MAP - Medicinal Cannabis

Appeal-Democrat, 24 Jan 2012 - A Live Oak resident is suing to stop a ban on growing medical marijuana in the city that he said would force him to make "cruel choices." James Maral is seeking an injunction in Sutter County Superior Court on to temporarily halt a ban on cultivating marijuana that the Live Oak City Council passed Dec. 21 and that took effect Friday. The suit seeking the injunction was filed Monday afternoon.

Langley Times, 24 Jan 2012 - Langley Marijuana Dispensary Owner Will Not Reopen Service Pending Trial The owner of the shuttered Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Langley has informed the courts that he will insist on a jury when his drug possession case goes to trial.

Miami Herald, 24 Jan 2012 - SAN FRANCISCO -- A quarter-century after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, additional medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself could soon be making their way to pharmacy shelves, according to drug companies, small biotech firms and university scientists. A British company, GW Pharma, is in advanced clinical trials for the world's first pharmaceutical developed from raw marijuana instead of synthetic equivalents- a mouth spray it hopes to market in the U.S. as a treatment for cancer pain. And it hopes to see FDA approval by the end of 2013.

Wichita Eagle, 23 Jan 2012 - TOPEKA - Dani, a 21-year-old from Wichita, suffers with depression, anxiety and stomach problems. Marijuana helps her calm down, focus on important aspects of her life, and keep food down. She said it costs her about $20 every two weeks and is more effective than some of the prescription medications that she can't afford to maintain on a waitress' wage.

McCook Daily Gazette, 23 Jan 2012 - LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Two separate petitions with roots in Southwest Nebraska seek to place legalization of marijuana on the Nebraska ballot. The first, a petition circulated by Frank Shoemaker of Holbrook, seeks to add Proposition XIX to the Nebraska Constitution which would legalize marijuana for private, noncommercial use and cause the state to set aside any previous marijunana convictions.

The Press Democrat, 23 Jan 2012 - A Healdsburg home-invasion robbery victim can get restitution for his stolen marijuana if he was growing it in accordance with local guidelines for medical cannabis. But just how much Michael Steffens' weed is worth is open to debate.

Daily Free Press, 23 Jan 2012 - The debate over medicinal marijuana and cannabis products has been hotly contested for years. According to a Jan. 23 article on TIME's website, America has legalized medical use of marijuana in sixteen states, including the District of Columbia, and can be found in many products already on the market. Presently, a British company is now seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a spray that incorporates raw marijuana into its formula to ease cancer pain. GW Pharma, the company developing the spray, hopes to secure FDA approval by 2013. If the medicine is approved, it would represent a significant shift in perception of the drug's medicinal properties. Medical marijuana products have been on the market for some time, but a medicine utilizing the plant itself will call into question how important its raw health properties are to patients in severe pain. The drug has already been approved in New Zealand, Canada, and several European countries in hopes that its introduction will underline the distinction, which sets medical use apart.

Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan 2012 - They wore suits and ties and said they hope to raise $1,000 apiece from 1,000 people -- $1 million dollars -- while gathering 322,609 signatures by July 9 as the first step toward legalizing marijuana in Michigan. At a news conference Friday at Roberts Riverwalk Hotel & Residence in Detroit, a dozen members of the Committee for a Safer Michigan announced the kickoff of their effort to put their legalization question on Michigan's November ballot.

The Macomb Daily, 20 Jan 2012 - Attorney and marijuana advocate Matthew Abel stood inside a hotel located on the Detroit River and reflected back to the 1920s when rum runners would smuggle booze into the U.S. from Canada during Prohibition. He and a group calling themselves the Committee for a Safer Michigan are trying to end another prohibition -- this time against marijuana.

Sacramento Bee, 30 Oct 2011 - REDWOOD VALLEY The U.S. drug agents' vehicles rumbled past vineyards and cattle ranches, traversed winding roads through oak woodlands and cleared a gate marked with a sign: "Member, Mendocino Farm Bureau." Camouflaged and heavily armed, Drug Enforcement Administration officers brought a battering ram to the door of Matthew Cohen and a chain saw to cut down his 99 marijuana plants earlier this month.

Boston Herald, 28 Oct 2011 - We need to change the illegal status of marijuana. Today, a record 50 percent of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized, according to a recent Gallup poll. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, a fact emphasized by our Surgeon General 50 years ago. There has yet to be reported a fatal case of acute marijuana overdose. Perhaps the worst thing you can say about pot is that it may bring on symptoms of schizophrenia before they would have appeared otherwise.

The Press Democrat, 28 Oct 2011 - So what happened to "do no harm"? Our question is prompted by a puzzling position taken by the California Medical Association. At its annual convention this month, the state's largest doctors group dismissed marijuana as little more than a folk remedy that may actually pose health risks. But, they said, let's legalize pot anyway and figure out if there are any problems later.

Albany Democrat-Herald, 27 Oct 2011 - Law enforcement continues to spend time chasing marijuana growers. It will have to continue doing so until our lawmakers start applying better sense. With our voter-approved medical marijuana program, spending law enforcement resources on catching small-time growers seems pointless.

Sacramento News & Review, 27 Oct 2011 - Federal raids, plus a county crackdown and city standstill-will Sacramento's medical-cannabis community go underground, a la Prohibition? It took only 10 days for the federal government, after California's four U.S. attorneys announced a ramped-up crackdown against the state's medical-marijuana industry, to raid a local dispensary.

The Chico News & Review, 27 Oct 2011 - Butte County Ban Stays in Place After a very short discussion Tuesday (Oct. 25), the Butte County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ban medical-marijuana dispensaries. The decision came three months before a moratorium on the facilities was set to expire. Several people spoke on the topic, mostly advocating against banning dispensaries.

New Times, 26 Oct 2011 - California Media React to the U.S. Attorney's Pot Comments California's proprietors of medical marijuana dispensaries and their landlords have taken fire lately from the Obama Administration, but the most recent federal offensive is now threatening to pull more people into its crosshairs.