Summit Daily News, 14 May 2013 - Lawmakers in Denver approved a historic and hard-won package of bills May 8 implementing a legal framework for the recreational consumption and sale of marijuana, and they're giving medical cannabis retailers a head start to the gate of the budding industry. In Breckenridge, the owners of at least one dispensary plan to take advantage of it.

Summit Daily News, 14 May 2013 - Lawmakers in Denver approved a historic and hard-won package of bills May 8 implementing a legal framework for the recreational consumption and sale of marijuana, and they're giving medical cannabis retailers a head start to the gate of the budding industry. In Breckenridge, the owners of at least one dispensary plan to take advantage of it.

Seattle Times, 14 May 2013 - TAKE a short drive through any corner of Seattle, and count the number of businesses with green crosses on their signs. For the uninitiated, that is the discrete symbol for a marijuana dispensary. But at this point, who isn't initiated?

The Gazette, 14 May 2013 - The Colorado Springs City Council will host public hearings this summer to talk about pot. The council must decide whether the city will allow retail marijuana sales or ban them. And there is much to consider in the meantime, said Kyle Sauer of the city attorney's office.

Seattle Times, 14 May 2013 - TAKE a short drive through any corner of Seattle, and count the number of businesses with green crosses on their signs. For the uninitiated, that is the discrete symbol for a marijuana dispensary. But at this point, who isn't initiated?

The Gazette, 14 May 2013 - The Colorado Springs City Council will host public hearings this summer to talk about pot. The council must decide whether the city will allow retail marijuana sales or ban them. And there is much to consider in the meantime, said Kyle Sauer of the city attorney's office.

Inhaling cannabis reduces symptoms of Crohn’s disease compared to placebo in patients non-responsive to traditional therapies, according to clinical trial data published online ahead of print in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers at the Meir Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Israel assessed the safety and efficacy of inhaled cannabis versus placebo in 21 subjects with Crohn’s disease who were nonresponsive to conventional treatments.

Eleven participants smoked standardized cannabis cigarettes containing 23 percent THC and 0.5 percent CBD (cannabidiol) twice daily over a period of eight weeks. The other ten subjects smoked placebo cigarettes containing no active cannabinoids.

Investigators reported, “Our data show that 8-weeks treatment with THC-rich cannabis, but not placebo, was associated with a significant decrease of 100 points in CDAI (Crohn’s Disease and activity index) scores.” (The CDIA is a research tool used to quantify the symptoms of Crohn’s disease patients.) Five of the eleven patients in the study group also reported achieving disease remission (defined as a reduction in patient CDAI score by more than 150 points).

Researchers also reported that “no significant side effects” were associated with cannabis inhalation. Subjects in the study group reported improvements in appetite and sleep compared to those in the placebo group. Cannabis inhalation was also associated with “significantly less pain” among the participants.

The study is the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the consumption of cannabis for the treatment of Crohn’s.

Israeli researchers had previously published observational trial data reporting that Crohn’s patients require fewer disease-related surgeries following their use of cannabis.

According to survey data published in 2011 in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, some one-half of Crohn’s disease patients acknowledge having used cannabis to mitigate their disease symptoms.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The New York Legislature decriminalized marijuana in that state back in the 1970s. But simple marijuana possession is still the #1 cause of arrest in New York City, with 149,951 pot busts last year. What gives?

NYPD cops use the "public view" exception to the decrim law to trap people, that's what. Officers will misleadingly ask a suspect to "take the pot out of your pocket," and then bust them for "public display" of the weed, which ups what would have been a traffic ticket-like event into a violation with arrest and possible jail time.

More and more civil rights activists have noticed this disturbing phenomenon, and the NYPD is increasingly coming under pressure to stop its dishonest tactics when it comes to busting pot smokers. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried last year to remove the "public view" provision in the criminal code last year, reports John Surico at the Village Voice, and even NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has asked his officers to back off with the pot arrests, already.

Happily, it seems this is finally starting to have an impact, 35 years after decrim.

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By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Attorney General Eric Holder encountered an unhappy crowd of dozens of pro-marijuana protesters at the University of California Berkeley's campus on Saturday when he visited to address the graduating law school class.

During Holder's visit to campus, an airplane circled above Berkeley's Greek Theater for more than two hours, pulling a banner reading "Holder: End Rx Cannabis War #Peace4Patients," reports Carly Schwartz at The Huffington Post. As the Attorney General's limo turned toward the graduation ceremony, demonstrators were waving signs reading "Fight Crime, Not Cannabis."

"There's no doubt we got the A.G.'s attention," said California NORML President Dale Gieringer. "He can't come to Berkeley and not be reminded of his department's bad faith with respect to marijuana."

Holder and the Obama Administration have been harshly criticized for the stepped-up federal crackdown on the medical marijuana industry in California and other states which allow the medicinal use of cannabis.

Though medical marijuana was legalized by California's voters through Proposition 215, a 1996 ballot initiative, cannabis remains illegal for any purpose under federal law.

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By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon on Sunday said she supports a bill allowing the medicinal use of cannabis, explaining that testimony from seriously ill veterans and other medical marijuana patients helped to change her mind.

"As a former prosecutor my first reaction was, 'I'm not interested in changing our laws on medical marijuana,' " Lt. Gov. Simon told The Associated Press in a Sunday interview.

But after hearing from patients and reading up on the bill -- described as the strictest in the nation among medical marijuana states -- Simon said she is convinced the regulations are stringent enough.

The bill, which has cleared the Illinois House and awaits a Senate vote, would let physicians authorize patients with whom they have "an existing relationship" to use medicinal marijuana for more than 30 medical conditions, including cancer.

A pilot program would be created; patients and caregivers would be required to undergo background checks and would be limited to 2.5 ounces per patient per purchase from state-regulated dispensaries.

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Governor Peter Shumlin Expected To Sign Bill Into Law

Proposal backed by tripartisan group of legislators and state's top law enforcement officials will replace criminal penalties for simple marijuana possession with a civil fine similar to a traffic ticket

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

State lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a measure that will decriminalize possession of limited amounts of marijuana in Vermont. The bill will now go to Gov. Peter Shumlin, who is expected to sign it into law in coming weeks, at which time Vermont will become the 17th state in the nation to decriminalize or legalize marijuana.

“We applaud the Vermont Legislature for adopting this much-needed legislation and setting an example for other states in the region and around the country,” said Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). “The exceptionally broad support demonstrated for this measure reflects the progress our nation is making toward adopting a new and more sensible approach to marijuana policy.

“The days of criminalizing people simply for using a substance less harmful than alcohol are coming to an end,” Simon said.

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By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Researchers have announced that the conclusion of an 11-year study has found a strong association between frequent marijuana use and significantly reduced risk of bladder cancer. The more pot you smoke, the lower your risk, according to the study.

The new study compared the risk of bladder cancer in more than 83,000 men who smoked cigarettes only, marijuana only, or both substances, reports Kathleen Doheny at USA Today.

The investigators found that men who smoked only cannabis were the least likely to develop bladder cancer over the course of the 11-year study.

"Cannabis use only was associated with a 45 percent reduction in bladder cancer incidence, and tobacco use only was associated with a 52 percent increase in bladder cancer," said Dr. Anil A. Thomas, study author and a fellow in urology at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Smoking both tobacco and cannabis raised the risk of bladder cancer, but not as much as for those who smoked only tobacco, Thomas said. He presented the findings on Monday at the American Urological Association's annual meeting in San Diego.

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If you have the means, please donate to the cause below. Seniors are extremely important to the cannabis reform movement. I hope to see this event happen, see below: The Silver Tour www.thesilvertour.org is producing the first ever SENIOR Rally and Lobbying event in our nation’s capitol. We will partner with SSDP (Students for Sensible [Continue Reading]

While New York’s governor and lawmakers continue to discuss and work towards decriminalizing the public display of marijuana, which would stop tens of thousands of annual arrests, police in New York City have begun a concerted effort to reduce the amount of focus and resources they place on marijuana arrests – even among those dealing pounds [Continue Reading]

LANSING- The Committee for a Safer Lansing (CSL), who recently announced plans to petition to decriminalize marijuana in Michigan’s capital city, have announced a fundraiser and send-off celebration for longtime community activist and entrepeneur Ryan Basore. The Avenue, formerly Gone Wired, on Michigan Avenue in Lansing is the location for the event. The Capitol Building [Continue Reading]

By John Payne If you did not catch my correction email on Monday, you may have missed that Saint Louis Mayor Francis Slay signed the local decriminalization bill into law a couple weeks ago. If so, you would not be alone in that. Mayor Slay signed the measure very quietly, without so much as a [Continue Reading]

When you battle drug prohibitionists long enough you’re bound to read some crazy things. The latest comes from a boardmember of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana – Kevin Sabet’s anti-pot propaganda organ) named Dr. Christian Thurstone. In his latest blog screed entitled “Higher and Higher”, he laments that the teenagers sentenced to his business, [Continue Reading]

The Intelligencer, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

The Expositor, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

Sentinel Review, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.