On March 16, 2017 Arizona Court of Appeals judge,  Samuel Thumma, rejected arguments by the Arizona Cannabis Nurses Association that it was illegal for Will Humble, then the director of the agency, to conclude that the only legitimate use of marijuana for PTSD is for “palliative care,” meaning helping to alleviate the symptoms. The Appeals Court upholds Arizona state limits on marijuana for PTSD.

In 2014, then Medical Director, William Humble, added PTST as a qualifying condition to the 2010 voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. This happened after multiple years of claiming there was no evidence to support marijuanas value in treating PTSD. While he added the condition, it came with restrictions including:

“doctors could recommend marijuana only to patients who already were being treated for PTSD, even if it was only counseling sessions. Humble said he wanted to be sure that physicians were not promoting marijuana as the first course of action before trying something else.”

The Arizona Cannabis Nurses Association  sued, contending Humble had no right to impose such restrictions. However, the Judge said challengers had not shown that Humble had exceeded his legal authority in setting the restrictions.

Source: Appeals Court upholds state limits on marijuana for PTSD | The Daily Courier | Prescott, AZ

Since Pennsylvania is not a referendum state, meaning voters cannot get a question regarding the law placed on the ballot, it will be up to the legislature to take the lead if recreational marijuana is to be legalized.

Gov. Tom Wolf believes “We just aren’t ready yet.” However, recently Auditor General Eugene Depasquale of PA described he has observed support to be “overwhelmingly positive” and that regulating and taxing marijuana could make a dent in Pa’s $3 billion budget deficit. He also described the likelihood of PA legislatures moving towards recreational cannabis any time soon:

“The Pennsylvania Legislature is not known for its dynamic speed,” he said, “except, of course, when they passed the middle-of-the-night pay raise. That moved pretty quickly.”

Source: Depasquale: Pa. voters high on legalized pot proposal

The Detroit News reports that new figures released this week by the city reveal that only two prospective Medical Marijuana Caregiver Centers out of more than 260 applicants have been approved to operate.

The new rules allow Detroit to shut down marijuana shops failing to seek compliance under the ordinance or dispensing medical marijuana in unapproved zones. So far, 136 shops have closed down.

Source: Fox47news.com

Chronic pain sufferers will now be able to get medical marijuana prescribed to them in New York.

Source: Medical marijuana for chronic pain starts next week

After announcing in December it planned to add chronic pain to its list of eligible conditions, the state Health Department on Thursday said medical marijuana for the ailment will be available starting 3/22/17.

Read more about New York’s Seed to Sale Program here or checkout more Data regarding Marijuana in New York here. 

The agreement over Senate Bill 16would add six illnesses and conditions eligible for treatment with medical marijuana in Georgia to include Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS, autism, epidermolysis bullosa, peripheral neuropathy and Tourette’s syndrome. It would additionally allow use for patients in hospice care, according to both state Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, and state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon.

Across Pennsylvania would-be medical marijuana companies are out pounding the pavement, trying to lock down locations and approvals in the hopes that they may be granted one of the state’s few coveted operating permits. Businesses seek to stake claims in Pa. medical marijuana gold rush

Source: Businesses seek to stake claims in Pa. medical marijuana gold rush | PennLive.com

Pa. Gold Rush Reminder:

Pennsylvania will accept applications from prospective growers/processors and dispensaries until March 20.

Do you need help with writing or preparing an application for a marijuana dispensary, cultivation or production facility? We’ve got you covered. Our group of cannabis and application writing specialists have won many licenses in multiple states!

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Massachusetts’ existing medical marijuana law does not provide explicit anti-discrimination protections for a medical marijuana user at work, although a pending court case may change that.

Source: Bills would protect Massachusetts medical marijuana patients from losing job over drug test | masslive.com

Four months after a majority of San Diego County voters supported a statewide proposition to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana , the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a ban on cannabis shops and farms in unincorporated areas.

Source: County bans new marijuana operations, phases out others – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Revised rules for the Ohio medical marijuana program expected to debut next year won’t allow home delivery, home-growing or smoking of marijuana but would permit more dispensaries than originally outlined.

Source: Revised Ohio rules would allow more medical marijuana shops

New Hampshire is the only state left in the New England area to not have marijuana decriminalization laws on the books already, but a bill that was introduced – and just approved by the House – would make the current criminal misdemeanor a civil violation in the future. The New Hampshire house approves multiple marijuana-related bills.

Similar bills have been introduced in the past, but none have ever made it out of legislature. However, the future of this bill might be brighter, considering the recent legalization of cannabis in nearby Maine and Massachusetts.

“I think it signals this really is a new day,” said Cushing. “For 40 years the House has been debating whether it should decriminalize a small amount of marijuana. Today, I think the vote is a really clear signal that it’s time to change the policy.”

House Bill 640 would take what is currently up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine and turn it into a $100 ticket on the first offense. Additional offenses would be fined at $200 and $350, depending on how many offenses and how frequently they occur. Compared to votes in previous years, the large majority (318-36) voting in favor of this decriminalization bill certainly shows that there are more people than ever, Democrat and Republican alike, who are in support of lessening the penalties for simple cannabis possession.

Source: New Hampshire House Approves Multiple Marijuana-Related Bills | The Marijuana Times