Tag: marijuana legalization

Widow Denied Benefits Because Husband Used Pot

“I am frustrated with the system that is saying because he smoked a legal substance, we are going to take away your benefits from you and your kids.”

The widow of a Colorado worker killed in a ski lift accident is being denied half of the workers’ compensation benefits that she would normally be entitled to because her husband had THC in his system, despite the fact that recreational marijuana use is legal in the state.

“I’m scared, and I have no idea how we are going to make it,” Erika Lee told The Denver Channel. “We don’t know if we will get any money, so I’m just looking now at how to survive.”

Lee’s husband Adam was working as an electrician at a ski area when he was killed on the job in December. A toxicology report showed that Adam had high levels of THC in his system. However, current testing is not able to say whether he was impaired at the time, or had just used marijuana recently.

Still, Colorado state law allows employers to cut benefits by half if toxicology reports show drugs in a worker’s system at the time of death. This is true even for marijuana, which is legal to use for medical and recreational purposes in Colorado. Lee says that this means her family—including the couple’s children—will receive $800 less per month than they were expecting.

“I am frustrated with the system that is saying because he smoked a legal substance, we are going to take away your benefits from you and your kids,” Lee said.

Even in states like Colorado where marijuana use is legalized, there continue to be grey areas in the policies around cannabis. This is especially true for workers, who have to follow their employer’s policy as well as state law.

In fact, workers can still be legally fired for using cannabis, even though it is legal in the state.

“This is heartbreaking, and I think this should be a message to marijuana consumers in Colorado,” said Brian Vicente, a Colorado attorney who helped legalize marijuana in the state back in 2012. “We voters spoke loudly and said marijuana should not be illegal for adults. Yet we still have some parts of the Colorado revised statutes that appear to penalize people who are using this substance.”

Lee plans to appeal the reduction to her benefits. However, experts say that the ruling is currently in line with state law.

“As it stands now, with a positive test result, an employer has the right to reduce those benefits,” said John Sandberg, an administrative law judge with Colorado’s Department of Labor.

Lee hopes that by sharing her story other people who use cannabis will be more aware of the potential risks.

View the original article at thefix.com

20 July 2018
Oklahoma Public Schools Increase Drug Testing For Students

The decision comes on the heels of the state’s voters passing a measure to legalize medical marijuana.

A public school district in Oklahoma will double the number of students that will be required to undergo random drug testing in the coming school year.

The move comes on the heels of a recent decision by state voters to pass a measure that allows for legal use of medical marijuana without a qualifying condition, but Bret Towne, superintendent for Edmond Public Schools, said that the increase was “coincidental” with the bill’s passage.

According to coverage by High Times, more than 700 of the 3,000 students in the district who participate in extracurricular activities will be randomly tested for drugs this year.

Random drug testing for students in Edmond Public Schools, which has been conducted largely among students in extracurricular activities for the past six years, was reduced two years ago after funding for the district was subjected to cuts. But at a meeting on July 2, the Edmond school board voted to return to previous testing levels, which is the number of students they are legally allowed to test.

According to Towne, the board’s decision was not directly influenced by the passage of SQ 788, which allows patients to use marijuana for medical purposes after obtaining a recommendation from a qualified physician.

Unlike most medical marijuana measures, SQ 788 requires no pre-existing health conditions to qualify for the medical marijuana program, and according to Towne, that element was cause for alarm among some parents.

“My concern is how it’s going to affect students on campus and the availability [of medical marijuana],” he told Oklahoma’s KFOR News. “We always worry about students having easier access to it.”

But while the decision to increase the number of tests was a simple matter of voting, deciding how the school district will handle the issue on a broad scale will require more debate.

As High Times noted, SQ 788 allows anyone 18 years or older to use the drug with a doctor’s recommendation, and grants permission to minors aged 16 to 17 to use medical cannabis as long as they have recommendations from two doctors.

According to Towne, he’ll wait to see how the Oklahoma Department of Health will rule in regard to medical marijuana use on campuses, and then meet with state school board officials to consider revisions to their current policy. Currently, prescription medication are held and distributed to students by a school secretary.

But as Towne said, applying that policy to medical marijuana is “a little bit different situation [sic].”

View the original article at thefix.com

13 July 2018
New York Federal Judge Admits He’s Been Too Tough on Marijuana

The judge says he wants to make things right, in both his current and future judgments.

Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn, New York admits he’s probably been too harsh on marijuana offenders throughout his career. To make amends, he has vowed to be more lenient in future cases and to fix the cases he can now.

To that end, he plans to dig back through his cases and do away with supervised releases for marijuana offenders. Assigning probation officers to offenders who are simply trying to get their lives together after time in jail is a waste of time for all parties involved, Weinstein reasoned.

He’s already begun by prematurely terminating the three-year supervised release of 22-year-old Tyran Trotter, despite the fact that Trotter had smoked marijuana to stay “calm and on the right path.” While Trotter was in the system after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, Weinstein believes that booking him just for marijuana would be a mistake.

“If his supervision continues, he will probably end up in the almost endless cycle of supervised release and prison,” wrote Weinstein of the case in a 42-page ruling.

Besides Trotter’s case, Weinstein also wrote more broadly about marijuana’s legal status in general, mentioning that it’s “becoming increasingly accepted by society.” Law enforcement and the court systems are beginning to reflect this change in perception as well. Weinstein notes that even New York prosecutors aren’t aggressively pursuing lower-level marijuana cases.

Additionally, the New York Police Department has taken to issuing summonses to people caught smoking marijuana instead of arresting them.

However, Weinstein notes, the use of marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and federal probation officers will act accordingly. If marijuana offenders don’t stay mindful of this distinction, it could lead to getting booked for violating probation or even getting thrown in a cell.

Potentially, that’s a lot of offenders considering 13% of supervised releases in Brooklyn and Long Island area courts are drug-related. Weinstein isn’t the only judge who feels that way; a 2014 survey revealed that more than 85% of 650 federal court judges felt that offenders should not be automatically locked up when charged with illegal drug possession.

View the original article at thefix.com

9 July 2018
New Pot Regulations Force California Retailers To Unload Millions In Stock

After July 1st, cannabis retailers in the state are no longer allowed to sell untested cannabis goods.

New regulations for California’s legal cannabis industry went into effect on Sunday, July 1. The new rules require that all cannabis products sold in California be tested for chemicals, pesticides and foreign materials.

In addition, all cannabis products must be in child-proof packaging. Edibles may not exceed 10 mg of THC per serving or 100 mg per package. And non-edibles may not exceed 1,000 mg of THC per package for the adult-use market, or 2,000 mg per package for the medical-use market.

“These regulations are very necessary for consumer protections, environmental protection and public safety protections, so they are good and we support them,” said Kimberly Cargile, executive director of A Therapeutic Alternative medical cannabis dispensary in Sacramento.

“However,” she added, “it’s more difficult to operate within a regulated market and more difficult than we anticipated.”

The July 1st deadline meant that all “untested cannabis goods [can no longer] be sold by a retailer and must be destroyed,” according to the state Bureau of Cannabis Control—leaving some retailers left to wonder if their businesses could survive the “weed apocalypse.”

Some business owners estimated huge losses for California’s legal cannabis industry—about $90 million of product lost, according to a survey by the United Cannabis Business Association.

The association organized 128 cannabis businesses and advocacy groups to petition Governor Jerry Brown on Friday to “indefinitely extend” the period for selling untested cannabis products.

The group argued for the extension saying that without it, the new regulations will “financially cripple the majority of retailers,” by forcing them to “destroy everything in their inventory and repurchase new products.”

They also argue that there are not enough testing facilities approved by the state to handle the demand and volume of cannabis products that need to be tested.

However, the state maintains that retailers were given enough time to comply with the regulations.

“We issued our emergency regulations back in November, and at that time, we were pretty clear about the fact that there would be a six-month transition period for retailers to use up their existing supply,” said a spokesperson for the Bureau of Cannabis Control. “We felt that was a sufficient amount of time to deplete stock on hand and adapt to California’s new rules.”

View the original article at thefix.com

5 July 2018
"Social Equity" Program To Help Those Impacted By Drug War In Massachusetts

The programs aims to help people who have been disproportionately affected by the drug war enter the cannabis industry with ease.

The state of Massachusetts is rolling out a new “social equity” program to help certain individuals navigate the legal cannabis industry.

Cannabis for adult (or “recreational”) use is a booming industry. It is legal in nine states and the District of Columbia, while more, including New Jersey and New York, may follow.

Equity programs already exist in California, but the one in Massachusetts would be the first in the nation to be applied statewide.

The idea is to provide assistance to people who have been disproportionately affected by the government’s long-waged “war on drugs.”

To be eligible for the Massachusetts program, a person must either have a past drug conviction or be the spouse or child of a person with a drug conviction, who has lived in the state for the last year; or they must have lived in a community deemed an “area of disproportionate impact” for at least five years and earn below 400% of the federal poverty level.

Eligible applicants will receive mentoring, technical assistance, and skills training to help them enter the cannabis industry with ease.

“The social equity program is designed to create sustainable pathways into the adult use cannabis industry for both individuals and businesses,” said Shekia Scott, the director of community outreach for the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), which was tasked with helping those disproportionately affected by the criminalization of marijuana get in on the growing industry.

The program’s goal is to create a comprehensive program tailored to each applicant at any skill level—whether they want to start a business or find an entry level job.

“We want applicants to specify their needs so we can meet them where they are,” said Scott, who introduced the social equity program at a Tuesday (June 26) meeting of the CCC. “We’re not making a one-size-fits-all program, that we know usually doesn’t fit all.”

While the Massachusetts program does not specifically target certain people of color, inevitably many black and Latino residents will be eligible to participate.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, black Americans are arrested for cannabis possession at more than 3.7 times the rate of whites, despite the fact that marijuana is used at comparable rates by both groups.

According to Marijuana Business Daily, owners and founders within the cannabis industry are 81% white, while just 4.3% are black and 5.7% are Latino.

View the original article at thefix.com

29 June 2018
Marijuana Addiction On The Rise

Around 9% of marijuana users become addicted and the government is having a tough time convincing people that marijuana addiction is real.

In Northern California, addiction treatment practitioners are reporting a higher demand for help with marijuana addiction, especially among adolescents.

Many believe that marijuana is not addictive, though there are plenty of people that have struggled and are currently struggling with marijuana use disorder.

Marijuana addiction is very real, even if it less common or life-threatening than addictions to alcohol (15% of users become addicted) and heroin (24%), according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.

Around 9% of marijuana users become addicted and about 17% of those who begin using in adolescence become addicted, according to the Denver Post.

In San Rafael, California experts are seeing higher rates of marijuana addiction. According to the Post, “some say the normalization of America’s marijuana culture got its start” there, while treatment practitioners for addiction are struggling to identify why more pot smokers are struggling.

“There should be no controversy about the existence of marijuana addiction,” said David Smith, a physician who has been treating addiction since the 1960s. “We see it every day. The controversy should be why it appears to be affecting more people.”

Dr. Smith, a visiting physician at Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services, a treatment center for boys, wonders in The Denver Post if the potency of the marijuana is causing higher levels of addiction.

“Back in the day when kids were sitting around smoking a joint, the THC levels found in marijuana averaged from 2 to 4%,” Smith said. “That’s what most parents think is going on today. And that’s why society thinks marijuana is harmless.”

Currently, marijuana is more potent than ever before. The Denver Post notes that selective marijuana breeding has created an average potency of 20% THC, while other strains are 30% or higher. In addition, marijuana concentrates and extracts have risen in popularity and have THC levels anywhere from 40% to over 80%, according to marijuana industry promotional information and DEA reports.

People with marijuana use disorder are not immune to withdrawal symptoms when they quit using. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) lists marijuana withdrawal symptoms as irritability, lethargy, anxiety, restlessness and low appetite, as well as stomach pain, shakiness, fever, chills, and headache.

The National Cannabis Industry Association’s chief spokesman, Morgan Fox, told The Denver Post he’s not surprised the federal government cannot convince people that addiction to marijuana is real.

“It’s their own fault,” he said of the government. “When people find out they’ve been lied to by the federal government about the relative harms of marijuana for decades, they are much less likely to believe anything they have to say going forward, even if that information is accurate.”

Fox told The Denver Post that the National Cannabis Industry Association has no disagreement with the finding that 9% of people who use marijuana become addicted.

View the original article at thefix.com

28 June 2018
Oklahoma Votes To Legalize Medical Marijuana

SQ 788 is unique in that it does not establish a list of conditions that would qualify a person to use medical cannabis.

On Tuesday, Oklahoma became the 30th state to allow cannabis for medical use. The ballot measure, State Question 788, passed with 56% of voters supporting the measure and 43% opposing it.

SQ 788 will allow Oklahomans to grow, sell and use cannabis, establishing a system of dispensaries, growers and processors under the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

A person 18 and older will be able to possess up to 8 ounces at home, six mature plants and six seedlings, according to the measure. A board-certified physician’s signature is required to obtain a medical cannabis license.

As Vox notes, Oklahoma’s SQ 788 is unique in that it does not establish a list of conditions that would qualify a person to use medical cannabis. Common qualifying conditions in other medical cannabis states include epilepsy, cancer, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has said that she will hold a special session to discuss the regulatory framework of the state’s new medical cannabis program. The state legislature can make a final draft of the legislation before it is enacted, but Oklahoma House Majority Leader Jon Echols said he doesn’t expect that it will see many changes.

“The citizens of the state have decided that they are in support of this law, so there aren’t necessarily any changes that need to be made,” said Echols, according to CBS News. “We’re not looking at changing any of the fundamentals.”

The state health department will then have 30 days to post the medical cannabis license application online for residents to access.

Gov. Fallin said before the vote that she had “clear concerns” about SQ 788, saying the measure “is written so open-ended that it basically allows recreational marijuana in the state of Oklahoma”—a concern shared by opponents of SQ 788.

After voters approved the measure, she released a statement saying she respects the will of the voters.

“It is our responsibility as state leaders to look out for the health and safety of Oklahoma citizens,” the governor said. “As I mentioned in previous public comments, I believe, as well as many Oklahomans, this new law is written so loosely that it opens the door for basically recreational marijuana. I will be discussing with legislative leaders and state agencies our options going forward on how best to proceed with adding a medical and proper regulatory framework to make sure marijuana use is truly for valid medical illnesses.”

Later this year, Michigan and Utah will also vote on whether to allow cannabis for medical use.

View the original article at thefix.com

28 June 2018
Gene Simmons On Why He Joined The Cannabis Movement

The outspoken rock legend explains why he decided to become a cannabis ambassador despite his long-standing abstinence from drugs and alcohol.

KISS founder and bassist Gene Simmons is a tireless promoter and pitchman for both the dizzying array of merchandise for his band (including coffins and cremation urns) and other businesses, ranging from life insurance to car racing leagues and beverages.

His latest entrepreneurial move has linked him with an industry with which he’s maintained some distance in the past: Simmons will serve as “Chief Evangelist Officer” for Invictus MD Strategies Corp., a publicly traded Canadian cannabis production and distribution company.

The move may seem contrary to Simmons’ long-standing abstinence from drugs and alcohol, from which he’s abstained for more than four decades, but the Rock & Roll hall-of-famer had a change of heart after learning about how marijuana use has appeared to improve the health and lives of many individuals.

Simmons has described himself as “a straight guy who’s never smoked and never been drunk,” and took a fairly hardline approach to cannabis use in the past. “I was one of those people who said cannabis is the same thing as heroin,” he told High Times. He also admits that his initial interest in Invictus was purely motivated by financial opportunity. “[Cannabis] is a remarkably expanding marketplace, which means people want it.”

But after delving into some of the research about marijuana’s medicinal properties, especially in regard to aiding individuals with serious medical conditions, including severe epilepsy, Simmons stated that he “was arrogant about the whole thing” and believed that marijuana “has great medical potential,” adding, “I want lawmakers to really get educated on cannabis-related topics. I want them to get their information from people who don’t have a political agenda, like a six-year-old girl with epilepsy being prescribed cannabis-based products, which seem to be miraculously either minimizing or completely curious various ailments.”

As Invictus’ Chief Evangelist Officer, Simmons will help raise public awareness about the company’s upcoming projects as its spokesperson and media consultant.

“Gene will lead marketing initiatives that will help spread the positive messages that dwell at the heart of Invictus,” said CEO Dan Kriznic. The timing for such a media push couldn’t be better for the company, given Canada’s recent and historic vote to legalize marijuana.

Simmons appeared to embrace his new role as cannabis ambassador. “When I show the research to my family and friends, everyone is really excited and positive about it, because this is a good thing,” he said. “I have still never smoked or done any kind of cannabis products, but you can bet your bottom dollar [that] if my children were suffering from an ailment and a doctor said they could benefit from a cannabis-based product, I would not hesitate for an instant.”

View the original article at thefix.com

27 June 2018
Canada Legalizes Marijuana In Historic Vote

Residents are expected to be able to purchase marijuana from licensed producers as early as mid-September 2018.

Canada became the second country in the world to legalize marijuana after the passage of its Cannabis Act in a 52-59 vote on Tuesday, June 19.

Canadian adults will be allowed to carry and share up to 30 grams of legal marijuana in public and cultivate up to four plants in their homes. The country’s provinces and territories will be allowed to draft their own rules for sales, which have been projected to echo the billion-dollar windfall enjoyed by the marijuana industry in the United States.

The government is giving its provinces 8 to 12 weeks to set up their own regulations on sales and more, and residents are expected to be able to purchase marijuana from licensed producers as early as mid-September 2018.

Prior to the passage of Bill C-45, Uruguay was the only country on the planet to legalize marijuana for sale and use. In the U.S., 29 states and Washington, D.C. allow the medical use of marijuana, while nine and D.C. also allow recreational use. Canada introduced the Cannabis Act in 2017, which passed the House of Commons in November of that year before reaching the Senate for final approval.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed the intention of C-45 in a June 19 Twitter post which read, “It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits,” he wrote. “Today, we change that.”

Once the bill receives Royal Assent—a ceremony in which Canada’s governor general, Julie Payette, will officially approve the measure—only adults ages 18 or 19 years or older (depending on the province or territory) will be allowed to legally purchase “cannabis, dried cannabis, cannabis oil, cannabis seeds or cannabis plants” from licensed retailers, both at brick-and-mortar locations and online.

According to the BBC, edibles will not be available for purchase by the proposed September launch date, but are expected to reach markets within a year’s time to allow the government to establish regulations for such projects.

They can also grow up to four plants per household—not per person—for personal use as long as the seeds are bought from a licensed supplier, and make cannabis-related products in their home as long as the plants do not use dangerous organic solvents.

C-45 will also establish a new offense of up to 14 years in prison for selling cannabis to minors, as well as “significant” penalties for individuals who involve minors in cannabis-related offenses or drive under the influence of cannabis, and will impose restrictions on how marijuana is promoted to young people, such as through the use of celebrity or animal/cartoon character images.

Provinces will also decide where cannabis will be sold to the public. As CNN noted, Alberta will make it available at more than 200 private retailers, while buyers in Ontario will only find it in state-run stores, and Newfoundland/Labrador residents will be able to purchase cannabis along with their groceries at the Loblaw supermarket chain.

With Canadian sales of marijuana in 2015 estimated at about $4.5 billion—nearly the same amount spent on wine—cannabis industry observers have suggested that the country may see annual revenue as high as $5 billion.

Canadian finance minister Bill Morneau said that the excise tax revenue will be split 75/25 between provincial government and the federal government for the first two years after legalization.

View the original article at thefix.com

22 June 2018
New York Plans To Allow Medical Marijuana As Opioid Alternative

“We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons, and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the cons,” said one public health official.

The New York Department of Health will now recommend that the state allow adults to legally use medical marijuana instead of an opioid prescription, or if they are struggling with opioid addiction.

According to U.S. News, state commissioner Howard Zucker announced that the Department of Health will create regulations that allow patients who have been prescribed opioids or become addicted to the drug, to instead enroll in the medical marijuana program.

Dr. Zucker proposed that allowing medical marijuana use in place of opioids is backed by research which shows that having access to marijuana reduces opioid use and eliminates the risk of overdose, as well as the risk of addiction for those not dependent on the drug.

The New York Times pointed out that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo referred to marijuana as a “gateway drug” in the past and was not a supporter of its medicinal use.

Howard Zucker noted this change, stating in the NYT, “We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons, and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the cons,” adding, “we have new facts.”

The NYT reported that the New York State Department will now be supporting the legalization of marijuana after the results of their state-sponsored study, backed by Governor Cuomo, were released.

Dr. Zucker was quoted in NYT, noting that the researchers behind the study were “experts from all across the government.” He said that the researchers had surveyed a broad array of issues, including age, and production and distribution, and decided that the legalization of marijuana in New York was workable.

News outlet WHEC noted that as of now, the New York medical marijuana program allows only 12 conditions (which must be certified by a physician) in those who use the program. These conditions included HIV/AIDS, and chronic pain conditions such as arthritis and cancer.

So far the regulations around the program have been strict: no smokeable forms of marijuana are allowed.

Elizabeth Brico wrote in a recent feature for The Fix that medical marijuana was an integral part of her abstinence from opioids.

“The ability to soften the blow of that transition helps some users acclimate to life without opioids. Even if the marijuana use doesn’t remain transitional—if someone who was formerly addicted to heroin continues to use marijuana for the rest of his or her life instead—the risk of fatal overdose, hepatitis C or HIV transmission through drug use, and a host of other complications still go down to zero.”

View the original article at thefix.com

20 June 2018