P. Aiden Hunt

D.C. preps for $130m marijuana industry ahead of voter approval

Residents of Washington, D.C. began early voting on October 25. One of the choices on their ballots is whether to approve Initiative 71. The ballot initiative would legalize marijuana for recreational use. With less than a week left to vote, however, the city isn’t waiting for the results to begin planning the next step.

The D.C. City Council held a hearing Thursday on the taxation and regulation of marijuana in the District. Unlike Colorado and Washington — states that legalized recreational marijuana sales in 2012 — District voters cannot use a ballot initiative to regulate and tax marijuana. Initiative 71 would decriminalize the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana and allow for cultivation of up to six plants, but sale would still be illegal. Regulation and taxation of the industry, valued by District financial officials at $130 million a year, is up to the Council.

“If the referendum passes on Tuesday, which I hope it does, the council will be in the position of having to set up a regulatory framework and taxing it will be part of that framework,” said D.C. Council member Jack Evans, a Democrat, who also oversaw Thursday’s hearing on the bill. [The Washington Times]

“When I introduced the Marijuana Legalization and Regulation Act in September of 2013, none of my colleagues were willing to be co-introducers [sic] or co-sponsors,” Council member David Grasso said at the hearing. Times have changed with council members now supporting marijuana legalization. The 2014 Legalization and Regulation Act proposes a 6 percent sales tax on medical marijuana and a 15 percent sales tax on marijuana “for all other purposes.” That 15 percent would bring in $19.5 million a year.

The $130-million valuation came from the District’s Director of Financial and Legislative Analysis, Yesim Sayin Taylor. He based it on an assumed 122,000 marijuana users buying three ounces of marijuana per year at $350 per ounce. It’s easy to see that possibility with D.C. being the only legal recreational marijuana market East of Colorado. With low application fees of $350 each for producer and retailer licenses, the market would be very open.

The Council has good reason to prepare themselves for Initiative 71’s passage. Public Policy Polling conducted a surveyof D.C. voters between October 20 and 22. A majority of 52 percent said that if the election were help today, they would vote yes. Even if the 13 percent still undecided join the 35 percent against, it would still lead to a 52 percent to 48 percent victory for recreational marijuana.

A separate question asked whether selling less than an ounce of marijuana should be permitted and taxed. With 43 percent in favor and only 12 percent against selling marijuana in any amount, it looks like the marijuana industry is coming to D.C. in a big way.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Will Supreme Court footnote lead to rescheduling marijuana?

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority in the 2005 case of Gonzalez v. Raich. To the dismay of marijuana advocates who see medical marijuana as a state issue, the Court ruled that the Constitution’s Commerce Clause gives Congress the authority to prohibit marijuana even in states with medical cannabis laws. A footnote in the opinion, however, left the issue open to further examination; or so says U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller.

Stevens, pictured above, pointed out that if the evidence were to be found credible after trial, it would “cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the findings that require marijuana to be listed in Schedule I.” Judge Mueller began a hearing on Friday — originally scheduled for Monday — regarding the constitutional implications of the Raich footnote given new evidence of marijuana’s medical efficacy.

“The government tried four times to vacate the matter. Judge Mueller said in court, ‘If the Supreme Court had not dropped footnote 37 in the Raich case, I might not deny the motion.’ ” [California NORML]

Zenia Gilg, a San Francisco lawyer and member of NORML Legal Committee, filed a 188-page brief with the court on November 20, 2013. Her primary assertion is that prosecution under the federal Controlled Substances Act for marijuana violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection guarantees. She challenges the rational basis for the classification needed to sustain the law. After all, times have changed since Raich was decided.

“At that point, not a lot was known about the medicinal benefits of marijuana,” said Gilg. “It’s about time somebody looked at the new evidence.” [SFGate]

While it’s unclear how much weight irony will hold with the Court, the fact that the U.S. Government owns a patent on cannabinoids — the individual compounds in marijuana — for their benefits as antioxidants and neuroprotectants is also mentioned. They filed the paperwork only three years after California legalized medical marijuana in 1996.

“This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.” — Abstract for Patent US-6630507-B1

Justice Stevens, retired since 2010, believed that California’s medical system was insufficient to evade federal oversight even if it were reclassified. It’s likely that he would have ruled the same way even if the classification were changed. With more and more states adopting heavily regulated medical marijuana programs and industries, however, he might see things differently today.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Montel Williams backs Florida medical marijuana amendment

Montel Williams joined the fight for medical marijuana in Florida on Monday in a two-prong attack. As emails were being sent to current supporters, The Sun Sentinel published an opinion editorial he wrote expressing his support for Amendment 2, the ballot initiative put to voters for the November 4 elections.

Marijuana isn’t a new topic for Williams, a former United States Marine turned talk show host. Doctors diagnosed him with multiple sclerosis in 1999. The condition causes him neuropathic pain 24 hours a day and he has spoken out in the past about how only marijuana truly helps him. He explained to Florida voters that only someone suffering from a debilitating disease can really know what he knows — marijuana provides more relief than any other drug on the market.

“In early attempts to manage the painful symptoms of my disease, doctors prescribed me every powerful painkiller you can imagine — Percocet, Oxycontin and Vicodin to name a few. My experience with these pharmaceutical interventions was nasty and ineffective at best, as they provided little to no symptom relief. I was just left with the miserable side effects you only read about on the side of the label.” – The Sun Sentinel

The email was sent out by United for Care, the group behind the Yes On 2 campaign. In it, Williams tells supporters that the fight is still raging. He writes of the need to establish patients’ rights to the medicine that will help them.

“The benefits of medical marijuana — shared by so many patients nationwide and supported by physicians from Dr. Gupta to Dr. Oz to multiple medical organizations nationwide — are well established. What isn’t established, yet, is the right of Florida’s seriously sick and injured patients to access it with the recommendation of their doctor.” — United For Care

Williams argues eloquently for the needs of people like himself. Medical marijuana patients who have experienced similar relief will recognize the frustration of having their medicine classified as illegal. While the piece was written in support of the state law, Williams pointed out the hypocrisy of the federal laws as well. He said that the government knows marijuana is medically beneficial, offering as proof a patent Health and Human Services holds for “Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants.”

“Patients deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion,” Williams concludes in his op-ed. “Not left as collateral damage on the political battlefield.”

The full op-ed is definitely worth a read. United for Care has republished it in full on their website.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Texas church boots woman using medical marijuana

Cannabis is regarded as a miracle plant to patients around the country, but one Texas church doesn’t see it that way. They are so opposed to use of the plant that medical marijuana users are not welcome in their congregation. One member found that out the hard way six weeks ago when she received an ultimatum from her pastor: the Devil weed or the church.

Faith Bodle belongs to the Beaumont Seventh Day Adventist Church in Beaumont, Texas. Or at least she did until recently when the congregation revoked her membership for using and advocating medical marijuana. Local TV station 12News reports that fellow church members became concerned after seeing Bodle in a news report. She appeared in support of medical marijuana at the arraignment of a fellow medical marijuana patient.

“It’s about bringing relief from pain and suffering,” Bodle said. “And that’s what Jesus wants.”

The marijuana advocate uses cannabis oil to treat symptoms of degenerative spine disease, congestive heart failure and arthritis. She received a letter six weeks ago from her pastor urging her to give up using and supporting medical marijuana. Twenty-three states have medical marijuana laws, but Texas isn’t one of them. Even if it were, however, the letter admonished that they do not support the use of addictive drugs, regardless of the law.

“She’s got a beautiful heart and to see her ostracized makes me angry.” Jason Falconbridge, Brodle’s son, told the reporter.

The woman even got a doctor’s note and provided it to her congregation. It explained that she only uses marijuana for legitimate medical purposes. Unfortunately, this did not matter to the church and they removed her from their congregation. Though disappointed by the result, Bodle remains firm on her marijuana position.

“[Jesus] doesn’t want to see his children suffer,” She said. “And that’s why He created this awesome plant.”

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Philly activist first cited under new decriminalization law

Mike Whiter wore his camouflage Phillies cap and a white and green NORML hoodie as he stood outside of Philadelphia’s City Hall Monday morning and lit a joint. After taking a couple of puffs, a police officer ordered him to drop it and began writing Whiter a $100 citation. Only a day earlier, the same act would have led to an arrest and criminal record.

“This is what I wanted.” Whiter told Scrapple TV, who was on the scene. “I don’t know why this is what I wanted, but it is.”

Philadelphia’s new marijuana decriminalization law took effect Monday and marijuana activists are celebrating. The state of Pennsylvania punishes possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana with a misdemeanor criminal charge, possible jail time and a fine. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed a measure earlier this month to change that in Philadelphia.Under the new city law, possession of small amounts of marijuana only carries a $25 fine or $100 for public use or display.

Philly NORML coordinated the first citation with Philadelphia police to avoid any trouble. The local branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws developed a working relationship with city police after a protest last May turned ugly. Local comedian and activist, N. A. Poe narrates the video and expresses his happiness about things staying peaceful.

“Mike is a veteran. He’s getting his ticket for marijuana and then we’re all gonna go on our way.” Poe says in the video.

Whiter is a long-time marijuana activist and retired Marine. It was in the service that he developed the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that marijuana treats so well.

“We’ve been fighting for this for so long and marijuana is finally decriminalized in Philadelphia,” Whiter told the camera after receiving his citation. “I can take the medicine that helps me and only get a $100 ticket now.”

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

MTV reality star battling cancer discovers medical marijuana

Add one more to the list of celebrities speaking out from first-hand knowledge about the benefits of medical marijuana. Reality TV star, Diem Brown, tells People magazine that vaporizing the plant reduces her pain and is helping her gain weight before chemotherapy for colon cancer.

Brown joined MTV’s reality competition, The Challenge, in 2006. As a new member, or “fresh meat”, she competed against former cast members of the network’s Real World/Road Rules series. While some of her competitors had experience on reality TV, the 24-year-old knew the struggle of a far greater challenge fighting for her life. Brown revealed during her first challenge on the show in 2006 that she had just completed treatment for ovarian cancer.

Read More

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Novelist Patricia Cornwell donates $500K for marijuana research

What makes a best-selling crime novelist like Patricia Cornwell, who has no clear ties to the medical marijuana movement and no history of marijuana activism, give $500,000 to fund a marijuana research study? It’s a one-word answer: love. She’s been married to the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Staci Gruber, since 2005.

Gruber announced in a press release on Monday that Cornwell’s gift will fund the new Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program. Harvard Magazine published a story about the new study that provided more insight.

“Most studies on medical marijuana to date have focused on its efficacy, or on patients’ symptoms. MIND head researcher Staci A. Gruber … hopes that the new initiative, the first of its kind, will begin to answer questions about whether medical marijuana affects cognitive function, positively or negatively — and why — by gathering empirical data about change over time within patients.”

This isn’t the case of a celebrity funding an unqualified loved one’s endeavors. Gruber serves as director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School’s largest psychiatric affiliate. She’s an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard and she isn’t new to the study of marijuana, either.

A quick scan of Gruber’s Harvard Catalyst profile reveals she has participated in at least 14 published studies on the effects of marijuana since 1995. Last year, she appeared in Sanjay Gupta’s WEED special on CNN and she moderated a conversation with him about marijuana on Wednesday. She says that the need for studies come from the fact that “policy has outpaced science.”

While the article made no mention of the reason for Cornwell’s donation, philanthropy isn’t new to her. The author of the popular “Kay Scarpetta” series of novels previously made donations totaling in the millions to places like the Harvard Art Museum and the Straus Center. Cornwell co-founded the National Forensic Academy and serves as a member of McLean Hospital’s National Council, according to her website bio.

The initial phase of the MIND study will involve researchers collecting data from patients suffering from conditions including pain, anxiety and PTSD. The subjects will have no prior history of medical marijuana use. Cognitive tests and brain scans will inform the researchers of any significant changes. The researchers won’t be administering marijuana, but Massachusetts allows medical marijuana use for patients who qualify.

Hopefully, this study will provide useful medical evidence for lawmakers considering legalization and doctors weighing treatment options.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Marijuana-infused sodas blow up … literally

When Top Shelf Cannabis bought marijuana-infused pomegranate soda for their store, they may have been worried about their profit margins or that the new product might not sell. The retail dispensary in Bellingham, Washington, however, couldn’t have expected the product to disappear in the way that it did. That is, with a bang.

Zack Henifin, the dispensary’s manager, told a Washington state television station it sounded like a shotgun going off when the first one burst. That’s right, the first one. According to the news report, hundreds of bottles exploded at Top Shelf and two other Washington state dispensaries.

After he felt how unstable the remaining bottles were, Henifin put them in a cardboard box that he called the “bomb box”. He showed news camera’s the box, housed in a locked dumpster, that contained the remaining bottle. The box showed obvious damage.

“You could actually feel it.” Henifin said. “It was actually that explosive.”

Mirth Provisions, the makers of the “pot pop”, explained the problem as one of too much yeast.

“It was simply the fact that his batch had a higher yeast concentration, and one of the by-products of yeast is excess carbon dioxide.” The founder spoke with the news station by phone. He lamented that these products are new and mistakes sometimes happen.

Much like explosive devices, the remaining bottles must be destroyed and disposed of in a specific manner. Not because they’re explosive, but because they’re marijuana. The products require special handling as part of the seed-to-sale tracking program that the Washington State Liquor Control Board oversees for marijuana products.

A small controversy erupted when Top Shelf asserted that they could not destroy the products because regulations say that unsold marijuana products must be destroyed by the manufacturer. Mirth settled the issue by agreeing to disagree about who is responsible and picking up their product.

As with all new industries, the creation and sale of marijuana products has and will continue to have hiccups. Let’s just hope they don’t all explode.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Melissa Etheridge starting a line of cannabis-infused wines

Oncologists told Melissa Etheridge that she could choose between treating the pain and nausea of her chemotherapy with marijuana or use pills. She took advantage of the marijuana option. No laws were broken because she lived in California when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. A new activist was born after the Grammy award winning musician experienced medical marijuana’s benefits first-hand.

Now, Etheridge has released a new album and is making marijuana an even bigger part of her life. She will be selling it.

Etheridge told Bloomberg Correspondent Pimm Fox in a recorded interview that she sees a bright future in the marijuana industry.

“I believe this is a huge opportunity,” Etheridge said. “A huge business and a huge market. You’re going to see my name with a lot of these things. I actually have a wine that’s coming out. It’s a cannabis-infused wine, which actually tastes amazing.”

The singer and songwriter expressed her strong support for medical marijuana in an open letter to New Hampshire legislators when they were considering medical marijuana in 2009.

“This wasn’t about getting high.” Etheridge wrote. “And I didn’t get high. It just let me be normal, and it still does. I have long-term damage to my gastrointestinal system, leaving me with a complete intolerance to acid of any kind, marijuana settles my stomach instantly.”

Though the letter spoke of a 2008 poll showing 71 percent support among New Hampshire voters, it took another four years and two American states legalizing cannabis use by adults before lawmakers made New Hampshire the 19th state to approve medical marijuana last July. Since then, the New Hampshire House has picked up the pace, passing bills during their current session related to legalization and decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Etheridge wants to bring cannabis-infused wines and other products to states like California, New Hampshire and the other 21 states with medical cannabis laws. She explained in her Bloomberg interview that she wants to present cannabis in a non-threatening manner.

“I really look forward to bringing this to the world in a not scary way.” Etheridge said. “Not a drug outlaw way. It’s not that anymore. This is an American business that really needs a lot of help.”

You can add Etheridge to the list of celebrity ganjapreneurs like comedian Tommy Chong, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and cannabis activist Steven Kubby.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.

Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper: Pot legalization was reckless

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper faces a tough challenger in Republican gubernatorial challenger, Bob Beauprez, and he’s not changing his stance on marijuana legalization to court more voters.

Even after Colorado voters passed Amendment 64 with a 55 percent majority in 2012 — over Hickenlooper’s strong objections — the incumbent says that he still would not support it.

Hickenlooper riled up activists and supporters by calling the measure reckless at a debate last night.

“To a certain extent you could say it was reckless. I’m not saying it was reckless because I get quoted everywhere. But if it was up to me, I wouldn’t have done it. I opposed it from the very beginning. What the hell. I’ll say it was reckless,” Hickenlooper said.

[Durango Herald]

Neither candidate in the tight race endorses legalization. Beauprez opposes legalization as well and said of marijuana, “We have to regulate as tight as the law allows.

Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML), voiced his opposition to Hickenlooper’s assertion to Denver publication Westword.

“I think he’s surely caught up in an election, which is unfortunate, because he’s a former brewer and a seller of a drug far more dangerous than marijuana. And he also contacted NORML specifically asking for donations to his re-election, because he is championing a change of law. So it seems rather hypocritical to turn to an audience and say he thinks what the people did was reckless. What we’re seeing is a politician in full election mode.”

[Westword]

“We’re not only the first state to do this, we’re the first country,” Hickenlooper said Monday night. “There are serious challenges when you build something from scratch.”

With Hickenlooper and Beauprez obviously not up to the challenge, marijuana activists have looked to a new candidate, Mike Dunafon. Dunafon serves as the Mayor of Glendale, a town next to Denver taking up a little over half a square mile. He has said that he is running because he promised his followers that he would if he received 60,000 likes on his Mayoral Facebook page. His fans far exceed his current constituency of 4,512.

The Hemp Connoisseur Magazine, a free Colorado monthly that this writer does some work for, published a feature on Dunafon’s candidacy in its September issue. The magazine argue that he is the best candidate for the job and the only one who supports legalization. With polls putting the gubernatorial race at a dead heat between the Democrat and Republican candidates, Dunafon was not invited to last night’s debate.

Dunafon left his feedback on the Governor’s comments on his Facebook page this morning.

This article was originally published by Marijuana.com.