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Crosscurrents

Cannabis News Roundup: November 15, 2013

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Cannabis leaf

Alameda Supes vote for legalization… If cannabis is medicine, shouldn’t pharmacies sell it?... Health news… Have you heard about Sam Hurd?... and more

LEGALIZATION

Inside Bay Area // The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday supporting legalization of marijuana, both for medical and recreational use. They also “respectfully request” President Obama to “begin discussion” about federal reforms.

The City Council of San Leandro, which is in Alameda County, approved one medical cannabis dispensary. They had been considering two. (See same link, above.)

Detroit News // “Now that marijuana is considered a medicinethere should be a medically reviewed way to get the product,” says a Michigan State Senator. And if it’s a medicine, it should be sold in pharmacies. (Also see commentary in Opinions, below.)

SF Gate // The Canadian company that until recently had a monopoly on providing medical cannabis for the Canadian government is pushing hard for approval of the Michigan initiative (above).

COPS & COURTS

LA Times // Edward Turner, a clergyman and field deputy for the County Sheriff, has been put on paid leave following disclosure that he owns a building housing an unapproved cannabis dispensary. Turner is quoted as saying "It was not that I was trying to hide it. There it is, right there."

HEALTH

Psychiatry Jrln. // Men and women are different, right? They also use cannabis differently, according to a study looking at Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms.

ABC-TV, Denver // Children with epilepsy in Denver are benefiting from cannabis that’s high in cannabinoids (CBD) and low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It’s administered orally.

SF Gate // Ingesting cannabis by the vapor method is much healthier is than smoking it.  Here are studies confirming it. 

OPINION

Today/NBC & SF Gate // “I had no idea that for five grams of cocaine, you could be sentenced to 10 years in prison.” That’s what former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik told “Today” show host Matt Lauer about a week ago. Kerik’s figures weren’t accurate, but his point is that criminal charges for drug offenses need to be reviewed.

The Weed Blog // Should cannabis be at the Walgreen’s instead of at a stand-alone dispensary? That’s the plan with Senate Bill 660 in Michigan. This commentator says he knows he’d prefer homegrown “over any pharmaceutical product.”

IN OTHER NEWS…

SF Gate // This letter writer from Berkeley sums up environmental reasons for legalizing cannabis, in four (long) sentences. [Please scroll to the final letter in this list, from Larry Waldron.]

Sports Illustrated // Sam Hurd, former football player and current prison inmate, tells this blog that he wasn’t a common pothead before being sentenced to prison for a drug distribution scheme. He says he knew the best strains of California’s biggest cash crop, and their effects. “I was very selective. It was like wine.”

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