Vote here:
http://politix.topix.com/homepage/3260-would-you-support-legalizing-marijuana-in-your-state

by Mary Noble

Growing marijuana plant with bud • lostcoastoutpost.com
 
Every month, medical marijuana growers are sent to federal prison despite having complied with state marijuana laws. And although in 2008 Obama promised to stop raids on medical marijuana growers, his Department of Justice has stepped them up.
“Obama is averaging 36 medical marijuana prosecutions a year, compared to 20 a year” under Bush,according to Reason.com, who base those numbers on a report published by pro-marijuana group NORML in June. “153 medical marijuana cases have been brought in the 4 ¼ years of the Obama administration, nearly as many as under the 8 years of the Bush administration (163),” according toNORML’s report.
Some of those sentenced suffered from serious medical conditions for which they were themselves using the drug. Montanan grower Richard Flor died in August 2012 while serving a 5-year prison sentence in federal prison, after suffering two heart attacks and renal and kidney failure, according toMontana’s Billings Gazette. Flor was using medical marijuana to treat conditions including depression, diabetes, and osteoporosis. He was a co-founder of Montana Cannabis, which provided marijuana for about 300 people with medical prescriptions for the drug. His attorneys argued that he had complied with all state laws.
 
Full Article:
http://politix.topix.com/homepage/6883-obama-imprisons-80-more-medical-marijuana-growers-than-bush

By Associated Press

 
Medical marijuana dispensaries are a signature away from being legal in Oregon.
The state House of Representatives approved a bill Saturday to establish a licensing system for medical marijuana outlets. The bill, which passed 32-27, now goes to Gov. John Kitzhaber to sign.
 
Full Article:
http://www.katu.com/politics/Ore-House-approves-medical-marijuana-dispensaries-bill-214495771.html

By SHAWNE K. WICKHAM
 
Ted Wright’s wife was wasting away before his eyes.
Ravaged by constant nausea and vomiting – the side effects from a clinical trial drug that was keeping her cancer at bay – Cindy Wright had rapidly lost more than 30 pounds.
“She couldn’t eat,” her husband recalled. “And they said, ‘You’ve got to stop losing weight; we’re taking you off the trial.'”
A nurse at their Boston hospital had told them other patients were getting through their treatments by using cannabis – marijuana. Desperate, the Wrights decided to try it.
“Within five minutes, she was eating the biggest meal I’d seen her eat in a year,” Ted Wright said. “As soon as she felt the effects of the drug, she felt well enough to eat.”
“It was just amazing. And she put the weight back on within a month and stabilized,” he said. It’s been two years, and “she’s been stable ever since.”
“That flipped a switch for me,” said Wright, a Tuftonboro Republican who was elected to the House last November. “It became a crusade for me.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.newhampshire.com/article/20130706/NEWS12/130709517/-1/newhampshire

BY SENATOR MARK HUTCHISON

Senator Mark Hutchison
 
Medical Marijuana occupied substantial time and energy during the 77th Legislature in the form of Senate Bill 374. Governor Brian Sandoval signed SB 374 on June 12, 2013, and with the stroke of a pen created the framework for some new and unique business establishments in Nevada. Beginning New Years Day 2014, companies may begin servicing patients who are legally authorized to consume marijuana for medicinal purposes in treating health ailments. SB 374 authorizes medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivating facilities, marijuana-infused and edible products, and independent testing laboratories. These are known as medical marijuana establishments (“MMEs”) under the law
 
Full Article:
http://www.nevadabusiness.com/2013/07/the-new-business-of-medical-marijuana-in-nevada/

By Stephen C. Webster

 
A Pennsylvania woman whose infant daughter was taken away from her by state authorities when she was just three days old, all due to a false positive on a drug test, won a $143,500 settlement Tuesday.
 
Full Article:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/03/mom-settles-for-143000-after-infant-taken-away-over-faulty-drug-test/

By LAUREN GAMBINO  Associated Press
 
SALEM, Oregon — The state Senate has approved a bill that would legalize and license medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon.
The bill passed 18-12 Wednesday. It now goes to the House, which approved an earlier version of the bill but must agree to the Senate’s changes.
 
Full Article:
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/db101159170f42b3b4418f625be5dbe7/OR-XGR–Medical-Marijuana-Dispensaries

David Downs

Medical cannabis in a display case at Harborside Health Center in Oakland
 
The feds just got dealt a major blow in their fight to seize the property of the world’s largest lawful medical cannabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center in Oakland.
According to US Court records for the Northern District, Judge Maria-Elena James granted a motion to stay by the City of Oakland that effectively delays the feds’ case against Harborside for more than fifteen months.
 
Full Article:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2013/07/03/oakland-wins-harborside-open-another-15-months-at-least

April 2013 research published by Trends in Pharmacological Sciences supports such a thesis. The abstract for “The endocannabinoid signaling system in cancer” notes: “The endocannabinoid system, comprising lipid-derived endocannabinoids, their G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and the enzymes for their metabolism, is emerging as a promising therapeutic target in cancer.”
 
Full Article:
http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/07/03/%E2%80%98cannabis-papers%E2%80%99-author-time-to-talk-about-cancer-and-cannabis/

The Huffington Post  |  By Nick Wing
 
Starting Monday, Vermonters will not be arrested for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana.
The decriminalization law, signed by Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) last month, will remove criminal penalties on small amounts of cannabis and replace them with civil fines.
 
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/vermont-marijuana-decriminalization_n_3529294.html