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  A Founder Looks at 50: Tom Forcade, Michael J. Kennedy and High Times Magazine

  by Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel
  

  High Times founder Tom Forcade and Legal Counsel Michael J. Kennedy assured the magazine remained a major NORML financial supporter, until it was recently sold to corporate greedheads!

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  Scientific Review Concludes That Cannabis Consumers Are at No Greater Risk of Occupational Injuries

  by NORML
  

  “Suspicionless marijuana testing never has been an evidence-based policy. Rather, these discriminatory practices are a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s ‘war on drugs.’ But times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality.”

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  Louisiana: Senate Passes Amended Bill Permitting Doctors to Recommend Medical Cannabis for “Any Condition”

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
  

  The proposed measure expands the discretion of physicians so that they can recommend cannabis therapy for “any condition” that he or she “considers debilitating to an individual patient and is qualified through his [or her] medical education and training to treat.”

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  Clinical Trial: Cannabinoid Administration Via a Metered-Dose Inhaler Is Safe and Effective for Chronic Pain Patients

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
  

  “This feasibility trial demonstrated that a metered-dose cannabis inhaler delivered precise and low THC doses [that] produced a dose-dependent and safe analgesic effect in patients with neuropathic pain/complex-regional pain syndrome."

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  Oklahoma: Governor Vetoes Measure Expanding Medical Cannabis Access, Reducing Possession Penalties

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
  

  In his veto message, the Governor wrote: "The language in the bill makes substantial policy changes to the medical marijuana program that were not fully scrutinized through normal legislative procedures before the bill was received by my office in the middle of the night Saturday. While there is much room for improvement in the way our state’s program operates, this bill does not address those items in a way I can support.”

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  A Founder Looks at 50: The Crucial Early Support from Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Foundation

  by Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel
  

  Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Foundation ended up providing NORML's initial funding in early 1971 and subsequently became our primary funder throughout the 1970s.

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  Virginia: Marijuana Decriminalization Takes Effect July 1

  by Jenn Michelle Pedini, NORML Development Director
  

  Democratic Governor Ralph Northam officially signed legislation today decriminalizing marijuana possession. The new law takes effect July 1, 2020 and reduces penalties for offenses involving the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana to a civil violation – punishable by a maximum $25 fine, no arrest, and no criminal record.

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  Study: Adult-Use Legalization Associated with Decline in Youth Treatment Admissions

  by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
  

  "To our knowledge, this is the first study examining the effect of recreational legalization of marijuana in the US on adolescent treatment admissions for marijuana use. Our results indicate that RML in Colorado and Washington was not associated with an increase in treatment admissions. Rather, we observe a substantial decline in admissions rates across US states."