Which State Has Had The Most Marijuana Reform During The 2013 Legislative Session?

With summer in full-swing, and with months of political bickering already behind us, the 2013 legislative session has adjourned for many states, with most of the remaining few finishing their final days. During this session, cannabis reform has been a popular and much-discussed topic in numerous states.

As a result, Colorado now has a regulation and taxation system in place for their newly-legal recreational cannabis industry, legislatures in Illinois and New Hampshire have approved measures legalizing medical cannabis, Vermont lawmakers voted to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis (which is already in effect), Nevada voted to legalize medical cannabis dispensaries, etc., etc..

With all of the movement made so far this year, one state stands out as having made the most progress in regards to their cannabis policies - the year obviously isn’t over, but we don’t see the outcome changing.

The state? Oregon.

Oregon’s Legislature – and governor – has taken multiple steps to drastically alter the state’s cannabis laws for the better, and activists continue to push for further reform.

Once each of the approved-proposals takes effect, these changes will be made to Oregon’s cannabis laws:

• The possession of up to an ounce of cannabis will no longer be a misdemeanor charge – it will instead be a civil infraction (Senate Bill 40).
• The possession of 1 to 4 ounces will be reduced from a felony, to a misdemeanor; even in states like Washington, where small amounts of recreational cannabis has been legalized, the possession of an ounce and a half or more remains a felony (Senate Bill 40).
• The possession of up to an ounce will no longer result in the suspension of someone’s driver’s license – something that will effect over 5,000 people a year (Senate Bill 82).
• Dispensaries will be explicitly legalized, finally providing patients in the state with a safe and (hopefully) consistent means to obtain their medicine. The measure which makes this change has been sent to the governor for final consideration; he’s expected to sign it into law (House Bill 3460).
• Post traumatic stress disorder will be added as a qualifying medical cannabis condition (Senate Bill 281).

In addition to these changes, in April Oregon’s House Judiciary Committee become one of the first legislative committees in U.S. history to approve a measure which would explicitly legalize cannabis; the measure – which would have legalized possession, private cultivation and state-licensed retail outlets – has failed to advance, but has garnered a large amount of attention.

In response to the legislature’s refusal to act upon full legalization, the proponents of last year’s Measure 80 – which would have legalized cannabis in Oregon but failed narrowly in November’s general election - have filed two legalization initiatives (one a constitutional amendment, one a state-law change) aimed at the 2014 ballot.

All-in-all, it’s been a great year for cannabis law reform, especially in Oregon. We couldn’t be more excited to see the changes that will take place in the coming months and in the next legislative session!

Source: The Joint Blog

THC blocks bleeding and inflammation of the stomach caused by painkillers such as diclofenac

Moderate doses of THC are able to reduce bleeding and inflammation of the stomach caused by NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). This is the result of studies with mice conducted by researchers of the Department of Psychology of West Virginia University in Morgantown, USA. The mice were fasted, administered THC (oral or injected into the belly), and then treated with the NSAID diclofenac, which induces gastric damage.

THC dose-dependently attenuated diclofenac-induced gastric bleeding through both routes of administration. THC was effective at low doses, which did not cause locomotor immobility, analgesia and catalepsy. Authors concluded that “these data indicate that the phytocannabinoid delta-9-THC protects against diclofenac-induced gastric inflammatory tissue damage at doses insufficient to cause common cannabinoid side effects.”

Republican Grover Norquist Speaks Out Against Drug War at SSDP Lobby Day

Grover Norquist Speaks Out Against Drug War



Click here to watch the video

The Silver Tour - June, 2013

It's good medicine

Does Granny Need Ganja?

“Marijuana legalization transcends gender, race, class, geography, and age, so it's encouraging to see people from different backgrounds and generations coming together,” Stacia Cosner, SSDP's 26-year-old Associate Director, says. “Young people and seniors don't share a lot of political views and interests, but this is a unique issue that's no longer on the fringe.”

Support medical cannabis

Veterans Press Statement -> RE: Senate Bill 281 becomes law:

Who: Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access

www.veteransformedicalcannabis.org

Contact: Sgt. Michael Krawitz USAF Disabled 540-365-2141

What: On 6 June 2013 Gov. John Kitzhaber signed SB-281 into law

Oregon: 10 June 2013
By signing SB-281 into law Governor Kitzhaber, as of 1 Jan 2014, adds PTSD as a qualifying condition to Oregon's well established medical cannabis access laws.

Veterans throughout Oregon and indeed the nation whose eyes have been set on this process express gratitude for the swift and decisive action by Oregon's Legislature and Governor making up for years of agony in the futile attempts to broach the entrenched bureaucracy of the Oregon Department of Human Services whose job it was to add this medical condition to the list of those allowed protection of Oregon's medical cannabis access law.

As retired Lt. Commander Al Byrne said "It's About Time"

An effort that Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access [VMCA] has supported from the beginning, adding PTSD to Oregon's law has been an adventure.

VMCA wants to thank Nurse Ed Glick and Atty. Lee Berger for sticking to it through miserable responses from individuals in positions of authority who should know better. Their requests to Oregon's DHS were not only met with inaction but actual hostility at times despite valiant testimony of disabled United States military Veterans flanked by their respective doctors in absolute majority asking for this addition.

VMCA thanks Todd Dalotto and his constituent Senator Boquist for presenting this request to the state legislature and many thanks to all Veterans, EMS, and Police who spoke to their legislators and presented testimony for this bill as well as those survivors of childhood and/or adult trauma whose testimony helped a unchallenged truth become law. The truth? Cannabis works well for PTSD and those who suffer from this medical condition have real evidence and deserve our respect and compassion.

VMCA thanks Anthony Taylor, Director of Compassionate Oregon and Sam Chapman without whose tireless efforts this bill would have been much slower on the uptake and probably wouldn't have passed this year.

Adding to the growing list of states where cannabis is listed specifically as allowed for treatment of PTSD Oregon joins Delaware, Connecticut and New Mexico as well as Massachusetts and California who, wisely, allows doctors to decide these things as well as Washington and Colorado who, maybe even more wisely have re-legalized all personal use by those over 21.

Considering extreme rates of suicide amongst our disabled Veterans taken together with a host of pharmaceuticals that, in this case, suck and the extraordinarily good results we have seen from Veterans who have been able to integrate cannabis into their PTSD regimens VMCA joins Mr. Byrne in saying "It's about time"!