Marijuana Connections

Yesterday, I wrote about the results of six statewide marijuana initiatives, including the historic news that Washington and Colorado’s voters made marijuana legal under state law . But those statewide victories weren’t the only defeats our country’s failed marijuana policies were dealt on Election Day. I have more good news to share. In Michigan, voters overwhelmingly approved all four citywide measures to stop arresting marijuana users. Grand Rapids voters replaced possible jail time for simple possession of marijuana with a fine. In Detroit and Flint, voters removed local criminal penalties for marijuana possession. In Ypsilanti, marijuana possession will now be the lowest law enforcement priority. While in Massachusetts voters were legalizing medical marijuana statewide, voters in six state legislative districts representing 45 towns and cities approved Public Policy Questions calling for even broader reform. Two of the measures called for Congress to repeal federal marijuana...

The debate over whether marijuana is medicinally beneficial is not new. In November, Colorado voters will decide whether the legal right to use marijuana should be extended beyond medical patients, as is the limitations set by current laws, to be freely used by those who simply enjoy it as for recreational high. Many feel that Amendment 64 – which would put marijuana on a legal playing field with alcohol – to be a dishonor to those who require the plant for debilitating conditions. “We still have a lot of work to do just within medical marijuana,” said James Laws, assistant manager of Good Chemistry, an MMJ dispensary on Colfax Avenue. “So I think that maybe 64 is just too much too soon.” Laws moved to Colorado from Nashville in 2010, following the suggestion of a hometown friend who had a career as a cannabis cultivator. After enduring a long struggle in Nashville to get his partner access to medicinal cannabis – as treatment for his terminal bout with AIDS – Laws has first-han...

Marijuana Legalization Quotes In the past decade marijuana legalization in the has become a reality in many U.S. states.  For pro marijuana advocates that have been pushing for marijuana legalization in the United States for some time, the decision of several U.S. state governments to pass laws legalizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes has been a long yet fruitful road.  Along the way, there has been no shortage of inspirational marijuana legalization quotes from pro marijuana activists and supporters of the movement to legalize marijuana. Quotes on Legalizing Marijuana The anti-marijuana campaign is a cancerous tissue of lies, undermining law enforcement, depriving the sick of needed help, and suckering well-intentioned conservatives and countless frightened parents. ~ William F. Buckley, 1983 Dope will be legalized in a few years.  Even the lawyers are smoking it. ~ Lenny Bruce Marijuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing ~ Ha...

MMJ Workers Turn To Colorado Unions The U.S. Justice Department has recently warned marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in Colorado and other states with medical marijuana laws that they could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws. In response, medical marijuana in Colorado workers are turning to the union for support and believe if the members come together, they can come up with collective bargaining agreements proving medical marijuana is an essential part of the retail health care, agriculture and food processing industries. So far actions taken by the labor union have helped foster encouragement among dispensary owners and employees working in the MMJ industry.  Two months ago the union formed a Medical Cannabis and Hemp Workers Division, which has already grown to over 2,000 members in Colorado and California.   For Colorado residents, some medical marijuana experts are saying that this warning from the U.S. Justice ...

Potential of Marijuana Legalization on 2012 Ballot in Colorado According to CNN, Colorado would gain an additional $17.6 million in tax revenue if they made it completely legal to sell, grow and consume medical marijuana. Currently, it is legal in Colorado to use medical marijuana if you have a good reason and a prescription from the doctor. What about all the people who are using marijuana but don’t necessarily have these conditions. Well, technically speaking, given current laws governing the use marijuana in Colorado, these people are committing a crime because it is illegal in every U.S. state to purchase, buy, sell and use medical marijuana. Therefore, so many illegal activities are constantly taking place because people are still consuming marijuana without the government knowing it. It is actually a good thing if medical marijuana is legalized, and Colorado seems to be on the forefront of this thinking. In most states, medical marijuana is still ille...

According to Denver CBS Channel 4, beginning July 1st, medical marijuana caregivers are required to register with the state and let the authorities know exactly where they are growing the plants.  This means that even those who are growing the marijuana for medical reasons for less than 5 patients will have to let the state authorities know their grow sites and which strands of marijuana they are growing. Now the smaller growers are going through similar regulations as the bigger dispensaries. Many Colorado marijuana growers have been growing in the area for years—it is important they recognize all of the rules and regulations that have been changed. It’s even important for their patients to understanding what their providers should be doing to abide by the rules. If caregivers, dispensaries or patients fall to abide by the laws in place, it might mean fines or other prosecution set by the Colorado state government. It is recommended that all Colorado MMJ patients and ...

Trading Cannabis Stocks To date 16 of 50 US States have decriminalized the use marijuana for medicinal purposes.  As more and more US states decriminalize the use of medical marijuana (MMJ) and other cannabis products, the marijuana industry is emerging from the shadows and it's emerging with force.  This blossoming industry has quickly turned cannabis into America's number one cash crop.   California and Colorado are often considered the capitals of medical marijuana in the United States.  Colorado medical marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks nearly two-to-one. Medical marijuana has created a thriving new industry in Colorado, California and over a dozen other US States.  The legal marijuana industry becomes increasingly regulated and taxed by State governments, adding to the perceived legitimization of the medical marijuana industry.  Confirming the industries legitimacy and integral role of MMJ in the United States economy, seve...

The Criminalization of Marijuana in America Where did America go wrong with our policies regarding the use of marijuana? What driving forces are responsible for the stigmatization surrounding and policies forbidding the use of an herb that grows naturally from the earth's soil and can be utilized in so many ways that are beneficial to our health, our economy and, in turn, our society and the very world we reside in? The Bill that Banned Marijuana Surprisingly the origins are not as difficult as one might think to trace back. The first blow came with the 1937 Marijuana Act pushed forward by Harry J. Anslinger, the first ever to fill the position of Commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics. At the time that he 1937 Marijuana Bill was passed, Anslinger was in office for seven years. However the exact details leading up to the bill that banned marijuana in 1937 become quite complex and, as many living today can testify, the conseq...