America’s war on drugs got a lot more interesting Tuesday night as Colorado and Washington each voted to legalize marijuana use and possession by adults. Marijuana advocates promptly called the two measures “the beginning of the end” of marijuana prohibition in the United States.
A study of medical marijuana users in California, conducted by The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, has found that medical marijuana users are in some ways just as stereotype would suggest: young men using marijuana for pain relief. In other ways, however, the study reached some startling conclusions, namely that medical marijuana users are less likely to use alcohol, cocaine or prescription drugs than the population as a whole.
The American Independent has long reported on inconsistencies in federal acknowledgment of marijuana’s medical benefits. These came to a head in March, when an update to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) treatment database went into detail about the treatment potential of marijuana as prescribed for cancer patients.
Do states with legalized medical marijuana see an increase in employment related injuries or illnesses? You could probably argue the point either way, but what do the statistics show?
Criminal justice journalist Clarence Walker reports that the DEA and FBI are together putting pressure on banks in northern California to report any suspicious activity pertaining to the sale of marijuana. Rather than get involved in messy federal investigations, many banks have opted to simply close the accounts of medical marijuana dispensaries.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told The Colorado Independent this morning that Colorado seems to be approaching the issue of marijuana-related driver impairment appropriately.
This past weekend, more than 2000 businesses in Colorado’s medical marijuana industry submitted applications for licenses to operate. The applications were due Sunday and they required applicants to include payments for state fees. Those payments amounted to more than $7 million.
DENVER– Inside the capitol Tuesday the House worked over changes to a bill that would regulate the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry. Outside the capitol, thousands of annual 4/20 Pot Day revelers rallied to free the weed from legal constraints altogether.
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