Disabled vet fighting for North Carolina medical marijuana appears in court

By Pamela Escobar – email

UNION COUNTY, NC (WBTV) –
 
A disabled Union County veteran who called police on himself admitting he was growing marijuana for medical purposes had his first day in court Monday.
Robert Dorr, who said he’s willing to face jail time, did not show up at the Union County Courthouse alone. Other veterans who are also fighting for North Carolina to legalize medical marijuana came to show their support.
Robert Dorr did not have his day in court for manufacturing marijuana.
“The state has asked to postpone the case until April 8,” explained Dorr about his first appearance at the Union County Courthouse.
His legal battle will take some time. And some veterans are so thankful Dorr put himself in the law’s line of fire.
“Mr. Dorr is a very braved disabled veteran who had decided instead of hiding in the corner and use cannabis and feel like a criminal to let people know this is medicine,” said Perry Parks.
 
Full Article:
http://www.wbtv.com/story/24449750/disabled-vet-fighting-for-nc-medical-marijuana-appears-in-court

Cannabis, Texas: How Close are We to Legalization in the Lone Star State?

By Angelica Leicht

weed_photo.jpg
Photo by it was 3 a.m. via flickr

 
The buzz about cannabis reform is still going strong, well after the very first recreational pot shops in Colorado opened their doors to long lines and sellout crowds. Folks are excited about the impending change, and rightfully so. Marijuana has cleared some major milestones, jumping in some states from outlawed to outright legal, and taking baby-steps toward reform in others.
We all know where Colorado and Washington are on the marijuana reform scale; they’re all for legal pot, and it certainly seems to be popular in their respective states. And when you dig through the all of media hype over the success in Colorado, there are signs of political movement toward in other states as well.
But that begs the question; where Texas is at in all of this legalization hubbub? Are we any closer to a rational policy on cannabis use, or will we drag our conservative feet until the other 49 states have come around?
Well, we’ve got a few of those answers for you in our Cannabis, Texas roundup. Here are the milestones Texas has made in the fight for legalization and decriminalization over the past year. And yes, there’s a nod to Kinky Friedman. We like him too.
 
Full Article:
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2014/01/cannabis_texas_how_close_are_w.php

The Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri posted a poll and here are the results!

Mini Poll: In the Weeds

 

Do you favor or oppose the complete legalization of marijuana for any purpose by adults?

Favor:  90%

Oppose:  7%

Don’t care one way or the other:  3%

If the sale and possession of marijuana by adults were made legal, do you think it would make the state’s economy better, make the economy worse, or have no real effect on the economy?

Better:  88%
Worse:  4%
No effect: 8%

Do you favor or oppose the complete legalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use by adults?

Favor:  91%
Oppose:  6%
Don’t care one way or the other:  2%

Do you favor or oppose the complete legalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana for medical use if prescribed by a doctor?

Favor:  94%
Oppose:  4%
Don’t care one way or the other:  3%

Should the regulations on marijuana be more strict than those for alcohol, the same as those for alcohol, or less strict as those for alcohol?

Marijuana regulations > alcohol regulations:  9%
Marijuana regulations < alcohol regulations:  32%
Marijuana regulations = alcohol regulations:  59%

Assuming marijuana is not legalized in Missouri, do you think people arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana should be put in jail, or just have to pay a fine without serving any time in jail?

Jail:  3%
Fine, no jail:  97%

The possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults in the City of St. Louis is now generally treated as a municipal violation and handled in municipal court rather than circuit court. Do you think the effect has been to increase crime, reduce crime, or have no effect on crime?

Increase crime:  7%
Reduce crime:  46%
Have no effect:  48%

After taking this poll, what do you now think ought to be government policy toward marijuana?

Legalize it completely for adults:  27%
Legalize it completely for adults and tax it:  66%
Legalize it for medical use only:  3%
Keep it illegal, but decriminalize it: 2%
Keep the laws the way they are:  2%

Make the laws even tougher:  2%

Have you smoked any amount of marijuana in the past week?

Yes:  28%
No:  72%

http://www.mayorslay.com/polls/20140109marijuanaresults.php

PA bill to legalize medical marijuana named after former Republican governor

Sam Wood, PHILLY.COM

daylin1
 
State Sens. Mike Folmer and Daylin Leach
 
“Shafer was appointed by President Nixon in 1970 to oversee a commission looking at marijuana use.  His 1972 report,  “Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding” recommended that cannabis not be included under the controlled substance act and called for the decriminalization of possession by adults. Nixon ignored the recommendations.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/PA_bill_to_legalize_medical_marijuana_named_after_former_PA_governor.html

Florida Bill Would Allow Medical Marijuana For Child Seizures

Marilyn Budzynski takes care of her 20-year-old son, Michael, in Eustis, Fla., in September. Michael suffers from Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.
Marilyn Budzynski takes care of her 20-year-old son, Michael, in Eustis, Fla., in September. Michael suffers from Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.
 
Florida may soon become the latest state to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana. Advocates there are gathering signatures to put a medical marijuana referendum on the fall ballot.
But Florida’s Legislature may act sooner to allow residents access to a particular type of marijuana. Advocates say the strain called Charlotte’s Web offers hope to children with severe seizure disorders.
 
Full Article:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/01/16/262481852/florida-bill-would-allow-marijuana-extract-for-child-seizures
 

Don’t just legalize marijuana, free prior offenders

By Matthew Fleischer
Marijuana sales in Colorado
David Marlow, right, helps a customer, who smells a strain of marijuana before buying it, at the crowded sales counter inside a marijuana retail store in Denver on Jan. 1. (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press / January 1, 2014)
 
The United States is one of only 22 countries that doesn’t guarantee what’s called “retroactive ameliorative relief” in sentencing. Which means that when a law such as one legalizing marijuana is passed in America, those already convicted of marijuana crimes don’t automatically have their sentences relaxed. This puts us in the company of such bastions of social justice as Pakistan, Oman and South Sudan.
If Germany were to legalize marijuana, on the other hand, those convicted of weed crimes would see their sentences commuted, according to the USF report.
 
Full Article:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-legalize-marijuana-free-prior-offenders-20140115,0,3562757.story?fb_action_ids=10152175350395767&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1435466400003650%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%22s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like%22%5D#axzz2qa5ACyPS

‘I like weed, and I’m a good person’: Pot smokers fight stereotypes

By Jareen Imam, CNN
Everyone needs a hobby, right? Recreational marijuana users told us it makes them feel more relaxed and creative.
Everyone needs a hobby, right? Recreational marijuana users told us it makes them feel more relaxed and creative.
 
(CNN) — Lighting up a freshly packed pipe is just the kind of afternoon delight iReporter robcat20 likes after dealing with a stressful day at work as an insurance agent. Usually he’ll put on a movie from Netflix while enjoying a good smoke from Stella, his pipe.
There’s just one a problem: Smoking marijuana is illegal in his state of Ohio.
Robcat20, who asked not to be identified by name because he fears being “labeled as a bad person” in his small town, says it’s time that changed.
“I like weed, and I’m a good person,” he wrote on CNN iReport. “I am a successful businessman, a loving father, devoted husband, registered Republican, active in my community with charities, church and I give piano lessons in the evenings to children with disabilities.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/16/living/irpt-recreational-marijuana/

Faces of Pot: The pain specialist

By: 
We weren’t looking for people to get high,” says Dr. Mark Ware of his research into the effects of marijuana on pain. “We were looking to help them relieve symptoms."

SUPPLIED BY MARK WARE
We weren’t looking for people to get high,” says Dr. Mark Ware of his research into the effects of marijuana on pain. “We were looking to help them relieve symptoms.”
 

Dr. Mark Ware first witnessed the powerful pain relieving effects of marijuana while working at a clinic dedicated to sickle cell anemia research in Jamaica in 1998.
A Rastafarian in his late 70s, with full blown sickle cell disease, had made the trek from his home in the mountains to the Kingston clinic. He was much older than the average life expectancy for someone with the disease and didn’t exhibit any of the tell-tale symptoms, such as severe pain in the chest, hands and joints. Instead, he was fit and spry.
A dumbfounded Ware asked, “What’s your secret?”
The man leaned in and with a penetrating look, said, “You must study the herb, doc.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.thestar.com/life/2014/01/16/faces_of_pot_the_pain_specialist.html

Edible marijuana sales shattering sales projections in Colorado

Russell Haythorn  | Email Me
Edible_marijuana_sales_shattering_sales__1253050000_20140116055751
 
DENVER – A one-month supply of marijuana edibles, gone in the first three days of January.
That’s what the area’s largest supplier of marijuana edibles is saying about the incredible demand for the product since recreational sales were legalized in Colorado on Jan. 1.
“We are working hard,” said Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer for Dixie Elixirs and Edibles. “We like to call ourselves the future of cannabis.”
There is so much demand for edibles right now, they limit customers to two edible products a day at recreational pot shops like LoDo Wellness at 16th St. and Wazee in downtown Denver.
“Actually demand’s been huge,” said Hodas. “And our employees have been just killing it working ’round the clock.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/edible-marijuana-sales-shattering-sales-projections-in-colorado