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Crosscurrents

Cannabis News Roundup: August 9, 2013

Portable Network Graphics

Holder hints at reform…  CNN’s Gupta apologizes for anti-pot stance… Drug war is bigger concern than NSA spies… and more….

LAW ENFORCEMENT

NPR // Major changes in the War on Drugs could be announced Monday when US Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to the American Bar Assn. in San Francisco. Holder told NPR, "I think there are too many people in jail for too long, and for not necessarily good reasons."

Yahoo.com // Those DEA raids on Washington state dispensaries late last month seem to have focused on the cannabis itself, and employee cell phones, but not cash or computers. The agency says the raids were part of a two-year investigation.

The Crime Report // President Obama needs to find a new director for the Office of National Drug Control Policy after nominating Gil Kerlikowske to take over the Customs and Border Protection Agency.

HEALTH

CNN.com // “We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States [on the topic of cannabis], andI apologize for my own role in that,” says Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN. He changed his opinion after working on a documentary titled “Weed.”

ASA // The CNN documentary mentioned above “cuts through the smoke” (as the promo says) at 6:15 PDT on Sunday. Some of the people featured will take part in a Google Hangout event directly after the program, on the Americans for Safe Access YouTube channel.

Thinkprogress.com // The CBD compound in cannabis has been found helpful in treatment of seizures in another child, featured in that CNN documentary.

Boston Globe // A team of economists studying marijuana laws and traffic deaths report roadway fatalities dropped significantly in states where medical marijuana is legal. As always, further study is needed.

BUSINESS

East Bay Express // Oakland finally has it’s fourth dispensary. Magnolia opened last week, moving from Sacramento, where owners were in a two-year battle with the US Attorney’s office.

Fox News // Medical cannabis and recreational cannabis “are not going to be able to exist side by side for long” in Washington state, because the medical product is notably cheaper.

MMJ Biz Daily // Cannabis has seen a “significant sales spike” in Colorado, even though there are roughly half as many dispensaries in the state today as compared to 2011.

OPINION

Reason.com // The War on Drugs should be a bigger concern than domestic spying by the NSA, says John Stossel in this editorial.

SFGate // “Random traffic stops” may not be so random if the NSA is providing tips to the DEA, as the Reuters news agency revealed Monday. This piece says the Dept. of Justice needs to stop it.

Huff Post & NORML // If legalizing cannabis leads to more young people using it, why are poll numbers showing a drop in usage? The same poll finds the largest increase is in older adults.

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