420 Use and Health

[Crow]

Amsterdam (Netherlands)

HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup Raided in Amsterdam

Early this morning, Dutch authorities raided the HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. UPDATE from HIGH TIMES Magazine:

According to representatives for HIGH TIMES magazine, sponsors of the 24th Annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, the event will continue tonight with a scheduled concert at the Melkweg concert hall (Lijnbaansgracht 234), followed by a full day of the expo (including voting) at the Borchland (Borchlandweg) on Thursday, the final day of the competition. An additional voting station will be set up starting at 2PM on Thursday at the Melkweg, which will remain open until the beginning of the official Cannabis Cup awards ceremony at 8PM.

“They herded everybody toward one exit, like you’re getting on a ski lift at Vail… then one by one they had about 40 cops there for a little talk and search… People were dropping grams and grams of hash on the ground… baggies littering the floor… people were smoking it if you had it because you weren’t rolling out with it!”

It should be noted that none of this is precipitated by any change in Dutch law. These limits on personal and vendor possession, disposal of trimmings, and prohibitions on cannabis concentrates have existed throughout the 24-year history of the Cannabis Cup.

What has changed is a new, more conservative government in the Netherlands that seeks to “send a message” about cannabis use. They began with the closing of border coffee shops to all but Dutch, Belgian, and German passport holders, claiming that “foreign drug tourism” was leading to a host of social ills.

http://blog.norml.org/2011/11/23/hig...-in-amsterdam/

[Crow]

Study shows medical marijuana laws reduce traffic deaths; leads to lower consumption of alcohol

DENVER (Nov. 29, 2011) – A groundbreaking new study shows that laws legalizing medical marijuana have resulted in a nearly nine percent drop in traffic deaths and a five percent reduction in beer sales.

“Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults,” said Daniel Rees, professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver who co-authored the study with D. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University.

The researchers collected data from a variety of sources including the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

The study is the first to examine the relationship between the legalization of medical marijuana and traffic deaths.

“We were astounded by how little is known about the effects of legalizing medical marijuana,” Rees said. “We looked into traffic fatalities because there is good data, and the data allow us to test whether alcohol was a factor.”

Anderson noted that traffic deaths are significant from a policy standpoint.

“Traffic fatalities are an important outcome from a policy perspective because they represent the leading cause of death among Americans ages five to 34,” he said.

The economists analyzed traffic fatalities nationwide, including the 13 states that legalized medical marijuana between 1990 and 2009. In those states, they found evidence that alcohol consumption by 20- through 29-year-olds went down, resulting in fewer deaths on the road.

The economists noted that simulator studies conducted by previous researchers suggest that drivers under the influence of alcohol tend to underestimate how badly their skills are impaired. They drive faster and take more risks. In contrast, these studies show that drivers under the influence of marijuana tend to avoid risks. However, Rees and Anderson cautioned that legalization of medical marijuana may result in fewer traffic deaths because it’s typically used in private, while alcohol is often consumed at bars and restaurants.

“I think this is a very timely study given all the medical marijuana laws being passed or under consideration,” Anderson said. “These policies have not been research-based thus far and our research shows some of the social effects of these laws. Our results suggest a direct link between marijuana and alcohol consumption.”

The study also examined marijuana use in three states that legalized medical marijuana in the mid-2000s, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Marijuana use by adults increased after legalization in Montana and Rhode Island, but not in Vermont. There was no evidence that marijuana use by minors increased.

…

“Although we make no policy recommendations, it certainly appears as though medical marijuana laws are making our highways safer,” Rees said.

Full article at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-ssm112911.php

[Crow]

United States

"Empty Gestures From the Obama Administration"

by Morgan Fox, MPP

The Obama administration has always paid lip service to the idea of pursuing more sensible drug policy, but has rarely lived up to its promises. From launching state-to-state crackdowns on medical marijuana providers despite promises to let states determine their own policies to attempting to license the federal government’s marijuana patent for profit while claiming that marijuana has no accepted medical value, the Obama administration continues to disappoint on this issue. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske may say that the War on Drugs is over, but “legalization” still isn’t in the President’s vocabulary, and the war on marijuana users is still in full effect.

Given this unfortunate history, the administration’s signals of hope last week rang even more hollow.

The three pardons granted last week by Obama to former marijuana prisoners could be viewed as a step in the right direction for an administration that has consistently increased its enforcement against marijuana violations. It is certainly a boon for those three individuals, who will no longer have to deal with the stigma of arrest and incarceration haunting them the rest of their lives. Those three people will find it easier to find employment, apply for student loans and federal education assistance, and will finally be able to vote again.

The recipients of these pardons should be lauded for becoming pillars of their communities after their incarceration. But how many pillars have been torn from their communities by prohibition, whether for providing medicine to sick people or simply choosing to relax with a substance that is safer than alcohol?

Those three people should be celebrating. The mitigation of the effects the war on marijuana has had on their lives is long overdue. But that celebration provides no solace to the 853,000 people arrested in the U.S. in 2010 for marijuana violations, 750,000 of which were for simple possession. Nor does it comfort the families of those who have died at the hands of the police during marijuana raids, or those who have lost beloved family pets and property to marijuana prohibition.

The press conference given by Gil Kerlikowske last Monday is perhaps even more insulting to supporters of drug policy reform. The purpose of this event was to address concerns that minority populations were being disproportionately affected by drug laws and what could be done to fix this problem. While he proposed many positive efforts to reduce the effect that drugs have in the African-American community, he overlooked some glaring facts.

Even though marijuana use among whites is higher than in any racial demographic, minorities are arrested for marijuana violations at a staggeringly higher rate throughout the country. This disparity in arrests, as well as the accompanying disparity in sentencing for drug crimes has an undeniably detrimental effect on African-American and Hispanic families and communities that is directly tied to the ability of police to arrest people for marijuana. Even in New York City, where marijuana possession is technically decriminalized, law enforcement found a loophole to facilitate the arrests of over 50,000 people a year for marijuana violations. The vast majority of those arrestees are people of color. Until we remove the threat of arrest, we cannot adequately or realistically confront the impact of drugs in any community.

Kerlikowske is right: we cannot arrest our way out of our drug problems. Logic would suggest, then, that we stop trying. For the drug czar to propose fixing those problems for minorities while leaving policies in place that undeniably support systemic racism is disgraceful.

It may be a good sign that the Obama administration is looking at this issue with a little more interest, and is moving along harm reduction lines to solve it, but the fact remains that the government is still at war with marijuana users. We need to go further. There must be a legitimate dialogue in the White House to mirror the one occurring on an international level and among voters about the failure of marijuana prohibition.

http://blog.mpp.org/prohibition/4741/11282011/

[Crow]

California (US)

Occupy Wall Street gets its own medical-marijuana strain

The Occupy Wall Street movement now has its own strain of medical marijuana: Occupy OG.

Over the last couple of years, medical-marijuana patients in San Diego have witnessed an explosion of "OG Kush" strains—from the "Planetary" series that included Mars OG, Moon OG and Jupiter OG to the Star Wars-themed Skywalker OG, Jedi OG and Vader OG. Earlier this year, a grower came up with Obama OG, named after the president, though local medical marijuana activists took issue with honoring a president whose administration has allowed federal prosecutors to continue to go after dispensaries.

At some collectives, the variety of OGs (which, we established, *most likely* stands for "Original Gangsta," and indicates that its lineage can be traced back to OG Kush, a famous Los Angeles strain) are kind of gratuitous. It could be that, in some cases, the designation isn't actually a strain, but the name of a particular plant or just a trick to re-brand previously unpopular strains.

That might be the case with Occupy OG, which costs $15 for a gram or $50 for an eighth. Described as a hybrid strain (a combination of a sativa and indica), Occupy OG is offered by exactly one dispensary in the country, according to Weedmaps.com's database, one of the last to remain open in San Diego following the recent crackdown on dispensaries and their landlords launched by U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith

Whatever Occupy OG is, it is not from the plant that was living in the Americans for Safe Access (ASA) tent at the Civic Center in the first weeks of Occupy San Diego. That plant is Skywalker OG and has not yet reached the flowering stage, says Eugene Davidovich, the ASA activist whose lawyers asked for an injunction and temporary restraining order against the San Diego Police Department last week.

Davidoch says he's hoping for a response from the judge today or tomorrow. In the meantime, he plans to participate in the "re-occupation" of the plaza tonight. Protesters announced yesterday that at least 50 of them will attempt to erect tents again in the Civic Concourse at 5 p.m., even though San Diego Police have made it clear that structures won't be tolerated.

http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/b...na-strain.html

[Crow]

British Columbia (Canada)

Pot dealer’s hunger strike ends in death

In the six weeks leading up to his death Istvan Marton ate nothing and thought a lot.

The 69-year-old was on a hunger strike, appealing to the Canadian government to legalize marijuana, said his sister Juliana Bazso.

Bazso disapproved of her younger brother’s lifestyle — she says he was the local supplier of weed to the small Malcolm Island community of Sointula off the coast of B.C. — but went to visit Marton as he became progressively more sick.

“He was only half a size of what he was,” she said. His doctor, Jane Clelland, told the Times-Colonist that Marton’s weight dropped from 79 kilograms to 55 kilograms on his diet of juice, water and clear soup.

Marton died of a heart attack on Nov. 20. According to Clelland, his death was caused by a combination of the hunger strike and severe health problems.

Bazso said her unyielding, idealistic younger brother truly believed in his cause and thought of himself as a hero — though she did not believe his plan to change the law would work.

In an interview with the Times Colonist published the day before his death, Marton defended his drug dealing — mostly selling weed from local growers to the older island population for medicinal and some recreational use.

“I never hid it. I was the illegal supplier of marijuana for the island and I was really proud of it,” he said.

Any money he made was donated to underprivileged families, he added.

In January 2010, he was charged and convicted after the RCMP found 2.2 kilograms of marijuana in his home. He had also been charged of possession of controlled substances in a separate incident in October.

In the Times Colonist interview, he had said that his hunger strike would have gone on even if the charge was dropped.

The Hungarian immigrant’s love affair with pot began in the ’70s, said Bazso, adding that her brother — who had spent a few months in jail — had a challenging life.

While going through his belongings after his death, she found an envelope labeleld “my f---ing life” that contained photos and some papers. In it were musings from his final days, including a note that said his doctor should get a dozen red roses every Friday.

He also apparently promised his friends $10,000 for a last hurrah after his death, she said. But the eulogy of pot and beer will not happen — Marton only left medical and cable bills to pay and no will, said Bazso.

“He was a trusting soul and he thought everything was going to be taken care of,” she said.

Just three weeks before Marton’s death a group of high-profile health, academic and justice experts launched a campaign to legalize and regulate marijuana, a move they say will cut down gang violence and provide new tax revenue. A report released by the group, named Stop the Violence B.C., estimates there are about 430,000 cannabis users in B.C.

In response, the federal ministry of justice issued a brief statement saying the government has “no intention” of decriminalize or legalize marijuana.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1092776

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New Jersey (US)

N.J. lawmakers finalize rules governing medical marijuana program

TRENTON — Amid signs that New Jersey's medical marijuana program is in disarray, state officials have taken major steps to get six treatment centers serving thousands of patients up and running sometime next year.

The moves, made in the past week, include putting the finishing touches on rules to govern the program and requesting the six approved growers comply with a final round of evaluation before they plant their first crop.

But the government will not meet its goal of making pot available to patients before the end of the year.

The state's program, has been largely idle since it passed into law nearly two years ago, and has faced growing criticism in the past months. The actions follow recent Star-Ledger reports showing the program to be disorganized and far from ready to launch. The newspaper detailed concerns about the vetting of two proposed medical marijuana treatment centers and other problems with the program, including appeals filed by four separate centers challenging the state’s selection process.

In addition, patients and dispensary officials have growing concerns about the lack of progress in getting the centers up and running. The patients’ I.D. cards have not been made, and the health department is unsure if it will even publish the names of 108 physicians who have pre-registered for the program, leaving patients unsure how they can find an appropriate doctor.

Chris Goldstein of the patient advocacy group, the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey, said he remains disappointed the program will not be running by the end of the year, as Christie said publicly in July. "There hasn’t been a promise kept yet by the legislature or governor," he said.

Roseanne Scotti, director of the Drug Policy Alliance of New Jersey and one of the primary proponents who helped passed the law in January 2010, was more upbeat about the incremental progress.

"We are disappointed it won’t be up and running by the end of the year, but progress is progress," she said.

Scotti said she also is encouraged the Department of Health and Senior Services officials noted in the rules they finalized Wednesday they were willing to revisit one of the most unpopular restrictions: limiting the potency level of the drug to no more than 10 percent.

The department will cap the potency level at 10 percent for now, but will "collect data from patients to evaluate whether the 10 percent limit on THC should be revisited in future rulemaking,’’ according to a written response from health officials following a March public hearing.

"We are thrilled the department is willing to consider this moving forward,’’ Scotti said.

Article continued at: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...marijuana.html

[heders]

Some say that cannabis can induce life long psychosis and schizophrenia in totally healthy people. What is the truth of that?

[Crow]

Some say that cannabis can induce life long psychosis and schizophrenia in totally healthy people. What is the truth of that?

Absolutely false. However, if you're already schizophrenic or suffer from severe mental illness; then it may have the potential to exacerbate symptoms. It also may have the potential to alleviate existing symptoms. It's not so much the substance, as it is the person's brain and how it's "wired".

Cannabis is not for everyone, and it's certainly not recommended for adolescents (as the brain is still developing). For a "totally healthy" adult, it is relatively safe to consume (when done properly).

[Jimbob11]

Here's how I explain the difference between alcohol and marijuana:

If you're drunk, you might run a red light

If you're high, you might stop at a green light.

Both are dangerous but which is more dangerous? And I'm still waiting to hear about the guy that smoked a joint and then beat someone to death. It's so ridiculous that pot is vilified while alcohol is legal and supported. I'm fine with it being legal but it pisses me off that the collateral damage that it causes is too-often ignored.

[heders]

Absolutely false. However, if you're already schizophrenic or suffer from severe mental illness; then it may have the potential to exacerbate symptoms. It also may have the potential to alleviate existing symptoms. It's not so much the substance, as it is the person's brain and how it's "wired".

Cannabis is not for everyone, and it's certainly not recommended for adolescents (as the brain is still developing). For a "totally healthy" adult, it is relatively safe to consume (when done properly).

Very interesting! I've Googled a little about this and some (often anti-drug propaganda websites or newspapers) say that one joint can make you schizophrenic or get you in to a life long psychosis even if you are completely healthy mentally. I've just dismissed this as bull shit, but some websites say that there is a slight connection between the too. For example, that people who start smoking in a young age can develop these mental illnesses strictly as a result of the cannabis smoking. That I have no idea about, but I can imagine if you have mental disorders and illnesses in your family, it may be that which makes it happen. Thank you for shining a light on this.

I also find it very strange alcohol is almost encouraged and widely accepted, and cannabis, in most of the world, is considered the worst of the worst. I have read quite a lot about it, and the only 'real' dangers seems to be the smoking (although I read that cannabis does not cause cancer in the lungs, throat or mouth), and the psychological addiction, which easily can lead to abuse; and abuse of any drug isn't good.

[Crow]

United States

Breaking News: Two Governors Petition Federal Government To Allow For Medical Marijuana

By: Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director

The governors of Rhode Island and Washington have both signed a petition asking the Obama Administration to re-schedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II, effectively ending the federal government’s total prohibition on medical patients having lawful and controlled access to organic cannabis products.

“The situation has become untenable for our states and others. The solution lies with the federal government.”

Both Governors Lincoln Chafee and Christine Gregoire of Rhode Island and Washington respectively were, ironically, two state governors who chose to heed to the warnings issued by the federal government in a Department of Justice memo (known as the ‘Cole memo‘) and not move forward with otherwise popular medical cannabis law reforms in their states.

However, no more! These two governors’ action today is a very important turning point in the history of cannabis law reform in America.

Contrastingly, the governors of Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico and the city council of D.C. all largely ignored the federal government and moved forward with their states’ respective medical cannabis programs.

NORML began the entire legal and political debate about ‘medical marijuana’ in 1972 when it launched a 24-year re-scheduling effort, that is still laboring on all these years.

Therefore to finally witness governors so frustrated with the absurdly mis-scheduled cannabis plant as being dangerous, addictive and possessing no medical utility (wrongly grouped with heroin and LSD) that they are reaching out to the president to fix this clear injustice and warping of science is a clear demonstration that the friction between the federal government’s recalcitrance on accepting medical cannabis (or for that matter ending Cannabis Prohibition in total) and state politicians who can no longer justify towing the fed’s ridiculous ban on physician-prescribed cannabis to sick, dying and sense-threatened medical patients is coming to a dramatic conclusion in a government showdown, one that may bode well for the larger Cannabis Prohibition reforms needed, festering just below the surface of the public’s mass acceptance of medical access to cannabis.

http://blog.norml.org/2011/11/30/bre...cal-marijuana/

[Crow]

Very interesting!

Here's the complete documentary:

[Ansel]

Will smoking cannabis make my penis longer or enlarge my wife's breasts?

[Crow]

Washington (US)

"Gregoire to DEA: make marijuana a legal drug"

by Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times

A decades-long effort by marijuana activists to allow cannabis to be prescribed and sold in pharmacies gained allies in governors' mansions for the first time Wednesday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, joined by Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana, recognize that it has therapeutic value and allow it be treated as a prescription drug.

The petition, citing hundreds of peer-reviewed research articles, adds political heft and urgency for the federal government to resolve what Gregoire called "chaos and conflict" among 16 states with laws recognizing medicinal use of marijuana and a federal law that does not.

"In the year 2011, why can't medical cannabis be prescribed by a physician and filled at the drugstore just like any other medication? The answer is surprisingly simple. It can. But only if the federal government stops classifying marijuana as unsuitable for medical treatment," Gregoire said.

The petition comes as America's attitudes toward marijuana are softening, but the Obama administration is cracking down on medical-marijuana dispensaries — in Washington and other states — at an unprecedented level. Governors in medical-marijuana states were briefed on the petition to the DEA last fall, Gregoire said, and some were alerted Wednesday. Gregoire said she also alerted the state's two U.S. attorneys and asked for their help expediting the petition.

At least one governor — Peter Shumlin of Vermont, a Democrat — endorsed the petition, said his spokeswoman, Sue Allen.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is required by state law to file a reclassification request by the end of the month, but he did not sign onto Gregoire's petition. His spokesman, Eric Brown, said the petition raises "a valid conflict that needs to be resolved."

"I have every expectation you'll see other governors join us," Gregoire said.

Battle began in 1972

Marijuana, banned by federal law in 1937, is classified as Schedule I, a drug with no medical value, under the Controlled Substances Act along with LSD, heroin and methamphetamine. The petition filed Wednesday seeks to reclassify it to Schedule II, which would allow it to be prescribed with "severe restrictions," alongside cocaine and opiates.

National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) petitioned for reclassification in 1972, and advocates have been trying ever since. The most recent petition, filed in 2002 by advocates, was reviewed by federal health officials in 2006, but it wasn't officially denied until July, when the advocates sued.

The review found "a material conflict of opinion among experts precludes a finding that marijuana has been accepted by qualified experts, even under conditions where its use is severely restricted," DEA administrator Michele Leonhart wrote.

That finding ignores a huge volume of research, as well as the experience of "thousands and thousands of medical-marijuana patients who clearly benefit," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, a California-based advocacy group now appealing the denial.

Elford called the governors' petition "extremely significant," but cautioned a review likely would take years. If approved, marijuana would then need to undergo Food and Drug Administration approval and have restrictions on access imposed.

Response among advocates was mixed. Philip Dawdy of Washington Alternative Medicine Alliance, a state trade group of medical-marijuana organizations, said he appreciated the governors "giving political legitimacy to what medical cannabis patients and voters in this state have known for decades" but was skeptical the DEA would act quickly.

An act of "frustration"

Gregoire and Chafee, a Republican-turned-Independent, are unlikely proponents because both have faced criticism for this year killing proposals passed by their legislatures to legalize dispensaries.

Gregoire at the time said she feared that licensing dispensaries would put state workers at federal risk of criminal or civil penalties. That risk has not been realized in states, including Colorado, with regulatory schemes.

Gregoire acknowledged that her veto "resulted in considerable chaos around the state," with dispensaries flourishing in Seattle but banned in most municipalities. Recent federal raids on dispensaries across the state also motivated the petition, she said.

"We've done it out of frustration, frankly, seeing what's happening, seeing the abuses, seeing the crackdown," she said.

The 106-page petition seeks to debunk the DEA claim that medical authorities are split on the issue. The petition cites 34 national and international medical organizations that have issued statements in favor of reclassification, including the American Medical Association and American College of Physicians, the largest group of doctors of internal medicine.

Jason McGill, a Gregoire staff attorney, co-wrote the petition over the past three months with Dr. Gregory Carter of the University of Washington and Mitch Earleywine, a New York addiction specialist and member of NORML's advisory board.

McGill said he was "amazed" at the volume of marijuana research, with 2,389 papers published in peer-reviewed journals compared, for example, to 508 for hydrocodone.

Marijuana's therapeutic value for symptoms related to cancer, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease and others is "indisputable in the research," said McGill. "In terms of rescheduling this, you need one useful purpose."

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @jmartin206.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ijuana01m.html

[Crow]

Vermont (US)

Gov. Shumlin Supports Doctors Prescribing Pot

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- A spokeswoman for Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin says the governor supports and will sign on to an effort to allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana and pharmacists to fill the prescriptions.

Shumlin is joining an effort by Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire to petition the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to change marijuana's current status as illegal under federal law to prescribe or dispense for medical use.

Vermont's current medical marijuana law requires the small number of very sick people the state makes eligible to receive it to register with the Department of Public Safety and sets up other special procedures for them to get the drug.

The governors' proposal would make medical marijuana much like other prescription drugs.

http://www.wptz.com/news/29896343/de...#ixzz1fK16g6IZ

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Wisconsin (US)

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced in Wisconsin

MADISON — At a press conference [yesterday], Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) announced the introduction of the “Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act,” which would let seriously ill Wisconsin residents use marijuana to treat their illnesses. The bill would allow patients to grow small amounts of marijuana to treat a specific set of conditions, as well as permit the establishment of regulated and licensed cultivation and distribution centers within the state. A similar bill was introduced last session but was not passed. Rep. Pocan was joined today by patients and medical professionals who support medical marijuana rights.

“This is an issue where people are clearly way ahead of the policy makers,” Rep. Pocan said. “The Wisconsin Legislature needs to catch up with the public and pass this bill because making medical marijuana legal is the right and compassionate thing to do for patients in pain.”

“It is wonderful that there is such a consistent effort to enact compassionate legislation in Wisconsin,” said Robert Capecchi, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project. “The vast majority of Americans support allowing sick people to use marijuana to treat their illnesses, and more and more states are taking steps that reflect that. Plenty of evidence already exists proving the relative safety and efficacy of marijuana when used to treat a variety of ailments, and more studies on the potential benefits of marijuana treatments are being released regularly. The system proposed by this bill would make sure that qualified patients have safe access to the medicine that works best for them while protecting them from arrest. No one should be treated like a criminal just for trying to live a normal life.”

Currently, 16 states and the District of Columbia allow the use of medical marijuana, including Michigan. Nearby Illinois and Iowa are also considering medical marijuana bills this year, as are several other states around the country. A CBS News poll released November 18 showed that 77% of voters nationwide think medical marijuana should be legal.

http://www.mpp.org/media/press-relea...uana-bill.html

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California (US)

Judge won't halt federal medical pot crackdown

A judge has rejected a request from medical marijuana suppliers to bar federal prosecutors from filing charges against them or seizing their property.

U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong in Oakland said the medical marijuana collectives had failed to show they would suffer "immediate, irreparable harm" without a court order.

"The court is sensitive to the desires of individuals to use medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, as permitted by California law," Armstrong wrote in a 27-page ruling filed this week. "Nonetheless, marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and in Congress' view, it has no medicinal value."

In rejecting the advocates' request for temporary injunctions, the judge also said she doubted they would prevail in lawsuits seeking to halt the Obama administration's campaign to shut down their dispensaries.

Marijuana suppliers, patients and property owners filed lawsuits in each of the state's four federal districts last month, accusing the Justice Department of violating an agreement to leave them alone if they complied with California law.

The department had said "those who possess, grow and distribute medical marijuana in compliance with state law will not be prosecuted nor their property seized," the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

They argued that the federal government had made a binding commitment to follow that policy in settling a suit last year by a marijuana collective in Santa Cruz. The government is breaching that settlement, and breaking the law, with its strategy of going after marijuana dispensaries by threatening to prosecute their landlords, the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

The Justice Department announced its new policy at an October news conference with the four federal prosecutors in California. It has denied it broke any legal commitments to the courts or promises to the public.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...#ixzz1fK0qrt9m

[WolfenJack]

Damn--you beat me to posting the Vermont article. I thought I was going to be so clever. Oh well, I am in the Green Mountain State and pretty happy with Gov. Shumlin right now.