Cannabis Hemp News

Leaders at a summit meeting of many of the Western Hemisphere nations on Saturday discussed alternatives to what many consider a failed “war on drugs” that is too reliant on military action and imprisonment. But President Obama said flatly that “legalization is not the answer.” The issue was placed on the agenda of the Summit of the Americas this weekend by the host, Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos. Even so, Mr. Santos suggested that he had in mind some unspecified … Read More

The sponsor of a state Senate bill in Michigan is looking to outlaw the use of medical marijuana by glaucoma patients. In 2008, voters passed the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, which allows state-registered patients to use the herb to treat certain medical conditions. Senate Bill 977, approved in a state Senate committee last week, would prevent the state licensing agency from issuing medical marijuana cards for glaucoma and remove it from the list of debilitating conditions. Several studies in the … Read More

Norm Stamper’s told the story a lot: He was a rookie cop, working a one-man car  in an affluent San Diego neighborhood, when he approached a home and smelled  burning vegetable matter. This was around 1966.  Possession of marijuana  possession of even a seed or stem =96 was a felony.  Stamper, a young cop eager to score the brownie points associated with narcotics busts, knocked on the door.  No answer.  He then kicked in the door and heard footsteps racing … Read More

A bill that would allow people in New Hampshire with chronic health problems to use marijuana received the backing of the Republican Senate this week, but with the proposal gaining momentum in Concord, local police chiefs worry it would strengthen efforts to legalize the drug in the Granite State. Gov. John Lynch has indicated he will veto the Senate bill, which passed on a 13-11 vote late Wednesday night. It would allow patients with “debilitating medical conditions” or their designated … Read More

The District has selected six companies to grow marijuana and supply medical cannabis to users — clearing the way for growers to start producing hundreds of plants in as little as a month. The Health Department is expected to announce Friday that it has selected the winning bidders for cultivating plants that will feed the dispensaries city officials hope to approve by the summer. All the growers will be in Northeast, including a company partly owned by celebrity talk show … Read More

Elected lawmakers in five states have a message for the federal government: Don’t interfere with state medical marijuana laws. In an open letter to the federal government, lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle called on the government to stop using scarce law enforcement resources on taking pot away from medical marijuana patients. “States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion. We are lawmakers from these states,” the … Read More

Richard Lee has been one of the state’s most visible activists for liberalized marijuana laws, having spent $1.5 million of his own money supporting an ill-fated ballot initiative in 2010 to decriminalize recreational use. But Lee is also an entrepreneur in the legally cloudy arena of medical marijuana, and on Monday the Internal Revenue Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration raided his home and his hemp-related ventures, including Oaksterdam University, a trade school focused on the marijuana industry. The feds … Read More

Medical marijuana advocates say they’ll take their “humanitarian” cause to the ballot if the Legislature won’t pass it, but top Bay State cops and prosecutors caution that using pot is not a victimless crime, and legalizing it could put Massachusetts at odds with the feds, who are still battling murderous drug cartels and growers. The issue is expected to heat up the Gardner Auditorium tomorrow, when the Joint Committee on Public Health holds a hearing on the initiative spearheaded by … Read More

Montana ranks ninth among the top 17 states for marijuana use among teens, which is predictable, according to local law enforcement officials who blame the state’s “goofy” and “convoluted” marijuana laws. “This comes as no surprise,” said Billings Deputy Police Chief Tim O’Connell.  “We are definitely seeing an increase in the schools, and it’s definitely related to bad legislation.  We can thank the passage of legalizing marijuana.  The laws aren’t clear.” O’Connell said school resource officers are keenly aware of … Read More

Enderby politicians want marijuana decriminalized and taxed. A majority of council voted Monday to ask senior government to regulate cannabis as a way of reducing crime, rationalizing police resources and creating a new source of revenue for communities. “We’re not saying we agree with marijuana but the current process is not working and it fuels the gangs,” said Mayor Howie Cyr, a former RCMP officer. “Instead of throwing countless people into jail ( for marijuana possession ) and spending money … Read More