By Andrew DeMillo – Associated Press
 
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The home state of the president who didn’t inhale has become an unlikely front in the battle over medical marijuana.
This fall, Arkansas will be the first Southern state to ask voters whether to legalize medical uses for pot, a move that offers supporters a rare chance to make inroads in a region that has resisted easing any restrictions on the drug.
The state’s top elected officials and law enforcement agencies oppose the idea, but legalization groups hope the referendum shows that medical marijuana is no longer solely the domain of East Coast or Western states.
“This is an issue that hasn’t been ready for prime time yet in the South. It may be that it’s starting to be, and that’s a good thing,” said Jill Harris, managing director of Drug Policy Action, the political arm of the Drug Policy Alliance.
Complete article here:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/3/arkansas-an-unlikely-front-in-medicinal-pot-battle/

Written by Cliff Sain

The second annual Hemp Fest is full of music and games, but organizers believe there is something much more serious going on.
The three-day festival, which concludes today, is a celebration of the cannabis plant and features live bands performing on three stages (one indoor), inflatable games for children, and vendors selling an assortment of items including T-shirts, tapestries, smoking implements, artwork, accessories and jewelry.
But event planner Travis Holt said that while the weekend event is fun, he and others want to raise awareness about the diversity of the plant, which can be used to make clothing or food, and can be used as a medicine.
“We’re here to create a platform where people can speak on behalf of the cannabis plant,” he said.
Daisy Thomas, of Cuba, Mo., said she came to the festival with her husband, Anthony, to show support for medical marijuana.
Thomas said she had seven tumors on her liver in 2010. After $16,000 worth of treatments, she lost her job — and insurance — because chemotherapy made her too sick to work. She said it was in Ohio that she was able to find treatment using cannabis oil that she took orally. She said five of the tumors disappeared; the other two shrunk, but did not respond as well to treatment. Now, six months after her cannabis treatment stopped, she said her remaining tumors are growing again.
“When I was on cannabis treatment, I quit all my other medications,” she said. “For six months, it cost me $1,200.”
 
Complete article here:
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120903/NEWS01/309030023/Springfield-Hemp-Fest-cannabis?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

A woman who admitted to using marijuana before getting into her car has been acquitted of impaired driving, with the Saskatoon judge saying he was not convinced her ability to operate a vehicle was affected.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2012/08/30/sk-marijuana-impaired-driving-not-guilty-120830.html

By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com 

Michael Randolph | The Bay City Times Marijuana plants in an undisclosed grow room.
 
FLINT, MI — Flint voters will be able to decide in November whether or not marijuana will be decriminalized in the city after Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz approved the ballot initiative on Monday.

Kurtz agreed to place the initiative on the Nov. 6 general election ballot that would exempt anyone 19 years or older with less than one ounce of marijuana on private property from city code prohibitions of cannabis.
 
Complete article here:
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/08/flint_voters_will_decide_in_no.html