State News

The American Medical Association voted last Tuesday to keep their official position on marijuana. “Cannabis is a dangerous drug and as such is a public health concern.” A delegation from California had proposed an amendment to AMA policy to reflect a “neutral stance toward cannabis legalization.” The proposal was defeated, as well as a second one calling for the advocacy ...

The announcement was clear, and it brought joy to the hearts of medical marijuana supporters and tokers everywhere: The federal government would no longer interfere with states that legalize marijuana and would no longer go after cannabis businesses that follow state law. Yet some high-ranking government officials responsible for enforcing this new policy don’t seem willing to acknowledge it. Case ...

Our friends at NORML are doing a special event tomorrow, Saturday, November 16th. Well, more specifically the NORML Women’s Alliance is running things. They’re throwing the 1st California Women’s Cannabis Conference, an all day event in Wilton, CA. Currently the NORML Women’s website lists a tentative speaker list as: Keynote: DeeDee Kirkwood – Creator of “Toke” the play and movie ...

Sam Hurd, a former NFL wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison. Hurd’s troubles began in 2011 when he was arrested after buying cocaine from an undercover officer. Hurd reportedly told the officer he was part of a major drug ring that would be buying and distributing in large amounts in ...

The Obama administration has promised not to interfere with state and local regulation of legal marijuana. Now officials in the Bay Area are asking the president to make good on his word. In early November the Alameda County supervisors adopted a resolution that asks federal law enforcement to stop harassing lawful dispensaries in the county. The resolution recognizes the benefits ...

It’s a sight most people are familiar with: a motorist on the side of the road, blowing into a breathalyzer to prove he or she is – or isn’t – intoxicated. Even if you haven’t seen a driver put through these paces in real life, you’ve definitely seen it on TV. Now get ready for a new roadside reality: breathalyzers for ...

Lt. Gov. Newsom on why he wants to see medical marijuana legalized.  

17 years ago California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, though there were many warnings of negative consequences. A rise in drug use. A rise in crime. Disorder. Chaos. These were the warnings given about legalization. But nearly two decades later there are no real problems from legalization in California. To the contrary, actually. With MMJ so readily ...

Maybe California got it right after all. Seventeen years after the Golden State became the first in the union to experiment with medical weed, a review by The New York Times finds the results have been better than even many advocates may realize. None of the dire warnings sounded in 1996, when medical marijuana became legal in California, has come ...

In a sign of at least temporary relief for property owners who rent to pot dispensaries, federal prosecutors in California have dropped several lawsuits that sought to seize landlords’ property because they did business with pot providers. “This is an important step in the civil rights battle being fought by seriously ill Californians who have been recommended medical marijuana by ...