Medical Marijuana -> Michigan Dispensaries

Senator Leach talks marijuana policy with National NORML Comm. Director Erik Altieri and PhillyNORML Comm. Director Joe Forte Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach has been an outspoken advocate on the issue of marijuana law reform during his tenure in Harrisburg. Senator Leach made a splash legislatively this year when he introduced Senate Bill 528, which [...]

House and Senate lawmakers last week gave final approval to legislation, LD 1062, to allow patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, inflammatory bowel disease, and other debilitating disorders to be eligible to engage in the therapeutic use of cannabis. The measure expands the list of qualifying conditions for which a Maine physician may legally recommend [...]

Governor John Hickenlooper has signed legislation, Senate Bill 241, into law creating a new program within the Department of Agriculture to oversee the regulation of commercial hemp production. Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa that contains only minute (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in [...]

After a nearly fifteen legal and political odyssey–Washington DC voters like me voted at the nearly 69% level for medical access to cannabis in 1998!–the DC city government has finally issued the last of the necessary forms to in effect allow medical cannabis to finally be employed by sick, dying and sense-threatened medical patients. With [...]

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed legislation, Senate Bill 374, authorizing the creation of up to 66 not-for-profit [correction: facilities may be for profit] medical marijuana dispensaries. Under the new law, state regulators are tasked with overseeing the creation of licensed establishments to produce, test, and dispense cannabis and cannabis-infused products to authorized patients. Nevada [...]

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has signed legislation, House Bill 1441, into law that criminalizes drivers from operating a motor vehicle if they have any detectable amount of THC and/or its inactive metabolites in their blood, saliva, or urine. Under such internal possession statutes, known as zero tolerance per se laws, a motorist who tests positive [...]

It is possible that, for the first time ever, the United States Senate will vote to approve industrial hemp cultivation in the coming days. Please take a moment of your time to encourage your Senator to support this measure. You can easily do so by clicking here. Senator Ron Wyden has introduced an amendment to [...]

Preclinical study data published online in the scientific journal Nutrition & Diabetes reports that tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) — a naturally occurring analogue of THC — possesses positive metabolic effects in animal models of obesity. British researchers assessed the effects of THCV administration on dietary-induced and genetically modified obese mice. Authors reported that although THCV administration did [...]

On Friday, marijuana reformers recorded the closest vote for a legalization measure on the floor of a state legislature in recent history. Rep. Diane Russell’s LD 1229, which would place the question of legalization before Maine voters this fall, was narrowly rejected in a 71 to 67 vote. We only managed to get this vote [...]

Democrat Gov. John Kitzhaber on Thursday signed legislation, Senate Bill 281, into law to allow patients with post-traumatic stress to be eligible to engage in the therapeutic use of cannabis. The new Oregon law expands the state’s existing medical marijuana program, initially enacted by voters in 1998, to include post-traumatic stress as a state-qualified illness [...]

Recent preclinical studies published over the past several weeks provide further evidence that cannabinoids are both neuroprotective and cardioprotective. A May 30th blog post on the website Science20.com sums up new findings from Israel regarding the ability of low doses of THC to prevent brain damage in animals. Prof. Yosef Sarne in the Department of [...]

Democrat Gov. (and NORML PAC recipient) Peter Shumlin today signed legislation into law eliminating criminal penalties for adults who possess personal use amounts of cannabis and/or hashish. “This change just makes common sense,” said Shumlin. “Our limited resources should be focused on reducing abuse and addiction of opiates like heroin and meth rather than cracking [...]

On May 18th, The Panic Hour and PhillyNORML held “Smoke Down Prohibition V” in a free speech zone near the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA. As the name suggests, this was the fifth such event they had organized. The previous four were well attended, with hundreds of legalization advocates attending and peacefully demonstrating against our [...]

Lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to legislation, Senate Bill 374, to allow for the establishment of licensed facilities to dispense cannabis to state-qualified patients. The measure passed with two-thirds majorities in both legislative chambers. It now awaits action from Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has previously acknowledged that he is open to the idea [...]

Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Silver Tour will convene a medical marijuana training session and lobby day in Washington D.C. to encourage Congress and the Obama Administration to allow states greater autonomy to create their own cannabis policies without political pressure from the federal government. Lobby training session is scheduled for Sunday, June [...]

Last week, the Oregon House of Representatives voted 36 to 23 in favor of Senate Bill 281, which adds Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition to the state’s medical marijuana program. Speaking in favor of the bill, Rep. John Lively (D-Springfield) stated, “Each person who suffers has different levels of how they’re [...]

The nation’s so-called ‘drug czar’, Gil Kerlikowske, convened a press conference last week to release new government data on drug use in America. The major talking points for the presentation were two fold: *Insist that cannabis is linked to crime *The public sentiment in favor of legalization is an unfortunate attraction to ‘bumper sticker solutions’ One [...]

As more women are drawn to Humboldt County’s marijuana trade and off-grid lifestyle, a local battered-women’s shelter has noticed a growing trend of violent encounters.  The Standard-Examiner reports that, “The bulk of… cases involve single young women aged 18 to 26, who may travel to the area and are lured to farms by promises of work, [...]

This week, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed two historic measures into law, making Colorado the first state in the country to officially authorize a legalized and regulated cannabis market. These measures, House Bills 1317 and 1318, are the first-in-the nation regulations governing the statewide commercial production and retail sale of cannabis to those age 21 [...]

Last week, NORML Founder/Legal Counsel Keith Stroup and NORML Communications Director, Erik Altieri, sat down with Bob Edwards (former host of NPR’s Morning Edition) on his SiriusXM talk radio program. The three discussed a wide range of issues, including the benefits of legalization, current pending legislation, industrial hemp, and more. “You ask why legalize marijuana? [...]