BOSTON — Medical marijuana advocates are bristling at a report that suggests pot dispensaries will contribute to the deadly opioid crisis.

A report by the Massachusetts Health Council released last week recommends ways to fight opioid abuse including enforcement of a prescription monitoring program; releasing updated, community-level data on fatal and non-fatal overdoses; and expanding treatment options.

More than 1,000 people died from opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts last year, according to state health officials.

But the report also calls for tightened rules on medical marijuana dispensaries and a ban on edible cannabis products. It suggests that pot dispensaries, similar to pain clinics that dole out addictive drugs, will contribute to the epidemic.

It's not surprising that many African Americans are leery about cashing in on the legal cannabis industry. Numerous reports show that the black community continues to pay a high price for it in the criminal justice system even where marijuana is legal.

LANSING, MI (AP) – Organizers of a marijuana legalization drive in Michigan are poised to clear a procedural step.

The Michigan Cannabis Coalition is expected to receive word from state election officials Tuesday on whether the form of its petition is OK.

The initiated legislation would require 252,000 valid voter signatures before going to the Republican-led Legislature. If lawmakers rejected the bill or took no action, it would receive a statewide vote in November 2016.

The initiative is being supported by anonymous people from the agricultural, real estate, insurance and education sectors. The group says Michigan could add jobs and tax revenue by legalizing and regulating marijuana for recreational purposes.

Then came the suicides. Brandon Murphree had just graduated from the only highschool in town, earning a full-ride scholarship to Jacksonville State University, right up the road. Murphree was handsome and popular. College was going to be a party.

But the party started early, then went sour. A few weeks after Murphree graduated, his parents started finding empty packets of Spice, or synthetic marijuana, scattered around the house. At the same time, their son began acting erratically. Normally happy and polite, he was suddenly sullen and rude. But the bizarre mood swings were only the beginning of the Murphrees’ midsummer nightmare.

Officers in South Yorkshire Police have recorded 56 per cent of suspected drug drivers as testing positive, while Scotland Yard has a hit rate of 45 per cent.

By comparison, just 5 per cent of those stopped for suspected drink-driving last year failed the breathalyser test. 

 

 

+2

As New York nears awarding licenses to the companies who will grow and distribute the medical marijuana, critics are concerned the system won't be in place by the state's expected Jan. 1 target.

ALBANY - The 10-year-old girl stood smiling at the governor's side as he signed a medical marijuana bill into law last July.

Amanda Houser was so excited for the event, her mother said, her health problems -- a rare form of epilepsy -- were nearly forgotten for the day. And the photo from the New York City event of Amanda bashfully holding her cheeks next to Gov. Andrew Cuomo is one of the more memorable images from his time in office.

IT is a decision which prompted an outcry by writers, musicians, poets and DJs and has caused thousands to sign a petition in protest.

Now drug and health experts have warned the move to effectively close Glasgow's much loved Arches venue - by suspending its late night licence and thereby closing its nightclub activities - risks taking the tackling of drugs "back to the 1980s", with venues now more likely to turn a blind eye to the issue in case they get shut down too.

A downturn in the resources industry has prompted a growing number of struggling Australian miners to switch their focus to the booming medicinal marijuana market in a bid to stimulate investor interest.

At least three resources companies are aiming to raise money on the Australian Securities Exchange in the coming weeks, swapping mechanical diggers for hemp growhouses.

The moves follow the flotation of Phytotech Medical, a Perth-based company which raised A$4m in January to become Australia’s first listed marijuana stock.

“The resources sector generally, but in particular at the micro-cap end, is finding it difficult to find support from the capital markets,” said Peter Tasker, director of International Goldfields.

Over the last two decades marijuana has practically been an unstoppable force.

Since 1995, 23 states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, while four states (along with Washington D.C.) have legalized all aspects of marijuana, including its recreational use for adults. Even in states where marijuana failed to gain approval initially, such as Oregon, the proverbial scales were tipped in favor of supporters just a few short years later.

Tens of thousands of Texans with a loved one suffering from epilepsy are now waiting to see what Governor Abbott will do. The legislature has sent to his desk a bill that would permit the medical use of marijuana oils to treat intractable epilepsy. The question is, will he sign it or veto it?