Month: April 2011
Medical marijuana industry rapidly grows mainstream
by TONY PUGH – McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The medical marijuana industry is beginning to show its age.
After humble California beginnings in 1996, 15 states and the District of Columbia now have legalized marijuana use for ill patients who have a doctor’s recommendation.
Medical marijuana has been found to help with chronic pain, nausea and other symptoms of diseases including cancer, muscular dystrophy and AIDS. Nearly 25 million Americans are medically eligible to buy marijuana.
Sales are expected to hit $1.7 billion this year. Just last week, a San Francisco-based outfit, the ArcView Group, formed the industry’s first investment network to link cannabis entrepreneurs to qualified investors with “seed” money.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that this industry is growing and that there are untold riches to be made here,” said Troy Dayton, the chief executive of the ArcView Group.
In coming months, Arizona, New Jersey, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia will launch programs, joining eight states where medical marijuana is sold legally. Those states are California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico.
Sales are expected to hit $1.7 billion this year. Just last week, a San Francisco-based outfit, the ArcView Group, formed the industry’s first investment network to link cannabis entrepreneurs to qualified investors with “seed” money.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that this industry is growing and that there are untold riches to be made here,” said Troy Dayton, the chief executive of the ArcView Group.
In coming months, Arizona, New Jersey, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia will launch programs, joining eight states where medical marijuana is sold legally. Those states are California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico.
Read complete article here:
http://www.macon.com/2011/03/31/1507960_medical-marijuana-industry-rapidly.html#ixzz1IcRyRHKT
Medical marijuana growers have access to MSU agricultural advice
By Sara Qamar
Holland, Michigan —
Greener pastures are in sight for medical marijuana growers wanting expert advice on how to raise healthy plants.
Inquiries on how to cultivate the plant have increased slightly in the past few years, Michigan State University Extension experts say.
MSU-E, which is mainly involved in more traditional agricultural endeavors, is a resource for some medical marijuana suppliers who want accurate information on how to grow the plants effectively.
Having received about seven calls since medical marijuana became legal in Michigan, MSU-E senior educator Thomas Dudek said he tries to relay basic information on plant physiology to first-time growers.
“People need to have a fairly good knowledge of fertilizer, irrigation and growing media,” said Dudek, a horticulture and marketing expert based in Ottawa County.
He takes existing information about growing other indoor plants and adapts it to the situation when answering such calls.
“Obviously, we’re a land grant university that creates knowledge for people in businesses. If we have a business for growing plants, then you tend to look at MSU as a resource for that type of information,” he said.
Read complete article here:
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/feature/x816841066/Medical-marijuana-growers-have-access-to-MSU-agricultural-advice
Did one woman’s pot go up in smoke?
By Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt, CNN
Attorney Norman Kent shipped the marijuana as a next-day delivery — to the wrong zip code.
Elvy Musikka, 71, of Eugene, Oregon, says the post office lost something that could cost her more than just a buzz. She could lose her eyesight.
Six metal tins packed with medical marijuana joints –1,800 in all — are in transit somewhere with her name on it. That’s enough for up to 10 potent smokes a day for six months.
It’s a prescription she receives twice a year to treat her glaucoma.
“I just don’t know what to do,” Musikka said.
Musikka says she’s one of four remaining patients getting pot for free as part of a federal government program called Compassionate Use Protocol, developed in the 1980s.
Her attorney says the cannabis is grown in a government lab at the University of Mississippi.
“It relaxes the eye so whatever excess fluid can get through, ” Mussika said.
She usually flies back to Miami, her former home, to pick up the pot from her eye specialist at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. But this time, the medicine was delayed, and she had to fly home without it.
Her attorney, Norman Kent of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, accepted the pot for her and shipped it as next-day delivery through the U.S. Postal Service on March 17.
It never arrived at Musikka’s Oregon home.
“I spent $120 for (shipping) three cartons, ” Kent said.
On Monday, Kent started calling the postal service.
He discovered he mislabeled the ZIP code. It was off by one digit and the shipment was sent to the post office in Santa Monica, California, about 850 miles away from Eugene, Oregon.
“I called consumer affairs’ lost and found, the complaint and tracking departments, and everyone says that they’re looking,” Kent said.
Now, more than a week after the packages were mailed, there has yet to be a whiff of the missing cartons.
Read complete article here:
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-25/us/fea.medical.marijuana_1_elvy-musikka-postal-service-cartons?_s=PM%3AUS
Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In North Carolina
Written by Devetta Blount
Raleigh, NC– A state lawmaker introduced a bill this week that would make it legal to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes.
Rep. Patsy Keever, D-Buncombe, is one of three primary sponsors of the North Carolina Medical Cannabis Act filed on Thursday. The legislation would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana to alleviate their symptoms. It would set up a system for operating medical cannabis centers and growing marijuana for medical use.
Read complete article here:
http://www.digtriad.com/news/health/article/169476/8/Medical-Marijuana-Bill-Introduced-In-North-Carolina
Marijuana May Soon Become Legal to Cure Diseases | TopNews Arab Emirates
Submitted by Kamilah Qasimi
If the Delaware Senate has its way, the marijuana will soon be legalized in the region, under tight scrutiny of course.
Since the time the marijuana has been found to possess the capabilities to cure some of the major ailments that cannot be treated otherwise, a lot of contention has been triggered with many debating if it should be legalized or not.
The cannabis was found to be effective in the treatment against cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis, or any disease that causes severe chronic pain or nausea by some pilot medical studies that took place in the past.
But majority of the chamber members feel that the marijuana should be used legally in the dispensaries if it is capable of saving lives.
Following this as many as 21 members have voted in the favor of Senate bill 17, making it eligible to be considered by the House.
Read complete article here:
http://topnews.ae/content/26853-marijuana-may-soon-become-legal-cure-diseases