60 percent of Americans support medical marijuana

KSN
ksn.com
April 23, 2010


WICHITA, Kansas – Supporters of medical marijuana told a house panel it’s a good substitute for pain relief prescriptions on the market now. A new poll from the Associated Press and CNBC shows that it’s a feeling that millions across the U.S. share – marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes.

"The poll suggests that Americans are in favor of marijuana for medicinal purposes,” said Trish Regan with CNBC. “In fact, 60 percent told us that. Also, the majority of Americans, better than 70 percent, tell us that they believe that there's some medicinal benefit to marijuana."

Democratic Representative Gail Finney from Wichita introduced a bill this year that would allow marijuana be used legally for medical purposes.

"There are people that silently use marijuana for their pain and for their comfort and I don't think they should be criminalized for it,” Finney said.Some even say medical marijuana could help solve state budget problems.

That poll showed between $16 billion and $20 billion in new revenue nationwide from taxing marijuana. Right now, 14 states allow it, but that poll shows that it’s still a topic Americans feel strongly about.

“One-third of the country is saying, ‘Yes, we should legalize pot for any reason, recreational, medicinal, you name it,’ and 55 percent of Americans say, ‘We're still not sure,’” Regan said.

Many lawmakers in Kansas are in that camp. Representative Scott Schwab, a Republican from Olathe said it “has no benefit for pain management.”Finney’s bill stalled in committee and is dead for this legislative session.

read entire article here

Pennsylvania Man Busted With Pot Stuck To Forehead

Police in central Pennsylvania say they've nabbed a real pothead.

Reporter: Associated Press
Thursday, October 15, 2009

kake.com

They say an officer spotted 29-year-old Cesar Lopez inside a convenience store with a bag of marijuana stuck to his forehead.

Investigators say Lopez was seen peering inside his baseball cap early Saturday morning in Lebanon, about 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia. When Lopez looked up, the officer noticed a small plastic bag appearing to contain marijuana stuck to his forehead.

Police say the officer peeled the bag off Lopez's forehead and placed him under arrest. He has been charged with drug possession. Police do not know whether Lopez has an attorney.

Authorities say the sweatband of a baseball cap is a frequent hiding place for drugs.

Drug Testing Bill for Welfare Recipients

KSN.com
Mar 24, 2009

Wichita, Kansas - The house passed random drug testing for welfare recipients getting cash assistance Tuesday.

Representative Kasha Kelley, (R) Arkansas City, authored the bill. "This really gives an opportunity for them (drug users) to change," explained Kelley.

If a welfare recipient would test positive for drugs under the proposed law, that person would have to undergo drug treatment or lose their benefits.

Some opponents fear those kicked off cash assistance would become a burden to other welfare agencies.

If the House passes the measure on a final vote, it would move to the Senate for approval.

Drunk driver rams home, exposes pot farm

The Associated Press
March 23, 2009

SAN DIEGO - Authorities said a 63-year-old man suspected of drunken driving crashed his pickup truck into a neighbor's house, leaving a gaping hole and revealing a small marijuana farm inside. San Diego police got a search warrant after the Sunday afternoon crash and confiscated more than 20 pot plants from the house.

Police Sgt. David Jennings said no one was inside the house, and neighbors told officers the residents were gone on a ski trip.

No one was injured in the crash.

I'm sure it was for medicinal purposes.

Whiff Of Change In Medical Marijuana Policy?

Obama: No Prosecuting, Raiding Users
Saturday, February 7, 2009

WASHINGTON -- It's a touchy subject, one the White House isn't directly commenting on, at least not yet.

But there are signs that U.S. policy is about to change when it comes to medical marijuana.

As a candidate, President Barack Obama repeatedly promised a change in federal drug policy in situations where state laws allow use of medical marijuana. He's on record as saying he would not have the Justice Department "prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users."

The new president is unlikely to make any official change in policy before he has a new DEA chief and drug czar in place.

Yet experts believe it's already clear the Obama administration will change the strategy, if not the law, on medical marijuana.

Thirteen states have laws permitting medicinal use of marijuana.

Michigan medical marijuana law now in effect amid questions

Thursday, December 04, 2008 DETROIT(AP)

Medical marijuana became legal in Michigan on Thursday, but smoking a joint could still get a patient arrested because the regulations needed to protect them won't be ready for months.

The law approved by voters in November allows patients with cancer, HIV, AIDS, glaucoma and other diseases to use marijuana to relieve their symptoms on a doctor's recommendation.

Qualifying patients can register with the state and receive ID cards allowing them to legally acquire, possess, grow, transport and use a limited amount _ no more than 2.5 ounces and 12 plants _ of marijuana. They also can designate a primary caregiver to receive similar protection.

But those cards won't be issued until the Department of Community Health introduces guidelines addressing how applications will be handled, what fees will be charged and other issues. The rules must be finalized by April 4.

Until then, anyone possessing marijuana _ even patients who could later qualify for the program _ can be arrested and prosecuted, though the law allows patients to use a medical-justification defense at trial.

"We have this void where this takes effect now, but there are no rules, regulations or guidance for the people who want to use it or the people who enforce the laws," said Jim Valentine, chief of police in Lowell and first vice president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.

Officers in Lowell will arrest marijuana users even if they claim to be patients awaiting cards, Valentine said. He said he'll let the prosecutor decide whether to pursue charges.

A medical-marijuana program nearly identical to Michigan's was implemented without major incident in Rhode Island in 2006, said Charles Alexandre, who oversees the program as chief of health professions regulation in Rhode Island's Department of Health. That state also had a period where the law went into effect before the regulations were in place, and patients simply had to wait until the rules were in order.

"It's been very quiet," Alexandre said.

Michigan is the 13th state to allow medicinal use of marijuana, though the state's law doesn't address how patients can obtain it. It's illegal to sell marijuana, even to registered patients. That's also the case in several other states.

Police in Michigan say they want guidance on the issue, and some experts said the Legislature may have to intervene if that or any other aspect of the program becomes a problem.

Huge Stash of Marijuana Found in Ancient Tomb

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Duuuuuude! The world's oldest stash of marijuana has been found in far western China, according to an article in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

An ancient Caucasian people, probably the Indo-European-speaking Yuezhi whose fair-haired mummies keep turning up in Xinjiang province, seem to have buried one of their shamans with a whopping 789 grams of high-potency pot 2,700 years ago.

That's about 28 ounces of killer green bud, worth perhaps $8,000 at today's street prices, and enough to keep Harold and Kumar happy for a couple of days.

"It was common practice in burials to provide materials needed for the afterlife," lead author Ethan B. Russo, a practicing neurologist and prominent medicinal-marijuana advocate based in Missoula, Mont., tells the Canadian Press. "No hemp or seeds were provided for fabric or food. Rather, cannabis as medicine or for visionary purposes was supplied."

But the researchers couldn't tell if the weed was meant to be smoked or eaten. No pipes, bongs or rolling papers were found in the tomb.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus relates how the Scythians, Iranian-speaking nomads who roamed the steppes to the west of the Yuezhi in the first millennium B.C., liked to throw marijuana onto bonfires to induce trancelike states. It's possible the buried shaman followed similar practices.

• Click here to read the full article in the Journal of Experimental Botany.