Tag Archives: MerryJane.com

While many advocates thought it would never happen, it seems that New Hampshire is on the verge of becoming the last of the New England states to decriminalize marijuana.

Earlier this week, the state House of Representatives put its seal of approval on a bill aimed at eliminating the criminal penalties associated with the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Ross Ulbricht, founder of the deep web drug market Silk Road, is certain to spend the rest of his life in prison after his final appeal was rejected by the Second Circuit Court this week. Two years ago, Ulbricht, known online as the Dread Pirate Roberts, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for drug trafficking and money laundering, among other assorted charges.

In the initial sentencing ruling, Judge Katherine Forrest explained that the life sentence was intended to send a message to other would-be online drug traffickers.

Canada’s conservative political forces are concerned that the nation’s legal marijuana market is going to turn children into “drug mules,” according to a report from Huffington Post Canada.

Earlier this week, MP Marilyn Gladu told the House of Commons that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “Cannabis Act” would not achieve its primary objective in keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, but rather, it would enslave the youth as part of increased drug cartel activity.

Gladu argued that since the legalization bill decriminalizes minor pot possession for kids under the age of 18, it provides an opening for criminal

Colorado’s legal weed is about to get a little bit pricier, as Governor John Hickenlooper signed a piece of legislation on Tuesday to raise the state’s cannabis sales tax from 10% to 15%. 

According to Colorado’s local ABC News 13, the new taxes will be used to fund rural hospitals, roads, and schools that have been neglected for years. Estimates predict that the tax hike will add about $2 billion to the state coffer over the next two decades.

Still, the increase was not treated as a no-brainer.

Although it’s next to impossible for veterans to be granted permission from the federal government to use medical marijuana to ease the symptoms of conditions ranging from PTSD to chronic pain, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said earlier this week in a White House briefing that he would like to see this policy changed in the future.

During his speech, Shulkin said the VA is completely open to the possibility of allowing veterans to use medical marijuana.

The planned July 1^st rollout of early recreational marijuana sales in Nevada may now be delayed due to a complaint filed by alcohol distributors in the state. This week, a district court judge signed a temporary restraining order prohibiting the state Department of Taxation from enforcing the May 31^st deadline for marijuana retail license applications. 

The court order was issued following a complaint by the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada, who argued that the ballot measure that legalized cannabis last fall gave liquor wholesalers exclusive rights to marijuana sales licenses for the first 18 months of sales.

Although many believe it to be a long shot, a group of lawmakers in Wisconsin are working toward a statewide policy change that would eliminate the criminal penalties associated with small time marijuana possession.

Earlier this week, Democratic Senator Fred Risser, along with Representatives Evan Goyke, Jonathan Brostoffand, and Republican Representative Adam Jarchow dragged a piece of legislation up to the steps of the Capitol designed to decriminalize the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana.

Instead of jamming petty pot offenders up in the criminal justice system, the proposal would simply force those busted for this offense to

The California Senate has unanimously voted to approve a bill that would prohibit marijuana use in motor vehicles. Senate Bill 65, proposed by state Senator Jerry Hill, would “make drinking an alcoholic beverage or smoking or ingesting marijuana or any marijuana product while driving, or while riding as a passenger in, a motor vehicle being driven upon a highway or upon specified lands punishable as an infraction.”

The bill was drafted in response to concerns over a potential increase in marijuana-impaired driving in canna-legal states.

In states with recreational or medical legalization, legal weed has made life a whole lot easier for patients with debilitating ailments, responsible adults who like to partake every once and awhile and full-blown stoners.

Last week, bipartisan leaders of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control introduced a bill to support research on CBD and medical marijuana. The Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, proposed by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley, would reduce regulatory barriers inhibiting cannabis research in order to create a stronger body of sound scientific research into the medical benefits of cannabis.

“Cumbersome research regulations have made it difficult to conduct research on the potential medical benefits of marijuana,” Senator Feinstein said. “I strongly believe such research is necessary, especially for cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of marijuana.