Marijuana

Low-Income Medical Marijuana Patient Evicted For Doctor Recommended Therapy

February 24, 2019 By Kevin Mahmalji, NORML. Educate! Health Care, Housing, Marijuana, Poverty

Up until a few years ago low-income housing that received federal subsidies were required to maintain a “drug-free” environment. This meant that if anyone living in subsidized housing was caught possessing and/or consuming marijuana onsite, everyone living in the property was at risk of being evicted. Fortunately, in 2014 the Obama Administration amended this policy to no longer mandate evictions which provided some discretion to housing management. As a result, the decision is now left to property management so they can insist on a “drug-free” environment, but are not required by law to impose such restrictive policies.

Fentanyl Maker Donates Big To Campaign Opposing Pot Legalization

February 13, 2019 Steven Nelson, Usnews.com Educate! Big Pharma, Legalization, Marijuana

AN EMBATTLED pharmaceutical company that sells the powerful painkiller fentanyl has donated $500,000 toward defeating a ballot initiative that would make recreational use of marijuana legal under Arizona law. It's hard to imagine a more sinister donor than Insys Therapeutics Inc. in the eyes of pot legalization proponents, who long have claimed drug companies want to keep cannabis illegal to corner the market for drugs, some addictive and dangerous, that relieve pain and other symptoms. Insys currently markets just one product, according to an August filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission: a sublingual fentanyl spray it calls Subsys.

The Growth of Corporate Cannabis

January 27, 2019 Doug McVay, iBudtender Educate! Corporatism, Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization

Legalization of adult social use marijuana only began in 2012, yet it’s already a multi-billion dollar industry. As 2018 came to a close, a handful of large business deals point to the industry’s possible future. Legalization is inevitable. The shape it’s taking is still being determined. It’s like a boxing match, with cannabis culture in one corner and corporate capitalism in the other. It all depends on who can go the distance.

Nominee For US Attorney General Will Not Take Action Against State-Sanctioned Marijuana Industry

January 19, 2019 Staff, Norml.org Educate! Attorney General, Marijuana

Washington, DC: The Trump administration's nominee for US Attorney General, William Barr, during Senate testimony on Tuesday affirmed that he would not use the power of the Justice Department to target marijuana-related activity in jurisdictions where the plant is legally regulated. In response to a question posed by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Barr said, "My approach ... would not be to upset the settled expectations and the reliant interests that have arisen as a result of the Cole memorandum." The 2013 Cole memo, which was rescinded by former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, directed prosecutors not to interfere with state legalization efforts and those licensed to engage in the plant's production and sale...

The Return Of Reefer Madness

January 15, 2019 Ari Paul, Fair.org Educate! Legalization, Marijuana, Reform

Nationwide, marijuana legalization is becoming more normal. Colorado’s dispensaries are hailed as an economic success story, and other states are following suit—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated he’ll support legalization after New York City’s choice to gradually decriminalize the drug. The trend is global: Canada recently joined Uruguay in fully legalizing cannabis, and Lebanon is also mulling legalization. Marijuana legalization has always had its opponents—including the alcohol lobby, which wants to protect its monopoly on legal intoxicants, and the prison/industrial complex, which fears a decrease in the number of nonviolent drug offenders who keep jail cells full.

Legal Weed Is Great, But Black And Brown Communities Can’t Be Left Behind

January 15, 2019 By Katelyn Johnson, Inthesetimes.com Strategize! Legalization, Marijuana, Racism, War On Drugs

In March 2017, Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy and Sen. Heather Steans began co-drafting the Tax & Regulate Cannabis like Alcohol bill. In the nearly two years since, Chicago NORML, a local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has encouraged Illinois legislators to prioritize social equity and criminal justice in the final version of the bill. In a January 2018 speech to industry stakeholders, then-candidate and now Illinois governor-elect JB Pritzker promised to “intentionally include black and brown entrepreneurs” in managing legal marijuana businesses in the state in order to address “historically systemic racism.”

Here Are 5 Key Facts About How Legal Weed Is Transforming Colorado

January 14, 2019 By Phillip Smith, Drug Reporter Create! Colorado, Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization

It’s been five years since the era of legal marijuana sales began in Colorado, and that’s been enough time to begin to be able see what sorts of impact the freeing of the weed has had on the Rocky Mountain State. From the economy and the fiscal health of the state government to law enforcement and public safety, legalizing marijuana has consequences. Thanks to marijuana sales reports and tax revenue reports from the state Department of Revenue, as well as a legislatively mandated biennial report from the Division of Criminal Justice, we can see what some of those consequences are.

Marijuana Law Reform Continues To Make Progress

January 5, 2019 Staff, NORML Create! Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization

A lot of progress continues to be made on marijuana and other drug policy. Of course, there continues to be opposition, but even when an anti-marijuana zealot, Jeff Sessions, was attorney general, the country continued to make progress with a 20% decline in federal prosecutions and five more states legalizing in one way or another. If the marijuana reform tide cannot be reversed with someone like Sessions in charge, it is hard to see how the momentum toward legal marijuana for adults can be stopped.

Green Wave: Marijuana Initiatives Win Three Of Four In Midterms

November 8, 2018 Phil Smith Drug Reporter Create! Legalization, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana

The expansion of legal marijuana continued apace in Tuesday’s elections, with medical marijuana initiatives winning in Missouri and Utah and recreational marijuana winning in Michigan. Voters in a number of Wisconsin localities, including the population centers of Madison and Milwaukee, overwhelmingly approved non-binding referenda calling for marijuana legalization, while voters approved decriminalization in five out of six Ohio cities where it was on the ballot, including Dayton.

Two New Polls Suggest Pot Prohibition’s Days Are Numbered

October 27, 2018 By Phillip Smith, Drug Reporter IndependentMediaInstitute.org Create! Legalization, Marijuana

Two of the country's top polling organizations have released surveys this month showing support for marijuana legalization continues to increase and is now at record highs. A Gallup poll released Monday had support at 69 percent, while a Pew Research Center poll released two weeks earlier had support at 62 percent. The Gallup figure is up two points over last year, while Pew is up one. More impressively, the percentage of people supporting legalization nationwide has doubled since 2000, when both polls reported support at only 31 percent. "There is a growing sense among the U.S. population that it is time to end our nation's failed experiment with marijuana prohibition," responded Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Oh, Canada! Marijuana Is Now Legal In Great White North

October 18, 2018 Phillip Smith, The Drug Reporter at Independent Media Institute - Independentmediainstitute.org Create! Canada, Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization

As of Wednesday, October 17, marijuana is legal in Canada. Our northern neighbor becomes the second country to fully legalize weed (after Uruguay led the way in 2013), and the first major industrial power to do so. While the Liberal-dominated federal parliament passed the C-45 legalization bill earlier this year, October 17 marks the beginning of legal marijuana sales and commerce. Under Canada's federal legalization, there will now be an overarching national regulatory framework, but each province establishes its own system of licensing and regulating marijuana businesses. Like liquor laws in the U.S., Canada's provincial marijuana laws will have some variation. In some provinces, such as Alberta and British Columbia...

Pew Poll: 62 Percent Of Americans Say Marijuana Should Be Legal

October 13, 2018 Staff, Norml.org Educate! Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization

Washington, DC: Sixty-two percent of US adults believe that "the use of marijuana should be made legal," according to national survey data compiled by the Pew Research Center and released on Monday. The percentage is the highest ever reported by Pew, which has been tracking Americans' views on the subject of marijuana legalization since 1969. Support was strongest among Millennials (74 percent), Democrats (69 percent), and Independents (68 percent). Support for legalization was weakest among Republicans (45 percent) and those born between the years 1928 and 1945 (39 percent). Since 2000, public support in favor of legalization has nearly doubled, Pew reported.

U.S. Border Patrol Official Says Canadian Pot Users Face Lifetime Ban

September 18, 2018 Naomi LaChance, Truthdig.com Educate! Canada, Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization

As Canada prepares to legalize marijuana on Oct. 17, a U.S. official has warned that Canadians involved in the cannabis industry could face a lifetime ban from entering the country. While some U.S. states and cities have loosened restrictions on or have legalized marijuana, the Border Patrol considers the drug an illegal substance and will classify those who work in the marijuana industry as drug traffickers. Todd Owen, executive assistant commissioner for the Office of Field Operations at the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, told Politico on Thursday that investors in the pot industry will be banned as well. “If you work for the industry, that is grounds for inadmissibility,” he said. Owen added that those who have invested in the industry in other countries, including Israel, have also been barred. “We don’t recognize that as a legal business,” he said.

Russia Says Canadian Cannabis Legalization Breaks International Law

July 12, 2018 Rob Hoffman, Herb.co Educate! International Law, Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization, Russia

Russia is calling on other G-7 nations to voice concern for Canada’s “high-handedness” following its decision to legalize recreational cannabis. Russia has issued an official statement accusing Canada of breaking international legal obligations by legalizing recreational cannabis. The country is calling on the other G-7 nations to respond. The international agreements that Russian officials are referring to include the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and, most recently, the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. The agreements were created to reduce the global supply, consumption, and sale of illegal drugs. As Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out, these agreements require that its signatories ban the use of specified drugs like cannabis, other than for medical or scientific ends.

Marijuana Legalization Making Major Progress

July 2, 2018 By Jenn Michelle, NORML Educate! Marijuana, Marijuana Legalization, Medical Marijuana

At a time when news comes fast and furious, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of it all. So we’d like to take a moment to remind you of some of the amazing events that have transpired over just the past two weeks. June 16 The Texas GOP added marijuana decriminalization and medical cannabis planks to their party’s platform. June 19 A new nationwide poll reported that 68 percent of US voters back legalizing marijuana — the highest percentage of support ever recorded! June 20 Canada became the second country in the world to formally approve adult marijuana use, production, and sales and announced October 17, 2018, as the effective legalization date. June 23 The Texas Democratic party added marijuana legalization as a plank to their party’s platform. . . .

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