Food stamps for ex-drug offenders?... All of New England now approves of medical cannabis… Colorado Springs says no… California Democrats favor national regulation… "Anti-cannabis animus"… and more.
LEGISLATION
SFGate // Shoot to kill and you can qualify for food stamps when your sentence is up. Shoot heroin, and you will be denied similar assistance. SB283, currently in the State Legislature, would authorize such benefits to those having served drug-related sentences. This story profiles a reformed meth user, but I’m including it here, because of the high percentage of drug convictions that are related to cannabis.
SF Examiner // Cannabis clubs should not be clustered in some neighborhoods, with none in others, according to County Supervisor John Avalos. So Avalos has introduced legislation to review the 2005 medical marijuana law which he says has produced unfair zoning.
TokeoftheTown // Twenty states now authorize medical cannabis in some form after New Hampshire’s governor signed a bill Tuesday. This sets in motion the process establishing “alternative treatment centers” which will sell cannabis to qualified patients. All of New England now has some form of authorized cannabis. [Note: Most sources say N.H. is the 19th state to approve medical cannabis, but this and at least one other say it's the 20th. Clarification is needed.]
MMJ Business Daily // Colorado Springs, the second largest city in Colorado and home of the US Air Force Academy, voted this week to ban recreational sales of cannabis, 5-4. The mayor had already declared that he would veto any proposals authorizing such stores. Over two dozen Colorado communities have said no to dispensaries, according to Businessweek.
POLITICS
East Bay Express // The California Democratic Party “roared with laughter” over the weekend when the issue of medical marijuana distribution was mistakenly announced as being tabled. Activist Lanny Swerdlow, who wrote two pot-relatedresolutions that passed, reports that the response from the Executive Board members to that question was a resounding “No!” Swerdlow’s resolutions put the nation’s largest state Democratic Party on the side of approval for national cannabis law reform.
HEALTH
The Answer Page // We should learn something daily, and The Answer Page helps when the topic is health. The website, which is run by the Massachusetts Medical Society, is now partnering with Americans for Safe Access (ASA) to provide a daily dose of “scientific and historical facts regarding the medicinal use of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.” The Answer Page is designed for physicians and healthcare professionals but can be accessed by anyone.
MMJ Business Daily // The National Institutes of Health want to study “the physical and psychological health” of 18 to 26-year-olds living near dispensaries. It’s the first time a government agency in this country has made plans to look into this issue.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
HuffPost // Thousands of plants worth millions of dollars were removed from ten illegal cannabis fields in southern California this week.
MyNorthwest // DEA agents hit several medical cannabis dispensaries in Washington state this week, claiming they were fronts for drug dealing.
EVENT
PR News Wire // Martinis will have competition tomorrow when The Southwest CannaBusiness Symposium meets in Las Vegas. Here's the agenda for the event, which is organized by the National Cannabis Industry Association. The NCIA works to advance US cannabis-related businesses.
WHAT’S IT CALLED AGAIN?
MMJ Business Daily // It really does make a difference whether you call it weed or cannabis, as discussed in this column.
NPR.org // And where do those names come from, exactly? That’s a complicated question, as you’ll find inthis linguistic history. Don’t be scared off because it’s history – they reference both stoner movies and “anti-cannabis animus."
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