Jon Graef

Photo Credit: Laughing Squid
 
On Friday, the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals Panel was set to decide on 13 applications for licenses to “establish a medical cannabis dispensary.” [If you’ll recall, there was fervent demand for applications for such dispensary licenses back in September.]
The Chicago Tribune reports that, of the 13 applications heard Friday, the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals Panel approved six, rejected one, and delayed decisions on the other six.
 
Full Article:
http://chicagoist.com/2014/11/22/city_zoning_panel_approves_six_chic.php

By Ricardo Baca, The Cannabist Staff

 
As this year’s Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam was supposed to open its doors for five days of weed worship on Nov. 23 … it didn’t open its doors.
Amsterdam Cannabis Cup attendees were being turned away by High Times officials and venue staff at the Melkweg on Sunday morning because the mayor’s office had issues with the event and was threatening to arrest those ignoring its warning, organizers said.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/11/23/amsterdam-cannabis-cup-shut-down/23797/

Tom Huddleston, Jr.

America’s rapidly-expanding marijuana industry faces a major quandary: large, national banks are afraid to do business with cannabis businesses for fear of running afoul of strict federal regulations.
That could change with the creation of the first financial institution dedicated solely to serving the cannabis industry. This week, the Colorado Division of Financial Services issued a charter to The Fourth Corner Credit Union, which could be doing business and serving the local cannabis community as soon as January, a spokeswoman for the state’s regulatory agencies confirmed.
 
Full Article:
http://time.com/3600778/colorado-credit-union-pot-stores/

By Ricardo Baca, The Cannabist Staff

Marijuana activists are already planning the 2016 campaign to regulate and legalize the sale of recreational pot in Nevada, home to Las Vegas, one of the world’s biggest tourism destinations.
But some tourists won’t have to wait that long to legally buy weed in Las Vegas thanks to the most liberal reciprocity law in the U.S.
Medical marijuana cardholders throughout the U.S. will be able to purchase pot in Nevada starting in 2015. All they’ll have to do is show their medical marijuana license, show a government ID proving they’re 21 or older and sign an affidavit — and they’ll have access to that shop (but no others) for their stay in Nevada.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/11/20/nevada-reciprocity-marijuana-las-vegas/23625/

Ladybud Admin

 
Beginning today, November 19th, 2014, the possession of 25 grams of less of cannabis in the city of New York, New York will be punishable by a court summons instead of arrest and a misdemeanor charge. For a city long notorious for its racially biased stop and frisk practices, this shift in policy could be a sign of good things to come.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2014/11/19/new-york-city-decriminalization-of-cannabis-begins-today/

By Emily Wax-Thibodeaux

 
Every morning, former Air Force senior airman Amy Rising makes breakfast for her second-grader, drives him to school and returns home to prepare what she calls her medicine.
She suffers from severe anxiety after four years working in the frenetic global command center at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, coordinating bombings and other missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rising says she has found a treatment that helps her cope. But her local Veterans Affairs hospital does not provide it — because her medicine is a joint.
 
Full Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/more-veterans-press-va-to-recognize-medical-marijuana-as-treatment-option/2014/11/15/51666986-6a7b-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html

Matt Sledge

 
California approved a major shift against mass incarceration on Tuesday in a vote that could lead to the release of thousands of state prisoners.
Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and it’s expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/california-prisons_n_6070654.html?ir=Politics&utm_campaign=110514&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-politics&utm_content=FullStory

Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

(Photo: Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY)
 
While Florida voters narrowly rejected a plan to legalize medical marijuana, voters in Washington, D.C., and Oregon both approved recreational pot use by adults and early returns gave a slight edge to Alaska’s plans to tax and regulate and recreational marijuana marijuana.
And in Guam, voters legalized medical marijuana use, according to initial returns showing Proposal 14A passing with more than half of the vote.
 
Full Article:
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/05/where-america-landed-on-marijuana/18521419/

by: Rita Teglas

 
Recently, more and more hemp products have reached the shelves of health food shops. The idea of consuming hemp might be surprising to some people, since hemp is actually a form of Cannabis sativa. It is not the same thing as marijuana, however. It is believed that hemp plants are actually very healthy. The controversial plant contains a complex plant protein with nine essential amino-acids. Hemp plants also contain healthy fats, such as Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid). The Omega-3 fats are well known for their help in the decrease of inflammation. Omega-3 also has beneficial effects on decreasing blood pressure.  Other nutrients which can be found in hemp products are: iron, phosphorus, magnesium and fiber.
 
Full Article:
http://www.iknowtoday.com/2014/11/04/health-benefits-hemp/