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

See West Virginia Seed to Sale Solutions Here.

Source: RGI.com

It’s the boldest attempt yet by a U.S. marijuana state to avoid federal intervention

Source: Colorado Marijuana: State Tries to Avoid Trump Crackdown | Time.com

General Assembly leaders have coalesced around a plan to issue an additional five medical marijuana growing licenses and increase the likelihood several of those lucrative deals went to minority-owned companies.

The deal, though, falls short of demands lodged by the influential Legislative Black Caucus, which wanted to disband the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission and put the licensing process on hold.

Maryland’s medical marijuana program is among the slowest in the country to get off the ground and, in recent months, has been beset by lawsuits and legislative wrangling over how licenses should be awarded.

The beleaguered cannabis commissioners say the program is on the brink of becoming operational and, provided legislators do not cause delays, patients could start receiving the drug this summer.

Source: More medical marijuana licenses would be awarded in deal reached by Maryland legislative leaders – Baltimore Sun

Source: American Vice: Black Market Marijuana – Facts and Figures

A great summary! Source:  

Worried about a possible federal crackdown on state-licensed pot dealers, legislators are seeking to block local law enforcement agencies from assisting the feds.

Source: California lawmakers want to block police from helping federal drug agents take action against marijuana license holders – LA Times