Tag: Medical cannabis

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5 Myths About Marijuana Debunked

Owen Poindexter, AlterNet Waking Times The more research is released, the more legalization makes sense. Back in the 1930s, the arguments to criminalize cannabis were bizarre and openly racist. The anti-pot crusader Harry Anslinger made all sorts of over-the-top claims, such as, “Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters.” Nowadays more than 100 million Americans say they’ve smoke pot, millions use cannabis regularly to treat illnesses and it is as legal as alcohol in two U.S. states. However, it remains illegal under federal law largely due to scare tactics ingrained in our society, which date back even prior to Anslinger. Today, pot […] Read More

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No, Teens Don’t Smoke More Pot In Medical Marijuana States

A new national report dispels the common prohibitionist argument. The U.S. federal government stubbornly continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I substance with no known medical uses. While our government blocks all research on the potential benefits of marijuana, clinical studies in Israel, Spain and elsewhere confirm what patients in the 23 U.S. states with medical marijuana programs already know: it’s a miraculous treatment option for many known diseases, with the potential to mitigate, and sometimes reverse, ailments ranging from cancer, PTSD and epilepsy to arthritis, skin abrasions, and chronic pain. Since so many of the arguments against cannabis medicine are crumbling, marijuana prohibitionists are resorting to fear-mongering about the “safety of the children” to defend their position. They insist that allowing marijuana in any form will give kids […] Read More

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2014: Historic: New York Times Calls for Marijuana Legalization

“The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast.” The New York Times’ editorial board agrees with the majority of Americans that marijuana prohibition has got to end. In an editorial on July 26 titled “Repeal Prohibition, Again” the board outlined the many reasons to legalize the herb, drawing comparisons with the nation’s 13 years of failed alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and ’30s. Following a “great deal of discussion … inspired by a rapidly growing movement among the states to reform marijuana laws,” the board came to the conclusion that the federal government should repeal its 40-year ban on marijuana. Marijuana has been criminalized as a “most dangerous” Schedule I drug for too long and the toll has been great. It is by far […] Read More

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House Voted (Twice) to Allow Marijuana Banking Services

Democrats were joined by a growing faction of Republicans. In a stunning change of tone on marijuana policy on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives voted on a pair of measures affecting the legal marijuana businesses in Washington and Colorado and medical marijuana businesses in 23 states and Washington DC. Almost all Democrats were joined by a growing faction of Republicans in approving the access to legitimate banking services. The House also quashed an attempt to stop the Department of Treasury from allowing banks to do business with legal marijuana firms. “Though this isn’t as flashy a win as some other drug policy reforms of recent years, banking regulations have been one of the most significant obstacles to creating a well-run, safe legal marketplace,” said […] Read More

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Florida Seniors Are Among Medical Marijuana’s Biggest Supporters

Florida is considering medical marijuana in November. The following article first appeared in The Fix. Also on TheFix.com: The New Recovery; No Drugs, No Drink, No Problem—Straight Edge, Then and Now;CNN Reporter Clearly High While Talking to Anderson Cooper This November, Floridians will decide whether to legalize the medical use of marijuana in the Sunshine State. As both sides of the debate gear up for election day, a seemingly unexpected demographic has revealed itself as one of legalization’s biggest supporters—seniors. Many senior citizens favor the initiative, called the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, or Amendment 2. “What we’re hearing from older voters is not a lot different from the electorate as a whole,” said Ben Pollara, campaign manager for United For Care, which landed the issue on the ballot. […] Read More

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Bill Clinton: There Is ‘A Lot of Evidence’ for Legalizing Marijuana

Is former president finally ready to inhale? Back in ’92 when he was running for president, Bill Clinton was asked if he had ever smoked pot in college. In what became a running national joke, he famously answered that he’d tried it but he “did not inhale.” The political climate surrounding the infamous herb has changed drastically since then, and even the former president himself is singing a new tune about cannabis. NBC’s David Gregory asked Clinton during a recent interview at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Colorado whether he thought it was time to “give pot a chance.” Clinton came back with some comedy: “Rocky Mountain high?” he said. “Look, I think there’s a lot of evidence to argue for the medical marijuana thing. … […] Read More

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Despite Science, New Medical Cannabis Laws Prohibit Smoked Cannabis

Smoking bans are not backed by scientific research and they serve to proliferate a black market. A CBS poll taken in early January of this year concluded that 86 percent of the nation now supports safe access to cannabis at a doctor’s discretion and there are no signs of public opinion reversing on any other element of cannabis legalization. As public opinion changes, legislatures around the country have explored ways to meet local demand for safe access. As marijuana becomes incrementally more legal for all uses, states grappling with implementing legislation responding to constituent demand for cannabis in all its forms have passed various measures restricting cannabinoid content or strains available. As Minnesota and New York become the 22nd and 23rd states to implement medical cannabis laws, both states […] Read More

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U.S. Blocks Legal Marijuana Growers From Using Federal Irrigation Water

Feds will not allow government water to be used for the growing of a Schedule I controlled substance. Cannabis farms cannot take advantage of water from federal irrigation projects, the U.S. Interior Department announced. The announcement is a major setback for growers in the states of Washington and Colorado, where both recreational and medical marijuana is legal. The Bureau of Reclamation, the branch of the Interior Department that maintains dams, power plants, and canals in 17 western states, reaffirmed that the growers cannot use water supplied through the federal system. The bureau helps provided irrigation water to about 1.2 million acres of land in Colorado and Washington. “As a federal agency, Reclamation is obligated to adhere to federal law in the conduct of its responsibilities […] Read More

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Florida Moves to Legalize Low-THC Medical Marijuana, Is Recreational Pot Next?

Those with cancer and other severe ailments can keep small amounts of low-THC medical pot. Floridians are poised to legalize medical marijuana for some patients, but there’s wide support to legalize it for recreational use as well. If medical marijuana is legalized, it would make Florida the first southern state allow it. Currently, only Colorado and Washington allow recreational use of marijuana. A Quinnipiac University poll shows that 88% of Florida voters said they approve of marijuana for medical use, with only 10% opposing legalization. Moreover, those who responded to the poll said that they would support laws that would allow people to keep small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. Some 53% were in favor, while only 42% were opposed. Among younger voters, legalized recreational […] Read More

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As Marijuana Refugees Flock to Colorado, Will Medical Community Force Rewriting of U.S. Drug Laws?

20 states and the District of Columbia have approved, and regulate in some capacity, marijuana for medical purposes. The following first appeared on Democracy Now!:  Currently 20 states and the District of Columbia have approved, and regulate in some capacity, marijuana for medical purposes. However, insurance companies do not cover the costs of such prescriptions. Federally, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, making it against the law to possess. But the debate over marijuana is growing. We speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dave Philipps of the Colorado Springs Gazette. His most recent article is “As success stories of kids fighting seizures with cannabis oil mount, legal landscape is changing.” We also speak to the pioneering medical marijuana doctor Dr. Margaret Gedde and a mother who […] Read More