Articles in News Nuggets
News Nuggets
COLORADO
The hempire strikes back—Springfield farmer to be first to grow non-psychoactive plant
The nation’s first commercial hemp grower in more than half a century says he plans to start his first batch of crops at a farm in Springfield, The Denver …
News Nuggets
COLORADO
MMJ patient and advocate Damien LaGoy passes away
MMJ advocate—and patient—Damien LaGoy passed away last month, according to Westword. LaGoy succumbed to complications from AIDS on March 23. He was 53.
LaGoy was well known for standing up to medicinal cannabis causes …
News Nuggets
COLORADO
State lawmakers yet again push for cannabis DUI limits
If at first you don’t succeed . . . Colorado lawmakers, once again, are considering a bill that would set limits on driving under the influence of cannabis—an effort state officials have …
News Nuggets
COLORADO
Smart Approaches to Marijuana . . . not so smart?
A Denver-based group—called Smart Approaches to Marijuana—is going about reforming cannabis policy in all the wrong ways, critics say, according to The Boston Globe. The Marijuana Policy Project event called the …
News Nuggets
Colorado
Travel guru Arthur Frommer to Denver: expect “a torrent of new tourism”
Famed travel guru Arthur Frommer blogged about which places will be the “hot” destinations for 2013—among them, Denver, thanks to Amendment 64.
“Though local tourist officials are openly critical of …
News Nuggets
California – Bay Area
Oakland sues feds to keep Harborside open
Attorneys for the city of Oakland have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department to block the federal government’s efforts to shut down model medical marijuana dispensary Harborside Health Center.
The …
News Nuggets
COLORADO
Dispensaries rise, teen cannabis use falls
Teen marijuana use in Colorado dropped by nearly 3 percent from 2009 to 2011—the same period in which the state’s medical cannabis industry was exploding, says a newly released report by the Centers for Disease …
News Nuggets
COLORADO
Colorado court says feds rule on MMJ issue
In a decision that could spell significant grief for the state’s medical marijuana community, a judge has ruled federal anti-cannabis statutes trump Colorado’s compassionate-use law.
The ruling by Arapahoe County District Court Judge Charles …
News Nuggets
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Patients, activists thwart a Santa Monica smoking ban
A proposed city ordinance that would have banned smoking in new apartments and condominiums in Santa Monica was voted down by the City Council after medical cannabis activists warned it would negatively …
News Nuggets
COLORADO
State Supreme Court rejects right to medical pot
Colorado medical cannabis patients have no constitutional right to take their medicine. That’s the bottom line after the state Supreme Court refused to revisit a lower-court ruling against a man whose failed drug …
News Nuggets (Southern California)
Commission to oversee MMJ industry clears a legislative hurdle
The state Assembly recently approved the creation of California’s first commission designed to oversee the medical marijuana industry. Assembly Bill 2312— spearheaded by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco)—must still secure approvals from …
News Nuggets (Washington)
Proposed garden ban riles Kent residents
Dozens of residents and medical cannabis activists jammed Kent City Hall last month to register their anger over a proposed ban on marijuana gardens.
Backyard medical marijuana gardens are legal in Washington under state law, but …
News Nuggets (Bay Area)
Pelosi joins critics of federal crackdown
Patients opposed to the ongoing federal assault on dispensaries have a new ally in Washington: U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi, a Democrat whose 8th Congressional District includes most of San Francisco city and …
News Nuggets (The World)
CBD may ease symptoms of schizophrenia
Cannabidiol, a chemical compound in marijuana commonly known as CBD, may be effective in easing psychotic symptoms in schizophrenics, a study conducted in Germany and the U.S. suggests.
A team of scientists in both countries conducted …
News Nuggets (The Nation)
Medical cannabis freedoms come to Connecticut
Connecticut is poised to become the latest star in the union to remove legal barriers to medical cannabis, following the state’s Senate final approval of a compassionate-use bill and a promise by Gov. Daniel Malloy …
News Nuggets (Colorado)
Driving-while-high bill defeated a third time
Colorado lawmakers have failed a third time to pass a bill that would have set a legal limit to how much THC motorists could have in their systems.
Just hours after the Colorado House of Representatives …
News Nuggets (So Cal)
OC firm unveils cannabis vending machine
Medical marijuana patients may soon be able to purchase their medicine 24/7, courtesy of a new form of vending machine that works similar to an ATM.
Aliso Viejo-based Dispense Labs plans to lease the state-of-the-art machines …
News Nuggets (Washington)
State Supreme Court tosses marijuana conviction
Washington’s highest court has overturned the marijuana conviction of a man who had been arrested and tried in Auburn on charges for which the city had no laws on its books.
Dustin B. Gauntt was arrested …
News Nuggets (Bay Area)
Oaksterdam’s future uncertain following raid
Oaksterdam University, a pillar both of the Bay Area’s medical cannabis community and downtown Oakland’s economic revival, is in upheaval following a raid in early April by federal agents and the departure soon after of the …
News Nuggets (The World)
Spanish village seeks to pay debt with cannabis
The mayor of the tiny Catalonian village of Rasquera has struck upon a novel way to lift his community out of its current debt crisis: growing cannabis.
Like many Spanish cities, Rasquera was hit …
News Nuggets (The Nation)
Nevada Supreme Court to review MMJ law
Nevada’s highest court has taken up an appeal of a district judge’s ruling that the state’s 12-year-old medical marijuana law is so flawed as to be unconstitutional.
The state’s compassionate-use law provides no legal mechanism …
News Nuggets (Colorado)
Colorado Democrats endorse legalization bill
In a further sign that marijuana legalization has become a mainstream issue, the Colorado Democratic Party announced its support for a ballot measure that would lift civil and criminal penalties on possessing and growing small amounts …
News Nuggets (Washington)
Pro-legalization Ron Paul blasts government “busybodies”
Texas congressman Ron Paul—a pro-legalization, anti-prohibition GOP presidential candidate—spoke out last month against government “busybodies” during a rally at the Spokane Convention Center, The Spokesman-Review reports. Paul was the top finisher of 2008’s caucuses in …
News Nuggets (Northern California)
Oakland to get four new collectives
Oakland officials have taken a step towards approving new medical marijuana collectives. Last month, officials issued preliminary approvals to four applicants among a pool of 12 submissions from last September. If all four collectives—Oakland Community …
News Nuggets (Colorado)
Boulder DA to feds: Hands off dispensaries
Declaring that he sees “no legitimate basis” for the federal government to interfere with businesses complying with Colorado law, Boulder’s district attorney has asked the U.S. attorney in the state to call off the …
News Nuggets (The World)
Canada passes draconian crime bill
Acting on a get-tough-on-crime promise from Canada’s hard-Right government, the nation’s parliament passed a sweeping omnibus crime bill that raises mandatory prison sentences for even minor marijuana offenses from a minimum of seven years to 14.
Bill …
News Nuggets (The Nation)
National alliance formed to fight IRS cannabis rule
Leaders from some of the nation’s largest cannabis advocacy groups have formed an alliance to combat the Internal Revenue Service’s use of an obscure tax code to financially cripple medical marijuana businesses.
The alliance …
News Nuggets (Southern California)
Lawyers to dispensaries: Stop the “Linsanity”
Attorneys for New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin have sent letters to dispensaries in Southern California and elsewhere warning them to stop calling a strain of cannabis “Linsanity OG” or face legal action.
The new …
News Nuggets (Washington)
Seattle Mayor Supports Legalization
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn recently announced that he is calling for the legalization of cannabis. During his State of the City address, McGinn made the argument that the illegal status of marijuana heavily contributes to crime and …
News Nuggets (Colorado)
Campaign seeks to make cannabis a presidential issue
Activists for a drug-policy reform group have launched a statewide campaign aimed at making marijuana an issue President Obama and his Republican challengers can’t ignore this election season.
Sensible Colorado unveiled the Patient Voter …
