By The Associated Press
This Arizona court ruling just made a huge move for MMJ cardholders accused of driving high. (Oliver Berg, AFP/Getty Images file)
An Arizona court ruling says medical marijuana cardholders accused of driving under the influence have options for showing in court that there wasn’t enough marijuana compound in their bodies to cause impairment.
Full Article:
http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/12/23/medical-marijuana-dui-arizona/70010/
Category: Cannabis News Corner
Woman who prayed to die speaks out on miracle of cannabis
When Katie Donahue was about 8 years old she started noticing that something was wrong.
The left side of her face wasn’t growing the same way the right side was.
“W went to a couple of doctors and things like that but no one knew what it was,” said Donahue.
Tired of being relentlessly bullied in school, and desperate for answers, at 18 Donahue went to Shrines Hospital in Chicago and was diagnosed with an extremely rare disorder called Parry-Romberg Disease.
“That is characterized by a slow progression or wasting away of 1/2 of the head,” said Donahue.
While answers were a relief, the pain from the disease soon took over.
“It’s excruciatingly painful all the time continuously no matter what is happening there is pain,” said Donahue.
Full Article:
Germany Is Poised to Be a Powerful Cannabis Market
With a population of 80.6 million and nearly 140k square miles, the country of Germany is roughly 85% the size of California, and contains over double the population. As medical cannabis laws across Europe become liberalized and attitudes toward adult recreational use continue to soften, Germany is now poised to be the next big thing in the European cannabis market.
Germany is looking primed to become a major producer of medical cannabis since laws were loosened this past summer to allow patients access with a doctor’s recommendation. And now, Berlin is making moves to pseudo-legalize marijuana in its city borders. According to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), an EU agency based in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, nearly one quarter of German adult citizens – 23.1% – have tried cannabis.
Full Article:
http://marijuanapolitics.com/germany-is-poised-to-be-a-powerful-cannabis-market/
A raincoat for our houses
Production line at the co-operative enterprise CAVAC Biomatériaux, France. Natural fibres processed into a continuous mat (biofib) – Martin Ansell, BRE CICM, University of Bath, UK
“Besides textiles, innovative natural fibre composite materials are a parallel field of the research on insulators that can preserve indoor air quality. These bio-based materials, such as straw and hemp, “can reduce the incidence of mold growth because they breathe. The breathability of materials refers to their ability to absorb and desorb moisture naturally”, says expert Finlay White from Modcell, who contributed to the construction of what they claim are the world’s first commercially available straw houses, “For example, highly insulated buildings with poor ventilation can build-up high levels of moisture in the air. If the moisture meets a cool surface it will condensate and producing mould, unless it is managed. Bio-based materials have the means to absorb moisture so that the risk of condensation is reduced, preventing the potential for mould growth”.
Full Article:
http://www.youris.com/Energy/Ecobuildings/A-Raincoat-For-Our-Houses.kl
Institute of Cannabis Research Launches at CSU-Pueblo
By SHANNA LEWIS
The new Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University Pueblo recently launched with about $1.1 million in state and local funding.
Ten CSU faculty from different departments will lead cannabis research projects in 2017. The studies are diverse, ranging from using hemp in 3D printing to the effect of cannabis on epilepsy.
Ten CSU faculty from different departments will lead cannabis research projects in 2017. The studies are diverse, ranging from using hemp in 3D printing to the effect of cannabis on epilepsy.
Full Article:
http://krcc.org/post/institute-cannabis-research-launches-csu-pueblo
States with medical marijuana laws have lower traffic fatality rates, study reports
Fredrick Kunkle
(AP Photo/Seth Perlman) (Seth Perlman)
States with medical marijuana laws have fewer traffic fatalities than those without, especially among younger drivers, a new study found.
You would think crash rates might be higher, supposing that more drivers are, too.
But, no. Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found an 11 percent reduction in traffic fatalities on average when examining places that have enacted medical marijuana laws – 23 states and the District of Columbia. The presence of medical marijuana dispensaries also correlated with fewer traffic fatalities, the study found.
Silvia Martins, a physician and associate professor who was the study’s senior officer, theorized that lower traffic fatality rates in states with marijuana laws might be related to lower levels of alcohol-impaired driving: People, especially younger people, began substituting weed for booze.
You would think crash rates might be higher, supposing that more drivers are, too.
But, no. Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found an 11 percent reduction in traffic fatalities on average when examining places that have enacted medical marijuana laws – 23 states and the District of Columbia. The presence of medical marijuana dispensaries also correlated with fewer traffic fatalities, the study found.
Silvia Martins, a physician and associate professor who was the study’s senior officer, theorized that lower traffic fatality rates in states with marijuana laws might be related to lower levels of alcohol-impaired driving: People, especially younger people, began substituting weed for booze.
Full Article:
http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2016/12/medical_marijuana_traffic_fata.html
Conn. Hospice to conduct medical marijuana research
Associated Pres
The nation’s first hospice plans to study how medical marijuana can help dying patients.
Officials from Connecticut Hospice Inc. in Branford said Monday they hope to improve pain management while also reducing opioid use in palliative care. They also want to decrease nausea and vomiting while improving patients’ appetites and overall well-being.
Full Article:
Hartford, Connecticut – Marijuana study greenlighted at St. Francis hospital
PATRICIA DADDONA
It appears St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center will be the first in Connecticut to conduct medical marijuana research under a new program authorized by the legislature.
The state Department of Consumer Protection said Friday that it has authorized St. Francis — part of the Trinity Health-New England system — to conduct marijuana research on patients with multiple rib fractures.
Full Article:
http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/20161216/NEWS01/161219942
Colorado proposes to build affordable housing with legal marijuana tax revenues
By ANTONIO PACHECO
Colorado’s Governor recently proposed transfering revenues raised from taxing legal marijuana sales toward funding affordable housing programs. (Courtesy Wikimedia Images / X-Weinzar)
A new initiative by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper seeks to divert $16.3 million in tax revenue generated from the state’s legal marijuana trade toward creating permanently affordable housing units for homeless individuals in the state.
The Denver Post reports that the Governor’s plan would allocate $12.3 million in legal marijuana tax revenues to build 1,200 affordable housing units for chronically homeless individuals as well as 300 additional units for periodically homeless individuals over the next five years. Hickenlooper also proposes taking $4 million in funds to construct 354 assisted housing units that will be paired with behavioral health services facilities over the same time frame. The Governor’s budget proposal also features $2 million worth of incentives to generate 250 affordable housing units for senior citizens and individuals fighting displacement.
The Denver Post also reports that Colorado has seen a six-percent increase in homelessness this year, bringing the state’s unhoused population to 10,000, according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Meanwhile, the state’s total supply of year-round beds allocated to serve this population numbers less than 7,000.
Full Article:
https://archpaper.com/2016/12/colorado-affordable-housing-marijuana-revenues/
Legalizing Marijuana Has Reduced Opioid Overdoses by 25%
Photo: James Wojcik
For the first time ever, heroin is more likely to kill us than guns. According to the Centers for Disease Control, heroin deaths surpassed gun deaths in 2015, a harsh reminder of the growing public health crisis that is opioid addiction. Opioid use grew quickly in the U.S. outpacing doctors’ and lawmakers’ abilities to understand the problem and react appropriately. Now we’re playing a very deadly game of catch up, but some studies show there could be one unexpected answer in the search to easing heroin overdose deaths.
Colleen Barry, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy Research, wrote in the New York Times that her and her team found opioid overdose deaths decreased significantly — by as much as 25% – in states that made medical marijuana legal. According to her study, after the passage of legal medical marijuana, states saw a reduction in prescription opioid overdose deaths in the first year, and that only grew in following years. Colleen’s isn’t the only study that makes the same point, though. Stat News points to two other studies that also show a drop in overdose deaths after medical marijuana is made legal.
Colleen Barry, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy Research, wrote in the New York Times that her and her team found opioid overdose deaths decreased significantly — by as much as 25% – in states that made medical marijuana legal. According to her study, after the passage of legal medical marijuana, states saw a reduction in prescription opioid overdose deaths in the first year, and that only grew in following years. Colleen’s isn’t the only study that makes the same point, though. Stat News points to two other studies that also show a drop in overdose deaths after medical marijuana is made legal.
Full Article:
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/legalizing-marijuana-has-reduced-opioid-overdoses-by-25-percent