Arkansas – Group Plans to Fight Council’s Repeal of Marijuana Ordinance

By: April Hansen

 
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Monday night, City Council voted 7-2 to repeal a marijuana ordinance it had passed the previous month.
After months of collecting signatures and rewrites, supporters of the marijuana ordinance say they’re disappointed.
Those in opposition of the vote have an option to take legal action or pursue a referendum, and that’s what they plan to do.
Read More: Springfield City Council Repeals Marijuana Ordinance
The group Springfield Cannabis Regulation says Council violated the City Charter, in which it states voters, “shall have power to propose any ordinance, except an ordinance appropriating money and to adopt or reject the same at the polls, such power being known as the initiative.”
Group president Maranda Reynolds issued a statement: “When the council is presented with an initiative petition, they have two options: Pass the proposal into law or send it to the voters…The initiative process exists to allow voters to enact their will into law over the objections of the council, but these tactics render that process meaningless.
“We are exploring our options for holding these elected officials accountable, including litigation, a referendum, and recalling certain council members. This action by the Council makes a mockery of the City Charter’s initiative process. By using this political dirty trick, the Council can deprive citizens of the chance to vote on any initiative which the Council majority dislikes.”
 
Complete article here:
http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=706742

Women play crucial role ending adult marijuana prohibition in Oregon in 44 days

By: Jennifer Alexander
At a 2011 rally in downtown Portland, Oregon protesting the war on drugs - Moms for Marijuana founder Serra Frank carries banner with the message "Moms say legalize!"
 
As the November Election approaches, with only 44 more days to go, marijuana has become a hot topic among mothers and women in general. Women played a crucial role in ending alcohol prohibition and are likely to play a significant role in ending prohibition of marijuana for adults as well. In the three states considering legalizing marijuana this fall, winning the support of women is critical, and both opponents and proponents for legalizing marijuana are reaching out to this important demographic.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.examiner.com/article/women-play-crucial-role-ending-adult-marijuana-prohibition-oregon-44-days

Current, Former Cops Make Push to Legalize Marijuana Ahead of Election

By Elizabeth Flock
LEAP's pro-legalization police car in Chicago in September.
LEAP’s pro-legalization police car in Chicago in September.
 
Less than 50 days before Election Day, a group of current and former police officers are ramping up their efforts to push for the legalization of marijuana in the United States.
On Thursday, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, which is based in Medford, Mass., announced it would support get-out-the-vote efforts for Amendment 64, a Colorado ballot initiative to essentially legalize marijuana.
Tony Ryan, who spent 36 years on Denver’s police force and now serves on LEAP’s board, is pushing for Amendment 64. “I’d been thinking about this much of my career,” Ryan tells Whispers. “I saw that marijuana wasn’t the cause of disturbances, crimes, or homicides—something like alcohol was.”
Ryan says he often noticed police officers spending several hours processing a person found with only a small amount of marijuana. “That perturbed me,” he says. “It detracts from the police officer’s job in my mind.”
 
Complete article here:
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/21/current-former-cops-make-push-to-legalize-marijuana-ahead-of-election

A pioneer speaks out – Legalization advocate Irvin Rosenfeld’s visit to Michigan

By Larry Gabriel
Photo: , License: N/A
Irvin Rosenfeld signs copies of his book with one of his U.S. cannabis supply cans nearby.
 
Irvin Rosenfeld is one of the four surviving federal medical marijuana patients. There were once 13 of them, and Rosenfeld has been receiving his allotment longer than any of the other survivors. He gets a canister with about 300 rolled marijuana cigarettes from the government every 25 days. Instructions printed on the can instruct the patient to smoke 12 of them each day.
 
Complete article here:
http://metrotimes.com/mmj/a-pioneer-speaks-out-1.1374920

Marijuana And Cancer: Scientists Find Cannabis Compound Stops Metastasis In Aggressive Cancers


Marijuana And Cancer
 
A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco has found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever.
“It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited,” said Pierre Desprez, one of the scientists behind the discovery, to The Huffington Post. “We want to get started with trials as soon as possible.”
The Daily Beast first reported on the finding, which has already undergone both laboratory and animal testing, and is awaiting permission for clinical trials in humans.
Desprez, a molecular biologist, spent decades studying ID-1, the gene that causes cancer to spread. Meanwhile, fellow researcher Sean McAllister was studying the effects of Cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-toxic, non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. Finally, the pair collaborated, combining CBD and cells containing high levels of ID-1 in a petri dish.
“What we found was that his Cannabidiol could essentially ‘turn off’ the ID-1,” Desprez told HuffPost. The cells stopped spreading and returned to normal.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Pot-compound-seen-as-tool-against-cancer-3875562.php

On the frontier of medical pot to treat boy’s epilepsy

By Lee Romney, Los Angeles Times

 

A U.S. crackdown on pot shops threatens a father’s search for cannabidiol in hopes of halting his son’s seizures from Dravet syndrome.

Photos: To treat son's epilepsy, a father turns to medical marijuana
 
MODESTO —Topamax. Depakote. Phenobarbital. The list goes on. Before Jayden David turned 5, he had tried a dozen powerful medications to tame a rare form of epilepsy. The side effects were devastating.
There were grand mal seizures that lasted more than an hour. Hundreds of times a day, muscle twitches contorted his impish face.
“If he wasn’t sleeping, he was seizing,” said Jayden’s father, Jason David.
Feeling helpless, David said, he contemplated suicide. He prayed. Then one day he heard about a teenager who was expelled from school for using marijuana to help control seizures.
So began the pair’s journey into California’s medical cannabis culture.
In the 14 months since, the little boy has been swallowing droppers full of a solution made mostly of cannabidiol, or CBD, the second most prominent of marijuana’s 100 or so cannabinoids. Unlike the dominant THC, cannabidiol is not psychoactive, so the sweet-tasting infusion Jayden takes four times a day doesn’t make him high.
Down from 22 prescription pills per day to four, he now eats solid food, responds to his father’s incessant requests for kisses and dances in his Modesto living room to the “Yo Gabba Gabba!” theme song. The frequency and intensity of his seizures have been greatly reduced.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-customized-marijuana-20120914,0,1853600,full.story

State legislator supports pot legalization

By Damian Mann
State Rep. Peter Buckley has thrown his support behind Measure 80, an initiative that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana consumed by adults.”Overall, legalization would take the black market out of Oregon,” said Buckley, D-Ashland, who has served as co-chairman of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee for the past two sessions.
He said he supports regulating marijuana in a manner similar to the regulation of alcohol under the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
Under current laws, he said, medical marijuana has too many legal loopholes that have frustrated law enforcement and left the door open for abuse.
“I do think it’s a problem with some medical marijuana growers,” he said. “They’ve gotten greedy.”
Oregon voters will decide this November on the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, a citizen’s initiative campaign to regulate cannabis and encourage production of hemp.
According to the YES on 80 campaign, legalizing marijuana could save $60 million annually in law enforcement costs, while taxing it could bring in an extra $140 million. Under the proposal, marijuana would be purchased through state-run stores.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20120918%2FNEWS02%2F209180307%2F-1%2FNEWSMAP

Workers’ comp claim seeks medical marijuana

Valerie Hauch

Danny Auger has a licence to use marijuana for pain relief after his arm was reattached, but is fighting to have workers’ compensation pay for it, as it would for a number of painkillers that can be addictive.         
ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR
 
It would be easier on Danny Auger’s already thin wallet if he just took a prescribed painkiller to deal with the chronic pain he suffers from nerve damage, due to a horrific 2009 construction accident that almost completely severed one arm.
He is able to get medically prescribed drugs — no matter how addictive — paid for by the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (formerly Worker’s Compensation Board).
But the 47-year-old Orillia man knows and fears the addictive aspects of painkillers and prefers to use marijuana (mostly through ingestion, occasionally smoking) to deal with his pain. For about two years he’s had a licence from Health Canada, supported by documentation from a medical doctor, that allows him to legally use it after obtaining it from a designated grower.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1258095–workers-comp-claim-seeks-medical-marijuana

Alberta farmers cashing in on hemp farms

By Bryan Labby, CBC News

 
Many Alberta farmers have taken to hemp to round out their crops and some say they’re making a tidy profit.
According to a recent study done by Alberta Agriculture, farmers in the province seeded the most hemp in all of Canada at 6,434 hectares last year.
The preliminary estimate for this year is 8,000 hectares.
“As long as we keep making money we’ll keep growing it,” says Will Van Roessel.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/09/16/calgary-hemp-farms.html

Marijuana: A case for legalization


 
More than 100 million people in this country have tried marijuana at some point. More than 28 million will do so this year. It will not make them dangerous or more interesting. It should not make them criminals.
Marijuana’s critics cite proven negative effects of heavy use: loss of concentration and short-term memory, poor educational performance, decreased drive and ambition (the “amotivational syndrome”), impaired motor skills, damage to the lungs and circulatory system, increased anxiety and paranoia, and, in extreme cases, psychosis. Defenders acknowledge these problems but note that the overwhelming majority of users are not heavy users. Most people who smoke marijuana do so as most drinkers drink alcohol — on an infrequent or quite moderate basis.
The greatest harms associated with cannabis are not the effects of the drug but of our drug policies, which vary widely from state to state. In Alaska, possession of up to four ounces of the drug (more than enough for a hundred joints) in one’s residence is legal, as is possession of fewer than 25 plants. In Texas, possession of less than two ounces is a Class B misdemeanor, which can mean as many as 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. In practice, it usually draws probation, but it’s not “just a ticket.” A kid can be tossed out of school or lose a college loan or scholarship. A parent can lose custody of a child or be barred from subsidized housing. And conviction for a drug offense, even a misdemeanor, can make it extremely difficult to land a job — forever.
 
Complete article here: 
http://blog.chron.com/bakerblog/2012/09/marijuana-a-case-for-legalization/