Leading up to the election, recreational marijuana was legal in only four states, namely: Alaska, Georgia, Oregon and Washington, including Washington D.C.

With the addition of these three states, the percentage of Americans living in states where marijuana use is legal for adults rose abouve 20 percent, from a measely 5 percent.

The victories could spark similar efforts in other states and put pressure on federal authorities to remove marijuana from Schedule II which labels it as a “dangerously addictive drug with no medical benefits.”

Overall, the legalization in the US has drastically improved with Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas approving medical marijuana measures. Montana voted on whether to ease restrictions on its existing medical marijuana law.

In general, the proposals for recreational cannabis would treat it similar to alcohol. Consumption would be limited to people aged 21 or older and forbidden in most public spaces. Pot would be highly regulated and heavily taxed, with some states allowing people to grow their own.

Support is rising even though some public health experts warn that studies on the drug is insufficient and that law enforcement lack reliable tests and protocols to determine whether a driver is impaired by marijuana.

Overall, the results of the marijuana referendums were hailed as historic by legalization activists, given that California is the most populous state. Massachusetts became the first state east of the Rockies to join the movement.

Collectively, it was the closest the U.S. has ever come to a national referendum on marijuana, which remains prohibited under federal law.

The post Three States Legalized Marijuana on Tuesday after Election appeared first on Pot My.

Law Enforcement

Police and prisons have been fighting legalization for some time. Many marijuana activists believe this is an attempt to keep the war on drugs alive. This is due the the fact that the war or drugs has been a great source of income for law enforcement.

Since cannabis legalization has spread, private prison companies in the U.S. have gone down $2 billion in value. Programs like the DEA’s Cannabis Eradication Program provide local and state police with large sums of cash for cracking down on drugs like marijuana.

Big Pharma

The pharmaceutical industry has been dropping big bucks to keep medical marijuana as inaccessible as possible.

What they fail to mention is how marijuana use is linked to a reduction in opioid abuse while individuals are dying from opioid overdoses across the U.S.

In states which have legalized marijuana, many people suffering from debilitating pain are choosing marijuana as a pain reliever instead of prescribed medicines. Is Big Pharma trying to protect people or are they going after the money?

Alcohol Industry

Drinking alcohol is 114 times more dangerous than smoking cannabis. With statistics like this surfacing, it’s really no surprise that the alcohol industry is trying to keep marijuana illegal.

According to a document published by Wikileaks, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America to get funding for combating marijuana’s legalization.

WSWA cited a report on increased drunk driving incidents involving marijuana in Colorado. The Study they cited didn’t conclude marijuana was the cause of any fatalities, just that more people involved in vehicular deaths had marijuana in their system.

The Beer Distributors PAC, representative of 16 beer distribution companies in Massachusetts, gave $25,000 to a campaign against marijuana legalization. Arizona Wine and Spirits Association also gave a group fighting legalization in Arizona $10,000.

Conclusion

It’s hard to believe these industries are fighting marijuana seriously if it’s the plant standing between them and their profits. One way you can fight back is by voting for one of the nine marijuana initiatives on the November ballot.

The post Top 3 Industries Lobbying Against Medical Marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 258,582 petition signatures to the Secretary of State in late June.

According to the campaign website, only 150,642 signatures were required.

The campaign states Proposition 205 would:

• Allow adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and consume marijuana in private.
• Establish a regulation system similar to alcohol.
• Enact a 15% tax on marijuana sales, in addition to standard state and local sales taxes.
• Use tax revenue to fund regulation enforcement.

Proposition 205 would allocate the majority of tax revenues to schools. If passed, 40% of excess tax revenue would go toward The Department of Education for school construction, maintenance and operating costs.

It would allocate another 40% of excess revenue to The Department of Education for full-day kindergarten programs.

The remaining 20% would go toward The Department of Health Services for public education for alcohol, marijuana and substance education.

The owner of the local dispensary Purplemed Healing Center, Jean-Paul Genet, said he supports the initiative.

“I expect to see a huge leap in the standard of education in Arizona,” said Genet.

Genet said it’s going to positively impact the economy.

“It is going to provide more employment and there’s going to be more taxes collected as a result,” he said. “There will be more opportunities for business development.”

Resident, Arturo Valenzuela, said he does not think legalizing marijuana for recreational use is a good idea.

“Especially, for the people that are driving,” said Valenzuela. “I mean we already have a problem with alcohol and now legalizing this, it’s going to be even worse.”

Genet said it does pose some dilemma, but argued marijuana is nothing like alcohol.

According to the campaign website, driving while impaired by marijuana would remain illegal. Public marijuana use would also remain illegal.

The initiative would not change existing penalties for the possession of more than one ounce of marijuana.

Register to vote in the November 2016 Election

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With five states voting to legalize marijuana, we could see recreational marijuana become available to about a quarter of the nation by the end of this year. Right now in the United States about 17 million people have access to recreational marijuana. That number could double from California voters passing their recreational marijuana initiative alone.

These are the next five states to vote on cannabis legalization on the ballot:

Arizona

Arizona’s Proposition 205 initiative is sponsored by the Arizona Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. If passed, the initiative would grant persons over the age of 21 the right to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants within enclosed, locked spaces in their homes.

The initiative would create the Department of Marijuana License and Control. The Department would limit the number of marijuana retail shops to a tenth of the number of liquor store licenses, which was less than 180.

Proposition 205 would impose a 15% excise tax on retail sales, with 80% of revenue going towards schools. The other 20% would go to substance abuse education to help prevent or remedy any of the negative side effects that may arise from marijuana legalization.

Arizona has a medical cannabis program with 90,000 patients but recent polls showed the state was not in favor of legalization.

California

California’s Proposition 64 will be on the ballot. The initiative is called The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). It is sponsored by Yes on 64 and would permit anyone over 21 to possess up an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants much like the Arizona measure. Gifting of up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana will be allowed if the proposition passes.

The initiative would make California the first state to have “cannabis cafes” that allow on-site marijuana consumption, similar to the ones in Amsterdam. Marijuana commerce would be regulated by a new Bureau of Marijuana Control, which could replace the current Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation.

The measure would impose a 15% retail sales tax and a $9.25 per ounce cultivation tax paid for by wholesalers. It’s worth noting the initiative provides no employment protections for consumers of marijuana.

Recent polls illustrate that 60% of Californians support the legalization of marijuana.

Maine

The Marijuana Legalization Act or Question 1, sponsored by the Maine Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, will be on the November ballot. The initiative would allow people 21 and over to posses up to two and a half ounces of marijuana or six plants.

The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry would regulate marijuana commerce, taxing retail marijuana at 10%.

The measure would also for “cannabis cafes” to be run similarly to bars, because you will need to be 21 to enter and guests will not be allowed to leave with their unfinished marijuana.

So far, campaign supporters have raised more funds than opponents of the initiative. Recent polling showed 55% of Maine is in favor of legalization.

Massachusetts

The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act or Question 4, is a measure sponsored by the Massachusetts Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.

The Act would permit people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in public and up to 10 ounces at home. Residents of Massachusetts would be able to grow up to six plants. Legal marijuana commerce would be regulated by a Cannabis Control Commission. “Cannabis cafes” for indoor cannabis smoking would be permitted.

The measure would impose an additional 3.75% to the states 6.25% sales tax, for a total tax rate of 10% . Localities can ban legal marijuana commerce or add local taxes. Pot smoking employees will not be protected under the new law.

The most recent polling in MA had 41% of residents in favor of legalization and 50% against it.

Nevada

The Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana or Question 2 is sponsored by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Nevada. The measure would allow people 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Residents who live more than 25 miles from a retail marijuana store will be able to grow six plants.

If the measure passes, the state’s Department of Taxation will create and oversee a system of licensed marijuana commerce. The initiative would impose a 15% tax on wholesale marijuana sales, retail sales will have the regular state sales tax.

A two week old poll has the Nevada Measure winning 50% to 41%.

The majority of states with legalization measures on their ballot seem to be in favor of legalization. The poll numbers don’t guarantee that three of the five states will go legal.The ballot takes place on November 9th.

The post Five States Set to Vote on Marijuana legalization appeared first on Pot My.

According to the advocacy group, law enforcement in the state made nearly half a million cannabis related arrests over the last decade. Although arrests fell last year, some patterns still exist.

Perhaps most worrying is the significant racial disparity in arrest rates. Despite similar use rates across groups, authorities disproportionately arrested black and Latino people. The DPA report found that black people are twice as likely than whits to be arrested for cannabis misdemeanors and barely five times more likely to be arrested on felony charges.

“While many people believe that marijuana is essentially legal in California, data show us that thousands continue to be arrested annually for marijuana activities,” said DPA staff attorney Jolene Forman. “These arrests fall disproportionately on black and Latino Californians. The only way to begin to repair these parities is to move marijuana into a fully regulated market and to reduce or eliminate criminal prohibitions for minor marijuana activities.”

The statistics might come as a surprise given California’s global reputation for cannabis tolerance. In 1996 the state become the first in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for medical use. Lawmakers further criminal penalties for cannabis in 2011, making possession of up to an ounce of cannabis for personal use a civil infraction rather than misdemeanor.

The change led to an 86& decrease in misdemeanors, but felony arrests remained relatively stable at roughly 14,000 per year. In 2015 that number fell by a third. The report, however, doesn’t attempt to explain why.

Unfortunately, youth under 18 now account for the majority of cannabis misdemeanor arrests. Prior to 2011, when possession was decriminalized, minors accounted for only a quarter of misdemeanor cannabis arrests. As of 2015, youth account for two-thirds of misdemeanor cannabis arrests.

California will have an opportunity to legalize cannabis for recreational use this fall. Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, contains sentencing reforms that would reduce or eliminate most criminal penalties around cannabis, Another load of good news is that these reductions would apply retroactively to past offenses.

The post California’s Law on Marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

In taking this step, the Obama administration is further relaxing the nation’s stance on marijuana. President Obama has said he views it as no more dangerous than alcohol, and the Justice Department has not stood in the way of states that have legalized the drug.

For years, the University of Mississippi has been the the only institution authorized to grow the drug for use in medical studies. This restriction has limited the supply of marijuana federally approved for research purposes that scientists said it could often take years to obtain it and in some cases it was impossible to get. But soon the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will allow other universities to apply to grow marijuana, three government officials said.

While 25 states have approved the medical use of marijuana for a growing list of conditions, including Parkinsons and lupus, to name a few, the research to back up many of these treatments is thin. The new policy could begin to change that.

The new policy will be published as soon as Thursday in the federal register, according to the three officials that spoke to the NY Times. They have seen the policy but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

It is unclear how many additional universities would receive licenses to grow marijuana, but the new policy does not set a cap on the number who could qualify. Any institution that has an approved research protocol and the security measures needed to store dangerous drugs can apply.

Researchers will still have to receive approval from federal agencies to conduct medical studies of marijuana, including from the DEA and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). hose whose projects are funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse will also need its consent.

However, drug policy advocates, experts and researchers predict that increasing the number of institutions growing marijuana will have a significant practical effect. The University of Mississippi’s monopoly on that role has been a barrier.

Earlier this year, the DEA has suggested that it would possible remove marijuana from the list of the most restricted and danferous drugs by end of June. But this week, the agency dit not take such a step.

The federal government still classifies marijuana as a highly addictive drug without medical value, as it has for 46 years. The DEA did not say when it will answer two petitions demanding a change of that policy, filed separately in 2009 and 2001.

Others were relieved that the DEA had moved to allow more institutions to grow marijuana for research, but not taken it off the list of the most dangerous drugs.

The post Obama Administration Set to Remove Barrier to Marijuana Research appeared first on Pot My.

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission voted unanimously in the first stage of the licensing procedure. It also voted for five growers and five processors as alternates, in the cent that any of the top 15 in each category ends up not receiving a license.

“This is not the end of the race,” said Harry “Buddy” Robshaw. the vice chairman of the commission. “Obviously it may be only the fist or second lap, but this is real important.”

In a surprise twist in Friday’s meeting, the commission announced that two grower applicants initially placed in the top 15 were bumped to spots 16 and 17, because the top 15 did not include the geographic representation noted in the law. Companies that initially placed in the 21st and 20th spots were moved into the 14th and 15th positions.

“The toughest part of the decision was who gets displaced,” Robshaw said. “We wanted to have a fair distribution across the state, and the only fair way it struck us to do that was to look at the places that had the most density of pre-approved applications and take the lowest rank from there so that we could move them down. We then moved those people into the 16th and 17th positions, which is right outside the top 15 but within the top 20. We agonized about this a lot, and the decision was not unanimous.”

The announcement sparked chatter after the meeting in a lecture hall at the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore.

“There may be some scrutiny, certainly by applicants who were either No. 14 or 15 who wound up in Place 16 and 17 who weren’t given the opportunity to say they would relocate,” said Rebecca Gasca, a medical marijuana industry consultant associated with two applicants in the process.

The panel chose from 145 grower license applications and 124 processor applications. The state’s law currently allows 15 growers and 15 processors. The commission made its choices based on a double-blind review of applications by Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute. That means the names of the companies and reviewers were redacted.

The names of the companies that are selected Friday won’t be made public until Aug. 15. After initial approval, the commission will conduct financial due diligence and background investigations on the companies.

Maryland lawmakers passed legislation to allow medical cannabis in the state in 2014. Medical marijuana isn’t expected to be available under the state’s regulations until sometime in 2017.

The post Maryland Issues Initial Approvals on Medical Cannabis Licenses appeared first on Pot My.

Under the Illinois marijuana law, anyone caught with 10 grans or less of cannabis will receive a fine up to $200. Two times a year, on January 1 and July 1, the citation are to be automatically deleted. While the law provides cannabis possession regulation uniformity statewide, municipalities still have the option to increase the fines and implement other punishments, including mandatory drug treatment for offenders.

Before cannabis was decriminalized in the state, someone caught with 10 grams or less of marijuana could spend 6 months in jail and pay a fine up to $1,500. Also under the old Illinois marijuana law, a driver could have been charged with a DUI if any hint of cannabis was discovered during a traffic stop, even if ingestion occurred weeks before.

Now, drivers will not receive a charge unless test results find five nanograms or more of THC, the chemical that induces marijuana’s psychological effects, in their blood. If a saliva test indicates 10 nanograms or more, then a driver will also be given a citation.

Some argue whether state law enforcement agencies will be able to effectively implement a system to test drivers for marijuana impairment. Michael O’Meara, a private defense attorney, doesn’t think testing for THC can be done efficiently during a traffic stop.

“It is going to be much more difficult for law enforcement to successfully prosecute DUI cases for marijuana,” he said.

Without reliable test results, the state will also have a difficult time proving in court that someone was under the influence of marijuana at the time of their citation, O’Meara added. While a driver runs the risk of license suspension, he also predicts many will simply refuse to submit a blood or saliva test.

According to a local Chicago ordinance passed in 2012, police officers can issue a ticket to anyone in possession of 15 grams or less of cannabis. The individual would have to pay a fine ranging from $250 to $500.

The state’s new marijuana law will not supersede the Chicago ordinance. However, it will make it easier for towns and other municipalities to create uniform measures statewide, especially in areas where no marijuana laws exists.

“I’m obviously thrilled that the state is taking this approach,” said Amy Campanelli, who heads the Cook County Public Defender’s office. “It’s a progressive, fair criminal justice reform.”

The governor’s approval of marijuana decriminalization came after changes were made to similar Illinois legislation passed last year by the General Assembly. Before the law was amended, Rauner believed it did not provide enough restrictions on the amount of pot someone could carry and the fines were too small for offenders.

While the law decriminalizes marijuana, it is still unlawful to possess, and the Illinois State Police will still be looking for offenders.

The Illinois marijuana law will help reduce the burden on the state’s already congested court system.

“We applaud Gov. Rauner and the legislature for replacing Illinois’s needlessly draconian marijuana possession law with a much more sensible policy,” said Chris Lindsey, the senior legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project. “This commonsense legislation will prevent countless citizens from having their lives turned upside down by a marijuana possession arrest.”

Now that the new marijuana law is in effect, Illinois is the 21st state to make small amounts of pot possession a civil matter rather than a criminal offense. While the decriminalization will prevent someone from ending up behind bars, it still doesn’t stop police from seizing and destroying the cannabis when it is found.

The post Illinois Marijuana Law Decriminalizes Cannabis Possession appeared first on Pot My.

Edible marijuana products is a broad category that could include items like cookies, candy and chocolate. It would also be permitted under the ballot nearly certain to go before voters in November. As die legalization debate heats up, the smoke-free forms of the drug are quickly emerging as a central focus of discussion.

Edibles caught the attention of the state Supreme Judicial Court, which this past week pointedly ordered revisions to a summary designed to explain the question to voters. The justices said it was misleading not to specify that legal marijuana could include food products.

A group of state senators who earlier this year visited Colorado – the first state to legalize recreational marijuana – said edibles now comprise roughly half the retail market there and pose among the greatest public health concerns for regulators.

“Many of these products can be mistaken for other products already on the shelves, as the differences in taste, color and smell may be close to undetectable,” the senators wrote in a report. “Edibles such as cookies and candy can be particularly appealing to children.”

Colorado recently banned pot-infused gummy bear and products that resemble animals and fruits. The state is also considering new limits on the potency of marijuana products, which could make other edibles illegal.

Critics say marijuana-infused food often contains levels of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, several times more potent than the smokable forms of the drug and pose unique risks of over-consumption. The edibles are often produced by extracting marijuana concentrate from the plant and adding it to food or beverages. Many users report edibles produce a less immediate, though eventually more intense and longer-lasting high.

According to the organization backing the Massachusetts ballot question, lessons learned from states like Colorado warrant a careful approach toward smoke-free marijuana products. A 15-member regulatory board would be created to oversee all aspects of the proposed law.

“What’s important for Massachusetts voters to know is that the cannabis control commission has full authority over what can be sold and what cannot,” said Jim Borghesani, spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “It won’t be the retails who determine what’s sold, what type of products, what shape, what size, what look.”

Opponents of legalization contend the proposed law specifically allows marijuana edibles to be sold and would tie the hands of regulators.

“If they wanted to put in some protections they could have done it in the ballot question but did not,” said Corey Welford, spokesman for the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts. “It’s sort of like, ‘pass it, and then we’ll figure out how to protect consumers’.”

If approved, the ballot initiative would allows people 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes and grow up to six pot plants at a time in their homes. It would impose a 3.75% tax on retail sales.

The post Edible Marijuana a Key Issue in Massachusetts Legalization Debate appeared first on Pot My.

Researchers from Quinnipiac University just published the results of a brand new survey.

The number from this study show just how many Americans think it’s time to legalize cannabis.

The survey took place from May 24 to May 30, with 1,561 respondents that were all registered U.S. voters.

The most important number to come out of this survey, would have the be the percentage of people who agree with legalizing cannabis for medical use.

Eighty nine percent of the respondents said they support the legal use of medical cannabis. Only 9% said they did not support this notion.

When it comes to recreational use, 54% said they support the full marijuana legalization. 41% were against it.

People aged between 18 and 34 voiced the most support for cannabis.

69% of people within this group support fully legalizing cannabis,while 91% said they support medical cannabis.

The survey also contained data on people’s political affiliations.

Among the Democrats, 65% support full legalization while 30% don’t. As for the Republicans, only 36% said they support full legalization while 62% said they’re against it.

However, when it comes to medical cannabis, Republicans voiced much more support. 81% of them said they support legalizing the drug for medical uses, while only 17% said they were against it.

Democrats were also in favor of legalizing medical cannabis with 94% for it with only 5% against it.

Despite the popular support for cannabis legalization, the plant is still illegal at the federal level.

Cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug by the DEA.

Drugs is this category are viewed as the most dangerous of all drugs, and the most heavily criminalized.

At the beginning of the year, President Obama said he wouldn’t use his last year in office to focus on changing cannabis laws. However, the DEA issued a memo in April, saying it might consider changing the status of cannabis.

So far, no changes have been made.

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By a margin of just three votes, senators approved legalizing medical marijuana, however, smoking and growing marijuana at home is still prohibited. The close vote showed how divided Ohio lawmakers remain on the plant, even if it is strictly for medical purposes. But in the end, a majority wanted control over the state’s medical marijuana operation, hoping to slow down a group pushing a constitutional amendment.

The bill was approved late Wednesday bay House lawmakers, sending it to Gov. Jogn Kasich’s desk.

If Kasich signs the bill, Ohio would become the 25th state to legalize medical marijuana. Kasich hasn’t said whether he’ll support this plan but has expressed interest in passing some sort of bill related to medical marijuana, especially targeting children suffering from epilepsy.

All Wednesday, lawmakers were counting votes to see if the if the bill would pass the Senate. “All I can do is my best to keep drugs out of the Ohio Constitution,” Sen. Dave Burke, R-Marysville, told The Enquirer Wednesday morning. He and Sen. Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, held town hall meetings across the state to listen to residents’ concerns about medical marijuana.

The watched as the bill barely passed committee Wednesday morning, 7-5. Four Republicans and Cleveland-area Democrat Sen. Michael Skindell opposed the bill. Sen. Edna Brown, D-Toledo, tried to remove a passage that would allow employers to fire employees who might  test positive for marijuana and prohibit them from drawing unemployment benefits, even if they use it for medical purposes – a safeguard for some Democrats. But her request was quickly rejected.

Earlier in the month, House legislators passed the medical marijuana plan by a comparatively wide margin, 71-26. Still, some Democrats, including Rep. Alicia Reece, D-Roselawn, voted against the plan because of the provisions allowing employees to be fired for marijuana use.

The threat of a constitutional amendment on medical marijuana loomed over lawmakers. Two groups are working toward qualifying for the November ballot. The leading effort, backed by Ohioans for Medical Marijuana with support from the Marijuana Policy Project, a legalization giant, would allow people to grow marijuana and smoke it. The constitutional amendment would allow 15 large marijuana operations and numerous smaller farms across the state. It is unclear how many cultivators would be allowed under the lawmakers plan.

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana vowed late Wednesday to move forward with effort.

“Our constitutional amendment builds on the legislature’s work by incorporating national best practices and offers voters an opportunity to enact a law free of the horse-trading inherent in the legislative process,” spokesman Aaron Marshall said in a statement. “Our amendment also protects the rights of patients in the Ohio Constitution, not leaving this important issue vulnerable to the reach of special interests.”

Marshall’s group and Athens-based Grassroots Ohio have until July 6 to collect the more than 305,000 signatures needed to put their proposals before voters.

Contents of the Legislature’s medical marijuana legalization plan:

What’s not in the plan?

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The house voted, 149-46, capping several years of door-to-door lobbying by parents andm ore than a year-and-a-half since the state Senate first approved a medical marijuana bill in 2014. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has indicated that he will sign it.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, lawmakers promised to legalize medical marijuana by the summer, before voters get a chance to decide a ballot question in the fall election.

Medical marijuanacoming to Pennsylvania

Over 2 years ago, in one of her first treks to the Capitol, Cara Salemme heard from her state representative would never legalize medical marijuana

Still, the York County mother came back again and again, patiently and persistently explaining how the medison could her her son Jackson cope with terrifying and recurring epileptic seizures.

“It’s your child,” she said. “What else are you going to change the world for?”

On Wednesday, after years of lobbying and a frantic final weeks of uncertainty, hundreds of advocates (including Salemme) couldcelebrate.

The House joined the Senate in agreeing to legalize medical marijuana which would give give citizens access to what they say is a safe and effective way to treat chronic annd painful ailments.

Gov. Wolf, who has always supported the initiative, said he would sign the bill into law on Sunday in the Capitol Rotunda. Pennsylvania would become the 24th state to approve medical cannabis.

The 149-46 vote followed whirlwind legislative session and the near-collapse of the bill – which passed the Senate earlier this year but was revised by the House, tweaked by the Senate, and again returned to the House

House majority Leader Dave Reed (R., Indiana) hailed what he said was a bipartisan effort to overcome years of obstacles.

“At one time, I was opposed to the idea of allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana,” said Reed, echoing a once-widely held Republican position. “But after researching the issue, reviewing the laws in other states, and reading about the struggles of families the drug would help, I came to realize that it is wrong to withhold something that could benefit so many.”

Watching Wednesday with tears in her eyes was Jessica Hawkins of Pittsburgh, whose 11-year-old daughter, Antania, has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy.

“It’s not like a scrape, where you can kiss it and make it better,” said Hawkins, who said she took Antania to Colorado to get medical marijuana, which she said helped cut down on the more than 100 seizures she has a day. “There’s nothing you can do.”

The law will alow people suffering from cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and other conditions to access medical marijuana i pill, oil, or ointment form at dispensaries statewide. Smoking of marijuana will not be tolerated.

The Legislation calls for creating a complex regulatory process for what essentially would become a new industry in Pennsylvania, with dozens of dispensaries, a least hundreds of workers, and potentially thousands of patients. The Department of Health is expected to start the process with an advisory board; putting all the pieces in place means it could be 18 months or longer before patients actually have access.

But Senators Daylin Deach (D., Montgomery) and Mike Folmer (R., Lebaon) noted the law includes a “safe haven” provision to quickly allow families with children under 18 to access medical marijuana – for instance, from other states where it is legal – without fear of prosecution. Temporary regulations are also expected to be written to permit adults to access it if they can demonstrate they suffer from one of the 17 condition listen in the legislation.

Once the system is up and running, it would issue patients identification cards to access medical marijuana from one of 150 dispensaries statewide. These ID cards would have o be renewed annually. Doctors prescribing the treatment will have to register as practitioners.

Dispensaries, as well as growers and processors of medical cannabis, have to be licensed by the state, and pay hefty registration and renewal fees. A 5% tax would also be imposed on the gross receipts from the sale of medical marijuana by a grower to a dispensary.

Leach, among the bill’s biggest backers, called it “the most significant piece of social policy enacted in Pennsylvania” in generations.

“Marijuana is medicine and it’s come to Pennsylvania he said at a news conference with Wolf after the vote. “Everyone can get sick, and in such a circumstance everyone would want medicine that would make them better.”

To the end, the bill’s critics kept up their opposition – including arguing that the law conflicts with federal policy because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medicinal purposes.

“What an unprecedented thing we are doing here today, bypassing the FDA process,” Rep. Matt Baker (R., Bradford), who tried to block the legislation, said during the House floor debate Wednesday.

Baker said the state would soon face “many challenges and serious consequences and concerns,” including product safety and quality control.

He and others have also said they believe this will open the door to legalizing recreational marijuana.

Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Dauphin) disagreed.

“Sick people do not want to get high,” he said. “They want to get better.”

The post Pennsylvania set to green light medical marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

Dunlap said his office will now move forward with a review of the signatures on the petitions, to verify that they were made by registered Maine voters. Under Maine ;aw, 62, 123 voter signatures are needed to qualify for the ballot.

Concerns were raised by Dunlap in a March 2 determination about variations in the signatures of the notaries who validated the signed petitions in the referendum campaign.

However, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled on April 8 that Dunlap erred when he made that decision. Murphy’s ruling puts the burden back on Dunlap’s office to verify individual voter signatures against voting records.

“We will, as expeditiously as possible, conduct this inquiry with the goal of issuing a new determination that will endure all scrutiny; if sufficient signatures are validated, there should be no reason at that juncture for the people to be uneasy about the legitimacy of these petitions,” Dunlap said in a statement. “As I stated when our decision was released on March 2, it is not our goal to invalidate the signatures of registered Maine voters.“Our goal is that our review of valid signatures expresses manifestly the expectations of the Constitution that only Maine voters circulate instruments of petition, that only Maine voters affix their signatures to those instruments, and that the oath taken by each circulator is properly administered by those empowered to ascribe oaths. We only validate or invalidate signatures based on those core elements.”

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol filed the court appeal of Dunlap’s determination that 26,779 of the signatures collected were invalid because of concerns about the signatures of the notary. Dunlap said that left the campaign with only 51,543 valid signatures. The campaign had turned in 99,229 signatures on Feb. 1.

The appeal focused largely on the determination that about 17,000 of the 26,779 signatures were invalid for the sole reason that the signatures of notary Stavros Mendros varied and didn’t match what is on file with the secretary of state.

The legalization bill would allow adults to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana and ti cultivate a limited number of plants. Retail stores and social clubs would be allowed with municipal approval. Adults would be prohibited from using marijuana in public, with violations punishable by a $100 fine. The bill also would place a sales tax of 10 percent on retail marijuana and marijuana products.

If Maine were to legalize recreational marijuana, it would join Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., in allowing adults to buy and possess the drug. All have passed laws legalizing recreational marijuana despite that marijuana is still illegal on the federal level.

Legalization proposals are expected to be considered this year in Nevada, California, Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts and Vermont.

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Responding to a 2015 letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and seven other Democratic senators urging the federal government to facilitate research into the medical benefits of cannabis, it doesn’t indicate whether it will reclassify the drug as less dangerous.

The U.S. has five categories, or schedules, classifying illegal drugs or chemicals that can be used to make them. Schedule I is reserved for drugs the DEA considers to have the highest potential for abuse and no “current accepted medical use.” Cannabis has been classified as Schedule I for decades, along with heroin and LSD. Rescheduling marijuana wouldn’t make it legal, but it may ease restrictions on research and reduce penalties for marijuana offenses.

“DEA understands the widespread interest in the prompt resolution to these petitions and hopes to release its determination in the first half of 2016,” the DEA said in the 25 page letter.

The letter, signed by Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg, explains in great detail the cannabis supply available at the University of Mississippi, the federal government’s only sanctioned marijuana garden.

The Food and Drug Administration has completed a review of the medical evidence surrounding the safety and effectiveness of marijuana and has forwarded its rescheduling recommendation to the DEA, according to the letter. The document didn’t reveal what the FDA recommended.

If demand for research into marijuana’s medical potential were to increase beyond the University of Mississippi’s supply, the DEA said it may consider registering additional growers.

This isn’t the first time the DEA has been asked to reconsider marijuana’s classification. In 2001 and 2006, DEA considered petitions, but decided to keep marijuana a Schedule I substance.

The DEA response is signed by Rosenberg, Sylvia Burwell, secretary of HHS, and Michael Botticelli, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In addition to Warren, the letter was sent to Democratic Sens. Jeffrey Merkley (Ore.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Edward Markey (Mass.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.).

Those senators, with the exception of Warren, are co-sponsors of a sweeping bill introduces in 2015 designed to drastically reduce the federal government’s ability to crack down on state-legal medical marijuana programs while also encouraging more research into the substance.

Tom Angell, founder of Marijuana Majority, a marijuana reform group, said there was “absolutely no reason marijuana should remain in Schedule I.”

“Almost half the states in the country have medical cannabis laws and major groups like the American Nurses Association and the American College of Physicians are on board,” Angell said in a statement. He said the Obama administration should use its authority to make the change “before this president leaves office.”

Click here to read the letter from the DEA.

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The bill (LB643), introduced and fought for by Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue, was stonewalled on the second round of consideration and then went down when 33 votes to end the extended debate became out of reach.

Garrett said he thought he had the votes, but several people backed out and in the end, he only got 30.

All along, Garrett initiated the vote for the families, children, and veterans that appealed for the opportunity to be allowed to have the treatment thet thought was right for them.

“We had an opportunity to help people,” Garrett said.

Garrett said the only explanation he had for the defeat of the bill was that some senators were “stuck on stupid.”

Opponents of the bill argued that it had been amended to he point where it wasn’t the same bill that was introduced and needed to go back to the Judiciary Committee for a new hearing. They also claimed that the science needed to catch up to the drug before it could be approved for medical use.

Making public policy is not easy, but it cannot be emotional, said Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg, who led the filibuster. In public policy, decisions should not be made for the few, but for the larger state.

Several senators who supported the bill said they believed that if it was defeated by the Legislature, it would be brought to voters through a ballot initiative. The Legislature would then lose control of its regulation.

“If this bill fails, it’s on the ballot,” said Lincoln Sen. Colby Coash. “And if it’s on the ballot, hold on to your hat.”

Senators adopted amendments to the bill before its ultimate defeat; one by Omaha Sen. Sara Howard would have tightly regulated the use of medical cannabis in the state, and another by Omaha Sen heath Mello would have allocated $2.4 million from the Nebraska Health Care Cash Fund for the bill’s implementation.

The bill as amended would have allowed medical cannabis in pill, oil or liquid form, but no smoking. Only a medical provider could certify a patient’s qualification for the medication.

Medical cannabis products would have to be acquired, possessed and dispensed through compassion centers, one per congressional district and registered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Garrett said he believed the majority of Nebraskans believe it to be a good idea.

He hopes it will be brought back as a ballot issue.

“Power to the people,” he said.

How they voted

A motion to stop a filibuster on a medical cannabis legalization bill (LB643) failed Tuesday night, putting the bill to rest for the session. Thirty-three votes were needed to stop debate and force a vote on the bill.

Details of the vote:

Voting yes (30): Baker, Bloomfield, Bolz, Campbell, Chambers, Coash, Cook, Craighead, Crawford, Ebke, Garrett, K. Haar, Hadley, Hansen, B. Harr, Hilkemann, Howard, Kolowski, Krist, Larson, Lindstrom, McCollister, Mello, Morfeld, Murante, Pansing Brooks, Shilz, Schumacher, Smith, Sullivan

Voting no (15): Brasch, Fox, Friesen, Groene, Hughes, Johnson, Kintner, Kolterman, Kuehn, McCoy, Riepe, Seiler, Stinner, Watermeier, Williams

Present not voting (2): Davis, Scheer

Excused (2): Gloor, Schnoor

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