Legalization

SAM Action Inc, the political lobbying wing of the anti-cannabis advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, is in hot water with California campaign officials after they were late or negligent in filing donor information and donation amounts. 

According to the L.A. Times, the California Fair Political Practices Commission will impose a $6,000 fine on SAM Action Inc.

Colorado legislators have been busy passing new laws to control the growing marijuana black market in their state. When Colorado legalized recreational weed in 2012, they allowed each individual to grow up to 99 cannabis plants, or to assist someone else in growing them, a freedom that some have exploited to grow extra pot for the black market.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first revealed his desire to bring down the scourge of marijuana prohibition in the northern nation nearly a year ago.

A piece of legislation responding to the Trump administration’s proposed crackdown of legal cannabis has made significant headway in Oregon, and needs only the signature of Governor Kate Brown to become law. 

The proposal would require the state’s cannabis retailers to destroy all customer information within 30 days and to halt the collection of new customer data.

(Photo courtesy Flickr.com/diversey)


Oregon lawmakers are moving to shield their legal marijuana users from the federal government.
The House of Representatives on Monday voted in favor of a bipartisan bill to ban legal marijuana shops from storing identifying information, such as driver licenses and passports, for longer than 48 hours, reports the Associated Press.
The state’s legislators have worked on the bill ever since President Donald Trump’s administration hinted at heightened enforcement of federal laws against marijuana users.
“I personally am very concerned that we give as much protection to Oregon citizens to ensure that their personal identification information

Uruguay will begin selling marijuana in pharmacies this summer, the final stage in the country’s pioneering regulation and normalization of marijuana. The South American country will be the first in the world to legally sell cannabis over the counter for recreational use.  In fact, their president was even nominated for a Nobel Prize after the country legalized cannabis.Uruguay voted to legalize marijuana in 2013. They were the first country in the world to do so.

People in 29 states can legally use medical marijuana for a variety of problems, including the relief of pain, anxiety or stress. But what if they want to travel with it?Secure airport areas beyond the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints are under federal control, and the federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 (most harmful) substance, even in states where it is legal for adults to consume it.The laws conflict, but federal law trumps state law, making it illegal to fly with marijuana in carry-on or checked luggage.

Although medical marijuana was on the verge of being rendered obsolete in the state of Montana, a new report shows that thousands of patients have been returning to dispensaries ever since voters approved a measure last November to resurrect the dying program.

There was speculation earlier last year that Montana could become the first state in the nation to have legalized medical marijuana and then lose it, all because of the state’s legislative and judicial brass.

The regulatory woes are hitting Massachusetts. Lawmakers in the Bay State have been trying to amend the voter approved recreational cannabis legalization law since it passed in November, and the lack of clarity is now taking a toll on the state’s existing medical marijuana community.

According to the Boston Globe, municipalities across Massachusetts are slow to approve medical marijuana permits thanks to the uncertainty surrounding the state’s recreational law. As the law currently stands, once recreational sales are approved, medical dispensaries will be able to sell to the age-approved general public without any additional permits or licenses.

Mass.

This June, Ohio's medical marijuana law came into effect, with plans to be fully operational by next September. However, the state has some of the highest fees of any MMJ-legal state, which has drawn criticism from some state regulators.

Ohio is offering 24 licenses to cultivators, 40 to product processors, and 60 to dispensaries. The fee for applying for any medical marijuana license is a non-refundable $2,000, and growers must pay an additional license fee of $18,000 to $180,000 depending on the size of the grow-op.