Medical Marijuana

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reportedly arrested seven medical marijuana delivery providers last week, after a sting, in which officers placed orders and lured the drivers to a golf course in Santee, California.

How The Sting Was Set Up

Dan Shook, who manages the MMJ delivery services, San Diego Organics and San Diego Native, said that several other operators received orders over a span of several hours on October 12.

All of the requests for cannabis were accompanied by a digital copy of a medical marijuana recommendation signed by a physician licensed by the State of California. A verification service was used to confirm the recommendation as valid, and photos of a California driver’s license in the same name as the patient were also provided with the orders.

Read More:https://hightimes.com/news/7-arrested-san-diego-medical-marijuana-delivery-sting/

New research published in the American Journal of Public Health says legal cannabis is saving lives in Colorado. How exactly is weed saving lives in the state? Since marijuana legalization, Colorado has seen a decrease in the number of opioid-related deaths. Monthly opioid deaths in Colorado were on a steady rise until legalization in 2014.

Recreational Cannabis Impacts Opioid Mortality Rate

Researchers examined the association between Colorado’s legalization of recreational cannabis use and opioid-related mortality.

Using data from the years 2000-2015, the authors of the study found a decrease in opioid-related deaths in the two years following Colorado’s legalization.

“After Colorado’s legalization of recreational cannabis sale and use, opioid-related deaths decreased more than 6 percent in the following 2 years,” wrote authors Melvin D. Livingston, Tracey E. Barnett, Chris Delcher and Alexander C. Wagenaar.

Read More:https://hightimes.com/news/legal-cannabis-saving-lives-colorado/

As Louisiana's medical marijuana program edges closer to kickoff, only two doctors in the state have applied for permission to dispense the drug, raising questions about whether patients struggling with chronic pain and suffering will gain access to the treatment they lobbied so hard to get.

One application for the permit required to offer medical-grade pot to patients has been approved for a Baton Rouge physician, while the other application is under review, according to information provided to The Associated Press by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners in response to a public records request.

The pharmacist who sponsored the state's 2015 and 2016 therapeutic marijuana laws said he's not worried just yet.

Read More:http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/10/only_2_louisiana_doctors_apply.html

The 85 words crammed into a congressional bill at the end of the Obama administration, known then as the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, which prohibits the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana in MMJ-legal states, is under assault with the threat of disappearing.

We can’t allow that happen.

We have until December 8 before Congress may decide to exclude the amendment from its 2018 spending bill.

The prospect that MMJ protections could expire has produced anxiety in the industry, not to mention for the millions who rely on cannabis for medical purposes.

“It is shocking to think that this is at risk,” said Sarah Trumble, of the Third Way, a think tank that advocates easing federal restrictions on cannabis. “This would give the attorney general a blank check to go after medical marijuana. Without it, he might try, but it would be really hard for him.”

As Congress works to finalize the 2018 spending bill, the fate of this crucial legislation protecting medical cannabis hangs in the balance due to differences in House and Senate spending legislation.

Read More:https://hightimes.com/news/shield-protecting-mmj-jeff-sessions-assault/

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — No purses or briefcases allowed. Only transparent trash bags can be used. Randomized routes and delivery times demanded for the product, moved in unmarked vehicles. Constant surveillance expected.

Piecing together a medical marijuana program in a conservative Southern state like Louisiana involves reams of regulations, tightly-controlled growing operations and a slow selection process for the primary players.

Patients eligible for the drug under a law passed more than two years ago remain an estimated eight to 10 months away from having therapeutic marijuana in hand, with growing facilities still to be renovated and dispensing pharmacies still to be chosen.

The facilities will face intense scrutiny — and the whole program faces a legislative review after it gets up and running to determine if it will exist beyond Jan. 1, 2020.

Read More:https://hightimes.com/news/start-slow-louisianas-medical-marijuana-program/

According to reports, Florida will not meet the deadline for medical marijuana licenses. In light of this news, residents are becoming increasingly frustrated. Considering the constant delays and limitations of their state’s medical marijuana program, their feelings are justified.

After months of waiting, officials have announced that new medical marijuana growers will not be receiving their state-issued licenses to cultivate their crop. And therefore, they will not be able to sell it on time. 

MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN FLORIDA

As outlined in an amendment passed earlier this summer, Florida health officials were supposed to distribute 10 medical marijuana licenses by Tuesday, October 3 to growers.

Read More:http://hightimes.com/news/florida-will-not-meet-the-deadline-for-medical-marijuana-licenses/