Opiates – Law Street

Cannabis in America March 2017: Will Colorado Be First to Legalize “Pot Clubs”?

Alexis Evans — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:56:00 +0000

"Coffee Shop" Courtesy of mattmangum: License (CC BY 2.0)

All Cannabis in America coverage is written by Alexis Evans and Alec Siegel and brought to you by Law Street Media.

STATE OF WEED: WATCH

Will the U.S. Finally End its Prohibition on Marijuana?

A freshman representative from Virginia introduced legislation last week that would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act. This measure, introduced by Representative Thomas Garrett (R-VA), is identical to legislation introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2015 that never really went anywhere. The bill would not effectively legalize the sale and use of marijuana in all 50 states; instead, it would allow states the ability to make their own decisions on marijuana policy without the threat of federal interference.

NFLPA Will Explore if Marijuana is Safer Than Opiates

The NFL Players Association will look into whether marijuana is a safer pain management alternative for athletes than opiates. During a taping of the NBC Sports “Pro Football Talk Live” radio show, NFLPA President Eric Winston revealed that owners may soon have no choice but to embrace it.

Colorado Could Become the First State to Legalize “Pot Clubs”

In a five-to-two vote, the Colorado Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee recently passed a bill that would bring “pot clubs” to the state. Senate Bill 184, titled Private Marijuana Clubs Open and Public Use, would allow individuals 21 years and older to publicly consume marijuana in privately-owned marijuana clubs. The bill will now move to a full Senate vote.

All links are to primary sources. For more information on state laws for possessing, selling, and cultivating marijuana, click here to read “The State of Weed: Marijuana Legalization State by State.”

LAW STREET CANNABIS COVERAGE

Will the Trump Administration Crack Down on Marijuana?

By Alec Siegel

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested the Justice Department will increase its enforcement of federal marijuana laws. Marijuana is banned at the federal level, but is legal, recreationally or medically, in 28 states and D.C. However Spicer did say the president sees a “big difference” between recreational and medical marijuana.

Congress Now Has A Bipartisan Cannabis Caucus

By Alexis Evans

A group of pro-pot federal lawmakers has teamed up to announce the formation of the first-ever Congressional Cannabis Caucus. The bipartisan effort will work on legislation related to marijuana legalization and regulation, proving that perhaps Congress is taking the issue of marijuana legalization seriously.

Hemp Industries Association Sues DEA for Regulating Hemp as a Schedule I Drug

By Alexis Evans

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) has filed a motion against the DEA, challenging the agency’s handling of hemp foods as Schedule I drugs. On February 6, the HIA filed a motion to find the DEA in contempt of court for failing to comply with a 13-year-old court injunction, prohibiting the agency from regulating hemp food products as Schedule I controlled substances.

THREE QUESTIONS: EXCLUSIVE Q&A

Each month, the Cannabis in America team interviews influencers in the cannabis industry and gives you an exclusive look into their work, motivations, and predictions for the marijuana marketplace.

Dr. Sheryl Ryan is a pediatrician and the co-author of a new report titled“Counseling Parents and Teens About Marijuana Use in the Era of Legalization of Marijuana.” Dr. Ryan recently spoke with Law Street’s Alec Siegel about pediatricians’ role in keeping marijuana away from kids, and if they will prescribe medical marijuana to young people in the future. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

AS: Do you see yourself and other pediatricians as a line of defense for marijuana use among kids?

SR: Absolutely, as much as we can be. People look to us. Parents do see pediatricians as having a legitimate voice. There is a certain respect for what we say. But those are only the parents that we see; there are many kids we don’t have access to. There are many kids whose parents have their own views of things and won’t listen to what we have to say. There aren’t too many other people who are speaking for kids in terms of health other than pediatricians.

AS: Do you think children, teens, and young adults should be able to use marijuana in a medical capacity?

SR: There are going to be cases of compassionate use. There may be a kid who is at the end of life, getting chemotherapy, and has nausea. In that case, should I be worried about that kid’s final brain development? No. We try to recognize that there are going to be cases where we should be able to work with parents and allow [their children] to use marijuana. We’re against blanket application across the board.

AS: Do you see a day where pediatricians prescribe marijuana to young people?

SR: I see that in the future. I’ve been to conferences where people are doing cutting edge research about a lot of different compounds in the marijuana plant. People are looking at benefits on the immune system. There’s a lot of work being done in this field. We don’t hear a lot about it because it hasn’t yet been translated to clinical application. I think ultimately there will be a lot more benefits of some of the different compounds of the cannabis plant. Before you can get there, you’ve got to have the research, evaluation, and clinical trials that tells you what’s an effective dose.

CANNABIS CULTURE

A Cannabis Gym is Opening in San Francisco

By Alec Siegel

Things you find at a gym: barbells, bad dance music, bro tanks, yoga pants, and marijuana. Marijuana? At Power Plants Fitness, opening in May in San Francisco, yes, you will find marijuana. Find out more here.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Welfare Weed – Let the Lazy Be Lazier

Allison Dawson — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:01:33 +0000

Hey y’all!

The Berkley City Council in California has unanimously approved an ordinance requiring pot dispensaries donate 2 percent of their product to “patients” making under $32,000 a year. A single person is eligible for this “welfare weed” if they make $32,000 or under, but if that person has a family, the family income has to be $46,000 or under. This ordinance will go into effect in August 2015, but I imagine there will be some pushback over the next year about whether this should actually go into effect or not. I mean really, allowing free weed to those already on welfare? We all might as well quit our jobs or take on low-paying jobs and wait for our handouts. This is getting a little bit ridiculous. How many people in Berkley actually need free weed!?!

There are only three licensed dispensaries in the Berkley city limits and one of those dispensaries, House of Compassion, claims they already had:

[A] program in place that allocated a pound of marijuana for giveaway each week. The pound is broken up into 3.5-gram parcels and distributed on Mondays to anyone who can prove that they are on welfare (using an EBT card or other form of proof) and have been certified to use medical marijuana.

So why the need to create an ordinance if one location already has this program and there are only three dispensaries in the city? I don’t feel right about the reasoning behind this ordinance or the idea that marijuana should be free to anyone. And to be honest, I don’t think it should be legalized.

I don’t believe that every medical marijuana cardholder is someone who is genuinely sick or needing it for medicinal purposes. Back in 2011, the top three reasons physicians gave for recommending medical marijuana were “back/spine/neck pain” at 31 percent, “sleep disorders” at 16 percent and “anxiety/depression” at 13 percent. That is a total of 60 percent. SIXTY PERCENT! Now, I understand that many of these patients probably went through a very frustrating period of trial and error with other medical remedies, like pills, and nothing worked. But realistically how many of these “patients” were telling the truth? I understand, for the most part, the benefits of medical marijuana for some, but not everyone that has an ailment. I get the need for medical marijuana for people diagnosed with cancer or HIV/AIDS–those are diseases that can really take a toll on your body. But the “I need pot because I’m depressed” thing doesn’t sit well with me. Anyone can claim they are depressed or anxious or have certain levels of pain when in reality they don’t. Symptoms can be faked and I know people who have done so, which is why I am so cynical about the whole thing.

My biggest issue with the Berkley City Council is that they basically have said that if you need pot and are on welfare you might as well get it for free. They are allowing the lazy to be even lazier.

In Texas, the Texas Senate passed a bill last year that approved drug testing of welfare applicants so I can’t imagine the ideals of the Berkley City Council will breach the Texas boarder anytime soon. Which is great. Legalizing marijuana is probably one of the most reckless things a state can do. I love the fact that the Texas Senate allows for drug testing and if someone fails that drug test three times, no more welfare for them! “Taxpayer money should not be used to subsidize someone’s drug habit,” read a statement made by Texas State Sen. Jane Nelson, (R-Flower Mound.) I could not agree more!

I’ve seen the functioning pothead who will smoke a blunt everyday but still be able to go to work and act like a contributing member of society. I’ve seen the pothead who will sit at home, smoke out of their glass pipe in front of the computer and play mindless video games all day long, contributing nothing to their own lives or to society. I also recently had a friend tell me that she wished her husband would stop smoking pot but she recognizes that if he doesn’t smoke his four or five blunts throughout the day he turns into a completely different person, so she accepts his decision to smoke weed everyday, all day long. Dependence. Addiction. Altered mood. These are things that marijuana does to a person and it isn’t something that we should condone.

Marijuana’s second hand smoke is said to be very dangerous to children and pregnant women. Obviously there isn’t a whole lot of testing that has been done on the subject because of the dangers but there have been a few and the results appear to be compelling. According to studies, just like any other illicit drug, marijuana and secondhand marijuana smoke can cause premature labor, low birth weights and even neurological damage. There are people reckless enough out there that will disregard warnings and expose their loved ones to the second hand effects of marijuana. This short, but very interesting and to the point, article really brings to light what can happen to young children that are exposed to it in the womb or through second hand smoke.

Now I am not a believer in the “marijuana is a gateway drug to other drugs” idea–I think it is completely inaccurate–but I do think that allowing our country to accept an illegal drug like marijuana simply opens the door to other illegal drugs like opiates. At one point opiates were used like Tylenol is today. We should not revert back to the days of not knowing just to appease the drug users of the world; drugs are illegal for a reason. They do more harm than good.

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Allison Dawson (@AllyD528) Born in Germany, raised in Mississippi and Texas. Graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University. Currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative.

Featured Image Courtesy of [Ian Sane via Flickr]

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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