Marijuana Blog

Susan Sturner suffers from fibromyalgia, Hepatitis C and a host of other ailments. To ease her pain, her doctor recently prescribed her with one thing that will help: medical marijuana. 

 

Sturner drove to Montclair from Lawrence Township for her appointment at Greenleaf Compassion Center on Dec. 20. She later walked out with her first purchase of medical marijuana - with no fear of being arrested. 

 

“I feel like I’m in a dream,” said Sturner. “I’ve waited so long for this and so many people with the Coalition with Medical Marijuana of New Jersey have worked for years ... to get here.” 

 

Sturner is one of the few hundreds of medical marijuana patients going to the newly opened dispensary, which opened on Dec. 6 in Montclair's busy business center. 

 

Last week, Sturner said she spent $260 on a half ounce of marijuana. In addition, she bought a vaporizer, which is very similar in the shape and style of a smokeless cigarette. Sturner said the odorless vaporizer will allow here to smoke her medical marijuana discretely and nearly anywhere.

 

While her ailments have persisted for years, which include arthritis and glaucoma, Sturner said she has never purchased marijuana illegally on the street. And while more potent marijuana could be purchased illegally for less, Sturner said that legally purchasing it will help bring more social acceptance to the issue.  

 

Read more: http://lawrenceville.patch.com

LAMAR, Colo. — Though many of Colorado’s district attorneys have said they will no longer pursue the majority of marijuana possession charges in the wake of Amendment 64, Prowers County Mike Davidson likely won’t be able to turn a blind eye to the man arrested for carrying over 10 pounds of marijuana aboard a bus in eastern Colorado Wednesday.

 

The Lamar Ledger reported that a K9 search of a Greyhoud Bus in Lamar revealed that Denver resident Jason Ramirez, 35, was carrying approximately 11 pounds of marijuana in a pillow 

Though he disputed that the marijuana belonged to him, Ramirez, who was wanted on two outstanding warrants, was taken into custody.

 

According to the Ledger, Ramirez told police he wasn’t even on the bus. Police said the passengers aboard the bus, as well as the bus driver, who was holding a ticket that bared Ramirez’s name, made statements to the contrary.

Ramirez is being charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. His bond has been set at $32,000.

 

Source: http://kdvr.com/

In his Oxford shirts and slacks, Gary still looks like the network engineer he used to be. But his current occupation is far from average. He lives in Maine with his wife, two older children, and nearly three dozen cannabis plants.

 

Gary is one of hundreds of medical-marijuana caregivers registered in his state, legally permitted to cultivate cannabis and sell it to up to five patients. As Massachusetts joins Maine and 16 other states in legalizing medical marijuana, there's much speculation about how our Department of Public Health will regulate dispensaries. But caregiver crops like the one in Gary's basement will be flowering throughout the Commonwealth by DPH's May 1 deadline.

 

Gary asked me not to publish his last name. He says he keeps his business on the DL, partly because of the social stigma tied to growing and selling marijuana, but primarily out of fear of being robbed.

 

"It's completely normal and legal [on a state level], but it's still a dark art," he says. "I still sing in the choir at church," he adds, "but my church doesn't know what I do."

 

Because he can't advertise directly, Gary found his patients through an online network called the Compassionate Caregivers of Maine, a nonprofit organization that helps medical-marijuana patients connect with caregivers. The service plays a crucial role in a state where medical marijuana is legal but dispensaries are limited, a situation Massachusetts medical-marijuana patients will soon find themselves in.

 

That's why last week, the CCM launched the Compassionate Caregivers of Massachusetts website, massmedmarijuana.com, which mirrors the Maine network's online model in anticipation of our medical-marijuana measure going into effect on January 1.

 

Read more: http://thephoenix.com