NORML Blog, Marijuana Law Reform »

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  Study: Cannabis Smoking Not Associated With Increased Lung Cancer Risk Or Other Serious Pulmonary Complications

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  A forthcoming review to be published in journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society reiterates that the ingestion of cannabis smoke poses nominal pulmonary risks compared to those associated with tobacco smoke. It concludes, "In summary, the accumulated weight of evidence implies far lower risks for pulmonary complications of even regular heavy use of marijuana compared to the grave pulmonary consequences of tobacco."

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  New Hampshire: House and Senate Agree to Compromised Medical Marijuana Measure

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  House and Senate negotiators on Tuesday agreed on a final version of House Bill 573, which allows for a regulated system of medical cannabis distribution in New Hampshire. The amended bill calls for the creation of four state-sanctioned marijuana dispensing facilities to produce and distribute cannabis to state-qualified patients who possess a physician’s recommendation. New Hampshire will become the 19th state to allow for the limited, legal use of medical cannabis and the final New England state to do so.

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  Pro-Legalization State Senator Daylin Leach Looks to Take Advocacy to Washington, DC

  by Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director

  Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach has been an outspoken advocate on the issue of marijuana law reform during his tenure in Harrisburg. Senator Leach made a splash legislatively this year when he introduced Senate Bill 528, which would legalize and regulate the adult use of marijuana in Pennsylvania, the first time such a bill was introduced in the state. Senator Leach was also featured as the keynote speaker at the first ever NORML Mid-Atlantic Conference which was held this March in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You can view video of his remarks [...]

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  Study: Medical Cannabis Laws Have No Measurable Impact On Teen Use Rates

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  Another study has once again affirmed that the enactment of statewide medical cannabis laws is not associated with increased rates of adolescent marijuana consumption. According to data published this week in the American Journal of Public Health, the passage of medical marijuana laws in various states has had no "statistically significant ... effect on the prevalence of either lifetime or 30-day marijuana use" by adolescents residing in those states.

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  Marijuana Legalization Initiative Approved for Signature Gathering in Alaska

  by Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director

  It appears that Alaska is likely to be the next state to have the opportunity to vote on marijuana legalization. This week, the Lt. Governor’s office approved a ballot initiative that aims to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to the laws recently approved in Colorado and Washington. If approved, the initiative would allow adults over the age of 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and provide for the establishment of legal, regulated retail outlets and grow operations. Supporters must now collect 30,169 signatures to [...]

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  Maine: Lawmakers Pass Measure Expanding State’s Medicinal Cannabis Program

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  House and Senate lawmakers last week gave final approval to legislation, LD 1062, to allow patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, inflammatory bowel disease, and other debilitating disorders to be eligible to engage in the therapeutic use of cannabis.

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  Four Marijuana Videos: Some Funny, Some Informative

  by Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director

  There are four new videos worth checking out, two provide comic relief…two provide contrasting views about cannabis prohibition. The same day last week I caught a CNN news piece about high school science students sending and recording an egg with a smiley face launched into space, I received something way cooler: The first earth-grown cannabis launched into space (unless the US and Russian governments have been ferrying cannabis into space all these years…). From our friends at High Times: *Proviso: While ‘space’ cannabis is neat, driving while consuming cannabis is [...]

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  Medical Marijuana Patients In DC: Enroll Now

  by Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director

  After a nearly fifteen year legal and political odyssey–Washington DC voters like me voted at the nearly 69% level for medical access to cannabis in 1998!–the DC city government has finally issued the last of the necessary forms to in effect allow medical cannabis to finally be employed by sick, dying and sense-threatened medical patients. With three medical cannabis dispensaries up and running, the only thing they lack are legally compliant patients. Residents of D.C. that need medical cannabis, who possess a physician’s recommendation, can download the necessary forms here.

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  Colorado: Governor Signs Law Regulating State Hemp Production

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  Governor John Hickenlooper has signed legislation, Senate Bill 241, into law creating a new program within the Department of Agriculture to oversee the regulation of commercial hemp production. Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa that contains only minute (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Senate Bill 241 classifies cannabis possessing no more than three-tenths of one percent THC as an agricultural commodity and establishes a 9-member committee within the state Department of Agriculture to oversee the creation of regulations governing the licensed cultivation of hemp for commercial and research purposes. The Department must adopt regulations for the new program no later than March 1, 2014.

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  Nevada: Governor Signs Cannabis Dispensary Measure Into Law

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

  Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed legislation, Senate Bill 374, authorizing the creation of up to 66 medical marijuana dispensaries. Under the new law, state regulators are tasked with overseeing the creation of licensed establishments to produce, test, and dispense cannabis and cannabis-infused products to authorized patients. Nevada voters enacted legislation in 2000 to allow for physician authorized patients to consume and grow cannabis. However, that law did provide for facilities where authorized patients may obtain medicinal cannabis. Approximately 3,800 Nevadans are presently authorized to grow and/or consume cannabis under state law