Marijuana Blog

According the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll, 78% of Kentuckians support the legalization of medical marijuana, and 25% say they would be okay with regulating recreational use as well. Only 38% oppose any form of legalization.

 

Proponents were split when it came to legislative action. Almost half thought the decision should be left up to voters, 23% thought state legislators should change the law, and another 23% believed ending prohibition was the job of the federal government.

 

Citizens of Kentucky will be happy to know that State Senator Perry Clark (D-Louisville) has been tireless in his push to introduce medical marijuana legislation; unfortunately, his bill has yet to receive a hearing.

 

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.com

Welcome to Los Angeles, the city that can't quite get it together about medical marijuana. Voters love it, politicians shy away from acknowledging that it has redeeming qualities for patients -- well except one, thanks for being brave Councilman Bill Rosendahl and glad to hear that your medical marijuana use is helping your life.

 

Ups and downs in medical cannabis have been the norm for Los Angeles in recent years with pre-interim control ordinances, threats of bans, bans, repeals of bans, court rulings, council members dropping dimes on collectives in their areas to the DEA, closings, openings and now we have city council members ready to do something.

 

The new idea? Create a monopoly.

 

Measure D will create a limited number of medical marijuana collectives in the city - right around 138 for a city of 3,800,000 people. The 138 come from registering in 2007 and 2011 with the city.

 

In the measure's logic, somehow the first collectives to open must be the best ones. If you came a day late to providing patient access to medical marijuana, tough luck, we already have enough caring people in the city.

 

The more reasonable Measure F sets the bar higher for sensible regulation and taxation along with medicine testing, background checks and auditing of shops. Measure D does not require testing of medicine -- a critical component for those with suppressed immune systems. Measure F lets more collectives stay open than Measure D and in a city as large as Los Angeles, patients deserve access that's better than what D is offering.

 

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Marijuana addiction specialist Dr. Christian Thurstone conjured images like the one seen here when, earlier this week, he shared what he sees as evidence of weed users searching for bigger and bigger highs -- and added his fear that such people may soon turn to injecting THC, the active ingredient in pot.

 

Dr. Bob Melamede, among the country's most vocal advocates for the medicinal benefits of cannabis, pulls no punches when asked his opinion about such a prospect. "This is nonsense," he says. "It's idiotic."

 

Thurstone is an extremely prominent figure locally and nationally on the subject of opposition to marijuana regulation and legalization. The medical director of a Denver Health program called Substance Abuse Treatment, Education and Prevention (STEP), he was also a member of the Amendment 64 Task Force, and he remains a primary figure in Project SAM, an organization spearheaded by former Congressman Patrick Kennedy that backs a public-health approach to pot.

 

Read more: http://blogs.westword.com