Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: medical marijuana

medical marijuana stories: 50 news summaries

1 - 20 of 50 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

 Fla. Man to Smoke 
 115,000th Joint 

Feat earns him world record for cannabis consumption

(Newser) - He set the bar high and smoked the competition. Irvin Rosenfeld, a 56-year-old stockbroker from Fort Lauderdale, will toke his way into the record books today by smoking his 115,000th joint. The best part: It's completely legal. "Yep, provided by Uncle Sam," Rosenfeld told NBC Miami . "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida medical marijuana cannabis marijuana legalization Fort Lauderdale weed

 This Bud's for You: 
 Pot Cafe Makes 
 the Grade 

Marijuana mist, croissants on tap in 1st legal establishment

(Newser) - A first peek into the the first legal "pot cafe" in America reveals well-behaved Oregon patrons "sipping" marijuana mist from vaporizers and chatting amiably on couches. Not just anyone can wander into the Portland spot, which also sells chocolate croissants, notes a Times of London reporter. Smokers must... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical marijuana marijuana Oregon Portland pot pot cafe Portland pot cafe

 AMA Mellows on 
 Medical Marijuana 

Doctors group nudges Feds toward reclassification, research

(Newser) - The American Medical Association has finally softened on marijuana, urging the government to give it a new classification that would open the door to serious research on its medical merits. Now a Schedule I drug, with no accepted medical uses, under the AMA proposal it would become a Schedule II... More »

(Newser) - A hard-scrabble northern California town has been turned topsy-turvy since the folks with tokes moved in. Thousands of pungent marijuana plants pack fields and yards in tiny Hayfork, population 1,900, where a quarter of the residents are poor. The local Timberjacks football team recently moved its halftime huddle to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California medical marijuana marijuana marijuana legalization marijuana distribution pot Hayfork

 Calif. Holds Hearings on 
 Legalizing Pot 

Hopes high as 3 measures head for ballot next year

(Newser) - The push to legalize—and, especially appealing at the moment, tax—marijuana is picking up momentum in California, with legislators holding hearings today on what would be the first such law in the nation. Organizers are currently collecting signatures to put three separate pot legalization initiatives on the ballot next... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California law Arnold Schwarzenegger medical marijuana legislation marijuana marijuana legalization pot

Kathleen parker

 Legalizing Pot 
 May Be Women's Work 

Today's users don't fit the stoner stereotype: Parker

(Newser) - Good for AG Eric Holder for announcing that the Justice Department will let medical marijuana laws stand, writes Kathleen Parker—at last, the 14 states that give cannabis to the chronically ill won't face further raids by the feds. But it's not enough: 44% of Americans favor full legalization, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical marijuana marijuana cannabis marijuana legalization Eric Holder Kathleen Parker women's issues

OPINION

Obama Pot Policy a Victory for States' Rights

Administration takes long-overdue steps to end Bush-era excesses

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s decision to respect state laws on medical marijuana is good policy—and not just because it demonstrates compassion toward cancer and AIDS patients, writes Glenn Greenwald. Despite his critics’ charges of “socialism” and “fascism,” President Obama is showing that his administration, unlike the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
War on Drugs drugs medical marijuana marijuana decriminalization states' rights Obama administration

 Feds Will 
 Back Off 
 Medical Pot 
 Operations 

No more crackdowns on outlets that comply with state law

(Newser) - The Obama administration will stop cracking down on medical marijuana centers operating legally under state law, according to a new policy expected to be released today. The move is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which continued to bust such operations for breaking federal law. Under the new strategy,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama drugs medical marijuana marijuana George W. Bush states' rights Obama administration pot federal prosecutors

Life Not Groovy for Licensed
Pot Sellers

New Mexicans left fearing both feds
and criminals

(Newser) - New Mexico has started handing out licenses to nonprofit medical marijuana producers and distributors in an effort to avoid the kind of dispensary free-for-all seen in California—but that's not making those involved sleep any easier. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, meaning growers, distributors and users—fearing both... More »

MORE ABOUT:
New Mexico medical marijuana marijuana marijuana legalization

 US-Grown 
 Mom n' Pop Pot 
 Burns Mexican Cartels 

Economic forces more potent than law enforcement

(Newser) - Mexican drug cartels are facing an opponent more formidable than law enforcement: competition. The long-growing illicit US pot industry has gotten a shot in the arm from the new rules surrounding medical marijuana, the Washington Post reports. Whereas once Mexican and Colombian groups produced nearly all the pot consumed... More »

MORE ABOUT:
War on Drugs medical marijuana marijuana drug cartel marijuana distribution Mexican drug cartel

Perspective

Medical Weed's Been Great for My 9-Year-Old

Marijuana helps autistic, allergic child with debilitating pain

(Newser) - Almost as soon as Marie Myung-Ok Lee began giving daily doses of marijuana to her 9-year-old son J, she noticed a big change: He returned from school with his whole shirt on. J is autistic, has an inflammatory bowel condition, and has had two serious spinal cord surgeries. Before pot,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
parenting autism medical marijuana children pain relief

 Help Wanted: Pot Critic 

As pot grows semi-legal, connoisseurs wanted

(Newser) - In the midst of media layoffs, one Colorado newspaper is actually hiring: It’s looking for a pot critic. The number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver has exploded to more than 100 this year, and the alt-weekly Westword wants someone with a legit medical need to evaluate which are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
newspaper Denver medical marijuana marijuana marijuana legalization critic

 Pot Backlash 
 Grows in 
 Mendocino 

Culture is changing in a way that locals don't like

(Newser) - Hey, man, things aren't so cool anymore with marijuana farming in Mendocino County. Sure, it was great for years while "steel-haired" California hippies tended their crops, but things are getting out of hand, reports the Washington Post. Little kids started coming to school reeking of pot, while outsiders,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California crime medical marijuana marijuana marijuana legalization pot Mendocino

 Recession Sparks Efforts 
 to Legalize Pot 

Full-scale regulation and taxation on the table in Calif.

(Newser) - The recession has given marijuana-legalization advocates an unexpected boost, Time reports, as cash-strapped states are tempted by possible revenues from pot taxes. With an existing medical-marijuana market and cuts to education and health services pending due to a huge budget deficit, California advocates are preparing both legislation and ballot initiatives... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California Arnold Schwarzenegger medical marijuana legislation recession marijuana Oakland budget deficit ballot initiative taxation

Oakland First City in Nation
to Pass Pot Tax

Voters back levy on medical marijuana that could raise $1M

(Newser) - In a landslide, Oakland voters yesterday made their city the nation's first to levy a special tax on medical marijuana, the Los Angeles Times reports. By an 80% margin, voters backed a tax of $18 on every $1,000 in pot sales, a move that may catch on in other... More »

MORE ABOUT:
drugs taxes medical marijuana marijuana Oakland taxation

(Newser) - Instead of hotspots, IPhone users can now find pot spots, thanks to a new app that locates legal medical marijuana outlets, reports Mashable. Apple has approved the $2.99 iPhone app, Canabis, which seeks out legal pot clinics, collectives, advocacy organizations, and prescribing docs throughout the US. The smokin' application... More »

MORE ABOUT:
iPhone medical marijuana physician Apple marijuana doctor application App Store

 Calif. Stoked About Pot Profits 

Some call for legalization; others say it makes no difference

(Newser) - Even if they’re not legal without a doctor’s recommendation, marijuana sales are far from clandestine in California, and some say the state should finish what it started and just legalize pot for everyone, the AP reports. “The culture has gone so far beyond the law,” says... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California medical marijuana marijuana marijuana legalization marijuana distribution

Medical Marijuana Loophole Has LA Fuming

Overrun, city cracks down on dispensaries

(Newser) - After letting marijuana dispensaries multiply across the city, Los Angeles is getting tough on them, telling some to shut down while the city council works to close a loophole that allowed many to open. The city issued a moratorium on new dispensaries in 2007, but many people filed “hardship... More »

MORE ABOUT:
War on Drugs drugs medical marijuana Los Angeles public health cannabis loopholes

 RI Legalizes Medical Marijuana 

Legislature overrides governor's veto to back 'compassion centers'

(Newser) - Rhode Island has become the third state to legalize the sale of marijuana for medicinal use, the Providence Journal reports. The state House and Senate overrode the governor's veto of the bill, which will allow the opening of three "compassion centers" where critically ill patients can buy the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical marijuana marijuana Rhode Island

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Calif. Pot Law

Court declines to hear case arguing federal drug act is being flouted

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to California's medical marijuana law from two holdout counties, the Los Angeles Times reports. The court, without giving a reason, declined to hear the case brought by San Diego and San Bernardo counties that argued federal anti-drug laws contradicted the state's authorization... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California medical marijuana marijuana US Supreme Court

1 - 20 of 50 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>