• 2,500 Illinoisans Apply for Medical Marijuana Cards

    2,500 Illinoisans Apply for Medical Marijuana Cards

    Illinois health officials over the weekend said about 2,500 residents have applied for medical marijuana cards, even as the four-year pilot program remains stalled. About 1,600 of those applicants have received approval letters, Department of Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold told the Belleville News Democrat She could not say where the applicants live. A series of
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  • Liquor Control Board bans pot from Washington bars

    Liquor Control Board bans pot from Washington bars

    The state Liquor Control Board on Wednesday adopted a rule change that makes it illegal for any liquor-licensed establishment to allow marijuana consumption of any kind on its premises. The rule change likely goes into effect 30 days from Wednesday’s unanimous board vote, said Mikhail Carpenter, a spokesman for the Liquor Control Board. That means,
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  • State Sen. Leach makes an economic case for legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania

    State Sen. Leach makes an economic case for legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania

    ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO This Jan. 26, 2013 photo taken at a grow house in Denver shows a marijuana plants ready to be harvested. Last fall, voters made Washington and Colorado the first states to pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where
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  • Marijuana Use Dangerous during Pregnancy

    Marijuana Use Dangerous during Pregnancy

    Attention to all prospective mothers out there who have been known (personally or by others) to enjoy a good toke once in a while: though the medical benefits of  marijuana are at times incontestable, as it is in treating glaucoma or mental medical disorders such as bulimia or anorexia, high potency and synthetic marijuana can
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  • Medical marijuana industry draws interest, and caution abounds

    Medical marijuana industry draws interest, and caution abounds

    When Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill earlier this month that will legalize medical marijuana in Illinois, it opened up a new industry to legitimate investment in the state, albeit an industry that is still illegal under federal law and thus carries a unique risk. According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, more than 200 people paid as
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  • 10 Colorado Pot Dispensaries Ordered To Shut Down

    10 Colorado Pot Dispensaries Ordered To Shut Down

    Colorado — On Friday, U.S. Attorney John Walsh’s office issued letters to the owners of 10 medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado that are within 1,000 feet of schools notifying them that they have 45 days to shut down, move their business or face federal enforcement action. According to 7News, the 10 shops that got the
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  • Op-ed: Rick Steves on why he is co-sponsoring Initiative 502 to legalize marijuana

    Op-ed: Rick Steves on why he is co-sponsoring Initiative 502 to legalize marijuana

    MARIJUANA use is a serious, expensive and persistent challenge in our society. And it’s time for a new approach. That’s why I’m co-sponsoring Initiative 502 on the Nov. 6 ballot, which will legalize, tax and regulate marijuana, allowing adults 21 and over to buy up to one ounce from state-licensed stores. Initiative 502 is not
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  • In Washington and Colorado, the Real Fight Will Come Down to Marijuana Businesses

    In Washington and Colorado, the Real Fight Will Come Down to Marijuana Businesses

    Nearly 10 months after Colorado and Washington state legalized the use and sale of recreational marijuana, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy announced Monday that he’s invited Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole to testify at a September 10 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Specifically, Leahy wants Holder and Cole to answer questions about “whether it is
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  • Washington cities slow to implement legal marijuana

    Washington cities slow to implement legal marijuana

    Though Washington voters approved growing and selling recreational marijuana, few cities have taken steps to implement the law. SEATTLE — Sales of recreational marijuana are due to start in Washington around late spring, but there’s no welcome mat — at least not yet — for pot businesses in dozens of cities around the state. A
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  • Willie Nelson getting into the marijuana business

    Willie Nelson getting into the marijuana business

    Country music legend Willie Nelson doesn’t only sing about marijuana anymore, he’ll soon be selling it. Nelson’s brand of the drug is called “Willie’s Reserve” and will be grown and sold in Colorado and Washington state, where recreational pot smoking is legal. Nelson plans to work with growers and local retailers in both states to
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  • US federal prison population soars

    US federal prison population soars

    The number of federal prisoners has ballooned from 25,000 inmates in 1980 to 219,000 today, according to a new Congressional Research report. That’s a jump of almost 790 percent.   Think Progress notes that the report blames a sharp increase of “draconian mandatory minimum sentences, the elimination of parole for any federal crime committed after
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  • Seriously, man — cannabis comic Tommy Chong now says feds should legalize, tax marijuana

    Seriously, man — cannabis comic Tommy Chong now says feds should legalize, tax marijuana

    Tommy Chong, left, and Richard “Cheech” Marin arrive May 6 at the 6th Annual George Lopez Celebrity Golf Classic in Toluca Lake, Calif. Chong, who with Marin celebrated pot smoking in comedy routines and movies, says marijuana should be legalized at the federal level. (The Associated Press) To have stoner comic Tommy Chong come out for
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  • Medical pot laws & treats may send more kids to ER

    Medical pot laws & treats may send more kids to ER

    View PhotoAssociated Press – FILE – This Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012 file photo shows a medical marijuana plant at a dispensary in Seattle. Increased use of medical marijuana may lead to more young children getting sick …more      CHICAGO (AP) — Increased use of medical marijuana may lead to more young children getting sick from accidentally eating food made
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  • Puerto Rico to Debate Medical Marijuana Legalization

    Puerto Rico to Debate Medical Marijuana Legalization

    SAN JUAN, PR — Legislators in Puerto Rico are preparing to debate a bill that would allow people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes in this conservative U.S. territory, officials said Thursday. The measure would create a system to legally produce the substance and allow state health officials to regulate it, said Rep. Jose Baez,
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  • CNN Poll: Americans say marijuana is less dangerous than booze or tobacco

    CNN Poll: Americans say marijuana is less dangerous than booze or tobacco

    Washington (CNN) – Americans appear to view marijuana in a class by itself. According to a new national poll, marijuana is not as wicked as other illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine, and much less dangerous than legal substances like alcohol and tobacco. That’s one reason why a CNN/ORC International survey indicates that support for legalizing marijuana is
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  • We must get it right on implementation of legal marijuana

    We must get it right on implementation of legal marijuana

    In the 2012 election, voters took a historic step towards changing the war on drugs in Washington state in regards to marijuana. As the Liquor Control Board began to examine how to implement this new system, some advocates have said that Washington needs to do this right, and quickly. The state must get it right,
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  • Happy 710 Meaning: Twitter Trends ‘Dab Day’ On ‘New Stoner Holiday’

    Happy 710 Meaning: Twitter Trends ‘Dab Day’ On ‘New Stoner Holiday’

    On July 10 — aka 7/10, 7:10, or 710 — “Happy 710” trended on Twitter when users began discussing the new, informal annual marijuana-related holiday en masse. The holiday was created to recognize the popularity of “dabs,” the slang term for high-THC concentrates and oils, according to High Times. So where does the name 710 come from?
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  • Medical Marijuana, Inc. Closes with Lotus Capital for a $2 Million Equity Based Line of Credit

    Medical Marijuana, Inc. Closes with Lotus Capital for a $2 Million Equity Based Line of Credit

    SAN DIEGO, Aug. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) a leading hemp industry innovator, has announced that the Company has signed closing documentation for a $2 million USD line of credit with Lotus Capital, a Chicago based private equity firm. The line of credit will be used as a reserve fund for product expansion
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  • U.S. Says Legal Marijuana Growers Can’t Use Federal Irrigation Water

    U.S. Says Legal Marijuana Growers Can’t Use Federal Irrigation Water

    Marijuana growers operating legally in Colorado and Washington state took another hit from the federal government on Tuesday when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that pot growers are (still) not allowed to use federal irrigation waters. Since 1902, the bureau has been charged with maintaining dams, power plants and canals in the 17 “western states” — from North
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  • Capitalism and marijuana meet in Telluride

    Capitalism and marijuana meet in Telluride

    Local dispensaries see high volume sales, lines out the door By Collin McRann Staff reporter Published: Thursday, January 2, 2014 6:06 AM CST The lines were long outside of Telluride dispensaries on Wednesday as hundreds queued up in the cold to buy legal marijuana for the first time. Thousands of dollars changed hands, smoke filled private
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