Donald Trump vs. marijuana: Here’s who will win

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By now, many have seen the headlines: "White House Spokesman Predicts More Federal Action Against Marijuana" (NPR), "White House: Feds will step up marijuana law enforcement" (CNN), "Marijuana entrepreneurs try to stay calm after Spicer comments on weed" (CNBC). It is hard to believe a minute and a half out of an hour-long press briefing could cause so much commotion.

Washington State Officials Vow to Fight Any Federal Crackdown

Officials in Washington state, where adult-use cannabis is legal, vow to fight any federal crackdown on the nascent industry after White House spokesman Sean Spicer said they should expect to see stepped-up enforcement of anti-cannabis laws.

Is GOP Leadership Out of Touch With Voters on Cannabis?

A new poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University has revealed some remarkable trends in support for cannabis legalization. One of the most pertinent takeaways, coming the same day that the White House vowed “greater enforcement” against legal states: A majority of voters, both Republican and Democrat, oppose the government interfering with state-legal cannabis operations.

Lawmakers Have Been Chosen to Rewrite Massachusetts’ Marijuana Laws

Since voters in Massachusetts chose to legalize cannabis for adult use and commercial sale in November, lawmakers have been unable to leave the law be the way voters approved it. They have been in the process of trying to pass bills since the legislative session for 2017 began – but now there have been two specific lawmakers appointed to rewrite the marijuana laws for the state.

Breaking: White House Plans ‘Greater Enforcement’ Against Legal Cannabis

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sent a jolt through the cannabis world on Thursday, suggesting at a media briefing that the Trump administration could take actions to crack down on state-legal cannabis programs.

Canadian Dispensaries: Why Vancouver Allows Them but Toronto Doesn’t

Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Local and international retailers line the 1000-block Robson Street in the West End neighbourhood. (iStock)

Rick Vrecic was working behind the counter at his medical marijuana dispensary in Toronto one day last week when he looked up and saw three men breaking into the building. He thought he was being robbed. But when a group of uniformed police officers burst into the dispensary seconds later, he realized it was a raid.

Texas Has a Medical Cannabis ‘Prescription’ Problem

This coming Thursday, February 23, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will start accepting applications from companies to grow and process cannabis under Texas’s new Compassionate Use Program, which regulates the production and sale of low-THC, high-CBD medical cannabis. The agency is scheduled to conditionally approve at least three dispensaries by May. But because of a quirk in the bill’s language, medical marijuana advocates worry that there may not be any patients to purchase the dispensaries’ products.

Why Yoga and Hemp Make a Great Pair

Image Courtesy of Jennifer Jennette

Clothing Designer Jennifer Jennette Speaks Out On Hemp

Jennifer Jennette has the perfect career. As a yoga practitioner and instructor for over 13 years, Jennette decided to start a line of designer clothes that complemented yoga and natural living. The daughter of a scientist, master gardener and artist, Jennette knows better than anyone how important the earth is to maintaining health and happiness. After considerable research, she found the perfect mate to yoga – natural, breathable clothes made out of nature’s finest fabric, hemp. Her company is called Surya Leela Designs.

Medical Marijuana: An Industry Blooms -- Why all the names?

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You’re probably curious as to what exactly “medical marijuana” is and what the difference is between the latter and what most people commonly refer to as “pot,” “Mary Jane” or “weed,” which are just a few of the creative names. In the medical marijuana business, we prefer to call it “cannabis.” So, what gives? Where did all these names come from?

The OHA Provides New Guidelines for Doctors Recommending Medical Marijuana

The Oregon Health Authority oversees the medical marijuana industry in the state, and they have just released new patient care guidelines for those physicians who choose to recommend medical marijuana. Previously, all that was required was that the physician had diagnosed the patient with one of the qualifying debilitating conditions and provided them with a recommendation for medical cannabis as their form of treatment. New guidelines suggest that physicians conduct a full medical history of their patients, as well as a full physical when recommending cannabis therapy.

Medical marijuana has gone corporate

Once-once bags of medical marijuana for sale at the Berkeley Patents Group in Berkely, California.

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A new fund could be lighting up in investor portfolios soon.

In what would be a first for the exchange-traded fund industry, a marijuana-based ETF could soon begin trading. The ETF Managers Trust on Thursday filed paperwork with regulators, referring to the fund as Emerging AgroSphere ETF.

Germs, mold found in some medical marijuana

A new study raises concern about the use of medical marijuana in immune-suppressed patients. (Getty Images)

Medical marijuana carries infectious bacteria and fungi that can pose a life-threatening risk to cancer patients who use pot to help with side effects of chemotherapy, a new study suggests.

New Zealand Loosens Medical Marijuana Restrictions

Access to cannabis medicine just got a little easier for New Zealanders, as the head of the health ministry handed over the duty of signing off on each medical marijuana request to the Ministry of Health.

Trump and Sessions Seem Focused on Cartels, Not Cannabis

President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have yet to directly address the issue of cannabis legalization and the state-federal schism, which has led to all kinds of rumors flying about.

DEA Drops Inaccurate Cannabis Claims From Website

In a remarkable about-face, the US Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday removed inaccurate information about the purported dangers of cannabis from the agency’s website.

EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Marijuana Advocate Allen St. Pierre on Sessions Confirmation

On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress voted to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions to the head of the Department of Justice. The Alabama Republican was a very controversial pick by President Donald Trump, as lawmakers and the public accused the politician of racism, sexism, and bigotry

The Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2017 Has Been Introduced

About a week ago, a handful of lawmakers who call themselves the “Congressional Cannabis Caucus” announced that they intend to introduce legislation that would help protect the cannabis industry from a Department of Justice run by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Their announcement was just prior to his confirmation – but they believe that his being Attorney General could actually help push some lawmakers into feeling the same urgency to pass such legislation.

Medical marijuana facility planned in York: VIDEO

Pennsylvania's new medical marijuana has many restrictions for users. Sean Heisey, York Daily Record

Lawmakers Look to Protect the Cannabis Industry from Jeff Sessions

or quite some time now those who work in the cannabis industry, or who have helped shape it – and even those who rely on it for the only medicine that provides them relief – have been in fear of what could happen if Trump’s Attorney General nominee, Jeff Sessions, is confirmed. Sessions is known for being an extreme prohibitionist, who still believes the tales of reefer madness. Since he was nominated for the position there have been multiple cases of activists protesting and organizations like NORML and countless volunteers calling their senators to prevent his confirmation.

Medical Marijuana Bill to be Introduced in Oklahoma

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Last year a grassroots campaign of activists worked hard for many months in order to try and put a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot for last November’s election. Their efforts were successful, but just a little too late – while their ballot initiative was approved, voters will not actually get a chance to say yes or no to State Question 788 until the next election in November of 2018.

Cannabis Drug Could Extend Lives of Brain Cancer Patients, Study Finds

UK drugmaker GW Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday it has achieved positive results in the second phase of a clinical study on Glioma, a cannabinoid-based therapy aimed at treating an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Where Are the Medical Marijuana Doctors in Florida? Leafy Mapped Them.

Medical marijuana in Florida is in a state of flux. The state’s voters overwhelmingly approved–by more than 70 percent–Amendment 2, the medical marijuana measure, in November 2016. But it will be many months before the full system of patient registration, growing licenses, and dispensaries is in place.
Here’s what’s legal as of early 2017.

Colorado Report Could Put an End to Prohibitionist Arguments

There are a few different go-to arguments that prohibitionists constantly fall back on when they are arguing against marijuana legalization. While we try to argue for the benefits of things that help everyone – like the creation of jobs, more revenue for schools and the state, plus a safer and regulated market – prohibitionists will shoot back with the risk to children, the potential of increased teen use because we’ve normalized it, and they use statistics that are portrayed in a light that makes them appear worse than they are to support these arguments.

Cannabis and Epilepsy Treatment

Since medicinal cannabis has become a more commonplace alternative for a well-established list of ailments, patients are finding a place for it next to their Advil and Tums. But unlike many other chronic illnesses that can be managed with over-the-counter supplements, epilepsy requires a specific cocktail of chemicals not readily available at the local corner store.

Is This ‘DA Group’ Really Advising Trump on Cannabis?

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Headlines out of Colorado this week made many cannabis industry leaders and advocates do a double-take. “Boulder County District Attorney Named to Trump Marijuana Advisory Group,” announced Denver’s Fox 31 news site. The Denver Post and Boulder Daily Camera also referenced a “group that will advise Trump” on cannabis policy. “National DA Group Mobilizes to advise Trump on Pot Policy” read another headline.

Why Does Cannabis Slow Down Our Time Perception?

“One of the most commonly reported effects of cannabis by users is to distort the perception of time,” says Zerrin Atakan, a London-based psychiatrist who surveyed all known studies of cannabis and time distortion in 2012. “Our review of papers on the topic showed that 70% of studies found that users experienced over-estimation of time. In other words, users felt using cannabis made them feel as if the time was longer than the actual time.”