In California and Colorado, entrepreneurs are eyeing the secure walls of two closed prisons as a perfect place to grow medical marijuana. About 150 state prisons like this one closed after the recession, the result of declining prison populations and consolidations meant to save on operating costs. Many of the properties have sat vacant for…
Cannabis prohibition is a threat to public safety, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) – a bipartisan group that brings together lawmakers from across the country to coordinate lobbying campaigns. “[T]he National Conference of State Legislatures believes that the Controlled Substances Act should be amended to remove cannabis from scheduling,” the…
When Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled… that consuming marijuana was constitutionally legal, it left the world shocked and somewhat confused … In a 4-1 vote … in Mexico City, the five-justice panel declared the personal recreational use of marijuana legal under the right of “free development of personality. In the same paragraph, however, the Court cautioned…
Thousands marched to demand her release. The protests soon galvanised a longstanding demand for the full legalisation of recreational cannabis. “The media coverage was crazy. Legislators started bringing legal marijuana draft bills for me to look at in prison,” Castilla, now 72, recalls. Castilla realised she had become a national celebrity when her fellow inmates…
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to a budget bill on Thursday to protect medical marijuana programs from federal interference in states that have legalized the drug for medical use. The amendment to the 2018 Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill passed by a voice vote and prohibits the Justice Department from using…
Cannabis churches have emerged around the country. Courts have not granted such organizations protection under the First Amendment to violate drug laws, though the Supreme Court in 2006 found religious use of ayahuasca is allowed under religious-freedom legislation passed by Congress to allow American Indians to use peyote. Armstrong believes a case her organization has…
Employers in Massachusetts now have to provide “reasonable accommodation” for workers who use medical marijuana to treat an illness when not on the job, according to the latest ruling from the state’s Supreme Judicial Court. The court ruled in favor of Cristina Barbuto, who was hired in an entry-level position at Advantage Sales & Marketing…
New Hampshire just took another step in ensuring its state motto — “live free or die” — is true for marijuana. There’s a difference between legalization and decriminalization: Legalization removes all penalties for marijuana possession below a certain threshold (usually a few ounces of pot), and it typically — although not in Washington, DC —…
“This study can conclude that medical cannabis patients report successfully using cannabis along with or as a substitute for opioid-based pain medication,” the team reported in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. Out of the 2,810 participants who were currently using cannabis, 828 had used opioids in the last six months to manage their pain.…
“Open dispensaries provide over $30,000 per year in social benefit in terms of larcenies prevented,” authors concluded. Researchers identified an immediate increase in criminal activity – particularly property crime, larceny, and auto break ins – in the areas where dispensary operations were forced to close as compared to crime rates in those neighborhoods where marijuana…
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