly ban nor permit storefronts. In March of 2011, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire essentially vetoed a regulated system for medical marijuana. 15 businesses were targeted in six cities.

A British study suggests children with high IQs are more likely to try illicit drugs as adults. The study began in 1970, and has been following thousands of people for decades. Turns out high-IQ men are twice as likely to use drugs, women three times. Higher use of alcohol is also correlated to high IQs.

A California state appeals court grants cities and counties the right to ban dispensaries, citing conflict with federal law. The case centered on Riverside, CA, and the city will now move to close down the roughly 15 dispensaries in city limits. The decision mirrors an earlier case involving Long Beach.

California’s Lt. Governor and former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newson joined Republican presidential nominee and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson in calling for the end of Prohibition on drugs. Speaking at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Los Angeles, the politicians openly advocated for full legalization as the answer for the country’s drug problem. 

A coalition of NORML chapters and medical marijuana supporters will begin collecting signatures to place two similar initiatives on the 2012 ballot. Both measures call for legalizing marijuana for everybody, and allowing nonviolent offenders in jail for marijuana-related offenses to be set free, with clean records. One measure aims to make legalization an amendment to the state’s Constitution, and the other measure seeks to make it a…

As federal law cracks down on California legal medical marijuana dispensaries, Oaksterdam's Richard Lee, the leading proponent of the marijuana legalization of movement, refuses to give up. After federal ordinances convinced Oaksterdam's previous land lord to evict the dispensary and educational center, Mr. Lee picked up shop and moved 3 doors down.

The law, enacted in the fall of 2011, sets the punishment for possession of less than 10 grams a fine of $200 and up to 10 hours of community service. Previously, the punishment was a misdemeanor carrying a $1,500 fine and a possible sentence of six months of jail time. Chicago arrests 23,000 each year for possession. 

A Gallup poll suggests that roughly 50% of the US are in support of the legalization of marijuana. Interestingly, less than 46% were in direct disapproval of legalization, and about 4% were indifferent or did not know. This marks the highest approval rating for legalization in the history of the country.

This new era of open-mindedness sets the stage for the possibility of greater freedom and more assistance in legal medical marijuana.

Although the California Medical Association, the states largest medical association, has not officially recognized the medical value of pot and acknowledges some health risks of smoking, the group now urges it be regulated like alcohol. Law officials responded critically to the new stance.

With 65% of the vote, Initiative 1 passed with a resounding yes. The measure makes possession of marijuana the lowest priority for law enforcement officials. It passed despite this… misguided…  editorial.

Discovery Channel will air “Weed Wars” staring in November. The show is the result of following the staff and plants at Harborside Health Center, a Northern California dispensary of medical marijuana, for one year.

Brazilian researchers report that rats whom suffered spinal cord injuries showed improved locomotor skills and reduced the extent of the injury after being administered cannabidoil (CBD). CBD is a non-psychoactive compound in cannabis.  THC is the compound that is often associated with the inebriating effects of the plant. The study reinforces previous studies showing the therapeutic effects of CBD.

This blog article suggests cannabis has long enjoyed a place in a doctor’s arsenal of medications, until industrialists decided it cost them money. Modern studies show cannabis may reduce or even cure cancer, as well as a host of other ailments.