Texas Medical Marijuana Supporters Push for Hearings on Critical Legislation

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Medical marijuana supporters outside the Texas capitol on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 (Heather Fazio)

Marijuana Policy Project | April 25, 2017

AUSTIN, TX — A group of patients, caregivers, and medical professionals gathered at the Texas State Capitol on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to allow hearings on critical medical marijuana legislation.

The group called on House Public Health Committee Chairman Four Price and Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Charles Schwertner to schedule hearings on HB 2107…

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Just Say “No” to Taxpayer Funded Medical Marijuana Raids

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Justin Strekal | April 24, 2017

Since 2014, the Department of Justice has been prohibited from using taxpayers’ funds to enforce federal anti-marijuana laws in states that regulate its medical use.

But that could all change this week as Congress decides how to fund the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year. 

At issue is a provision known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which maintains that federal funds can not be used to prevent states from “implementing their own state…

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Kansas City Municipal Decriminalization Measure Passes

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Kansas City, MO (Flickr/Dean Hochman)

NORML | April 6, 2017

KANSAS CITY, MO — Kansas City voters approved a municipal ballot measure on Tuesday decriminalizing marijuana possession offenses within the city’s limits.

Nearly 75 percent of citywide voters decided ‘yes’ on Question 5, which reduces penalties for the possession of up to 35 grams of cannabis from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil violation punishable by a $25 fine. The ordinance also eliminates local penalties for the possession…

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Wisconsin City Removes Fines for Marijuana Possession and Consumption

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Kevin Mahmalji | March 28, 2017

Following a national trend, members of the Monona City Council passed an ordinance that removed all municipal fines for the private possession and consumption of marijuana.

Under the new ordinance, adults 21-years and older will no longer be subjected to a fine for possessing marijuana in public or in private spaces. Marijuana use in a private residence would also be exempt from a fine, but a $200 fine will still be given to those caught smoking in public.

This came…

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Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Introduced in Wyoming

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Kate Bell | January 24, 2017

A new bill, HB 157, has been introduced in Wyoming by Rep. Mark Baker (R-Sweetwater) and a bipartisan group of legislators that would eliminate criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

This would avoid branding someone with a lifelong criminal record for using a substance that is safer than alcohol.

HB 157 would apply to up to three ounces of cannabis or marijuana products (such as edibles) containing 500 milligrams or less of THC.

Under current…

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NORML Responds to National Academy of Sciences’ Marijuana Report

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NORML | January 12, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a comprehensive report Thursday acknowledging that “conclusive or substantial evidence” exists for cannabis’ efficacy in patients suffering from chronic pain, and sharply criticized longstanding federal regulatory barriers to marijuana research – in particular “the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance” under federal law.

Authors of the report also addressed…

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Minnesota Adds PTSD to Qualifying Conditions for Medical Marijuana

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Maggie Ellinger-Locke | December 5, 2016

In a press conference last week, Dr. Ed Ehlinger, the Minnesota Commissioner of Health, announced the department will add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis.

Patients who suffer from PTSD and have their doctor’s certification will be eligible to sign up for a medical cannabis card beginning August 2017.

Dr. Ehlinger also announced that the department will expand the program by allowing medical cannabis…

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Kansas City NORML’s Decriminalization Effort Qualifies for City Ballot

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Kansas City, MO (Flickr/Dean Hochman)

Paul Armentano | December 5, 2016

KANSAS CITY, MO — Petitioners seeking to decriminalize municipal penalties specific to the possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana have gathered sufficient signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot, a representative from the Kansas City Clerk’s office confirmed today.

The proposal, spearheaded by Kansas City NORML, amends citywide penalties from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil fine, punishable by a $25 fine….

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Prop. 205 Camp Slams Opposition Group for Taking Huge Big Pharma Donation

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Prop. 205 Camp Slams Opposition Group for Taking Huge Big Pharma Donation

The committee opposing Prop. 205 received $500,000 from Insys Therapeutics, a Chandler-based company that produces ‘the most potent and dangerous opioid on the market,’ whose aggressive marketing and other shady business practices have triggered multiple federal and state investigations

Yes on 205 campaign says Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy is ‘now a complete misnomer,’ slams group for accepting a half-million dollar contribution from developer of ‘pharmaceutical cannabinoids’

PHOENIX, AZ — Supporters of Proposition…

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MassCann/NORML Announces Headliners for Boston Freedom Rally

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MassCann/NORML Announces Headliners for Boston Freedom Rally

Method Man, Redman, and Slaing to headline two-day event on Boston Common, September 17 & 18

BOSTON, MA — Mark your calendars. The Boston Freedom Rally is coming next month, and on Friday it was announced by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann) that Method Man, Redman and Slaing will be headlining the performances at this year’s festival.

The Boston Freedom Rally is the largest annual cannabis event on the East Coast, now entering it’s 27th year.  This year’s two-day event, scheduled for September 17 and 18,  looks…

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Separating Myth From Fact: DPA Releases New Marijuana Facts Booklet

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Separating Myth From Fact: DPA Releases New Marijuana Facts Booklet

Report Addresses Most Commonly-Asked Questions About Marijuana Use and Its Mfor Historic Votes on Marijuana Law Reform this November

The Drug Policy Alliance on Thursday released Marijuana Facts, intended for non-expert audiences seeking answers to some of the most common questions asked about marijuana use, its effects, and the rapidly-shifting legal landscape.

The booklet addresses 15 frequently-asked questions about subjects such as driving, mental health, brain development, potency, edibles and concentrates.  It touches on marijuana’s…

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National NORML Endorses Arizona Marijuana Legalization Initiative

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National NORML Endorses Arizona Marijuana Legalization Initiative

WASHINGTON, DC — At a board meeting held on Saturday, February 20th in Washington, DC, the NORML Board of Directors voted to endorse the Arizona Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act initiative to legalize marijuana in Arizona. That initiative has now officially qualified for the ballot in November.

The NORML Board reversed its former policy of waiting until an initiative has officially qualified for the ballot before endorsing it, believing our endorsement could have a greater impact on the eventual outcome if it came earlier in the…

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NORML PAC Endorses Tim Canova, Challenger to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

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NORML PAC Endorses Tim Canova, Challenger to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

tim canovaThe NORML PAC is proud to announce its endorsement of Tim Canova, democratic primary challenger to US House member and DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz for Florida’s 23rd congressional district race.

Mr. Canova, a law school professor and political activist, is the first Democratic challenger to Representative Wasserman-Schultz since she’s held the office and NORML is excited to support his Congressional campaign.

Unlike Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz, who has cast a number of votes opposing sensible marijuana law reforms,…

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Leveling the Playing Field in Florida with CFL NORML

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Leveling the Playing Field in Florida with CFL NORML

After a narrow defeat in 2014, Florida voters will have another opportunity to legalize medical marijuana this November by voting YES on Amendment 2, but not before being inundated with misinformation from some of Florida’s most notorious marijuana prohibitionists. With more than $10 million dollars committed to defeating the measure, Floridians can expect a salvo of refer madness unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. Even in states that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana – Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska –…

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Denver NORML Pushes to Legalize Marijuana Clubs and Events

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Denver NORML Pushes to Legalize Marijuana Clubs and Events

Marijuana is legal to purchase, possess and to consume in the state of Colorado, but where? Well, if you happen to be in the city of Denver (or most anywhere else in Colorado) the answer is very simple, you can only legally consume cannabis in a private residence. But what if your landlord won’t allow it, or if you are one of the thousands of tourists that visits our great city on a daily basis. Then where do all of those people go? This question is one Denver NORML hopes to help answer this November.

The local chapter of NORML, the…

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Kansas City NORML Moves One Step Closer to Decriminalizing Marijuana

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Kansas City NORML Moves One Step Closer to Decriminalizing Marijuana

Great news for marijuana consumers in Kansas City, Missouri!

After months of back and forth meetings with city officials, NORML KC, the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of marijuana laws, has received approval to move forward with a municipal initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession offenses.

If passed, the measure will amend local laws regarding the possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana for adults age 21 and up from a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine to a civil…

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As PA Becomes 24th Medical Marijuana State, Focus Shifts to Implementation

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On Sunday afternoon, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 3, making Pennsylvania the 24th medical cannabis state in the country. And with 17 other states offering legal protections for low-THC medical cannabis, there are now 300 million Americans living where their state law is at odds with federal law.

The addition of PA as a medical cannabis state will no doubt help the federal picture, but for Pennsylvanian patients who need access to this medicine, the focus now shifts to implementation of the program.

ASA has observed that…

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Michigan Marijuana Legalization: NORML Endorses MILegalize

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Michigan Marijuana Legalization: NORML Endorses MILegalize

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is pleased to announce an endorsement of the MILegalize 2016 initiative to regulate the adult use, production and retail sale of marijuana in Michigan.

MILegalize, also known as the Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Committee, has collected more than 270,000 signatures in its effort to legalize marijuana via the petitioning process.

The grass-roots effort has been collecting signatures from registered voters since June, 2015, and represents the…

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PA: NORML PAC Endorses John Fetterman for U.S. Senate

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PA: NORML PAC Endorses John Fetterman for U.S. Senate

NORML PAC is pleased to announce it’s endorsement of Braddock, PA Mayor John Fetterman in his campaign to be elected to the United States Senate representing the state of Pennsylvania.

Mayor John has made marijuana law reform an important topic of his campaign.

When asked about his position towards eliminating criminal penalties for the responsible use of marijuana by adults his campaign responded:

“As a small town mayor of a community of color, Mayor John has seen first hand how the War on Drugs has failed and how it has…

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Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Patients to Rally at Capitol

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To all Pennsylvania and US lawmakers, court officials, and law enforcement officers—

I am a taxpaying Pennsylvania native, Reverend, Eagle Scout, and medical cannabis user for ADHD, depression, and anxiety. I have consulted with several excellent doctors and therapists, from various US states and other developed nations of the world including Germany, Israel, and Denmark— all of whom have seen that it is fitting and proper to recommended cannabis to me, including the great Dr Allan Frankel (http://www.greenbridgemed.com/ ). As a…

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Pennsylvania State Police Seized Over $7 Million Worth of Marijuana in 2015

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Pennsylvania State Police Seized Over $7 Million Worth of Marijuana in 2015

HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania State Police seized over $7 million worth of marijuana in 2015, officials announced Wednesday.

According to a press release issued Wednesday by Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Tyree Blocker, the total value of marijuana seized by Pennsylvania state troopers totaled $7,129,607.

This figure does not include seizures made by local, county and other police departments in the state.

If marijuana sales were legal in the Commonwealth, the state could have earned nearly half a million dollars in tax…

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Texas Marijuana Advocacy Training Event Sunday in Lubbock

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Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy is mobilizing activists throughout Texas in an effort to inject marijuana policy debate into 2016 state legislative races

LUBBOCK, TX — Local marijuana policy reform advocates will gather Sunday, January 10, for an advocacy training event at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites South in Lubbock.

The event, hosted by Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, will be the seventh in a series of events being held around the state as part of an effort to inject the marijuana policy debate into 2016 state…

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Texas Marijuana Advocacy Training Event Saturday in Amarillo

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Texas Marijuana Advocacy Training Event Saturday in Amarillo

Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy is mobilizing activists throughout Texas in an effort to inject marijuana policy debate into 2016 state legislative races

AMARILLO, TX — Local marijuana policy reform advocates will gather Saturday, January 9, for an advocacy  training event at the Amarillo Southwest Library in Amarillo.

The event, hosted by Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, is the sixth in a series of events being held around the state as part of an effort to inject the marijuana policy debate into 2016 state legislative…

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Grassroots Movement Opposes Sean Parker’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act

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ReformCA.org organizes grassroots support to oppose Sean Parker’s Adult use of Marijuana Act. $250,000 committed to the effort in just 4 days to put alternative on ballot.

SACRAMENTO, CA —  Not everyone in the cannabis community is ready to sell out to Sean Parker’s highly publicized and supposedly well-funded effort to legalize cannabis in the State of California, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA).

On January 1st, ReformCA.org, an organization spearheaded by California activist and author of Medical Marijuana 101, Mickey Martin,

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Marijuana Decriminalization in Pittsburgh: What Does It Mean?

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Having been in the front lines of the fight for marijuana legalization in the state of Pennsylvania, I am naturally excited by the recent events in Pittsburgh. The City Council voted in favor of decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana and hashish within city limits this week.

This is a big step forward in the fight, make no mistake. It will also be a relief for citizens, the court system and police. No longer will the police and the courts be tied up dealing with simple possession charges, which will translate to an estimated annual…

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Attention Pennsylvanians: E-mail Your State Representative to Vote Against the Marsico Amendment

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Pennsylvania state Rep. Ron Marsico of Dauphin County has proposed an amendment to their medical marijuana bill SB 3. This amendment limits THC levels and the number of growers and dispensers, making patient access to medicine more difficult.

These patients need your help.

Senate Bill 3 created more meaningful access to medical cannabis for Pennsylvanians suffering from serious and all too common illnesses including cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, severe fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS, and glaucoma among other…

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Houston: Marijuana Advocacy Training Event Saturday with Former Police Officer

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Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy is mobilizing activists throughout Texas in an effort to inject marijuana policy debate into 2016 state legislative races

HOUSTON, TX — Local marijuana policy reform advocates, including a former police officer and the head of the Texas Young Republicans, will gather Saturday for an advocacy training event at the Trini Mendenhall Community Center in Houston.

The event, hosted by Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, is the fifth in a series of events being held around the state as part of an effort…

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Georgia Governor Says ‘No’ to Medical Cannabis Production

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Advocates: Gov. Deal should look at Medical Cannabis Facts

Last week Georgia Governor Nathan Deal fired a warning shot across the bow of the medical cannabis ship, a warning shot to law makers that he may veto any legislation allowing for in-state cultivation of cannabis for medical use.

This week the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis will host its final hearing to draft a proposal and recommendation to the governor and the general assembly. Over the past two years lawmakers have heard from stakeholders concerning the regulation of…

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Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Rally in Cranberry on Saturday

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Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Rally in Cranberry on Saturday

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society (PAMCS), along with many concerned state residents, including those suffering from diseases which could be treated with medical cannabis and their families, will be rallying at the Regional Learning Alliance and Conference Center, in Cranberry Township on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2 to 4 pm.

More than two weeks ago, the House Rules Committee voted to place SB3 on the legislative calendar, but it still has not received a vote.

“While we support Leader Dave Reed’s efforts to gain…

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Veterans Conference in Houston will Discuss Medical Marijuana and PTSD

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HOUSTON, TX — Veterans will gather in Houston this Saturday for an educational seminar discussing medical marijuana as a treatment for PTSD, chronic pain and other service-related conditions.

The conference is being organized by the Houston chapter of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and will feature a distinguished lineup of special guest speakers.

The event’s primary organizer, Christopher Sum, a U.S. Army veteran and marijuana reform advocate says the conference is aimed to educate veterans and others…

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Pennsylvania Religious Leaders Announce Support For Medical Marijuana

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I’m one of the Reverends who signed it, and in addition I’ve this to say—

To all Pennsylvania and US lawmakers, court officials, and law enforcement officers—

I am a taxpaying Pennsylvania native, Reverend, Eagle Scout, and medical cannabis user for ADHD, depression, and anxiety. I have consulted with several excellent doctors and therapists, from various US states and other developed nations of the world including Germany, Israel, and Denmark— all of whom have seen that it is fitting and proper to recommended cannabis to me,…

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ASA Weighs in on Proposed Changes to Colorado Marijuana Regulations

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ASA Weighs in on Proposed Changes to Colorado Marijuana Regulations

Last week Americans for Safe Access (ASA) submitted comments to Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) on proposed regulatory changes to the state’s cannabis program.

Colorado is mulling changes in response to a number of developments, notably issues surrounding the accuracy of cannabis labeling and accidental of overexposure related to edibles. MED deserves praise for investigating emerging issues and promptly moving to address those issues while considering input in a public manner.

Colorado is an important state for medical…

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MD: ASA to Work with Regulators to Ensure Highest Level of Industry Compliance

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MD: ASA to Work with Regulators to Ensure Highest Level of Industry Compliance

BALTIMORE, MD — Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has been selected to provide training for compliance inspectors operating under the authority of the Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. The auditors are charged with ensuring members of the state’s new medical cannabis industry comply with all applicable regulations, which were finalized by the Commission in August. 

In addition to developing its own rigorous compliance protocols, Maryland has adopted the American Herbal Product Association’s (AHPA) Recommendations…

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Minnesota Seeks Public Input on Adding Intractable Pain as Qualifying Condition for Medical Marijuana

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Minnesota Seeks Public Input on Adding Intractable Pain as Qualifying Condition for Medical Marijuana

Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature approved a bill requiring the state’s Department of Health to recommend by January 1, 2016, whether intractable pain should be added as a condition that qualifies for medical cannabis.

The department is currently seeking public input on this question and has created two opportunities to share your thoughts.

First, the department is accepting written comment on including intractable pain. There is currently no deadline for submitting comments. However, potential patients, their caregivers, and…

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Medical Marijuana Advocates to Host 3rd Annual National Conference in Washington DC

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Scientists, patients, doctors, advocates, lawyers, policymakers unite to further advance public health policy reforms

WASHINGTON, DC — Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will hold its third annual national Unity Conference, “Wellness is Winning,” in Washington, D.C. on March 27-31, 2015.

The conference will highlight medical and legal experts, policymakers, and a wide array of workshops and panels focusing on scientific research, strategic planning, and skills building. On Tuesday, March 31st, ASA will host…

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