New Zealand’s government on Tuesday passed a law that will make medical marijuana widely available for thousands of patients over time. The legislation will also allow terminally ill patients to begin smoking illegal pot immediately without facing the possibility of prosecution. The measures come ahead of a planned national referendum on recreational marijuana use. The government […]
Legal Marijuana
Public Banks Could Help Serve Marijuana Industry
NESTLED at the edge of Bismarck, North Dakota, where the city meets the Missouri River, is an inconspicuous brick building that houses a unique institution: The Bank of North Dakota, the only state-owned and state-run bank in the U.S. Born of necessity, the banking model pioneered by North Dakota has since proved profitable – to the tune […]
5 hot new careers created by marijuana legalization
Six years ago recreational marijuana use was illegal in all 50 states — and had been for nearly a century. Following the 2018 midterm elections, anyone over 21 will soon be allowed to legally consume marijuana in 10 states plus the District of Columbia. Overall, 33 states in the past 22 years have passed some […]
New Jersey Legalization Bill Allows Employers To Fire Over Marijuana Use
New Jersey residents eagerly awaiting the chance to use marijuana without fear of arrest will have one more hurdle to pass before they are home free: their employer. The New Jersey bill legalizing recreational marijuana includes an amendment that allows employers to prohibit employees from using drugs, even if it means testing for marijuana. “Even […]
Older Americans Are Flocking to Medical Marijuana
Shari Horne broke her toes a decade ago, and after surgery, “I have plates and pins and screws in my feet, and they get achy at times,” she said. So Ms. Horne, 66, applies a salve containing cannabidiol, derived from the cannabis, or marijuana, plant. It eases the pain. The salve didn’t help when she developed […]
What is Massachusetts planning to do with all that marijuana tax revenue?
In a recent interview, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he hoped the the tax revenue from marijuana in Massachusetts would be worth the “human toll.” Walsh, who opposed the 2016 state ballot measure to legalize the drug for recreational use, later explained that he hoped the money would be devoted toward initiatives that promote public health and safe […]
Medical marijuana in Utah: You can use it, but you can’t buy it
Utah patients can use medical marijuana legally after a compromise agreement was signed into law, but they likely won’t be able to buy it legally until at least 2020, officials said Tuesday. The state will need time to first build up a database to start issuing patients medical-cannabis cards, and then begin granting licenses for […]
Pennsylvania to consider adding anxiety, other conditions for medical marijuana treatment
Pennsylvania could soon make more conditions eligible for medical marijuana treatment. The state Medical Marijuana Advisory Board in November approved a new process for amending and expanding the state’s list of 21 serious conditions for which patients may use cannabis as treatment, Department of Health spokesman Nate Wardle said. In the coming weeks, the board […]
Ohio medical marijuana Patient and Caregiver Registry is open today
Ohio’s medical marijuana Patient and Caregiver Registry went live Monday, as state officials anticipate product will soon be for sale in dispensaries. The registry is for physicians who have state approval to recommend medical marijuana for patients with any of 21 qualifying ailments, such as cancer, Multiple sclerosis or post-traumatic stress disorder. Physicians enter patient or caregiver information […]
Minnesota OKs Medical Marijuana to Treat Alzheimer’s
Minnesota Alzheimer’s disease patients will be eligible to use medical marijuana in their treatment starting next August. State Health Department officials Monday they’ve added Alzheimer’s as qualifying condition to receive medical cannabis. The decision, part of the department’s regular process to review requests for treatment, means patients suffering from the crippling neurological disorder can enroll […]
Michigan To Become First Midwest State To Allow Recreational Marijuana This Week
Michigan clears a threshold this week as the first state in the Midwest to allow marijuana for more than just medical purposes. In the Nov. 6 election, voters by a wide margin endorsed recreational use by adults who are at least 21. The move comes 10 years after voters approved marijuana to alleviate the effects of […]
Alaska credit union to serve marijuana businesses
A credit union will launch a pilot program to begin serving marijuana businesses in Alaska, giving the cash-reliant industry a financial option after banks shunned the industry. Most banks and credit card processors in the U.S. won’t service marijuana businesses because of the federal prohibition on marijuana. Credit Union 1 announced its decision Thursday and […]
Iowa Medical Marijuana Sales Begin Saturday
More Iowans will have an additional option to find relief for their seizures, unbearable pain and other chronic conditions this weekend, marking what some hope is a first step in broader medical marijuana access statewide. Saturday marks the first day products will be made available in Iowa’s expanded cannabidiol program, which is available to Iowans […]
Michigan marijuana dispensaries won’t run out of pot after state offers help
Licensed medical marijuana dispensaries got a break Wednesday, ending a mini-panic over a shortage of marijuana from licensed growers. A new resolution that will be considered by the Medical Marijuana Licensing Board next week will allow licensed dispensaries to continue to purchase, test and sell marijuana from registered caregivers, who have been supplying dispensaries while […]
Patents on pot? U.S. lawsuit puts cannabis claims to the test
In October, the U.S. government issued Axim Biotechnologies Inc a patent for a cannabis-based suppository to treat irritable bowel syndrome. Britain’s GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, which recently brought to market a drug derived from marijuana for epilepsy, is now seeking patent protection for another one to treat eczema. With marijuana now fully legal in Canada and […]
The ‘Green Dimension’: Inside the Lives of California’s Marijuana Trimmers
Tucked into the forests of Mendocino County, accessible by a two-lane road that winds through hills of golden grass abundant with rattlesnakes is the small town of Covelo, where hundreds of seasonal workers converge every year, eager to help harvest the region’s most lucrative cash crop — marijuana. These workers, known as “trimmigrants,” patiently cut […]
Massachusetts marijuana retail shops’ rollout going ‘mostly according to plan,’ Gov. Charlie Baker says
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he’s satisfied with the rollout of the state’s first recreational marijuana retail stores. “I think it’s gone what I would describe, I guess, as mostly according to plan, which is a good thing,” Baker told MassLive. Two stores, Cultivate in Leicester and New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Northampton, opened […]
Marijuana delivery draws gig workers with steady pay, more zen customers
Jennifer Rodriguez works two jobs to afford living in the Bay Area. After dropping off her three children at school, she spends most mornings shuttling Uber passengers. Then the Hayward mother starts a shift delivering marijuana. Unlike her Uber work, where she’s considered an independent contractor and has to pay all of her own costs, […]
