Tagged With: marijuana
Federal Medical Marijuana Protections Temporarily Extended, Again
After a brief government shutdown, congressional leadership voted to enact a six-week continuing resolution that maintains present federal spending levels and priorities through March 23, 2018. The resolution extends medical cannabis patient protections imposed by the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment until that date. The amendment, which has been in place since 2014, maintains that federal funds cannot be used to prevent … Continue reading
Seattle To Vacate Criminal Convictions For Former Marijuana Offenders
Following in the footsteps of San Francisco, Seattle city officials announced today that they will be vacating the criminal convictions of former marijuana offenders. Seattle’s mayor and city attorney plan to ask the courts to vacate all misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions that were prosecuted before the plant was legalized in Washington state in 2012. Between … Continue reading
House Judiciary Democrats Call For Marijuana Hearing
Earlier today in Washington, DC, Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to committee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), requesting a hearing on the recent revocation of the Cole Memo by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Cole Memo, was a Justice Department memorandum, authored by former US Deputy Attorney General James Cole in … Continue reading
Thousands Of Californians To Have Their Marijuana Convictions Dismissed
San Francisco city officials announced plans yesterday to begin reviewing and automatically expunging thousands of past marijuana possession convictions. The District Attorney’s office says that it will review, dismiss, and seal an estimated 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. The office also intends to review and resentence many past felony convictions. Provisions in … Continue reading
Maine: Marijuana Moratorium Measure Expires
Emergency legislation enacted in January 2017 to delay the implementation of several provisions of Question 1: The Marijuana Legalization Act expired today. Proposed legislation in Maine’s House of Representatives to extend the moratorium until May 1, 2018 failed by a vote of 81 to 65. Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who opposed Question 1, had demanded … Continue reading
Study: Marijuana Smoke Exposure Not Linked To Poor Lung Health
Long-term exposure to cannabis smoke is not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function, according to clinical data published in the journal Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases. A team of investigators led by researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health assessed the relationship between marijuana use and respiratory function and symptoms in a cohort of … Continue reading
Arguably The Individual Most Responsible For The Rise Of The Medical Marijuana Movement In California, And Eventually Nationwide, Passed Away This Weekend
The individual most responsible for the medical marijuana movement in CA, and eventually in more than 30 states across this country, was San Francisco gay rights and marijuana advocate Dennis Peron, who died this past weekend from lung cancer at age 71. Peron was drafted and sent to Vietnam in 1966, where he first discovered … Continue reading
54 Senators And Representatives To President Trump: Don’t Let Sessions Break Your Marijuana Promise
On Wednesday, January 24th, fifty-four members of Congress representing both political parties sent a letter to President Trump denouncing the recent rescinding of the Cole Memo by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Led by Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Senate side and Representative Jared Polis in the House, the signers stated: “These new policies have helped eliminate the … Continue reading
NORML Activists Take Marijuana Reform Fight to Harrisburg
On Tuesday, January 24th, activists from a wide array of Pennsylvania NORML affiliates, allied groups, and state lawmakers took the fight for marijuana law reform to the state capitol building in Harrisburg. The event co-sponsored by local NORML chapters, the ACLU-PA, and the Keystone Cannabis Coalition. Activists were joined by State Auditor General Eugene Depasquale … Continue reading
Vermont Becomes the Ninth State to Legalize Adult Marijuana Possession and Personal Cultivation
Republican Gov. Phil Scott has signed legislation (H. 511) into law legalizing the use and cultivation of marijuana by adults. Vermont is the ninth state to statutorily permit adults to possess marijuana for personal use, and it is the first state to enact these reforms via legislative action rather than by the passage of a … Continue reading
