Law The Cannabis Chronicles - Misc Cannabis News

[momofthegoons]

Rhode Island gubernatorial, attorney general candidates arrested with 48 pounds of marijuana: police

Alan Gordon, 48, and Anne Armstrong, 58, - who are running for Rhode Island attorney general and governor, respectively - were arrested for having 48 pounds of marijuana, police said. (Rhode Island State Police)

A pair of Rhode Island political hopefuls, who aspired to be The Ocean State's governor and attorney general, was arrested Thursday after police allegedly uncovered 48 pounds of illegal marijuana in the duo's West Greenwich home.

State police said they arrested Anne Armstrong, 58, and Alan Gordon, 48 -- the Compassion Party’s candidates for governor and attorney general, respectively -- after a search at the pair’s home uncovered nearly 50 pounds of marijuana.

“On way to the Wickford barracks under arrest for cannabis again,” Armstrong tweeted Thursday morning from what appeared to be the back of a police cruiser. “I guess our poll numbers were high enough to scare them into committing an atrocity. Pray for our police.”

Officials said they searched the pair’s home after receiving a complaint of a “strong odor of marijuana emanating from marijuana plants being illegally grown outdoors.”

Rhode Island state police said they found at least five large aluminum trays full of pot (Rhode Island State Police)

Police said they found marijuana “growing outdoors and in plain sight” without the state-issued tags required for growing medical marijuana, the Providence Journal reported.

Inside the home, police found at least five large aluminum trays heaped with trimmed pot. Other trays also held drying marijuana, the Journal reported.

Police said they also found trays holding drying marijuana. (Rhode Island Police Department)

A 15-year-old child was inside the home at the time of the arrests, police said.

The pair, who are leaders of a Christian sect – The Healing Church – that uses marijuana for religious services, appeared in court Thursday afternoon. They did not enter pleas on charges of marijuana possession and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

They were ordered held on $25,000 bail.

According to the Providence Journal, the pair’s stance on marijuana has sparked previous run-ins with police. In one lawsuit filed against the state, Armstrong and Gordon claim the enforcement of state marijuana laws against them amounts to religious discrimination and violates the U.S. Constitution.

They also argue the term “marijuana” is racist and prefer the word “cannabis.”

 

[Baron23]

Marijuana Support Grows: Two Out Of Three Americans Back Legalization, Gallup Says


Two-thirds of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, the highest percentage ever in Gallup's ongoing decades-long series of national polls on the topic.

The new survey released on Monday shows that U.S. adults back ending cannabis prohibition by a supermajority margin of 66 percent to 32 percent. That's more than a two-to-one ratio.

It is the third year in a row that the firm, which has been polling about marijuana for 49 years, has found a record-breaking increase in support.

When Gallup first polled Americans on legal marijuana in 1969, just 12 percent said they were in favor. As recently as 2005, barely a third of Americans were on board.

Last year, the survey pegged legalization's favorability at 64 percent. In addition to the two-point bump in support since then, opposition also decreased two percentage points from 2017's level of 34 percent.

GallupGallup

Support for legalization has spiked considerably in several key demographics over the past year. For example, there has been a nine-point increase among older Americans, with 59 percent of those aged 55 and over now saying it is time to end marijuana's criminalization.

And Republican support is rising as well, with 53 percent backing legal marijuana this year as compared to 51 percent in 2017, the first year the poll found a majority of GOP voters in favor.

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GallupGallup

Just 45 percent of Republicans told Gallup this year that they oppose making cannabis legal, a four-point drop from 2017. Combined with the jump in those saying they favor the policy change, there was a net six-point swing in GOP attitudes toward marijuana legalization and away from prohibition over the past twelve months.

Legal marijuana support is also at an all-time-high among Democrats—75 percent—and independents, who are on board to the tune of 71 percent.

The poll also found that regional differences in attitudes about cannabis are starting to dissipate. People on the East Coast are now slightly more likely to back legal marijuana than those out West , with all areas of the country favoring the policy change at roughly the same rate—67 percent in the East and 65 percent in the each of the Midwest, South and West.

And there's no sign the year-over-year increase in support is slowing down.

"Like support for gay marriage—and in prior years, interracial marriage—support for marijuana legalization has generally only expanded, even if slowly, over the course of multiple decades—raising the question of where the ceiling in support might be," Gallup's Justin McCarthy wrote.

Indeed, support is huge among younger Americans, with 78 percent of those aged 18 to 34 calling for cannabis to be legal.

"It is time for lawmakers to acknowledge the data-driven and political realities of legalization," said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. "It is time to stop ceding control of the marijuana market to untaxed criminal enterprises and implement common-sense, evidence-based regulations governing cannabis' personal use and licensed production by responsible adults."

"Our time has come," he added.

The survey was conducted between October 1 and 10, prior to Canada's cannabis legalization law going into effect last week.

Several other recent national polls have shown strong support for cannabis reform. Earlier this month the Pew Research Center, for example, found that 62 percent of Americans support ending marijuana prohibition.

"There is a growing sense among the U.S. population that it is time to end our nation's failed experiment with marijuana prohibition," Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said. "There are not many issues out there that enjoy majority support among both of the major political parties and in every region of the country. This support is consistently translating into wins at the ballot box, and it should further motivate elected officials to take action at the state and federal levels. Hopefully lawmakers are paying attention to this clear trend in public opinion."

"If they ignore these poll numbers, they do so at the risk of seeing a drop in their own," Hawkins added.

The positive reports of legalization's favorability come as several U.S. states prepare to vote on cannabis measures in November.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that opposition to legalization remains strong where it does because of the importance of cannabis prohibition to the school-to-prison pipeline. I appreciate Rep. Clymer’s point of view, but ending the use of cannabis as a pretext for arrest of black Americans in particular will throw a monkey wrench into overpolicing, into systemic criminalization of the black community, into the maintenance of a disposable menial class of mostly unemployable ex-convicts. It would greatly aid in ending the poverty of our current poor which Rep. Clymer says is his top priority

The school-to-prison pipeline is IMO an abomination in a supposedly free society and should be blocked, but there’s a LOT of big money in keeping prisons full (slavery is in fact permitted by the constitution if said slaves are incarcerated), and a lot of people don’t want to give up those extra dollars, principles or no principles. They don’t want to give up having a cheap servant class - or even a free servant class if they can arrange it.

Immigrants seems poised to replace the black citizenry in our new, industrial plantations, so that may ease the transition from Jim Crow to Manuel labor, but it’s a bad road to go down, we’ve been down it before - and still trying to climb out from the last trip.

 

[Shredder]

Rhode Island gubernatorial, attorney general candidates arrested with 48 pounds of marijuana: police

Alan Gordon, 48, and Anne Armstrong, 58, - who are running for Rhode Island attorney general and governor, respectively - were arrested for having 48 pounds of marijuana, police said. (Rhode Island State Police)

A pair of Rhode Island political hopefuls, who aspired to be The Ocean State's governor and attorney general, was arrested Thursday after police allegedly uncovered 48 pounds of illegal marijuana in the duo's West Greenwich home.

State police said they arrested Anne Armstrong, 58, and Alan Gordon, 48 -- the Compassion Party’s candidates for governor and attorney general, respectively -- after a search at the pair’s home uncovered nearly 50 pounds of marijuana.

“On way to the Wickford barracks under arrest for cannabis again,” Armstrong tweeted Thursday morning from what appeared to be the back of a police cruiser. “I guess our poll numbers were high enough to scare them into committing an atrocity. Pray for our police.”

Officials said they searched the pair’s home after receiving a complaint of a “strong odor of marijuana emanating from marijuana plants being illegally grown outdoors.”

Rhode Island state police said they found at least five large aluminum trays full of pot (Rhode Island State Police)

Police said they found marijuana “growing outdoors and in plain sight” without the state-issued tags required for growing medical marijuana, the Providence Journal reported.

Inside the home, police found at least five large aluminum trays heaped with trimmed pot. Other trays also held drying marijuana, the Journal reported.

Police said they also found trays holding drying marijuana. (Rhode Island Police Department)

A 15-year-old child was inside the home at the time of the arrests, police said.

The pair, who are leaders of a Christian sect – The Healing Church – that uses marijuana for religious services, appeared in court Thursday afternoon. They did not enter pleas on charges of marijuana possession and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

They were ordered held on $25,000 bail.

According to the Providence Journal, the pair’s stance on marijuana has sparked previous run-ins with police. In one lawsuit filed against the state, Armstrong and Gordon claim the enforcement of state marijuana laws against them amounts to religious discrimination and violates the U.S. Constitution.

They also argue the term “marijuana” is racist and prefer the word “cannabis.”

I rarely believe this crap as written.

I know a young couple that was busted. The papers said with 54 lb. turns out the cops weighed live plants in pots, dirt and all. As it came to court they were one plant over the limit, and slightly over on weight.

Long story short. The husband spent a year in jail to save his pregnant wife from potential charges. Now he has a record for what most would say were minor violations.

 

[ataxian]

I rarely believe this crap as written.

I know a young couple that was busted. The papers said with 54 lb. turns out the cops weighed live plants in pots, dirt and all. As it came to court they were one plant over the limit, and slightly over on weight.

Long story short. The husband spent a year in jail to save his pregnant wife from potential charges. Now he has a record for what most would say were minor violations.

2018 & the LAW regarding CANNABIS is still in the BRONZE AGE?
Safer than MILK?
Don`t understand this type of LOGIC?

 

[Baron23]

"Boehner said that his views on marijuana changed after he spoke with a former Navy SEAL who used cannabis to treat the migraines he suffered from after being injured in combat."​

Boehner's views changed when he found out that he has to work for a living now...instead of feeding off the public trough....and he found people willing to pay him for participation in MJ industry.

This man is a total, unmitigated hypocrite without a core value to his name....although, that's really the story about most of our politicians, yeah?

If you would like to hear Method Man say the same thing, check it out.




Ex-Speaker Boehner pitches investors on marijuana industry: 'All in on cannabis'

John Boehner is well-known for his fondness for red wine and cigarettes. But in his new career since retiring as House speaker, the veteran Ohio GOP lawmaker has added marijuana -- or at least the industry -- to his list of vices.

In a striking scene, the ex-speaker on Tuesday made a public pitch for why Americans should invest in the growing marijuana market.

In a webcast launching the National Institute for Cannabis Investors, Boehner – once a strong opponent of legalizing marijuana – said that now is the time to invest in the cannabis industry as lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including some conservative leaders, are beginning to change their views on legalization. He said nationwide legalization could happen within a matter of years.

“I’m all in,” Boehner said. “This is the time to go all in on cannabis.”

In regards to legalization across all 50 states, Boehner said: “It’s not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.”


Earlier this year, Boehner joined the advisory board of multi-state marijuana company Acreage Holdings, even though he said in 2011 that he was “unalterably opposed” to legalizing the drug. He voted against legalizing medical marijuana in Washington, D.C. in 1999.

As recently as 2015, Boehner came out against reclassifying marijuana under federal law, which currently considers marijuana as having no significant medical value, saying he was "concerned that legalization will result in increased abuse of all varieties of drugs, including alcohol."

Boehner said that his views on marijuana changed after he spoke with a former Navy SEAL who used cannabis to treat the migraines he suffered from after being injured in combat.

“He started using cannabis and the migraines disappeared,” Boehner said. “That’s when I realized I was wrong.”


A Pew Research Center poll from October shows that approximately 60 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, compared with 31 percent in 2000. Far more Democrats than Republicans back the measure.

Nine states, plus the District of Columbia, permit the recreational use of marijuana.

Marijuana, however, remains illegal under federal law, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rolled back Obama-era protocols that discouraged criminal prosecution of medical marijuana dispensaries. The move effectively unleashed federal prosecutors to consider bringing marijuana cases, while stopping short of ordering them to do so.

Despite Sessions’ rollback, Boehner said he has found an ally for legalization in the Oval Office.

“While I don’t want to give away too much of my conversations with President Trump or I won’t be having those conversations anymore,” he said, adding, “But President Trump said, ‘I agree with Boehner, he’s right.’”


Boehner -- who appeared in the webcast besides Danny Brody, who spearheaded two major cannabis IPOs, and investment publisher Mike Ward -- said there are three big roadblocks to the growth of the cannabis industry: marijuana being classified as a Schedule I drug, banking regulations on cannabis companies and an IRS code that doesn’t allow these companies to deduct normal expenses from their taxes.

The former House speaker, however, said he was confident the banking regulations and the IRS code could be changed and added that downgrading marijuana is being discussed in Congress.

Marijuana is currently grouped with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug, while drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine are Schedule II. Cannabis activists point to research on its medical uses as a reason to downgrade marijuana to Schedule V alongside cough suppressants and some anticonvulsants.

 

[momofthegoons]

There's a video of this guy in the article that couldn't be embedded. Nice to see a politician that's willing to go the 'extra mile' to see what this is all about.

Pot ‘virgin’ politician eats edible to see what all the fuss is

A Utah Democrat recorded himself gobbling a marijuana-laced gummy bear for the very first time ahead of a crucial vote there over the legalization medical marijuana.

State Sen. Jim Dabakis, a Democrat who represents District 2, traveled to Las Vegas over the weekend and visited a marijuana dispensary to pick up the candy.

“We’re looking at major changes in Utah laws. At least one legislator ought to see what this thing is all about,” he said.

The pol, an admitted pot “virgin,” dropped $30 of his own cash on a bag of tangerine gummy bears from NuLeaf Marijuana Dispensary.

Then, he posted live video of himself taking a taste on Facebook.

“As great sacrifice, without any taxpayers’ dollars, I decided to come to Las Vegas and see what the whole folderol was about,” Dabakis, dressed in a Red Sox tee-shirt, said. He then joked, “I have to admit somewhat shyly I have never tasted, smoked, eaten, shot up marijuana in my life.”

The quirky Dem, who was elected to the Senate in 2012, used his teeth to open the childproof baggie, cracking, “It’s not easy to open. I don’t think we have to worry about kids getting into it.”

He then took out one gummy, split it in half and took a bite.

“I wouldn’t recommend it as a sheer candy. It’s a little bitter,” he said.

Dabakis said he had a driver to take him to his hotel room, where he planned to veg out while the effects of the gummy kicked in.

Two days later, he reported on his first high in another Facebook video. He said the hype behind getting high was “ho-hum” and “not that big a deal” — a hint at how he might vote on the controversial legislation next month.

“I felt a little high, you know, a little bit OK, but it didn’t change my life,” Dabakis said. “It wasn’t like ahhh! So, everybody, mellow out. Recognize that this is nothing to be afraid of ‘cause the people that are terrified by it seem to be the people who have never tried it.”

Next month, Dabakis and his colleagues will vote on the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, known as Proposition 2, which would allow qualifying patients to get medical marijuana, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

 

[Baron23]

National expungement week is underway—here’s everything you need to know

A coalition of more than 20 organizations is in the midst of National Expungement Week, sponsoring events in cities across the country to help the 77 million Americans with past criminal convictions clear their records. Those attending the events will receive legal help with expunging, sealing, or reducing criminal convictions. National Expungement Week events are being held October 20 through 27 in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

As cannabis is legalized in more jurisdictions across the United States, many past offenders are burdened with criminal convictions for activities that are no longer against the law. Adam Vine of Cage Free Cannabis and the Equity First Alliance told High Times via email how convictions for even low-level offenses such as possession and sales of small quantities of marijuana can result in lifetime consequences.

“A criminal record can restrict access to employment, housing, education, voting rights, and social services,” Vine said. “These collateral consequences prevent people from fully re-entering their communities after incarceration, which is why expungement is both necessary and urgent.”

Vine also noted that assistance with other social services will be available at National Expungement Week clinics.

“In addition to legal services, these events are offering job fairs, resume workshops, voter registration, immigration advice, and additional resources for veterans and families with incarcerated loved ones,” said Vine. “Each event is different.”

Vine added that help is also available for those with convictions besides cannabis offenses.

“Legal services are limited only by state law, which typically restricts post-conviction relief to people with non-violent records,” he said. “All people with all types of offenses are welcome, however, and if a state (or Washington DC) allows it to be expunged, sealed, or reclassified, our events will help people do that for free.”

California Automates Expungement For Pot Offenses
Earlier this month, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation designed to simplify the expungement process for those with marijuana convictions in his state. Sonia Erika, a spokesperson for the Equity First Alliance, applauded the action by Brown and the California legislature.

“While a number of states, including Oregon, Colorado, and Massachusetts, are allowing people with prior cannabis arrests and convictions to seal and expunge their records, California just recently became the first state to ease the burden on individuals by making those retroactive changes automatically, [which] will enable thousands of more people to move forward with their lives and to seek new employment and business opportunities in the cannabis industry and elsewhere.”

Erika also said that changing cannabis laws should be applied retroactively.

“Now that the plant is becoming legal, those who have gone to jail should be able to clear their record,” Erika said. “The process for changing one’s record varies wildly state-by-state, but the need is universal.”

Erika added that the sponsoring organizations hoped that pooling their efforts would help rectify some of the harm caused by the prohibition of cannabis.

“Considering America’s history of the war on drugs, the cannabis industry must bring justice and shared profits,” said Erika. “As these expungement events become more common, we wanted to coordinate them to highlight the need for widespread and automated legal relief.”

More information about National Expungement Week events is available at www.offtherecord.us.

 

[Baron23]

I'll believe predictions when Vegas starts offering over/under on the legalization date! haha

Here's when experts predict the entire United States will legalize marijuana

With the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, many are wondering when the United States of America will follow in their northern neighbors' footsteps. And according to a few experts, we only have to wait a few more years, writes Joseph Misulonas.

Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the Santa Fe Institute recently attempted to predict when marijuana legalization will occur throughout the United States.

The researchers looked at 170 other laws and policies that started as state level initiatives, like marijuana has, and eventually became law at the national level. Their analysis wasn't simply about marijuana legalization, but rather about any policy that begins at the state level.

So when will the U.S. legalize marijuana? 2021. Maybe. It's complicated.

You see there are different trajectories the researchers created based on past information as well as the current rate of legalization. If you look at the data taken from the first five states to legalize recreational marijuana, then the researchers predict the whole country should legalize cannabis by 2021.

But when they looked at the data for the first nine states that legalized marijuana, they then predicted that legalization wouldn't occur until 2023.

The researchers at the end concluded that there's a strong likelihood that marijuana will be legalized in the United States by the end of 2022. They also said the idea that it will occur after 2028 is unlikely, with less than a 30 percent chance.

So you'll have to wait four to 10 years. Very reassuring.

 

[Baron23]

IMO Sabet is a hypocrite and holds some fairly fascist views....just do what I tell you, for your own good....trust us. Yeah, right.


Anti-Marijuana Group Wants ‘Mandatory Assessment’ For Consumers

Since being founded in 2013, anti-legalization organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) has consistently presented itself as supporting a balanced middle-ground approach between incarceration for consumers and the commercialization of cannabis. But it has never clearly described what it thinks police and government agencies should do to people caught possessing marijuana instead of putting them behind bars or just ignoring them.

Until now.

In a new document uploaded to SAM’s website last week, the group lays out “several key points to be addressed in model legislation” for cannabis at the state level.

Chief among them:

“Require mandatory assessment of problem drug use by a treatment professional after the first citation; those who are diagnosed with a substance use disorder can be diverted into a treatment track where they receive the appropriate level of care, those who are not problem users can be directed to social services for follow-up and addressing other life factors contributing to drug use.”

Let’s break that down.

If the police catch someone possessing a small amount of marijuana once, the person is directed to a “mandatory assessment of problem drug use.” If they are diagnosed as having a substance use disorder they are then forced to undergo treatment. If they refuse, presumably they’d be incarcerated or otherwise punished in some way.

But even if it is determined that the person is “not a problem” user, they still get directed to “social services” to dig into “other life factors” associated with their decision to consume cannabis.

“Project SAM, like U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, firmly believe that ‘good people don’t use marijuana,'” Paul Armentano, NORML’s deputy director, told Marijuana Moment after reading the prohibitionist organization’s proposal. “In SAM’s case, their overarching philosophy appears to be, ‘Only people with problems use marijuana.'”

“Clearly, SAM believes that marijuana use per se should be defined under the law as aberrant behavior requiring varying degrees of state intervention,” he said. “Such an approach perpetuates the needless stigmatization of marijuana and those who consume it, and is clearly at odds with the attitudes of the majority of the public who desire to see and end to these discriminatory and punitive public policies.”

SAM representatives did not respond to Marijuana Moment’s request for clarification about whether and how people would be punished for refusing mandatory assessments, treatment or participation in social services programs.

While the organization this year endorsed New Jersey decriminalization legislation that would require people caught with marijuana to undergo assessments, the new blog post appears to be the first time the group has made a considerable effort to articulate its favored alternative to cannabis legalization despite repeated promises over the course of years that it would “soon” release information about its policy aims beyond just impeding efforts to end prohibition.

Under the new plan, it appears that most people caught with marijuana would have to pay for treatment themselves.

But in a concession to legalization advocates who have pointed out that marijuana laws are often enforced more harshly against those from communities with lesser economic means, SAM does suggest waiving fines and treatment costs for people who don’t have the money to pay. They also say community service could be an alternative to shouldering the monetary costs for those with “severe financial hardship.”

Kevin Sabet, SAM’s president, has consistently said in interviews that he doesn’t seek to punish people for consuming or cultivating marijuana at home and is merely concerned with stopping “Big Marijuana” companies from commercializing addiction. But his organization has repeatedly opposed legislative proposals to allow possession and limited cultivation with no sales.

“You could grow a plant at home, actually. You could homegrow,” he said in a 2016 interview, for example. “You could do gifting. You could do a kind of decriminalization where basically we turn the other way.”

Nonetheless, the group opposed a 2014 ballot measure in Washington, D.C. to legalize low-level possession and homegrow, as well as legislation in Vermont this year to allow the same thing. Neither proposed to create a legal, commercialized cannabis sales market and instead allows adults to “gift” marijuana to one another in line with Sabet’s statement.

Both measures were enacted into law over SAM’s objections.

Perhaps tiring of standing on the sidelines yelling “no” to legalization to no avail, the group is finally preparing to try its hand in shaping policy. It remains to be seen if the new “model legislation” document leads to a more hands-on role in the cannabis legislative process for the prohibitionist organization.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

This is just a figleaf over the traditional preference for punishing citizens for ‘crimes of statute’...I have no doubt it will work just as well as Betsy DeVoss’ mindless educational “policies”....

 

[Baron23]

Another big election year for marijuana as candidates recognize voters want legal cannabis

The lucrative legal cannabis industry is again front and center this voting year as Americans head to the polls for midterm elections November 6. Ballots across the U.S. will include numerous cannabis-related measures — many at the county and municipal level — regarding laws for commercial cultivation in certain zones and how to spend abundant new cannabis taxes. In Colorado alone, legal cannabis revenues for 2018 crested a record $1 billion by August. The state is forecasting to gross over $1.5 billion by end of year, meaning more than $250 million into government coffers.

Several U.S. states will also vote on both adult-use and medical cannabis legalization. North Dakota and Michigan will decide on ballot initiatives for recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over, and Utah and Missouri will cast ballots on medical marijuana legalization. There are also 35 U.S. Senate seats up for grabs and 36 races for governor. And you can bet that those candidates are well aware that nothing brings out the vote — particularly the youth vote — like cannabis. Having already reached a tipping point of popularity in the U.S. — with 62 percent of Americans agreeing that marijuana should be legalized — candidates nationwide are currently more willing than ever to include cannabis endorsements in their platforms. Political contenders in many states are following the green, as a projection by BDS Analytics puts worldwide consumer spending on legal pot at roughly $57 billion by 2027.

In the highly contentious race for Florida’s governorship, candidates Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis are battling it out with clashing and irreconcilable political views — including opinions on healthcare, climate change and gun control — yet regarding the once controversial topic of marijuana legalization they are both supportive. “Legalize it. Tax it,” Tweeted Gillum earlier this year. “Use the revenue to fix Florida's public schools and move us up from 29th in the nation to #1.” DeSantis was a bit more cautious but still pro-weed telling WPLG 10News, “I am going to implement the will of the voters. They passed medical marijuana overwhelmingly, and my view is we have a process in Florida when that happens, then we shouldn’t play games with it. We should just simply implement it.” Whoever becomes Florida’s next governor will certainly have a lot of say over the state’s evolving — and highly profitable — medical marijuana system, and over any potential recreational legalization efforts going forward.

There’s no better evidence of marijuana’s widespread popularity than Canada’s decision to make cannabis legal for adult use across the country this year. As cannabis retailers there contend with high demand and inventory shortfalls since legal weed sales fired up on October 17, it’s clear that consumers want this substance available. Buyers in the U.S. are signaling the same, as 31 states have legalized it for medical purposes and nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug for recreational adult use. The message to candidates in many pro-marijuana regions is clear: go against the rising tide of cannabis legalization at your own peril.

In California, where statewide recreational cannabis sales kicked off in January, Marijuana Business Daily reports that many jurisdictions in the state are still grappling with ironing out local marijuana laws. Some 82 cannabis-related ballot measures are slated to go before voters in cities and counties around the Golden State. Those measures will include regulations for cannabis entrepreneurs to operate within their borders, new licensing opportunities and setting tax rates. For instance, in Bakersfield, Measure J seeks to “retain the ban on commercial adult-use cannabis activity” but “allow and regulate commercial medicinal cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, testing, retailing, distribution and micro-business in the unincorporated area.”

In conservative-leaning Montana — a state that’s had a contentious history the past few years with legal medical marijuana — U.S. Senate candidate Jon Tester, who is currently ahead in the polls, said during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting this year, "Veterans must have a say in how they manage their pain and the VA needs to listen to those veterans who are finding relief in medicinal cannabis."

While midterm elections consistently have a much lower voter turnout compared with general elections, ballot measures can have a significant effect on who shows up to vote and subsequent outcomes. Cannabis looks to be one of the key motivators this year.

 

[momofthegoons]

Unreal....

MedMen Files Trademark Application For the Word ‘Cannabis’

Cannabis retailer and cultivator MedMen has filed a trademark application for the word “cannabis,” it was revealed recently. The application to trademark the word for use in connection with “T-shirts; Short-sleeved or long-sleeved t-shirts” was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on October 3. Photographs included with the application depict graphic T-shirts with the word “cannabis” superimposed over photographs of MedMen dispensary exit bags held by models with cropped-out heads.

News of the application created a buzz on social media and among cannabis industry publications, with many lamenting a takeover of cannabis by big business and others wondering if the action by MedMen is simply a publicity stunt. I tried to get more information from the company but requests for comment sent to Daniel Yi, vice president of corporate communications, and Dan Edwards, senior vice president of legal affairs and the attorney who filed the trademark application, have not yet been answered.

Intellectual Property in the Cannabis Industry
We also reached out to Shabnam Malek, an attorney who specializes in trademarks and intellectual property in the cannabis industry at the law firm Branch and Branch in Oakland, California. Malek says that protecting intellectual property can be tricky in the pot industry.

“Protecting some kinds of intellectual property can be a challenge for cannabis businesses,” Malek said. “Trademarks present the biggest complication because in the United States to develop rights in a trademark you must be using the trademark in commerce.”


Malek said that trademarking the word “cannabis” is allowed. But the trademark has to be used in connection with goods or services that are lawful. Because of the federal prohibitions on marijuana, a trademark would not be granted for use with cannabis or cannabis products.

MedMen’s trademark application is for use in connection with T-shirts, however, a product that is perfectly legal.

“In theory, it’s entirely possible for somebody to get a registration of the mark ‘cannabis’ or the word ‘cannabis’ in connection with apparel,” said Malek. “It’s absolutely possible. Whether or not MedMen will successfully be able to do it is an interesting question.”


Malek explained that trademarks with the word “cannabis” are problematic because they are so popular.

“The problem with the word cannabis tends to be that everybody else is using a similar word in the cannabis industry so it’s hard to develop rights in that term– it’s not distinctive or unique in general when used in connection with cannabis goods or services,” she said.

So, for MedMen’s application to be successful, the company will have to be the first seeking to use the term in connection with T-shirts or similar products.


“Two identical marks, generally won’t be registered for use in connection with the same or highly related goods or services,” said Malek.

Malek conducted a search on the USTPO website to research other trademark applications for the word “cannabis.” Malek learned that more than 1,000 registration applications including the word “cannabis” have been filed with the USPTO. When she narrowed her search to include applications for the word “cannabis” alone, Malek found only 16. Of those, only four applications were considered active or “live.”

One was MedMen’s application filed last month. Another was for a stylized version of the word “cannabis” for use in stickers and a third company had registered its own stylized version of “cannabis” in connection with apparel. That application was suspended because of an approved registration for the mark “cannabis couture” for use in connection with “wearable garments and clothing, namely shirts.”

“Nobody appears to have just the word ‘cannabis’ registered in connection with apparel, but that’s neither here nor there,” said Malek.

“The general principle is when you have marks that are identical or substantially similar– in this case ‘cannabis’ and ‘cannabis couture’ are substantially similar– they probably won’t be allowed registration if the goods and services are the same or highly related,” she continued.

Will MedMen Succeed?
Because of the similarity, Malek doesn’t see much chance of MedMen’s application succeeding.

“What may happen to this MedMen trademark application is that it could very likely be initially denied registration because of this other registration for ‘cannabis couture’ and the prior suspended application,” Malek predicted.

Malek sees another potential problem in MadMen’s application in the photographs included with it.

“There is some chance that their application could be refused registration because the use of the mark is, what we would say, merely ornamental, or not used as a trademark,” Malek said.

Simply screening the word “cannabis” on the shirts might not be enough for a trademark if MedMen isn’t manufacturing the apparel, she explained.

“The point of the trademark is that it’s meant to convey to a person that ‘hey, we manufactured this good and it comes with a certain quality level,'” she said.

Whatever MedMen’s chances of trademarking the word “cannabis” are, we won’t know if they will succeed until late 2019. Malek says that the USPTO has a backlog of about 3,500 cannabis-related trademark applications and it is taking up to 11 months for a case to be assigned to an examining attorney.

And even if they aren’t successful in the end, MedMen is certainly getting loads of press for its $225 application fee.

 

[Shredder]

And lawyers wonder why people hate them. Wait until monsanto kush comes out.

 

[Baron23]

It does bring to mind the money changers in Solomon’s temple, yeah. Haha

It’s too commonly used and strikes me as a stunt all the way.

 

[ataxian]

It does bring to mind the money changers in Solomon’s temple, yeah. Haha

It’s too commonly used and strikes me as a stunt all the way.

Do U think maybe R minds r Brainwashed?
Have we been programmed?

I don’t get it?
Why is CANNABIS demonized?

Pretty safe!

@Baron23 Uknow I love Music a lot!
The video U posted I love!

Power 2 U!

 

[Baron23]

@Baron23 Uknow I love Music a lot!
The video U posted I love!

Hello my friend - which one? The one with Dub FX...guy with a mic and a loop recorder and a fella with a sax playing on the street.

If so, I LOVE that one also!

 

[ataxian]

Hello my friend - which one? The one with Dub FX...guy with a mic and a loop recorder and a fella with a sax playing on the street.

If so, I LOVE that one also!

@Baron23 I love music & comedy?

Thank’s 4 posting!

 

[Baron23]

A look at the ballot initiatives of four states poised to legalize cannabis

With the midterm elections taking place tomorrow, it’s likely that some more states will be joining those who have legalized cannabis.

Currently there are nine states who have legalized recreational cannabis with 29 having legalized medical cannabis in some form. The plant is still illegal at the federal level but the most recent poll taken by Gallup Polling shows overall support of cannabis in the US to be at 66 percent.

“Clearly the national momentum is on our side and we see that in the national polls, but national polls don’t dictate state-level results,” said Matthew Schweich, deputy-director of the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project.

“We still have a fight on our hands in every single state where we’re trying to legalize.”

Here’s a look into what’s going on the ballots in North Dakota, Utah, Michigan and Missouri:

North Dakota
North Dakota legalized medical marijuana in 2016 and now voters will vote whether or not to pass Measure 3. The new measure would fully legalize recreational marijuana in addition to expunging cannabis-related criminal records.

The measure would also allow residents to grow an unlimited amount of cannabis that they could see tax free which is worrying those opposed to the measure.

“It’s a wide-open, no-holds-barred, no-limits on anything, no-oversight, poorly written measure,” said Norm Robinson, the campaign manager for North Dakotans Against the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana.

Supporters of the new measure are happy as it will require very little government interference. Defense Attorneys are currently in the process of asking judges to postpone any cannabis-related convictions as they will be expunged if the measure passes.

Utah
Unfortunately, support for Utah’s Proposition 2 has declined throughout 2018 from a whopping 77 percent in February to a mere 51 percent as of mid-October.

It seems that many of state’s residents have been convinced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (LDS) formal opposition to the measure. More than 60 percent of Utah residents belong to the church and they are taught from the beginning to avoid alcohol, coffee and even some types of tea. Tobacco and illegal drugs are also to be avoided.

“There’s a lot of voters who support marijuana in principle but didn’t want to go in opposition of the LDS church,” Schweich said. “The important thing about Utah is that we have made a compromise with our opponents.”

Leaders of the LDS church have agreed to a compromise that would ban anyone from growing their own as well as smoking cannabis, but those who need medical access will be able to get cannabis-infused foods or vape pens through a regulated body.

“They’re better than nothing, and they provide a path to access to patients and a path on which we can build for the future,” said Schweich.

Even if the ballot initiative does not pass tomorrow, a group of Utah lawmakers, advocates as well as the Mormon Church have come to an agreement that will adopt a similar framework to the ballot in the legislature following the election.

Michigan
Voters in Michigan will be voting on Proposal 1, a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana. Support for the proposal has strengthened with time with 3 polls in October saying that around 60 percent of eligible voters support the initiative.

The most recent poll was taken by Glengarriff Group near the end of October and found that 86 percent of likely voters between the ages 18 and 29 support the proposal. That is in stark contrast to the only 40 percent of voters aged 65 and up who are in support of the proposal.

There are Michigan residents who are strongly opposed to the initiative, saying that not enough tax could be collected to make up for the increase in drug treatment and campaigns necessary to prevent children from using cannabis.

“I wonder if there would be anything left for Michigan other than a bad policy that will affect the state for decades to come,” said Scott Greenlee, director of Health and Productive Michigan, a group opposing the ballot proposal.

Michigan legalized the medical use of cannabis in 2008 and whether or not this new measure will pass seems to largely rely on a younger demographic getting out to vote.

Missouri
Missouri voters will vote between Amendment 2, Amendment 3 and Proposal C. All three would legalize growing, manufacturing, selling and consuming cannabis for medical use. The measure that gets the most votes will be implements into state law.

Amendment 2 would tax cannabis sales at 4 percent and the proceeds would go toward funding health care programs for veterans. It would also allow residents to grow their own cannabis at home. Amendment 3 would tax sales from growers to dispensaries at $9.25 per ounce of flower and $2.75 per ounce for leaves. Sales at dispensaries to patients would be taxed at 15 percent. The proceeds would go toward setting up an institute for research into curing diseases that are currently “incurable”. Proposal C would tac cannabis sales at only 2 percent with all of the proceeds being split to fund health care for veterans, public safety, early childhood development initiatives and drug treatment programs.

 

[Baron23]

Marijuana champion Rohrabacher loses US House seat to Democrat

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, one of the cannabis industry’s most outspoken allies on Capitol Hill, has lost his congressional seat.

The California Republican from Orange County lost his bid for re-election to Democrat Harley Rouda after a lengthy vote-counting process that stretched into Wednesday.

The final tally: Rouda 50.7%, Rohrabacher 49.3%.

Rohrabacher, who was first elected to Congress in 1988 after working as a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, has for years advocated on behalf of the marijuana industry.

Here’s what you need to know:

• A landmark piece of legislation first passed by Congress in 2014 – the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment (later renamed Rohrabacher-Blumenauer) – has helped protect medical cannabis companies across the country from prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Rohrabacher also ran other marijuana reform bills, though none enjoyed the success of his namesake amendment.
• In 2017, he co-founded the Cannabis Caucus, a group of House lawmakers dedicated to marijuana reform.

Rohrabacher also was a regular at cannabis business gatherings, and he recently made an appearance in October at the National Cannabis Industry Association conference in Anaheim, California, alongside Lou Correa, a Democratic congressman from the Golden State.
Even then, Rohrabacher had his eyes set on removing marijuana from the schedule of federally controlled substances – a move activists call “descheduling” – in order to leave cannabis regulation entirely to the states, he told conference attendees.

“When we get to the next Congress … we will eliminate this horrible oppression,” Rohrabacher said, referring to federal cannabis prohibition and criminal penalties still connected to marijuana use in many states.

It’s not clear if Rouda, his Democratic successor, will prioritize cannabis policy the way Rohrabacher did