The bill passed 28-6, and would create a state cannabis commission responsible for developing policies and regulations.

Senate Bill 386 — the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act — would create a state cannabis commission that would be responsible for developing policies and regulations to make medical cannabis available to qualifying patients.

The bill will next be voted on in the House of Delegates. The chamber failed to pass its medical marijuana bill Tuesday, with 64 of 99 delegates voting against the measure.

Source: WV MetroNews – Senate passes medical marijuana bill

A room full of people turned out to the Hammon Senior Center Tuesday night for a workshop on how the city should respond to the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized personal cultivation and recreational use of marijuana in the state.

Source: City holds first marijuana workshop – Golden State Newspapers: Patterson Irrigator News

• Topics of conversation included:
• Businesses being heavily tracked and regulated
• Other local jurisdictions
• Sales and other taxes
• Crime, other concerns

Attendee concerns

One workshop attendee pointed out that the “huge amount of cash” involved in marijuana businesses has caused a problem for other states that have legalized commercial marijuana activity. Other comments included concerns about where potential marijuana businesses might be allowed and what percentage of the sales revenue should be allotted to increased law enforcement.

Attendee support

Supporters in attendance appeared to skew toward medical marijuana, with several making the assertion that marijuana use for severe pain is “cleaner and safer” than other (prescription) drugs. One commenter mentioned that the former mayor of Oakland is setting up dispensaries in San Francisco. She also asked whether part of the taxes collected would be earmarked for “education and outreach”; $10 million per year from 2018 to 2028 will go to California public universities to study and evaluate implementation of the law. “The tide is turning,” one woman said, mentioning that a relative’s doctor at Stanford University had recommended marijuana for him, “Eventually the government will catch up.”

Read more from the Source: City holds first marijuana workshop – Golden State Newspapers: Patterson Irrigator News

Read more about California Seed to Sale Laws & Regulations here, at Adilas420.com

Delaware took a major step Thursday toward becoming the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Delaware legislation would also authorize dozens of stores to sell marijuana.

“We see it as a social justice issue,” Henry said, describing the legislation as an effort to reform the criminal justice system by legalizing “something that people always have done and are doing.”

The proposed Delaware Marijuana Control Act would create a commission to regulate, license and tax the state’s marijuana business. Consumers would be required to pay a $50-per-ounce excise tax, while retailers would be charged a $5,000 application fee and a $10,000 annual licensing fee.

Up to 40 retails stores could be licensed to sell marijuana under the bill, with medical marijuana dispensaries given the first opportunity to open retail operations.

Source: Delaware legislators say they have votes to legalize pot from Delawareonline.com

New legislation introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, both Oregon Democrats, would take marijuana off the list of federally banned drugs, tax marijuana at a rate similar to alcohol and tobacco, and end the threat of federal criminal penalties for businesses operating in states that allow the use of pot for recreational purposes.

Source: Pot state Dems want federal regulation of marijuana | TheHill

The Oregon law makers, “Path to Marijuana Reform,” includes three bills written to support the marijuana industry in states with legal recreational cannabis.

Checkout out the Executive Summary of the The Small Business Tax Equity Act, the Responsibly Addressing the Marijuana Policy Gap Act and Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act here.

Georgia House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a compromise that would expand the list of disorders eligible for treatment under the state’s nascent medical marijuana program.

Source: Georgia House approves compromise to expand medical marijuana program

By a vote of 45 to 6, Senators approved a revised version of Senate Bill 16, now awaiting the Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature. The bill would make six conditions eligible for treatment with a limited form of cannabis oil allowed in Georgia: Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS, autism, epidermolysis bullosa, peripheral neuropathy and Tourette’s syndrome. Patients in hospice care also could possess the oil.

Read More about marijuana in Georgia at Adilas420.com

According to Marijuana Policy Project, “Even if the ordinances remain in force, they only apply locally and officers could still choose to prosecute an offender under the state law, which carries a harsh penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of between $250 and $2,500. Thus, the controversy highlights the need for statewide reform. Please ask your legislators to support replacing criminal penalties with civil fines for simple possession.”

Source: Bill That Blocks Marijuana Decriminalization Passes | Tennessee News | US News

Source: Marijuana Policy Project

The newest Gallup poll shows 60% of Americans support full legalization of marijuana.

More than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2015 and heroin overdoses rose by 23% in one year.

Jeff Sessions says marijuana is only “slightly worse” than heroin. However, no one has ever overdosed, or died, as a direct result of using marijuana. The research completed (some illegally) has concluded that marijuana does offer some medicinal value and yet, marijuana remains a schedule 1 drug.

So what’s next and what do we do? Evan Dawson of “Connections” discusses the topic and solutions with a panel including:

• Dr. Aaron Fields, M.D., addiction medicine fellow at URMC and member of the Monroe County Opioid Task Force
• Jennifer Faringer, director of DePaul’s National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Rochester Area (NCADD-RA)
• Phil Ricci, founding chair of the Genesee County Libertarian Party

Listen to: Connections: What’s next for marijuana? | WXXI News for more information. 

A new analysis projects that the legal marijuana market in Massachusetts will generate $64 million in state tax revenue in its first year.

Retail marijuana sales are now slated to begin on July 1, 2018 after lawmakers pushed the date out by six months to allow for more time to establish regulations. The law, approved by 54 percent of voters last November, allows adults over the age of 21 to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. The current law calls for a 6.25 percent sales tax, a 3.75 percent excise tax and a potential 2 percent “local option” tax, but lawmakers are considering changing the tax rate.

Source: Massachusetts Expected to Generate $64M in Recreational Marijuana Taxes in 1st Year – Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalize recreational marijuana the week of April 10th and it should become law by July next year…

Trudeau has long promised to legalize recreational pot use and sales. Canada would be the largest developed country to end a nationwide prohibition of recreational marijuana. In the U.S, voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada voted last year to approve the use of recreational marijuana, joining Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Uruguay in South America is the only nation to legalize recreational pot.

Read more about how they will do it from the Source: Canada Is Going to Legalize Marijuana in 2018 | Time.com

The West Virginia Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee narrowly passed a medical marijuana bill Friday morning that would allow certain patients to be prescribed marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The bill (SB386), called the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act, now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If it passes there, it would also have to pass a full vote in the state Senate and then in the House of Delegates.

The bill, which has Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, would create a West Virginia Medical Cannabis Commission and a special revenue fund. The commission would license no more than 15 growers and issue patient and caregiver identification cards, among other responsibilities.

The commission’s purpose “is to develop policies, procedures, guidelines, and regulations to implement programs to make medical cannabis available to qualifying patients in a safe and effective manner,” the bill states.

Qualifying conditions include “a chronic or debilitating condition that results in a patient being admitted into hospice or receiving palliative care,” or chronic or debilitating diseases or conditions that produce: cachexia, anorexia or wasting syndrome; severe or chronic pain that does not find relief through standard pain medications; severe nausea; seizures; and severe or persistent muscle spasms. Refractory anxiety was also added during the committee meeting.

Source & See more at: Charleston Gazette-Mail | WV Senate committee passes medical marijuana bill

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